A Practical and Historical Guide to Johann Sebastian Bach

Southern Illinois University CarbondaleOpenSIUC

Articles School of Music

Spring 2017

A Practical and Historical Guide to JohannSebastian Bach’s Solo in A Minor BWV 1013Douglas [email protected]

Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/music_articlesToday's flute publications often limit texts which analyze our repertoire in depth. This onlinepublication offers a more thorough treatment of one of the flute's most iconic works.

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Music at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by anauthorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Recommended CitationWorthen, Douglas. "A Practical and Historical Guide to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Solo in A Minor BWV 1013." (Spring 2017).

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1

A Historical and Practical Guide to

Johann Sebastian Bach’s

Solo in A Minor BWV 1013

ByDr.DouglasE.Worthen,AssociateProfessor,SouthernIllinois

UniversityCarbondale

Copyright2017AllRightsReserved

2

All of us probably began ourexposure to the works of JohannSebastianBachbyplayingsomeofhisMenuets, Bourées or other dances inour elementary method books. Evenfrom these first experiences, most ofus responded to thebeauty, integrity,and energy of Bach’s compositions.The structure and organization ofbooks for beginners is usuallydevelopmental, with laudably clearand defined goals of note reading,facility, range, dynamics, and rhythm.To augment this instruction, studentscan turn to resources such as TrevorWye’sexcellentbooksontone,scales,and other specific technical issues.These books contain technical goalswith explanation, somethingconspicuously lacking in many othertexts. However, the connection thatmustbemadebetweentheseabstractexercises and the actual repertoire isnot always clear. The followingarticles present Bach’s worksdidactically, offering a methodicalapproach that attempts to bridgetheoryandpractice.

JohannSebastianBach’sworkshave unparalleled significance in theflute repertoire. No other primarycommonpracticecomposerleftworksof such quality and quantity for thisinstrument.Thescopeoftheproposedupcomingseriesofcommentarieswillinclude historical, theoretical, andpractical information by whichmusicians, be they baroque ormodern,amateurorprofessional,willbe inspired to create new andinformed interpretationswoven fromthe warp of artifact and history andthe weft of present performanceconventionandtaste.

Bach was not seen as beingparticularly innovative in his own

time. Yet his interest in solvingmusicalpuzzleswasnotlimitedtohisbrilliant canons, fugues, andmethodical investigation oftemperament. Bach’s works for flutechallenge the flute’s accepted range,agility in distant key modulations,articulation, and even dynamics andbalance. Each work seemsexperimental in someparameter, andan interesting and effectiveinterpretation will take advantage ofBach’s interest in probing perceivedlimitationsoftheinstrument.

Thanks to Christoph Wolff’sChronology of Bach’s works includedin Grove’s1, the flute repertoire hascome into clearer focus, and at leastthree rather distinct periods ofactivityhaveemerged.Thefirst,1723to 1724, includes his Partita for flutealone,BWV1013,andtheSonatainEminor, BWV 1034. The second, hisSonata inA,BWV1032and thegreatSonata in B minor, BWV 1030, bothwritten c. 1735-1736. Finally, theSonatainEmajor,BWV1035,c.1741as well as the Musical Offering, BWV1079,c.1747,areclearlyintheirownmoreGallantstyle.

ThoughtheyarenotconfirmedtobefromBach’shand,TheEbMajorSonata, BWV 1031 and the G MinorSonata BWV 1020 have remarkablesimilarities and are certainlywonderful music. Christoph Wolff’schronology in Grove’s lists the EbMajor as c.1730-1734, and suggeststhat the G minor sonata was writtenby C. P. E. Bach, though there is noevidence as to the date of its origin.The C Major Sonata, dated c.1736,seems radically different than the BMinor or the A major, and was not

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included in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe,indicatingthatittoomaybespurious.Itnonethelessbearsacloserlook,andadds toaprogressiveapproachwhenlearning the sonatas based onchronology. The two G Major TrioSonatas,BWV1038forfl.Vln.andB.C.in theearlypartof the fourthdecadeof the Eighteenth Century, andBWV1039fortwofl.andB.C.,writtenlater in the decade, make for aninterestingcomparisonandfallwithinthe second period, during which wehave other works in a three-voicetexture.

