Lombard rhythm
The Lombard rhythm is a special form of dotting (music) , in which the dotted note takes the place of the second, less emphasized position in the group of notes.
While with the usual punctuation the longer and then the shorter note is heard (cf. “Al-le” in the Christmas carol every year again ), it is the other way around with a so-called Lombard rhythm. For example, there is a sixteenth note first and then a dotted eighth note .
Quantz teaches that of two or three short notes, the striking one is made short and a point is placed behind the continuous one.
This reverse dotting conveys a lively lightness, as in WA Mozart's string quartet in D minor , KV 421: In the middle section ( trio ) of the minuet , the melody of the 1st violin soars as light as a feather in the Lombard rhythm.
The Lombard rhythm can hardly be distinguished from the syncope in the score . In the execution, however, in the Lombard rhythm, the second, longer note remains unstressed and light. In syncope, on the other hand, it is also given an accent.