Once musicians had begun to realize how dances could be developed into finished pieces, like the gavotte of Bach, which we discussed in the last chapter, they were quick to avail themselves of this advantage by combining several such dances into a group, thus making a composition of some length and dignity and yet of popular, easily comprehensible style. Such compositions, known in England as "Lessons," in France as "Ordres," and in Germany as "Suites" and "Partitas," became numerous in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The first historical step in the development of the suite was taken when the great violin-makers of Cremona and Brescia, in Italy, brought the violin to a wonderful mechanical perfection early in the seventeenth century. Virtuosos on this brilliant instrument were not slow to appear, and they dazzled their audiences with pieces known as sonatas, though having little in common with what we nowadays call a sonata. Theirsonata da chiesa, or church sonata, was a group of pieces, all polyphonic in character and derived from the old choral madrigals and canzonas; thesonata da ballo, or dance sonata, was a group of dance tunes; thesonata da camera, or chamber sonata, combined bothtypes. Gradually the first become obsolete, and the second and third took respectively the namessuiteandpartita, although the nomenclature was inexact, as suites often contained movements of strict and severe polyphonic style as well as dances. The greatest of the violin virtuosos was Arcangelo Corelli, whose "sonatas" retain their charm even for our modern ears, as may be seen from the sample of his work studied in the last chapter.
About the end of the seventeenth century the keyed instruments, such as the harpsichord, the clavichord, the spinet, and other precursors of our modern pianoforte, first reached the degree of mechanical perfection which enabled them to rival the violin; and it was accordingly not until then that important pieces for such keyed instruments began to be written. At the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth centuries, however, we find interesting music for these instruments by composers of several nations. In France Couperin (1668-1733) wrote what he called "Ordres," short series of pieces "in dance style, piquant in rhythm, melodiously graceful, profusely embroidered with embellishment;"[12]and he was followed by Rameau (1683-1764) with similar works. A curious whim of these French masters was the appending of picturesque titles to their pieces, such as "The Tambourine," "The Hen," "The Return of the Birds," etc.—a practice which anticipates the program music of to-day.
Italy had one extraordinary genius in this department of music, Domenico Scarlatti (1683-1757). He was amost brilliant performer on the harpsichord, delighted in all feats of agility, and loved to surprise and astonish his audience. In short he was a virtuoso, and his performances must have created the kind of sensation in the seventeenth century that Liszt's did in the nineteenth. "For vivacity, wit, irony, mischief, mockery, and all the category of human traits which Beethoven's scherzo served so brilliantly to express," says Parry, "the world had to wait for a full century to see Scarlatti's equal again." Some of the preludes, sarabandes, minuets, courantes, etc., composed by him, still retain their interest. His beautiful Pastorale in E-minor, and his "Cat fugue," written on a theme played by a pet cat running across the keyboard, are sometimes heard in recitals.
It was in the hands of the German masters, Bach and Handel,[13]however, that the suite reached its highest state. These two great composers, born in the same year, 1685, possessed not only the sense of technical effect which made Scarlatti great, and the high spirits, enthusiasm, and sense of proportion which are needed for the production of idealized dance movements such as Couperin and Rameau have given us, but they had great musical learning, and much experience in the use of the strict choral style of polyphonic writing, which they showed by introducing into their suites certain movements much more serious in style and exalted in sentiment than dances. The English and French Suites, so called, of Bach, and the Twelve Harpsichord Suites, or "Lessons," as they were called in England, of Handel, deserve to rank among the great masterpieces of musical art.
The six English and six French Suites of Bach, which deserve a more detailed study than any others, consist generally of from five to eight separate pieces or movements. The first, derived from the severer type of thesonata da chiesa, and thus, more remotely, from the choral madrigal and canzona (see above), is always more intricate and elaborate than the others. In the English Suite it is a long contrapuntal prelude, with imitations and sequences such as we studied in the invention and the fugue. In the French Suites it is an allemande, less elaborate but still dignified and impressive. We see this to be appropriate when we remember that the hearer is best able to follow intricacies when his mind is fresh and unjaded.
Bach: Prelude to English Suite, No. 3, in G-Minor.
The Motives: The thematic material out of which this prelude is developed is very simple, consisting of just two motives, which we will call (a) and (b).
Motive (a) (imitated through four voices.)
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Motive (b) (imitated by a second voice) measures 33-36.
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FIGURE XVIII. MOTIVES OF BACH PRELUDE IN G-MINOR
Note the effective contrast between the bold, assertive character of motive (a) and the more graceful character of (b).
Structure: The prelude divides itself into seven clearly marked sections, each ended by a well-marked cadence. Let us examine these briefly in turn.
