Bach's French Suite in G Major, Version 2

This is another recording of the opening Allemande from Bach's French Suite in G Major, BWV 816.
This video was recorded in a performance lecture at the University of York.

Bach's French Suite in G Major, Version 1

As part of my Piano Studies MA at the University of York, I will be regularly uploading various chunks of my upcoming recital so that I can track my progression and hopefully have more productive practice sessions from it. 

I also hope that uploading these videos onto the Internet will help with my performance anxiety. 

This is the opening Allemande from Bach's French Suite in G Major, BWV 816.

Bach’s French Suite No. 5, BWV 816.

Bach’s French Suite No. 5, BWV 816.

I researched three articles from JSTOR to help me create an educated interpretation of Bach’s French Suite No. 5 BWV 816 for my first MA recital. These are my findings.

Eric McKee – Influences of the Early Eighteenth-Century social Minuet on the Minuets from J. S. Bach’s French Suites, BWV 812-817.

• ·       Difficult to appreciate the central role of dance in eighteenth century European life. Most popular form of social entertainment. Pervaded all levels of society and served a wide range of social functions.
• ·       What was required of the music to make it danceable? How did the practical necessities of the dance affect the structure of the music? What might composers have learned from composing dance music?
• ·       Most common form of the social minuet was the menuet ordinaire, standard form from the Court of Louis XIV to the French Revolution. Organising component of the minuet and of all French court dances is the step-unit - a collection of individual steps, hops or springs, and involves at least two changes of weight from one foot to another.
• ·       In the minuet, the principal step-unit is the pas de menuet - contains four changes of weight, always beginning with the right foot (RLRL). The pas de menuet takes six beats in 3/4 time to complete and begins on the upbeat with a bending of the knees, which prepares the dancer for a rise or spring on the downbeat.
• ·       Step-units combined to form symmetrical floor patterns called figures. Typically compromised four to eight step-units, thus requiring eight to sixteen bars of music to complete. Since each figure comprises eight step-units, and the step-unit involves two bars, the eight-bar musical strains would need to be repeated to conform to the sixteen-bar figures.
• ·       Most scholars today are of the opinion that for minuet music to be danceable there needs to be some congruence between the musical structure and the choreography of the dance. Julia Sutton (1985) believes that there was complete congruence between the music and the dance at all levels of structure. Wendy Hilton (1981), Sarah Reichart (1984) allows for large level conflicts between dance figures and musical strains, while maintaining the need for congruence at lower levels. Tilden Russell (1983) believes that ‘there was no one-to-one relation between the dance and the [phrase structure of the] music’.
• ·       As a general rule, when the dance and music were composed for a specific occasion or when a dancer was given prior notice as to what music would be played, there often was complete agreement between the music and the dance.
• ·       Debate over the provenance of the posthumously-applied modifier ‘French’ in the title ‘French Suites’, both the use of French dance titles and the simpler, more elegant, galant melodies and contrapuntal treatment of the dance music, especially in comparison with Bach’s earlier English Suites and later Partitas, do suggest a connection with the dances of the French court.
• ·       Although the various dance types appearing in Bach’s French Suites were not specifically intended for dancing, it would be a mistake to assume that they are unsuitable for dancing. Depending on the degree of stylisation, some are clearly more suited than others. As a general rule, older dance types that were out of fashion as social dancers were subject to greater stylisation.
• ·       Of all the dances contained in the French Suites, the minuets are among the least stylised, showing little substantive differences from functional minuets of the time. This is not surprising, given the fact that the minuet was among the newest and by far the most popular of the social court dances used in the suites.
• ·       Bach’s practical knowledge of the minuet as it was danced is evidenced by the presence of a strong, unambiguous and consistently held two-bar hypermetre in every minuet of the set. This is a musical characteristic that defines the minuet apart from the other dance types of the suites, both new and old. While other dances may at times project a strong sense of hypermetre, very few do it as clearly or as consistently as the minuets.

This article allows me to understand the importance of dance in the eighteenth century and offers me a greater appreciation of the steps involved to dance a minuet. Even though this particular minuet would not have been intended for dancing, I hope to be able to portray the dance-like character through my use of stylisation and articulation.