Introducing and studying thisrepertoire in the aforementionedchronology has the advantage ofbeginning with one and thenmovingto two and then three voices, aswellas moving from High Baroque toGallant style. Each period of activityhas two principal authenticatedworks. Once the reader has a clearerpictureofBach’s compositional stylesbased on a chronology, attributedworks can be more accuratelyappraised.

The Partita for flute alone,BWV1013HistoricalContextThePartitawaslikelyBach’sfirstsolopiece for flute1.Although thiswork isusually referenced by its BaroquePartitaform,itsoriginaltitlewasSolop[our une] flûte traversière par J. S.Bach, and the four movements,Allemande, Corrente, Sarabande, andBourèe angloise, are French spellingsof these dance movements. ThePartita’sfirstmovementisinthehandof two different copyists. No extant

autographsurvivesfromeitherthisortheEminor,howeverbothhavebeenauthenticated.There is evidence that the Solo waswritten as early as 1717 in Cöthen,howeveritsstylesuggeststhatitcouldhavebeenwrittenas lateas1723-24,afterhearrivedinLeipzig.Thiswouldmake it contemporary to theEminorSonata, and during a period whenBachcomposedcantatas inwhich theflute played a prominent role. Later,Bach chose more unusual keys (EMajor and even modulating to Bmajor!)forhisflutesonatas,exploringthe varied affects of these tonalities.Some musicologists assert that Bachnew little of the flute’s limitations,citingphraseswhichoffernoobviousbreathing points. Yet similarcompositionsbyflutistsBlockwitzandBlavet have very similar perpetualmotion, suggesting that suchbreathing demands were common.Bach must have known to avoid thethird register highF even in a logicalarpeggiation (see Partita Allemande,M. 5 and 6), and knew that a high Awould in factbepossible,providingaspectacular end to the AllemandemovementoftheSolo.

Unlike themodern instrument,many of the Baroque traverso’spitchesmustbeproducedbyweaker,fork fingerings. For this reason, scalecollections have radically differentproperties and are associated withspecific emotionalAffects. The Partitaand E Minor Sonata favor a “strong”tonality, meaning that most of thenotes, and specifically the tonic and5th, are not forked fingerings. In thecaseoftheAminorPartita,thetonicAis strong, and the 5th (E) makes astrong lower dominant. The Low Dworkswell forastrongsubdominant,

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however the third (C), is a bit veiled. STRUCTURESAn important advantageof looking atBach’s works chronologically is thathe wrote first for one, then two andfinally three voice textures. Theharmonies implied in the Partita arepresented monophonically, and therhythm of those changing harmoniesis a primary topic of the discourse.Although the basic harmonicmovementwillbediscussedlater,itisadvisable for the student to gothroughthepieceandmakehisorherownharmonicanalysisfirst,keeping

trackof thenumberofvoices impliedbythetexture.Likemanysuggestionsbelow, this process is intended to setinmotionamethodologybywhichallrepertoiremightbestudied.Allemande:A superficial scan of the structureshowsapieceinbinaryform:A:||B:||with a coda beginning half waythroughM.34.TheAllemandetopicissuggested by the typical upbeat(anacrusis) of three or sevensixteenths. The last note in the firstexamplefallsonastrongbeat(thesis),and should feel like an arrival. (seebelow)

This first unit establishes the tonalityofAMinor,andisrepeated,propellingthe piece forward to the secondmeasure. Already in measure two,Bach presents five-notes thatforeshadow the opening of the thirdmovement, as well as importantmaterial to follow. 2 Measure three,

being a repeat of measure two, isheard as an echo only whenperformed softer but with theidentical inflections as measure two.So far, we have a first measurecomposedof2 identicalhalves, andasecond measure repeated in itsentirety:

. A B B

Instead of practicing the movementfrom the beginning to the end, as istraditionallydone, Iproposestudyingsegments of similar length. Later,when deciding where to breathe inperformance, some phrases will beprepended with the three or seven

noteallemandeanacrusis.Thisgesturewill help propel the phrases forward,and create more subtle connectionsfrom one phrase to the next. Theperformermaychoosewhetherornottobreathebeforetheanacrusisbased

& cFlute œ œ# œ œ ! œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó

& 43 cFl.

