Conducting involves not only precise indication of speed, dynamics and
phrasing, but also careful preparation to ensure that the balance is correct
and that the intentions of the composer are adequately represented. These
requirements are not always observed, but a good performance is impossible
without them. Unlike the singer or instrumentalist, the conductor has to
persuade others to accept his view of the music and so help him to shape it
into a unified and convincing whole. The method by which this is achieved
varies according to the individual. Some conductors make detailed annotations
in the orchestral parts or vocal scores, indicating details of bowing to the
string-players or of breathing to the singers. Others rely on verbal
instructions at rehearsals and on the impress of a strong personality.
The use of baton, though at least as old as the 15th century,
did not become the almost universal method of directing a performance until the
second half of the 19th century. Other methods before that time
included the hand, a roll of paper, or a violin bow. When a stick was employed
it was sometimes used to beat time audibly, e.g. at the Paris Opera in the 17th
and 18th centuries. Elsewhere in the 18th century it was
normal for opera to be directed from the harpsichord, which was in any case
necessary for playing the recitative, and for symphonies to be directed by the
principal first violin (still known in Britain as “leader” of the orchestra).
When the baton was introduced to London by Spohr in 1820 and to Leipzig by
Mendelssohn in 1835, it was regarded as a novelty. The increasing complication
of orchestral writing and the growth of the forces employed made a clear and
visible direction indispensable, and