Chord Conundrum: Examining the Performance Practice of Polyphonic Figures in J.S. Bach's Solo Violin Works

<p>Interpreting and expressing the musical intentions of a composer in an informed manner requires great dedication and study on the part of a performer. This holds particularly true in the case of music written well before the present age, where direct connections to the thoughts of the composer and even the styles of the era have faded with the passing of time. Violinists today consistently struggle with studying and performing a set of works from the musical period referred to by scholars as the Baroque era (1600-1750), the Sonatas and Partitas for Violin without Bass accompaniment, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). These six works pose significant technical challenges in the form of sustained three and four note chords. Violinists and scholars have long debated the proper stylistic performance of these chords; a truly informed interpretation requires careful study not only of the instrument used during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, but also of scholarly writings from the time, and analysis of the works themselves.</p> <p>Prior to about the year 1600, vocal music was the highest regarded and most often composed of all musical literature. During the era referred to as the Renaissance (HOODOO), numerous composers wrote for instruments, but in general intended the instruments to accompany the voice, harmonizing or providing a countermelody to a madrigal. Furthermore, these composers often left the instrumentation - with the exception of keyboard accompaniments - open-ended, placing the sonority choice in the hands of the performer or allowing flexibility based on what instruments and musicians might be available. However, by about 1600, instrumental music began to gain prominence, in part resulting from innovations by two composers whose lives spanned a period during which musical styles changed significantly. In his operas, Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) assigned parts to specific instruments in the score, additionally expanding their importance in the musical texture (Burkholder 316). Giovanni Gabrieli (1554-1612) wrote many compositions for cori spezzati, or divided choirs, in which multiple groups of voices alternate singing sections of a piece. Noting its success with vocal ensembles, he applied the principle to works written solely for choirs of instruments (283). Out of such innovations came the composition of musical forms exclusively featuring non-vocal instruments: keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord and organ, certain wind instruments, notably the transverse flute and the bassoon, and the string family, including the lute, viola da gamba, cello, and perhaps most extensively, the violin (Boyden 98).</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Music Performance - Instrumental Concentration

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Schwob School of Music

Year dc:date.available

2011

Author dc:creator

• Vold, Emily

Contributors dc:contributor

• Andrée Martin

• Baroque
• Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Without Base Accompaniment
• Johann Sebastian Bach
• Renaissance
• Violin
• Music
• Musicology
• Music Performance

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/107

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:csuepress.columbusstate.edu:theses_dissertations-1107