Section I, measures 1-32, key of G-minor: Founded on motive (a), with many sequences which the reader should now be able to trace for himself.Section II, measures 33-66: Begins in G-minor, modulates to B-flat major, the "relative major." Motive (b) in soprano, measures 33-34; in alto, measures 35-36; in bass, measures 43-44. Motive (a), measures 35, 36, 37 (alto), 38, 39, 43, 44, 53, 54, etc.Section III, measures 67-98, key of B-flat: An almost exact copy of Section I, in a different key.Section IV, measures 99-124: Begins in B-flat major, modulates to D-minor, the "dominant" of the original key. Both motives tossed about from voice to voice. (The reader should locate each instance for himself.)Section V, measures 125-160: Begins in D-minor, modulates to E-flat major, thus giving variety of key in the middle part of the composition, which we begin to see is an important principle of form. (Compare the Gavotte of the last chapter.) Very similar in treatment to Section II.Section VI, measures 161-179: Modulates back from E-flat major to the home key, thus preparing the way for the final statements and conclusion. In measures 175-178 the insistence of the bass on the tone D, the "dominant" of the original key, will be noticed. Such an insistence on one tone is called a "pedal point," because so frequently found in the pedal part of organ music, and serves admirably here to prepare the mind for the triumphant return to G-minor in the final section. The rest of Section VI is made up of sequences, thus: 162-165, 166-169, 170-173; and then, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178.Section VII, measures 180-213: Almost entirely in the home-key, thus emphasizing the sense of finality. The bulk of this section is furthermore identical with Section I, thus affording a fine example of the principle ofrestatement after contrast.
Section I, measures 1-32, key of G-minor: Founded on motive (a), with many sequences which the reader should now be able to trace for himself.
Section II, measures 33-66: Begins in G-minor, modulates to B-flat major, the "relative major." Motive (b) in soprano, measures 33-34; in alto, measures 35-36; in bass, measures 43-44. Motive (a), measures 35, 36, 37 (alto), 38, 39, 43, 44, 53, 54, etc.
Section III, measures 67-98, key of B-flat: An almost exact copy of Section I, in a different key.
Section IV, measures 99-124: Begins in B-flat major, modulates to D-minor, the "dominant" of the original key. Both motives tossed about from voice to voice. (The reader should locate each instance for himself.)
Section V, measures 125-160: Begins in D-minor, modulates to E-flat major, thus giving variety of key in the middle part of the composition, which we begin to see is an important principle of form. (Compare the Gavotte of the last chapter.) Very similar in treatment to Section II.
Section VI, measures 161-179: Modulates back from E-flat major to the home key, thus preparing the way for the final statements and conclusion. In measures 175-178 the insistence of the bass on the tone D, the "dominant" of the original key, will be noticed. Such an insistence on one tone is called a "pedal point," because so frequently found in the pedal part of organ music, and serves admirably here to prepare the mind for the triumphant return to G-minor in the final section. The rest of Section VI is made up of sequences, thus: 162-165, 166-169, 170-173; and then, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178.
Section VII, measures 180-213: Almost entirely in the home-key, thus emphasizing the sense of finality. The bulk of this section is furthermore identical with Section I, thus affording a fine example of the principle ofrestatement after contrast.
Altogether this is a most interesting movement. In the great effect made with simple means we recognize again, as we did in the case of the invention and the fugue, the splendid power of Bach's mind. The principles of imitation of motives from voice to voice, of transpositions of a single motive in a single voice giving rise to the many sequences, and of restatement after contrast, all discussed in the first chapter, are illustrated more brilliantly than by any other composition we have thus far examined. Finally, in the variety of key of Section V, placed in the middle of the piece, and in the unity of key of the first and last sections, we get a striking anticipation of a principle of construction which we shall later see to be at the root of the most important of modern forms, the sonata-form.
After listening to such a movement as this we naturally wish to relax a little; and we are, therefore, pleased to hear a series of dances of various rhythms and qualities of expression, cast in simple "binary" or "ternary" forms, and either frankly homophonic in style or not too elaborately polyphonic. It is impossible to describe in detail here all the dances found in suites, but the table on page 68 will give an idea of the more important ones.
The gavotte studied in the preceding chapter gives an excellent general impression of the livelier dances used, which may be farther defined by a glance at such typical pieces as the bourr?s of the first and second English Suites, and the gavottes of the third English and fifth French Suites. There is generally also to be found in Bach's suites, introduced for the sake of contrast and in order torepresent the more emotional side of musical expression, a sarabande or other such slow, stately, and sometimes truly noble movement. Let us take, as an example of this element, the Sarabande from the second English Suite.