David Pickett writes about those double-slash ornaments in English
virginalist literature:
>
>As far as I recall, trills beginning on the auxiliary upper note are the
>normal prescription, but these dont always work, particularly at the beginning
>of a piece.  A common opening gambit in the style is a single note with a
>double slash.  The mordent would appear to be more appripriate here and
>elsewhere, and I notice that Bob van Asperen plays these on his Teldec Bull
>CD.
>
>david
 
Forgive my being a non-scholar and forgetful. Are mordents the
upper-note-auxiliary four-note trill-like gesture, or are they the
three-note down-and-back-up gesture of the *pince*? I seem to think they
are the former, in which case David has described the same thing twice.
 
No matter, just asking for clarification. By the way, not infrequently I
find the most satisfying gesture on those opening double-slashes to be an
upwards trill-like gesture *starting* on the main note! Perhaps just a
single up and back, like an upside-down *pince*, or a bunch more, which
makes it a trill starting on the main note.
 
Context usually requires me to use a variety of *different* responses to
the double slash. On a good day this makes for sensitive context-driven
gestures; on a bad day it just makes my playing inconsistent and illogical!
 
owen