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    (Articolo Chitarra) BONELL Carlos - Bach Masterclass (Guitar - Chitarra) PDF

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    Omar Sanchez

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    Gucter Vet (0 #S 19a! Style ang interpretation (i) In any discussion about style and interpretation several aspects must be considered: the Science of music through analysis and the study of historical evidence, and the Art of music through our imagination and feelings. The rela- tive weight or importance attached to each has always been ‘a matter of some controversy. On the one hand some argue that an intense feeling coupled to an artistic imagination ‘will produce a totally convincing performance; on the other hand others say that analytical probing allied to the historical evidence of contemporary practice are the most desirable means towards a musical performance. 1 think that one must consider all these aspects to arrive at a ‘musical performance convincing on alf levels, The closer music is to our own time and culture, the more familiar we are with its idiom and its feelings — with its intellectual and emotional core. But as the period of its creation recedes from us into the last century and beyond, so does our familiarity with it. We no longer share the same or similar society with its many inter-weaving layers ‘of common experience. Just as in language the same words acquire subtly different meanings with the passage of time, so itis with music. The same succession of notes can sound differently at different times. As an illustration, play example 1a and 1b firstly in the style of a De Visée gigue and then in the style of the Paganini Romance. Their thythmic and melodic similarity make them almost inter- changeable, although example 1a is the gigwe from De Visée suite in D minor, and 1b is the Romance from Paganini’s Grand Sonata. It is only our awareness of period and style that makes us play the music in period and style, and thus makes one sound quite different from the other. Musical phrases and ideas of another age have a signifi- cance which we may often misunderstand rather like a word which has changed its meaning, Here is where the Science of music comes to the fore: analysis and contem- porary accounts can and do illustrate the true sound and ‘meaning. It is the Art of music — our ability to understand ‘and project into performance through our feelings and imagination the intangible depth of music's emotive powers — which acts as an explosive catalyst upon the science of music. Without it, music is no more than an unlit pile of firewood. It is because the music of Bach can sound either so dry ‘and monotonous without a realization of the spirit behind the notes, or so ludicrous and artificial without an under: standing of contemporary style and performance practice, that it offers a fascinatingly vivid opportunity to grasp the principles of style and interpretation through an under- standing of the Art and Science of music. Consequently 1 will begin my discussion of style and interpretation by con: centrating upon the music of Bach with particular refer- tence to the lute works which are of special relevance to the guitar. Bach and the European style The influence upon Bach's music can often be clearly traced to various national traditions prevalent during Bach’s life-time and in the several generations preceding it ‘The dotted rhythms in the courante of the Ist Lute Suite, the gigue in the 2nd Lute Suite, and the allemande in the 3rd Lute Suite, are characteristic of these dance move- ‘ments in the French style. In contrast, the gigwes in the 4th and Ist Lute Suites are quite different. They consist of running passages in semi-quavers with no evidence of dot ted, angular rhythms, and are composed quite clearly in the style of the Italian dance movements. Bach mixes these styles quite freely: the Ist Lute Suite mixes the French style (prelude, and courante), with the Italian style in the gigue, as well as a German style in the allemande. It is worth noting that although Bach was very aware of these styles, he was always capable of investing these dance ‘movements with a counterpoint, developmental skill, and expressiveness which transcended the original models. However, he took for granted certain conventions of notation and performance which with the passage of time wwe could easily overlook or forget. In the French style dot ted notes are held longer than in any other style, even though they are rarely noted in this way. The faster the movement of the music, the more dotted it becomes. Fur thermore, even an innocent looking succession of even quavers was often played in a lilting rhythm. In the French style, music does not sound the way it looks. In example 2a Thave written out the courante from the Lute Suite No.1 as it was notated in the original manuscript. In example 2b 1 have written it out again approximately as it sounds. But why did Bach and others not notate their rhythms accurately? Firstly, Ex.2b shows it takes much longer to write out and is not easy on the eye. Secondly, since all practising musicians were aware of the conventions, this type of musical shorthand was perfectly understandable. In this respect it is rather like today’s jazz or rock music, which is never written out exactly as it sounds for similar reasons to the French Baroque. Recordings now ensure that a performing tradition cannot be lost. Prior to recordings we have to refer to witness accounts, compo- sers’ own writing and to the implication of the music itself to discover or rediscover certain performing traditions. Bach and Phrasing ‘A glance at many pages of Bach’s music suggests rather repetitive and square rhythmic patterns. Rhythmic shapes and accents, however, are not only determined by the main beats and bar-lines, but by musical phrases, which are often not ruled by the bar-line at all, Look at example 3 from the presto to the Lute Suite No.1. An accent on the first beat in each bar sounds repetitive, heavy and arti- ficial, In example 3 1 have phrased the passage, and sugges- ted light accents to shape and underline the phrasing. Notice that this phrasing is suggested by the repeating melodic and rhythmic pattern of the fugato theme which does not start on the bar-line, and spreads across 6 bars. Example 4 is an extract from the bourrée to the same Lute Suite as the presto. Here again, repetitive rhythmic pat terns could invite square accents. Example 4 shows the ex- tract phrased according to the melodic sequence in the a part, The intervallic shape in the first two phrases is similar, so a light accent as indicated underlines the sym- metry of the phrasing and gives rhythmic vitality. Example 5 shows the same arpeggio pattern three times in two bars. ‘A light accent on the notes indicated, shapes the phrases in the same way as the examples above In my next article I will continue to discuss aspects of style and interpretation in relation to the music of Bach and other composers. Example 1a. and b. (see text of paragraph 2) Diop oo ee Example 2a, Extract from the courante to Bach’s Lute Suite no. 1 BWV 996 ¥ Example 2b. The same extract written out approximately asiit sounds Pe a ne Sea ease : Example 3. Extract from the presto to Bach's Lute Suite no. 1 BWV 996 Example $. Extract from the allemande to Bach’s Lute Suiteno. 