Domgles Binby edited by Roger Bobo BMP WS| ‘| | Eprtor’s ForwarD "Bach for the Tuba'’ was compiled with three purposes in mind. First, to provide an introduction to the music of Bach and the Baroque musical style in general. Second, to present material which deals with specific problens of tuba playing. Third, and most important, to give tuba players some really good music to play, rather than the usual boring etudes or poorly written solos. Volume 1 contains shorter pieces which may be used as exercises. Volume I! consists of longer works which could conceivably be used as jury or recital pieces. The technical problems found in these volumes fall into two main areas. Many of these pieces, especial- ly the longer ones, apparently have no place to breathe. These pieces are excellent for use in the development of breath capacity and control. Forcing oneself to play longer and longer groups of notes in one breath will re- sult in considerable improvement in these areas. In some cases, however, it will be impossible to play certain pas- sages in one breath. This problem may be attacked in three ways. First, the rhythm may be distorted to allow enough time to breathe, but this is neither stylistically correct nor musically satisfying, and should be avoided. Second, if the passage is not too fast, it may be possible to catch quick breaths between phrases. In fact, breaths of this type may be used as a means of accentuating phra- sing in order to give the music a sense of line. Third, when the music is too fast for quick breaths, it may be necessary to omit a note or two. This may seem odd, but the absence of a relatively unimportant passing note will disturb the music much less than a rhythmic breakdown. The second technical problem, and the one which is immediately apparent, is the extensive use of the ex- treme low register. This was done for two reasons. First, it was necessary to keep the proper relationship among the various contrapuntal lines. Second, the lowest register of the tuba is the most difficult in which to play fluently. In spite of this, there is little, if any, material designed specifically to develop this neglected register. These volumes should help to fill this gap. In this work, the notations "8 ba." and “opt. 8 ba.” are used. The first means that the passage should be played down an octave; the second means that the passage should be played down an octave if possible, but may be played where written if necessary.Since the Interpretation of Baroque music Is something foreign to most tuba players (indeed to many brass players), a few words about the style of this music should be helpful, The main areas of concern are dynamics, phrasing, and ornamentation. Instruments of the Baroque period, especially keyboard, were not capable of producing the wide range of dynamics of their modern counterparts. The music, therefore, had two basic dynamics: loud and soft. Although the dynamic indications in this edition are not limited to forte and piano, this principle of contrast has been retained. Bach himself seldom indicated any spe- cific dynamics, and players who disagree with those here should feel free to change them to suit their own tastes. Bach has been accused of writing "machine! mu- sic, and If not properly phrased, that is the way his music will sound. Long passages composed of constant moving notes actually contain many small phrases or motivic units, some as short as one or two notes. To give the music a sense of direction, these phrases should be made to stand out. This can be done without distorting the rhyth drive of the music by doing such things as catching quick breaths between phrases or accenting the first note of the phrase. Ornamentation is an integral part of Baroque mu- sic, and those who dismiss it as an unnecessary frill, rob this music of much of its elegance. Although Bach was more conservative in his use of ornaments than many of his contemporaries, what ornaments there are should not be ig- nored, A table or ornaments is included for those who are not familiar with the various symbols, and a few reminders will clarify some fine points. Trills always begin on the upper note. Virtually all ornaments begin on the beat, not before it. (There are a few, but not many, exceptions.) Grace notes usually are played on the beat, and receive half the value of the note that they precede. Mést of the ornaments must be played smoothly, or their effect is lost. In cases where a particular ornament cannot be played flu ently, another one should be substituted for it. All the selections (with the exception of the short arias in Volume 1) were transcribed from Urtext (un- edited) collections of Bach's works. They are presented complete (again with exception of the arias), and in the original keys, except where noted. All of the metronomic “markings and most of the dynamic markings have been added by the editors, and therefore should be taken only as suggestions. Doustas Boey Roser BozoTABLE OF ORNAMENTS Plain trill Short tril wa oy. Prepared trills Tri}ls with termination Mordants ~ eo Turns Appog:aturas Combinations ow aw tw NOTE: should be adjusted to fill the note value, and the time value of the note must not be altered (see examples In the bottom staff above). Although ornamented notes may vary In length, the ornamentBACH FOR THE TUBA Volume 1 om 1: Prelude i) BACH/BIxBy/B080 = 60 sempre Legato sempre p opt. 8 ba.) BMP 18 Corvnicnt © 1971 8y BRIGHTSTAR MUSIC PUBLICATIONS S11 NORTH FORMOSA AVENUE, WEST MOLLYWOOD, CA. 900462: Prelude opt. 8b = =e ee e ee ee ! ’ 31 Arla from St, Matthew Passion Jam P dolce BMP 18 PAria: Festo Ascensionis ae P dolce poco crese,cresc. sempre f poco rit. Je oe 5: Pretude etcresc. poco a poco ritPrelude sempre ff sempre legato ~ ow =a SSeS 1S SS SS cresc. 7: Chorale: Wer nun den liefen Gott Iusst walten BMP 18 tBMP 18 Prelude cresc. poco9: Prelude toco ” ~ ° eS = 2S" ftiw poco rit 10; Aria: Festo Epipha crese. ft10 rit. V1: Preludepoco rit. loco foro opt. 8 ba - -[2] 12: Arta: Dominica Misericordias Domini = 12013 13; Prelude Pesante _ Spee 2 dg ee ERE geass e ess if - o> FS == ~ 3 = ee wy = =p tee seaces SS "2 molto rit.Vit Prelude, W.T.C., Bk. 1, No. 9 + = 60 mp dolce BwP 1815: Sarabande Fuga deaEup 18 Psempre Sf BMP 18 fH]17: Prelude ds on Sf marcato loco a 4 sula7 185 Aria: mol to crese. eae Festo Annunciationes Maria " t 1 t opt. 8 ba.- BMP 18Pe == = S oe eS raaaaas pees 19: Prelude dssseapre jfral 20: Prelude, W.T.C,, Bk. Os oe oo af in No 1621s Bvp 18 Arias 132 Festo Michaelisez Chorale: Das alte Jahr vergangen Ist dee oe tf ae aS : ~ a ee See ae dim. ®P 23:Aria: Qui Sedes ad Dextram Patris[25]Meno nosso 73: S seapre f BMP 18 rit.El 2h: Laudaumus Te[23] Us FSsempre f 25: Prelude, W.T.C., Bk. 1, No. 1 des P simile BMP 18 crese.= = = = = = - => --- =BMP 18[33] erese. poco a poco ereseendo = = - = = = = - 2 - 26: Solfegietto (Ph, E. Bach)34