4 œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ rœ ! ‰ Ó œ œ œ œ œ# œ ˙ Œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ jœ ‰

&Fl.

9 " " " " " " " "

&Fl.

17 " " " " " " " "

&Fl.

25 " " " " " " "

Bach A minor Excerpts[Composer]

©

Score

[Arranger][Subtitle]

& cFlute œ œ# œ œ ! œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó

& 43 cFl.

4 œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ rœ ! ‰ Ó œ œ œ œ œ# œ ˙ Œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ jœ ‰

&Fl.

9 " " " " " " " "

&Fl.

17 " " " " " " " "

&Fl.

25 " " " " " " "


©

Score


& 44 !œœ œ# œ œ œœœœœœœ œ œœ œœœœ œ# œœœœœ œ# œœœœœ œœœœ œ# œœœœœ œ# œ

œœœœ œ"œ œ# œœœœœœœœœœœœœ

&5 œ# œœœœ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œœœœœ œœœœ œ œ œ œœ" œb œœœ œb œœ œœœœœœ œ œœœœœœœ œ œ œœœœœ œ œ œœœœœœ œ œ œ

&9 œ"œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œb œ œ œ œ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œb œ œ œ œ œœœœœœœœœ œ"œœœœ œ œœœ œ# œœœœœœ

&13 œœ œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ# œ" œœ œ œ œn œ œ œ# œœœœœ œ œœœœœœœ œ œœœœ œ# œ œ# œ œ# "œœœ œ# œœœ œœœœ œ# œœœœ œ# œœ œ# œœœ

& ..17 œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ# œn œ œn œ œb œ œn œ# œ œœœœ œ# œœœ œ# œœœœ œ" œ œ# 1.œ œ# œ œ œ .œ œ ˙ "2.œ œ# œ œ œ .œ œœœœœœœœœ

&21 œœ"œ œ# œœœœ œ# œœœœœœœ œœœœ œ# œœœœœ œ# œœœœ œ# œœœœ œ# œœœœœ œ# œœ œ œ œ# œ"œ œ# œ œ œ# œn œœ œ œ# œ œ# œœ œn

&25 œœ œ# œœ œ# œn œœœ œ# œœ œb œ œ œœ" œ œ# œœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœ œ# œœœœœœœœœœ œœ œ# œœœœœœœœœ œ# œœœ

&29 œ"œœ œ# œ œ œœœœœœœ œ œœ œœœœœ œ œœœœœœœ œ œœ œœ œ œ œœœœœœœœœ œ œœ œ "œ œœ œb œœœœ œn œ# œœœœœ

Solo pour une Flute TraversiereJohann Sebastian Bach

Allemande

+

5

onhisorher individual intentionandtaste.

To begin, we will start withphrases of three measures, and thenmovetotwomeasuresandless.Intheabove example, the phrase is threemeasureslong. Those who are accustomed tobreathingafteronlytwomeasuresare

encouraged to practice the passagefaster, thereby becoming comfortablewith the phrase length, and thengradually slow the tempo to thedesired speed. Bar 9 to the firstsixteenth of bar 12 are similarly inthree measures, with a breath afterfinallow“D”.

A A1

C

Sequencesthattransportthetonalitybyhalfbarsaretwomeasureslong,forexamplebars7and8.Thedoublestemsindicateatwovoicetexture.

then12and13:

Notethatinbars32and33,asinbars7and8above,thehalfbarharmonicrhythmisemphasizedbytheleadingtone(halfstep)immediatelyprecedingthestrongbeat,indicatedbythedoublestem.Bars32and33:

& c œ œ# œ œ ! œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó œ œ# œ œ

& 43 c5 œ œ œ# œ rœ ! ‰ Ó œ œ œ œ œ# œ ˙ Œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ jœ ‰

&9 ! œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

&11 œ# œ œb œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ rœ " " " " "

&18 " " " " " " " " "

&27 " " " " "


©

Flute


& cFlute œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ47 q = 120

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œn Rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó

&Fl.

4 " " "

&Fl.

