Mordants: Auxiliary note is a note that has been modified by an accidental earlier in the measure. What do I play?
I was under the impression that whenever you see a mordant or a trill, the auxiliary note is the next note up in the key signature.
But I'm a bit confused on how to proceed here. This is measure 57 of the first movement of Beethoven's Eighth Piano Sonata in C Minor (the piece is in common time).
(The measure uses the treble clef). The first mordant seems simple enough: I play a G-flat, I briefly brush a whole step up to the A-flat (since A-flat comes after G in the key of C Minor), hold the G-flat for the rest of the note's duration, and then play the F in the third beat.
But what about the second mordant? What's the auxiliary note? Normally, it'd be a G-natural, since in C Minor G-natural follows the F, but that accidental on the G-flat earlier in the measure is confusing me. Does it carry over to the auxiliary note on the second mordant? For the third beat in the measure, do I play F—G-flat—F or F—G—F?
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The rules of modern notation are that once an accidental has been marked, it continues on that pitch for the rest of the measure, unless removed by a natural. So, presumably, if the editor thought the G shouldn't be flat for the second mordent, there would be a natural somewhere. (Though, admittedly, I have no idea how you would notate a natural on a mordant like that if you did want it a G natural.)
The basic principle is "Follow the harmony".
I'm looking at the first edition which doesn't have bar
numbers printed, but the first occurrence of these mordents is over a perfect cadence in E flat minor. So play the "ornamental notes" as A flat and G flat to agree with that key.
The second occurrence 8 bars later is a perfect cadence in D flat major. In that case the ornamental notes are G flat (even though the flat is not explicitly marked in that bar in the right hand) and F natural.
Any accidentals appended to this type of ornament are usually editorial additions.
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