David Temperley – What’s Key for Key? The Krumhansl-Schmuckler Key-Finding Algorithm Reconsidered.

• ·       The Gavotte from Bach’s French Suite No. 5.
• ·       Widely agreed that modulations typically involve “pivot chords,” chords that are compatible with both the previous key and the following one.
• ·       In the Bach Gavotte, the D major chord in the second half of measure 9 could either be considered as I of D or V of G. This would imply that key sections generally overlap by at least one chord.
• ·       The current approach holds out another possibility, however, which is that pivot regions are essentially a diachronic phenomenon. It is not that a chord is understood as being in two keys at one time, but rather it is first interpreted in one way, based on the previous context, and then in another way, under the influence of the following context.
• ·       There is nothing in the program that actively searches for, or prefers, such diachronic pivot effects, but they often do seem to emerge at points of modulation.

This article reminds me to consider the tonal colour of each chord, especially with regard to any modulations that overlap through the use of a pivot chord.

Stephen A. Crist – Review.

• ·       Demonstration that Bach frequently emulated his models in a highly idiosyncratic manner. This serves as a corrective to the long-held and widespread notion that Bach was the ‘perfecter’ of musical genres.
• ·       The truism notes correctly that Bach worked within a strongly defined set of conventions, and that he is not known to have invented wholly new genres and forms.
• ·       Suggests that Bach effected the culmination of these genres: that he inherited compositional models and, by dint of his extraordinary intellectual and musical powers, brought them to full maturity or perfection.
• ·       Bach did not handle the materials of music in a neutral manner – simply ‘cleaning them up’, as it were. Rather he often adopted the phrase ‘composing against the grain’. By this he means that frequently ‘Bach can be seen to intervene against the received idea behind a style or genre, therby altering its value and identity.’
• ·       Comparison of the Allemande from the French Suite in G major (BWV 816) with a true French allemande by Louis Marchand brings to light the peculiar features of Bach’s movement. Since Bach repeatedly takes French stylistic features and reinterprets them to his own ends, Dreyfus views this movement as ‘music composed by a surly foreigner, one who works not in respectful homage, but who…translates so as to betray.’

This article reminds me that Bach’s French suite is not completely accurate with regards to its origins and stylistic features of the dances at the time. Because Bach experimented while composing this suite and didn’t necessarily follow the social norm, it allows me the freedom to explore different interpretations in my practice.

Bibliography

Crist, Stephen A, ‘Review’, Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 52, No. 3 (University of California Press: 1999), pp. 627-633.

McKee, Eric, ‘Influences of the Early Eighteenth-Century Social Minuet on the Minuets from J. S. Bach’s French Suites, BWV 812-817’, Music Analysis, Vol. 18, No. 2 (1999), pp. 235-260.

Temperley, David, ‘What’s Key for Key? The Krumhansl-Schmuckler Key-Finding Algorithm Reconsidered’, Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 17, No. 1 (University of California Press: 1999), pp. 65-100.

Different playing approaches to Bach's Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 881

Daniel Barenboim

Barenboim’s interpretation of this prelude and fugue is incredibly romantic and expressive. In the opening melodic idea of the prelude, he leans into the second quaver each time, giving an almost sighing feeling to the phrase. He indulges in many rubatos, often at the ends of phrases. I personally think he takes too many liberties and over uses this idea although I am a firm believer that Bach should not sound metronomic. His playing style is not as clear as other interpretations as I think he focuses more on the elegance of the piece as a whole and on building the harmonic tension rather than the detailed polyphonic writing. However, some of his melodic phrasings are truly beautiful and I like his wide range of dynamics.

He attempts the prelude in a controlled manner but at a reasonable slow speed with carefully measured ornamentation. In comparison, the fugue has an increased tempo and Barenboim rubatos much less frequently. Each entry of the fugue is visibly defined with clear articulation and he effectively exaggerates some of the left hand rising arpeggiated figures, especially near the end of the fugue.