7 ! œ œ œ œ œ œ œr

œ œ œ œr œ œ œ œr


œ œ œ œ#r œ œ œ œnr

Rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó

&Fl.

10 ! œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œr œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ#r œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œ œr œ œ œn œ Rœ

&Fl.

13 " ! " "

&Fl.

17 " " "

&Fl.

20 " " "

&Fl.

23 " " "

More Bach Partita[Composer]

©

Score


& cFlute œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ47 q = 120

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œn Rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó

&Fl.

4 " " "

&Fl.

7 ! œ œ œ œ œ œ œr



œ œ œ œ#r œ œ œ œnr

Rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó

&Fl.

10 ! œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œr œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ#r œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œ œr œ œ œn œ Rœ

&Fl.

13 " ! " "

&Fl.

17 " " "

&Fl.

20 " " "

&Fl.

23 " " "

More Bach Partita[Composer]

©

Score


&Fl.

26 " " "

&Fl.

29 " " "

&Fl.

32 ! œ œ œ œb œ œ œR œ œn œ# œr œ œ œ œr œ œ œ œr

œ œ œ œrœ œ# œ# œr œ# œ# œ œr rRœ# ! ‰ Œ Ó

&Fl.

35 " " "

&Fl.

38 " " "

&Fl.

41 " " "

&Fl.

44 " " "

&Fl.

47 " " "

2 More Bach Partita





&18 " " " " " " " " "

&27 " " " " "


©

Flute


6

Astheharmonychangesmoreandmorerapidly,andthephrasesandbreathsmovefromthreetotwomeasuresinlength,thesenseofurgencyandintensitygrows.Movingtomeasureswheretheharmonychangesoneverybeat,afallingfifthprogressionfollowsinbars13through15:

Endofbar15andbar16:

Thelastbarsbeforethefirstendingandagainatthecodaslowdowntheharmonicrhythmandutilizethethreesixteenthallemandeprefix.Bars18and19:

Thesectionisbroughttoaclosewithanauthenticcadenceofthreeconsecutivequartersasindicatedbelow:

& 44 ! œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ

œ œ œ œp

&4 œ"œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ- œ"- œb œ œ œ œb œ œ

&7 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ- œ- œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œn œ"œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

&10 œ œ œb œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œb œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ" œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ

&13 œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ# œ" œ œ œ œ œn œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ# œ œ# "œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ

&16 œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ# " œ œ œ œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ# œn œ œn œ œb œ œn œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ" œ œ#

& ..19 1.œ œ# œ œ œ .œŸ œ ˙ " 2.œ œ# œ œ œ .œŸ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ- œ" œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

&22 œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ#p

œ"œ œ# œ œ œ# œn œ œ œ œ# œ œ# œ œ œn


ed. Douglas Worthen

© 2014 Douglas Worthen

Allemande


œ œ œ œp




&13 œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ# œ" œ œ œ œ œn œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

&15 œœœœ œ# œ œ# œ œ# "œœœ œ# œœœ œœœœ œ# œœœœ œ# œœ œ# "œœœ œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ# œn œ œn œ œb œ œn œ# œ œœœœ œ# œœœ œ# œœœœœ" œ œ#





ed. Douglas Worthen


Allemande


œ œ œ œp





&16 œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ# " œ œ œ œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ# œn œ œn œ œb œ œn œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ" œ œ#





ed. Douglas Worthen


Allemande


œ œ œ œp





&16 œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ# " œ œ œ œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ# œn œ œn œ œb œ œn œ# œ

& ..18 œ œœ œ œ# œœ œ œ# œœ œ œ œ" œ œ# 1.œ œ# œ œ œ .œŸ œ ˙ "2.œ œ# œ œ œ .œŸ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ- œ" œ œ# œ œ œœ œ# œ œœ œ œ œœ




ed. Douglas Worthen


Allemande

7

Openingthesecondhalfofthemovement,Measures20-23followthesame

modelastheopeningtransposeddownafifth,inEMinor. A B B

Measures9to11arefoundtransposedtoDminor(M.26)modulatingtoGmajorinbar29,andfromtherearrivinginCmajorinbar32.A A1 C

