978-0393602517 Chapter 24

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CHAPTER 24

Process as Meaning: Bach and the Fugue

OVERVIEW

Chapter 24 introduces music for keyboard instruments in the Baroque era, focusing on

improvisational genres and the fugue. Bach’s The Art of Fugue serves to illustrate the process of

fugal composition at the height of this composer’s contrapuntal mastery.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. To understand the clavichord, harpsichord, and organ as the main types of keyboard

instruments during the Baroque era

2. To understand the proliferation of improvisational and contrapuntal works for keyboard

during the Baroque era, most notably the passacaglia, chaconne, prelude, and fugue

3. To recognize Bach’s Contrapunctus I from The Art of Fugue as an exemplary model of

fugal composition

LECTURE SUGGESTIONS

1. Show your class images and demonstrations of a clavichord, harpsichord, and organ, noting

the difference in instrument design, sounding mechanisms, and playing technique. The

website for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s instrument collection has images and

listening demonstrations: http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/galleries/musical-

instruments/684.

2. Before playing for the class the toccata from Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, ask

students to consider how improvised music might sound different from “composed” music.

Play the toccata and ask students to identify what gives them the impression that the music

seems improvisational. As a point of comparison, play Handel’s hornpipe from Water

Music from Chapter 22 and prompt your students with questions that further explore the

question of improvisatory pieces: how does form and the use of repetition affect the

improvisatory nature of a piece? What role does rhythm, melody, and harmony play in

establishing a piece as improvisational or not? The repetitive themes, form, harmony,

rhythm, and overall balanced structure of the hornpipe should provide enough contrast to

differentiate it from the improvisational idiom of Bach’s exploratory toccata.

3. Play the video selection of Contrapunctus I from The Art of Fugue featuring the Keller

Quartet. Ask students how the camera angles correspond to the subject and answer entries,

episodes, and pedal points.

ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS

1. The musical organization and relationships among the voices in a fugue contribute to the

genre’s great potential for symbolic and rhetorical interpretation. What kind of metaphorical

or symbolic meaning do you recognize in the Contrapunctus I from Bach’s Art of Fugue?

Why?

2. Because the development of motives is so central to contrapuntal composition, we

sometimes overlook the rhythmic aspects of strict contrapuntal pieces like fugues. Describe

the rhythm of the Contrapunctus I from Bach’s Art of Fugue. Do you find a connection

between the rhythms of the fugue and the various contrapuntal designs that define the

genre?

TEACHING CHALLENGES

The subject and answer entries of the Contrapunctus I from The Art of Fugue can sometimes be

difficult to detect in the organ recording of the whole piece, especially in the middle entries

(0:52–2:10). If this is causing problems in your class, try the video of the Keller String Quartet;

not only do different instrumentalists play the four-voice counterpoint, but the camera work also

assists students in recognizing the various subject and answer entries among the four voices.

SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY

J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893

J. S. Bach: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582

SUPPLEMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Marshall, Robert L., ed. Eighteenth-Century Keyboard Music. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2003.

A collection of eleven essays written by leading scholars of eighteenth-century music. The

first essay by Laurence Libin (“The Instruments,” pp. 1–32) is a helpful introduction to the

clavichord, harpsichord, and organ (among others).

Yearsley, David. Bach and the Meanings of Counterpoint. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2002. A fascinating exploration into the extramusical significance of Bach’s

counterpoint, with special focus on the fugues and canons.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Process as Meaning: Bach and the Fugue (Chapter 24)

I. Keyboard Instruments in the Baroque Era

A. Technological advances, new levels of refinement

1. musicians broaden techniques

B. Harpsichord

1. strings plucked by quills

2. tone not sustained

3. dynamic extremes not possible

C. Organ

1. German builders 1600s, 1700s

a. multiple keyboards

b. terraced dynamics

2. J. S. Bach: renowned keyboard player

a. sought-after consultant

b. famous for improvisation

D. Keyboard forms

1. toccata and prelude

a. based on improvisation (written out later)

b. showcase performer’s dexterity

c. highly contrasting musical ideas and tempos

d. often paired with organized form (e.g., Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by J. S.

