Anyone wishing to have a thorough understanding of the classical French keyboard style should make Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers a port of call, says Edward Higginbottom, and one of the things his music illuminates is the manner of rendering the port de voix, that most expressive and prized device in the repertory of French agréments. In this short article Higginbottom discussses the nature of the port de voix: its notation, timing, and performance.

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