Segments that are a single bar inlength have a number of harmonicdesigns. Some occur after a highdegreeofharmonicactivity,andserveto slow down the harmonic rhythm.Though the harmony inmeasures 24to 25 moves by the half bar, accentsarecreatedbyhalf-stepappoggiaturason the second, fourth, and sixth

eighth-note beats, aswas seen in bar4. The same structure appears againinbar39.The asymmetry of five iterations ofthe figure in bar 36 into 37 entirelyobliterates the common time meter,creating a sense of cadenza-likefreedom:

M.36-37




&11 œ# œ œb œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ rœ " " " "

&17 ! œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ#

&20 Rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó " ! œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

&24 œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

&27 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Rœ!‰ Œ Ó " "


©

Flute






&18 " " " " " " " "

&26 ! œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ

&29 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

&32 Rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó " " "


©

Flute






&18 " " " " " " " "

&26 ! œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ

&29 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

&32 Rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó " " "


©

Flute


&31 ! œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ

œ œ œ œ

&34 rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó ! œ œ# œr œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ œn œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ# œr

Rœ !‰ Ó

&37 " Œ ! œ# œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ ! "

2 Bach A minor Excerpts

8

The scales and arpeggios, beginningonthesecondbeatofbar37continuethe quasi-cadenza, using commonconventions borrowed from Italianstringwritingoftheperiod.(Abreathafterthefirstnote(G#)reinforcestheAllemande gesture and preserves theintriguing ambiguity created byoverlapping phrases). Bar 40 is anexample in this style, utilizing adominantEpedalpoint.

The most complex andsometimes controversial measures ofthe piece are bars 17 and 42. At thispoint the listener perceives twovoices,theuppervoiceinfallingthirdsand the lower voice in seconds. Thepitchofthethirdto lastsixteenthhasbeen often questioned, however thechoice of allowing the diminishedthird to stand is clearly moreinterestinginperformance.

M.17

M.42

As the movement draws to a closewith a coda beginning half waythrough bar 44, the allemande sevennote figure returns, and the intervalsbecome suddenly more extreme. Theleaps of a tenth naturally bring backthe tempo, and the added half bar ofthe coda is never returned, allowingtheperformertoplaythehighestAfortwofullbeats.FurtherPracticeoftheAllemande

Whether using a Baroquetraversoor amodern instrument, thefollowing suggestions should beequallyvaluable.Byfirstgroupingthephrasesbythenumberofmeasuresof

each, we can begin to compare thefunction, key, and gesture that mightbe associated with them. It isadvisable togo through the segmentsslurringallthenotesandplayingtheminpreciserhythm,focusingonanevenand consistent air pressure andminimumfingermotion.

First, practice all of the threemeasure segments. The measuresmarked A arpeggiate the tonality byrepetition, whereas the measuresmarked B use the cadential chordprogression i - V7 6/3 - i 6/3 – Vreinforcing the tonality. Theirdeclamatory nature allows theperformer to play without haste. Notall the three measure segments are


œ œ œ œ

&34 ! œ œ# œr œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ œn œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ# œr

Rœ ! ‰ Ó "

&37 Œ ! œ# œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ ! " "

&40 " " "

&43 œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ# œn œ œn œ œb œ œn œ# œ rRœ ! ‰ Œ Ó

&45 œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ œn œ œn œ œb œ œb œ# œ Rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó "

&48 " " " "

&52 " " " "

&56 " " "



œ œ œ œ

&34 ! œ œ# œr œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ œn œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ# œr

Rœ ! ‰ Ó "

&37 Œ ! œ# œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ ! " "

&40 " " "

&43 œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ# œn œ œn œ œb œ œn œ# œ rRœ ! ‰ Œ Ó

&45 œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ œn œ œn œ œb œ œb œ# œ Rœ ! ‰ Œ Ó "

&48 " " " "

&52 " " " "

&56 " " "