Bach)

2. fugue: systematic elaboration of short musical ideas

II. The Fugue and Its Devices

A. Fugue: contrapuntal composition based on imitation

1. subject: main theme, unifying idea

2. answer: subject imitated in another voice

3. countersubject: different theme heard against the subject

4. exposition: first section, subject presented in each voice one time

5. episodes: interludes lacking the subject

6. contrapuntal devices: augmentation, diminution, retrograde, inversion, stretto

III. Bach’s Keyboard Fugues

A. Well-Tempered Clavier

1. two volumes: 24 preludes and fugues in each

2. intended as teaching aid: expressive and technical challenges

3. written for new tuning system

B. Contrapunctus I, from The Art of Fugue

1. 14 fugues, 4 canons

2. systematic exploration of fugal devices

3. contrapuntal mastery; ultimate achievement

4. keyboard music; also recorded by orchestras, chamber ensembles

C. Listening Guide 13: Bach, Contrapunctus I, from The Art of Fugue (1749)

1. four-voice fugue

2. fugue subject outlines D minor triad

3. extended middle section: false entries, overlapping of subjects (stretto)

4. final statement over sustained pedal

5. final chord: major (common feature in Baroque music)

Part 3: Classroom-Ready Activity 1

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

This classroom activity allows students to compare the stylistic differences in music of the

Renaissance and Baroque eras. The activity is designed to help students identify and understand

the general differences of rhythm, harmony, texture, medium, and genre between the two eras.

INSTRUCTIONS

This activity can work either as an individual or a group exercise. If you choose the group

option, divide the class into groups of three or four students. Explain that you will be playing

examples of music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Students are to decide, on stylistic

grounds, which examples belong to which era. They consult their worksheets to find out what to

listen for as the examples play. Play as many excerpts as you have time for. Here a few examples

from the textbook playlist (p. 113) that best fit the general stylistic categories of both eras:

Renaissance:

Du Fay: Kyrie from L’homme armé Mass

Josquin: Ave maria . . . virgo serena

Palestrina: Pope Marcellus Mass, Gloria

Farmer: Fair Phyllis

Susato: Three Dances

Arcadelt: Il bianco e dolce cigno

Baroque:

Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, “When I am laid in

earth”

Handel: Messiah, “Rejoice greatly”

Corelli: Trio Sonata, Op. 3, No. 2

Bach: Wachet auf

Mouret: Rondeau

Student Worksheet

Name:

Example 1

Rhythm:

Harmony:

Texture:

Medium:

Genre:

Stylistic Era:

Composer:

Date:

Title:

Example 2

Rhythm:

Harmony:

Texture:

Medium:

Genre:

Stylistic Era:

Composer:

Date:

Title:

Example 3

Rhythm:

Harmony:

Texture:

Medium:

Genre:

Stylistic Era:

Composer:

Date:

Title:

Example 4

Rhythm:

Harmony:

Texture:

Medium:

Genre:

Stylistic Era:

Composer:

Date:

Title:

Part 3: Classroom-Ready Activity 2

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

This group activity explores the Winter concerto of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as a way to

recognize this set of concertos as an early example of program music. Students in groups receive

the text of the poem that accompanies the concerto and must elaborate on the way in which the

music reflects the meaning of the words.

INSTRUCTIONS

Have the class form groups of three or four students, and pass out the student worksheet, which

includes a translation of the Italian sonnet that accompanies the concerto. As you play the Winter

concerto, have the students take notes on how the music reflects the meaning and words of the

poem. After playing the example, allow the groups about ten minutes to discuss their

interpretations. Call on each group to share its ideas with the class.

