A term of Robert O. Gjerdingen.
A descending melodic sixth or a descending stepwise melodic progression from ➋ to ➍ as an ornament of ➍, after which the latter steps down to ➌. The High ➋ Drop is often used in the context of a Prinner.
Gjerdingen has labelled this ornamental gesture the High ➋ Drop “on account of its distinctive contour, served as a conventional sign of impending closure” (Gjerdingen, 2007: 74).
The seventh sixteenth note in the right hand in bar 3 acts as a High ➋ Drop:
See also my essay The Traditional Prinner.
Select Bibliography
Gjerdingen, Robert O. Music in the Galant Style (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).