9

transpositions of the same material,and so vary in their respectivegestural meanings. Some are indeedmodulatory, for instance bars 9-11(which has a different gesture andmeaning when the unexpected C# isintroduced), 26 -28, and 29-31. Thetwo bar segments should besubsequentlyevaluatedandpracticed.They often move sequentially onevery beat, and imply direction anddrive. Their intervals are oftenunexpected, and include augmentedfourths.Sincetherangeisnotaslargein these measures, singing them willhelptheperformerdirectthesoundofeach note to its center. The one barsegmentshaveyetmorevariants,andinclude chromatic and rhythmicenergy. As you play through thesesegments, notice their individualcharacteristics. Inordertocreateasmoothandconsistentairstream,practiceslurringthe entire piece, observing the newbreathmarksinthetextbelow,whichincorporatetheprependedanacruses.Inorder to focus the tone, try flutter-tonguing (with the tip of the tongue)the entire movement, again alwaysobserving the breaths and phrases.Repeat, this time playing themovement up an octave. Now repeatthe entire process, pianissimo, todevelopcontrolovertheloudness.Asthepieceisstitchedtogether,continueto consider various ways of

expressing and differentiating eachphrase unit, no matter what thearticulationorloudness.Workingwithametronome,buttakingasmuchtimeas isnecessary for eachbreath,makesurethefingermovementsarerelaxedandclosetothekeysorholes.Fingersshould be comfortable and moveevenly whether on traverso or themodern instrument. Other variantscan include changing the rhythm todotted sixteenths or an eighthwith asixteenth triplet. Practicing eachsegment in retrograde reveals howoften Bach uses a reverse order ofpitchesinhiswriting.

Nowthatasubstantialamountoftechnicalworkhasbeendone,turnoff themetronomeandplaythepieceusing as much rubato and dynamicchange as you can possibly muster.Exaggeratingthegestureisalwaysthetest of fire. If the gesturedoesnot fitthetext,itwillseemcompletelywrongwhen exaggerated, but will still betolerable if the gesture matches thetext. Now, bringing the gestures backto scale, record a performance of themovement.Youwillnotice that ifyouaremakingapointbytenuto,onlyhalfasmuchgestureisneededtomakethesameeffectinanalogousmoments.

Suggestedbreathmarksaddedtothescoremaybeseenbelow:

10


œ œ œ œp


&7 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ- œ- œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ" œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ



&16 œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ# œn œ œn œ œb œ œn œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ" œ œ#

& ..19 1.œ œ# œ œ œ .œ œ ˙ " 2.œ œ# œ œ œ .œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ" œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ





Allemande

11

&25 œ œ œ# œ œ œ# œn œ œ œ œ# œ œ œb œ œ œ œ! œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

&28 œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ!œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

&31 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ! œ œ œ œb œ œ œ œ œn œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œ# œ# œ œ

&34 œ# !œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œb œ œ œ# œ# œ œ œ œ œ!œ œ# œ œ œ# œn œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ# œ

&37 œ# œ œ# œ œU œ! œ# œ# œ œ œn œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ! œ œ œ

&40 œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ!œ œ œ œ# œ œ# œn œ# œ œ œn œ œn œ œb œ œb œ# œ

&43 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ#!œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ !Uœ œ œ œ œ

œ œnœ œ!

œ œ# œ œb œn œ œ# œ! œ œ œ œœ œ

&46 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œœ.

! œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

2 [Title]

12

Corrente The Corrente is the Italianversion of the French Courant, andBachwrotemanysuchmovements inhis suites for solo strings and forkeyboard.Somecourantsweredancedeven slower than the Sarabande,howeverthetechnicaldemandsofthisfast Corrente are formidable. Of thefour movements of this suite, this isclearly the most virtuosic, imitatingItalian string writing in brilliantbariolage style. It is thereforesurprising that this fiery andbrilliantwork is not heard more often as anencore piece. The texture quicklymoves to two voices inmeasure two,and then three voices inmeasure 13.It is fruitful work to go through theentiremovementandmarkthevoicesusing double stems, as has beenindicated in the previous examples.Likethe firstmovement, theCorrentegives prominence to the interval of a10th,andtheperformeriswelladvisedto scan the text for these intervals.Sometimes the interval is used todefine the compass or range of thephrase, as seen in the first twomeasures. Later in the piece, on thefirstbeatsofmeasures52,53,and54for example, the 10th defines theharmonic space of the three-parttexture.Whenseensooftenaswellasseen in the context of the firstmovement, the interval becomestopical. InMeasure41, thecadenza isannounced by the D# diminished 7thharmony. Oneofthehardestthingstodoonafluteistokeeptheairstreamataconstant velocity and pressure whiletonguing. This movement is an idealvehicle to practice slurring three and

