Chain trill
A trill over several neighbouring notes.
What it means
A chain trill (German Kettentriller) designates a sequence of trills that follow directly one after another: a melodic line proceeds from note to note, and each of these notes is trilled. No break arises between the individual trills; the chain runs through while the pitch shifts.
The figure differs from the simple trill in that not a single note but a whole line is ornamented. It differs from the turn as every trill does: there a closed figure plays around the main note, here the note continually alternates with its upper auxiliary note.
The turns (Nachschläge) that end a single trill are usually omitted in the chain except for the last, so that the coherence is preserved.
In the notation
The figure is notated as a sequence of notes above which the trill sign stands in each case, often connected by a shared wavy line. A slur over the whole group indicates that it is to be played as a unit. The last trill often carries written-out turn notes that lead over into the following note.
Musical use
Chain trills stand in virtuoso passages, especially in cadenzas and closing intensifications of concertos and solo pieces. They produce a surface of whirring motion above which the actual melody stands out as a stepwise line. They are widespread in the piano and violin literature of the nineteenth century but also occur in the music of the Viennese Classical period.
The transitions between the individual trills without interruption...
Performance practice
Think the figure as one line, not as a series of individual trills: the melody is the main notes, the trills are the colour. Keep the trill speed the same over the whole chain, otherwise it seems restless. Practise first only the main notes at tempo, then the chain with slow trills, and increase only afterward. And plan the last trill with its turn as the goal of the whole movement.