1 BWV 996 DANDA MUSIC CLASSICAL, ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC GUITARS Makes include: Lorca, Banus, Sanchis, Cuenca, Asturias, Hokada, Goya, Manson, tanez, Maya, Yamaha, Hondo Many accessories including transducers, strings, tuners etc. Large stock of guitar sheet music Lessons — Repairs — Tutor Books 282 High Street, Croydon. Surrey CRO 1NG. Tel: 01.686 2708 ‘A guide to developing technical precision and efficiency by the ‘analysing difficulties, reducing them to their simplest basi form, fand then, selected from an almost endless catalogue of possibilities, basic patterns of finger movernent which ean then be developed into exercises of any degree of simplicity or ‘complexity required Price £3.35 including postage & packing ‘Cheques/PO's should be crossed and made payable to ‘Musical New Services Ltd., Guitar House, Shaftesbury, Dorset. (Overseas readers please add 30p and ‘make payment by Bankers Oraft or International Money Order in tering) GUITAR SPECIALISTS Largest in Scandinavia. Always more than 1000 guitars in stock. ASSORTMENT Alhambra, Alvarez, Imai, Kohno, Ramirez, Sakurai, Solar Gonzales, Vilaplona, Gibson, Martin and many others ‘TAX FREE FOR TOURISTS The VAT included in our prices is to be refunded at the ferry and air terminals in Gothenburg, EXAMPLES. A Kohno 50 for the amount of £1400 would entitle you to a VAT refund of £266, i.e. your nett price would be £1134, Kohno 20 nett £785, Ramirez nett £890, Gonzales £485. The rate based on £1 = 10 kronor. Welcome to tax-free Gitarren. storget 10, $411 22 Gothenburg. Sweden “ot: 091-1103 11 Sk Goiter Vol (o #6 Tan. (484 Style and interpretation Bach : The quality of sound ‘Two fundamental aspects characterise the quality of sound in Bach's music: clarity and continuity. Clarity is of para~ ‘mount importance in contrapuntal music. In clear contra- puntal playing, the ear of the listener can and should be drawn to different lines at the will of the player by nuance and emphasis, and yet at the same time the listener should be able to sit back and listen to the music as a whole. It is rather like being able to enjoy the facade of a splendid aroque cathedral in all its majestic splendour, and at the same time being able to appreciate the extraordinary ornamental detail which characterises its stonework. To effect this clarity on the guitar with reference to contra- puntal playing: generally avoid a continuous use of lush sounds for extended periods of time. Lush sounds (i.e. ‘over the sound-hole) produce more overtones and sympa- thetic vibrations from unstruck strings which merely compound the problem of clear contrapuntal sound. This is not to say that you should always avoid the sound-hole in contrapuntal playing. Far from it. The danger is that you can (for the sake of clarity) end up having a rather hard, brittle sound from an area | - 2 inches to the edge of the soundhole. A continual use of this sound is tiring on the ear and produces a rather static and heavy impression. A static impression is a long way from suggesting a struc- tural sense in the sound of the instrument, which is so essential in Bach's music. A structural sense in music is suggested by a forward movement in the playing, and consequently in the quality of sound. A forward move- ment in the playing is encouraged by a light sound, closer to the edge of the soundhole, so that phrasing and accents are more easily articulated. If chis becomes the basic sound, contrasts to it from either side of this area of string are both advisable and essential. ‘The other basic feature of the quality of sound in Bach's ‘music, which I referred to in my opening sentence, is con- tinuity. By this I mean that seamless quality which comes over in the best Bach playing. Difficulties with smooth fingering, constantly varied phrasing and rhythmic patterns, and the characteristic differences of sound between strings, all these factors are absorbed and sub- jugated to an apparently effortless cont ‘Two other matters related to the quality of sound are also of some significance. In slow movements like sara- bandes a cantabile sound, often over the soundhole for whole sections, is very desirable. These slow movements are not often contrapuntal, and usually very expressive ‘The other matter concerns vibrato: a fast vibrato especially in the higher positions sounds out of style and faintly ridiculous. This is not surprising: vibrato was used very sparingly, and was considered a decorative embellishment For the Romantics, vibrato was an expressive device and a ‘means of enhancing the tone of the instrument. This accounts for its sheer frequency in Romantic music, and for the confusion of styles if it is employed in this manner in Baroque music. Bach and tempo The tempo of certain movements is obvious: a movement marked allegro is played allegro. Unfortunately, there are rot many movements like this in Bach’s lute works. Most movements are dance movements, with the exception of, preludes and fugues. None of these movements has any tempo indication, whether they be taken from the earliest manuscripts in Bach's own hand or in somebody else's. Furthermore, many of these dances changed in tempo dur- ing the space of several generations. In any case, there are no precise (metronomic) indications as to tempo, only des- criptions. Sarabandes and courantes were both fast dances in the beginning of the 17th century but had slowed down within a hundred years. Thus Thomas Mace in his list of dances (c.1676) described the sarabande as ‘‘more toyish and light than corantoes””. By the time Quantz (¢.1752) was describing the sarabande he was able to write “one counts for each crotchet one beat of the pulse”. The

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