tonguing one in a set of foursixteenths. Sometimes the figuremaybe reversed, tonguing the firstsixteenth followed by the threeslurrednotes.There isagreatdealofevidence that Bach preferredasymmetricalgroupings,asevidencedby the slurs that he included in hismanuscripts. In the execution of thisfigure, there is a tendency to clip thelastnoteofaslurbeforeanarticulatedpitch,sothatonehasmoretimetosetup the articulation, but this stops theotherwisecontinuousflowofair.Aftermarking the phrases and breathsfollowing the model of the firstmovement, proceed to slurring eachphrase in its entirety. Then continueby practicing one phrase at a time,slurring either one and threesixteenths or three and one. Ofcourse, there are some momentswhere thiscannotbedonedueto theeighth note motion, but thesemomentsarefewandfarbetween.

The treatisesof the eighteenthcentury devote most of their text toarticulationandornamentation,whileverylittlematerial ispresentedabouttone production. Might this bebecause the acoustical spaces of theperiodweresoreverberant thatcleardiction was imperative? Did theacousticsgenerallyfavorthesoundofthe traverso, similar to today’s popmusician having the advantage ofamplification and artificialreverberation?Seenas “flutespeech”,we can well imagine that the wordsthatwerespoken into the flute reliedheavily on a variety of consonants oftonguingaswellasvowelsoftone.

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Sarabande: Baroque dance style is in large partdetermined by the appropriatesuccessionofstrongandweakbeatsofeach measure. In this movement, theSarabande emphasizes the secondbeat in the firstmeasure, followedbyemphasis on the downbeat of thesecond measure. Still, momentswhere Bach foils such expectationsaccount for much of the interest andvarietyinthismovement. Assuming that themovement’sfirsttwomeasuresfittheabovemodelof a strong second beat in the firstmeasure followed by a strong firstbeat in the second, and that thispatternisrepeatedinmeasuresthreeandfour,thefourbarphrasestructureis clear. Still a major question doesremain. Does the E natural in thesecondbarfeellikearesolutionofthehalfnoteF? If so,abreathafter theFwould break the suspension, andshouldbeavoided.IftheFisheardasthe last note of the motif, then itwouldat leastsoften,evenifabreathis not needed. The latter solution isprobably more in keeping with thestyle of Bach’s early works, howeverboth solutions can make sense.Although the Sarabande wasconsidereda slowdanceat thispointin time, the work still moves quicklyenoughthatafourbarphraseiseasilyattainable. Measuresfivethrougheightallclearly have a strong first beat. Theshorttrillmarkedonthesecondbeatsof both measures six and eight areoften played from the note above onthe beat, however FrederickNeumann’s interpretation is alsoworthy of consideration. This would

call foraweakerappoggiaturabeforethe beat,making the figure smootherandlessaccentuated.BouréeAngloise This Bourée contrasts a “low”style, or folk-like character with theformer “high” style movements.Examples of the Bourée and Englishstyle are common in the earlyEighteenth century, and generallyhaveaquarteranacrusisfollowedbyastrongly accented downbeat. It isunusual to end a suite with such amovement;aconcludingGigueismosttypical. Hence, performers often findthis more rustic movementanticlimactic, and tend to either rushthe tempo or exaggerate features ofthework.Isuggestusingthebaroqueti-ri-ti articulation in most of theiterations of two sixteenths followedby an eighth. It sounds well on bothbaroqueandmoderninstruments,andcanhelpwiththenaturalstressofthedancemovement.

1AlthoughtheBrandenburgConcertospredatetheseworks,theflutewasactinginasubordinateroletotheviolinorkeyboard.2Thesefivenotes,transposedtoCMinor,arethefirstnotesoftheMusicalOfferingthemeaswell.ItisremarkablethatBachbothbeganandendedhiswritingforflutewiththisfamousmotif.

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Documents

A Practical and Historical Guide to Johann Sebastian Bach