Glenn Gould

In contrast, Gould’s interpretation focuses very much on the polyphonic writing and less on the piece’s elegance as a whole. He performs the prelude at a lively speed and pushes the fugue on even more so although I think by doing this he loses some of the harmonic tension and style. His use of rubato is sparse and is only really used at the end of the fugue. I think his choice of tempo is a little relentless for this prelude and fugue, especially as he speeds through the thick modulations with such intensity that you almost miss them.

The dynamics are less diverse than Barenboim’s interpretation but Gould still maintains clear articulation throughout which helps to showcase the polyphonic texture of Bach’s music. His use of ornamentation is very sparse but combined with his impressive technical proficiency; he creates the purity that is associated with his playing style.

Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in F Minor, BWV 881

The Well-Tempered Clavier is a collection of forty-eight preludes and fugues written by J. S. Bach. The works are split over two books, each book containing twenty-four preludes and fugues in all of the major and minor keys. Each prelude asks for a specific technique from the performer in addition to highlighting different keyboard conventions at the time. Each fugue consists of melodic writing from either two to five voices, as well as incorporating other compositional techniques such as the use of canon and augmentation.

The F minor prelude and fugue from book two: BWV 881 is one of my favourites. The prelude is short at only 70 bars and its structure is determined by the regularity of the homophonic melodic phrases that it is built upon. Not only are these phrases regular in length, they also recur multiple times, allowing the material to become familiar to the listener’s ear. They are neatly contrasted through the use of sequence, changes in texture and key.

The first theme lasts for 28 bars and has a binary structure. It begins with a melodic idea that utilities three voices, opening in the tonic of F minor before passing through an imperfect cadence into E flat major at bar 16 and eventually ending with a perfect cadence in the relative major key of A flat, after a four bar sequence of arpeggiated semiquavers.

The second half of the prelude follows a similar pattern, beginning in the key of A flat major but modulating into E flat minor by bar 32. The melodic idea is developed further with a greater use of semiquavers and ornaments before a perfect cadence back into the tonic at bar 56, which triggers a recapitulation of the opening material. This recapitulation is short lived before a persistent passage of semiquavers takes over. The prelude finishes with a short codetta and a perfect cadence in the tonic key.

The mood of this prelude could be interpreted as a lively character because of the use of semiquaver runs and large intervallic gaps although I see the opening melodic figure as an almost sighing or longing feel, suggesting that Bach could have written it to be a very intense prelude. I also think that the appoggiaturas not only add intensity but also limit the speed of the prelude, possibly pointing towards a more concentrated mood.

 

In contrast, the paired fugue is 85 bars long and suggests a dance character, achieved through the stately use of quavers in the opening two bars, followed by a run of semiquavers. The melodic writing is again written for three voices and is introduced by the top voice in the tonic key of F minor. The middle part states the subject at bar 5 in the dominant key of C minor, before the lower part introduces the subject back in the tonic key at bar 12. A countersubject idea is introduced at bar 17, a descending fifths sequence that is reminiscent to the one in the prelude. This concludes the section with a perfect cadence in E flat major at bar 24.

The next section begins with the top voice stating the fugal subject in the relative key of A flat major, followed by the middle voice at bar 29 and the countersubject at bar 32. Both the fugal idea and the countersubject are developed and keep reappearing in various different keys and voices until the final repetition of the fugal subject in the dominant key at bar 72. The fugue finishes with a short codetta that includes the use of the countersubject.

The mood of this fugue could also be interpreted as having a lively character, especially because of the use of regular semiquaver runs and the non-legato opening melodic idea, which gives an energetic feel. I find this fugue very strict compared to the relative freeness of the preceding prelude, especially with the persistent fugal entries.

  

Bibliography

Bruhn, Siglind, Preludes And Fugues in Eb, D#, E, E, F, F (Hong Kong: Mainer Internat, 1993).

Burkholder, Peter, Donald J. Grout, and Claude Palisca, eds. A History of Western Music, 8th edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2010).

Cook, Nicholas, A Guide to Musical Analysis (London: Oxford University Press, 1987).

Kelly, Thomas Forrest, Early Music: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011).