Student Worksheet

Name:

Vivaldi: Winter from The Four Seasons

Notes:

I. Allegro non molto

Shivering, frozen amidst the icy snow,

In the strong gusts of dreadful wind,

Running, stamping your feet at each moment,

And chattering your teeth in the frigid cold.

II. Largo

Spending quiet and happy days by the fire

While the rain outside soaks everyone.

III. Allegro

Sliding and falling to the ground with great force

Then running fast again over the ice,

Until it cracks open

Hearing Sirocco, Boreas, and all the winds

In war, closing shut the iron gate;

This is winter, but such also brings joy.

Part 3: Listening Quiz

Name:

1. Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Act III, “When I am laid in earth” (0:57–1:42)

Which of the following techniques is featured in this except?

a. Cantus firmus

b. Fugue

c. Ground bass

d. Da capo

2. Handel: Water Music, Alla hornpipe (0:00–0:56)

This excerpt is part of a larger piece called a .

a. Concerto

b. Fugue

c. Symphony

d. Suite

3. Billings: David’s Lamentation (entire excerpt)

In which context would this piece originally have been performed?

a. Congregational singing in colonial New England

b. Professional church choir in Leipzig

c. Amateur choir in Handel’s London

d. A convent in seventeenth-century Milan

4. J. S. Bach: Wachet auf, No.1, Chorale fantasia (0:28–0:45)

In this passage, we hear .

a. An instrumental ritornello

b. Sopranos singing a slow-moving chorale above a choral fugue

c. Tenors singing a unison chorale against a countermelody in the strings

d. A four-part choral harmonization of the chorale

5. Handel: Messiah, No. 18, “Rejoice greatly” (entire excerpt)

What is the form of this excerpt?

a. Binary

b. Da capo

c. Fugue

d. Bar form

6. Vivaldi: Spring, from The Four Seasons, I (0:32–1:06)

What is happening at this point in the excerpt?

a. The first appearance of the fugue subject

b. A return to the beginning (da capo)

c. A ritornello

d. A solo episode

7. Handel: Messiah, 44. “Hallelujah Chorus” (0:00–0:24)

This excerpt comes from a larger piece called a/an .

a. Cantata

b. Motet

c. Opera

d. Oratorio

8. J.S. Bach: Contrapunctus I, from The Art of Fugue (02:54–end)

Which statement best describes the musical texture at this moment of the excerpt?

a. Final statement of the subject over a sustained pedal on tonic

b. First answer of the exposition

c. Rhetorical pauses

d. Opening subject stated in the alto solo

CHAPTER 26

The Ultimate Instrument: Haydn and the Symphony

OVERVIEW

This chapter introduces the symphony as one of the principal instrumental genres of the Classical

era. Haydn’s Symphony No. 100 (Military) is a model of the style, form, and timbral effects of

the eighteenth-century Classical symphony.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. To understand the symphony as one of the principal instrumental genres of the Classical era

2. To understand the makeup of the Classical orchestra and its standardization in the

performance tradition up to the present day

3. To recognize Haydn’s Symphony No. 100 as a model of the Classical-era symphony

LECTURE SUGGESTIONS

1. Review the instruments of the orchestra in Chapter 11 and then compare the Baroque

orchestras of Chapters 22 and 23 to the standard Classical orchestra of Haydn’s

Symphony No. 100. Ask the class how these instrumental groups differ and what aspects

of the ensemble have changed or stayed the same from the Baroque to the orchestra of

Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

2. Before playing the second movement of Haydn’s Symphony No. 100, review the context

surrounding the first performance and emphasize to students that the second movement

was chiefly responsible for the titling of this piece as the Military. Have students form

pairs and ask them to consider, as the music plays, what kind of military story Haydn is

telling here. What musical cues and gestures narrate this story?

ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS

1. Haydn’s second trip to London in 1794 marked one of most successful periods in his career

and established his fame throughout Europe. His Symphony No. 100 was performed twice

that year and was lauded by the public, especially for the second movement. One newspaper

reviewer wrote: “Encore! Encore! Encore! resounded from every seat . . . it is the

advancing to battle; and the march of men, the sounding of the charge, the thundering of the

onset, the clash of arms, the groans of the wounded, and what may well be called the hellish

roar of war increased to a climax of horrid sublimity!” What characteristics of the music do

you think inspired such a response? Are there any remnants of Haydn’s battle music in

today’s movie and television soundtracks for scenes of war and conflict?

2. As your textbook notes, the second movement of Haydn’s Symphony No. 100 combines the

theme and variations design with ternary form (A-B-A´). In listening to the theme and its

subsequent variations, do you detect a motive emerging? At what point in the movement is

this motive most actively present?

TEACHING CHALLENGES

The second movement of Haydn’s Symphony No. 100 employs a rounded binary form in the

opening A section, which students may confuse with the full ternary because both are three-part

forms. Emphasize that the repeat of the b and a sections and the partial return of a are

distinguishable features of rounded binary form.

SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY

Stamitz: Sinfonia No. 8 in E-flat Major, Op. 11, No. 3

Haydn: Symphony No. 92 in G Major (Oxford), Hob. I:92

Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C Major (Jupiter), K. 551

SUPPLEMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schroeder, David P. Haydn and the Enlightenment: The Late Symphonies and Their Audience.

Oxford: Clarendon, 1990 (reprinted 1997). Schroeder places the London symphonies within

the cultural, social, and philosophical sphere of late eighteenth-century Europe, arguing for

Haydn’s awareness of the tastes and values of his London audiences.

Spitzer, John, and Neal Zaslaw. The Birth of the Orchestra: History of an Institution, 1650–1815.

New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. A comprehensive and well-researched early

history of the orchestra to 1815. For Haydn’s milieu, see Chapter 9 (“The Classical

Orchestra”).

CHAPTER OUTLINE

The Ultimate Instrument: Haydn and the Symphony (Chapter 26)

I. Symphony: “Ultimate Instrument” of the Classical era

A. Greatest expressive potential

1. remarkable timbral palette

2. most versatile, powerful resource

B. Early history of the symphony

1. roots in Italian opera overture

a. fast-slow-fast, became separate movements

2. German symphonists: added effects, expanded genre

a. “rocket theme”: aggressive, rhythmic; quick rise from low to high register

b. steamroller effect: drawn-out crescendos

c. minuet added; dance movement

II. The Classical Orchestra

A. Four instrumental families

1. strings: heart of the orchestra

2. woodwinds: provided varying colors, often doubled the strings

3. brass: sustained harmonies

4. percussion: timpani, rhythmic life and vitality

B. Eighteenth-century orchestra: thirty to forty players

1. size appropriate for the salon

2. interchange of themes between instrument groups

3. Classical symphony: like chamber music

C. Haydn Symphony No. 100 (Military)

1. Haydn composed more than one hundred symphonies

a. established four-movement structure

b. “father of the Symphony”

2. London symphonies: Nos. 93–104

a. masterpieces in the genre

b. expressive effects:

i. sudden crescendos and accents

ii. dramatic dynamic contrasts

iii. syncopation

3. Military symphony: associated with Turkish military music

a. military instruments, effects

i. percussion instruments: triangle, cymbals, bass drum, bell tree

ii. solo trumpet fanfare

b. Turkish Janissary bands performed in Vienna

c. cultural exchanges: Austrian Hapsburg Empire and Ottoman Empire

D. Listening Guide 15: Haydn, Symphony No. 100 in G Major (Military), Second

movement (1794)

1. Allegretto; (A-B-A´1) form

2. marchlike duple meter

3. A section: simple, graceful theme

4. B section: shift to minor mode, “military” sound

a. added percussion

b. sudden dynamic changes

5. coda: solo trumpet fanfare

a. drum roll leads to ff chord

b. full orchestra closing