Interesting topic, A.

I've always been under the impression that within small chamber groups (2-6 players, say), you definitely need a clear leader - but that person does not necessarily have to be the first violinist.  It's the most orthodox arrangement to have the first fiddle lead.  But a brilliant player isn't necessarily always the clearest with physical signals, or the most musically imaginative and influential player in the group.

In such a situation, though, you can't have a different player leading by stealth.  Everyone has to know, and agree, who is leading.  The role can even shift around at musically appropriate moments.  But it has to be clear to everyone who is leading what, and there can't be any accidental overlaps!

A clear leader is vital, I'd say, but there is the phenomenon of the leader who is *too* strong.  If a leader is too dominant, that can inhibit his/her colleagues from playing freely or taking initiatives when appropriate.

As for body language, I think violinists are particularly prone to swaying around too much.  You don't need to move a lot to show clearly what you mean.  I always think it's more important for everyone to breathe together than for one member of the group to wave their instrument in everyone else's faces.  The best ensemble comes from mutual musical purpose.  If you have that, leadership can be very light.

The larger the group, though, the more need for a single demonstrative leader.

Any other thoughts?

I know a conductorless baroque ensemble who have (although it's not "stated" in their programs) a cellist leader, and it works extremely well.  There's also a powerful logic to having the continuo line establishing the tempi etc (they work primarily with a theorbo rather than harpsichord, with the theorbist taking largely a "back seat" in the proceedings).  What seems slightly strange is that on occasions when they "expand" to do larger works with chorus etc, and a conductor comes in to supervise all this - Alexei remains the "leader" of the orchestra, in all but name.

I'm not sure which point of view this supports, but I did once see Jordi Savall directing a fairly large vocal/instrumental ensemble from the (treble) viol, which I gather is how he does it, and the ensemble did fall apart a couple of times in pieces from Monteverdi's 8th Book (performed with extensive instrumental doubling, though sometimes it was more canonic than unison).

On a different tack, there are now a number of string quartets who regularly exchange leaders for different works in a concert. I'm not completely convinced that this is a good idea, but I'm not quite sure why.

I can imagine it working extremely well from the point of view of the performance... Roel Dieltiens leads his Ensemble Explorations from the cello, or at least did when I saw them.

On the other hand from the point of view of pedantry the proportion of Baroque repertoire which actually had a cello on the bass line is a LOT smaller than performance practice in the last few decades would seem to imply...

Oops, I'm off topic. 

Hi Tommo -

Have you tried some small head-bobbing (while keeping your violin still)?  Or even just eye contact with a bit of eyebrow flickering can be very effective.  And don't forget to breathe rhythmically, as an ensemble.

(Some people do go overboard with this, treating their audience to an auditory layer of snorts and snuffles which can be highly irritating or highly amusing.  But it is amazing how many ensemble problems can get ironed out when everyone starts breathing together.)

In sustained passages, sometimes it can be useful to stop indicating pulse altogether, except at the point where everyone changes.  It's worth experimenting with indicating a sub-division of the pulse preceding the change, rather than the pulse itself.  Sometimes this can keep a very tight ensemble.  Other times it will feel too choppy.

I don't actually know Verklarte Nacht particularly well, and am still feeling too drained and flu-ey to look it up - so I hope these thoughts aren't completely irrelevant!

Thanks, George!     I think I'm over the worst of it, but I still feel pretty rough.  Just as well I have very little to do right now.

That's always the way, isn't it?  We keep going in the most strenuous circumstances, but as soon as there's a chance to relax, it all falls apart.   

Is that a technical term? 

Thanks all,

I'm against using breathing to indicate beats in this passage because for me the breathing needs to go with the line, which is much longer....

The pianist won't be able to see my eyebrows.  I do like this method normally though.  I would use this for the sextet version!

A small nod needs some practice, as it may just as easily disturb the sustained nature as a scroll bob (you really are learning about the limitations of my playing here...), but is worth a go!

I have a feeling I will also have to change a fingering to avoid an awkward shift at a crucial moment...

Funny how something can seem so easy in your own private practice, but go so awry when you have just 2 other people to concentrate on!

Tommo