By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)
Turn lead into gold. Write a dictation of Bach's chorale. Make others laugh. I forget which one. Maybe all.
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By Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene (get free updates of new posts here)
Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the greatest musicians throughout the music history. He was a supreme composer, organist and teacher. The Baroque period reached its zenith in the Bach’s music. In this essay, I will discuss reasons for the acknowledged greatness of Bach’s music. I will use specific examples from his various works. Bach was the universal composer. His universality was reflected in many ways. Bach’s music synthesized different influences. He composed music in almost all possible genres (except opera). However, some of his composition such as St Matthew Passion exhibits such a dramatic elements and compositional mastery that none of the opera could compete. He also composed both sacred and secular music (for ex: Cantata 80 and Musical Offering). Bach was also a transitional figure between the style antico and style moderno. Bach received his schooling that was still based on the trivium and quadrivium. This ancient university system came from Ancient Greece. Greek as well as Renaissance composer and philosophers believed that music reflects the cosmic harmony. Therefore, music in the Renaissance had a scientific approach. Compositions were based on the strict proportions and numerical symbols. The polyphonic texture dominated. Such style was well exhibited in music written by Palestrina. In the Bach’s life time, the attitudes had dramatically changed. Music was no longer reflecting the cosmic harmony. Music was assigned a new purpose – to entertain people. For this reason, music became lighter, the polyphonic texture was taken over by homophony, and horizontal thinking by vertical. Bach, however, was able to compose in both styles. For example, Bach’s first three chorales from the Clavierübung III (Kyrie, Christe, Kyrie), the large chorale “Aus tiefer Not,” the first fugue in E flat major (from the same collection) and the six-voice Ricecare (from the Musical Offering) exhibit influence of style antico. In these chorales Bach uses alla breve meter, pulse is in half notes. All these chorales demonstrate Bach’s contrapuntal abilities. He uses such contrapuntal devices as vorimitations, imitations, strettos, inversions, augmentations and diminutions. In pieces like these, Bach reveals himself as a scientist. In general, all of the pieces exhibit Bach’s architectural thinking and sense of symmetry and proportions. Bach’s architectural plan involves the general structure of every piece (for ex: large cycle such a Clavierübung III, or relatively short piece such as fugue form the Well-tempered clavier II in D major). Bach’s harmonic language is also well balanced. He was able to balance between the horizontal and vertical thinking (for example the six-voice Ricercare from the Musical Offering). Bach’s abilities to write in a new style are revealed in such compositions as the third movement of the Trio sonata (from the Musical Offering). Here Bach uses the dynamic contrasts, sigh motives, the texture is homophonic, general mood of this movement is light and elegant. The galant style is also well represented in the seventh movement of the Cantata 80 as well as in some chorales from the Clavierübung III. The other aspect of Bach’s universality is that his music synthesized different cultural influences. Bach was not afraid of studying pieces by other composers and borrowing their ideas. However, Bach not just simply took ideas by other composers. He also was able to expand upon them. As a result of this, his music received a new approach and the highest possible sophistication. Moreover, Bach was able to combine different influences in the same piece. The Italian (Vivaldi, Corelli/Italian concerto) influences are well exhibit in Bach’s use of the ritornello. This influence can be found in the second and fifth movements of the Cantata 80, in the Praeludium in E flat major as well as in many chorales (from the Clavierübung III), and also in numerous examples of the St. Mathew Passion. Bach not only borrowed the ritornello ideas from the Italian composers, but also the harmonic progressions. He actively used the cycle of fifths, usually cycle of fifths helped for Bach to expand the ritornello itself (through the sequences). Bach also was influenced by French music. This influence is especially evident in his French overture (from the Clavierübung II). Bach also combined French and Italian influences, for example: in the Prelude in E flat major from the Clavierübung III the beginning ritornello (Italian tradition) has dotted rhythms in the French overture style. Moreover, the central piece in this collection Fughetta super Wir glauben all an einen Gott is also written in French overture style. This example exhibits Bach’s architectural thinking (beginning and middle pieces of the Clavierübung III are influenced by French style). Another major influence on Bach’s music came from North German organ school. The features that it exhibits are brilliant virtuosity, alteration between strict and free, stylus fantasticus, and strong harmonic language with unexpected dissonances. There are many compositions by Bach that have these features (mostly in his organ works). However, the Prelude in B flat major from WTC I, has many features similar to those I have just mentioned. There are also other important things that must be said about the WTC. From many of his examples it is clear that subjects of fugues are related to the beginning of preludes. In the B flat major fugue the beginning of the subject is an inversion of the opening bass line from the Prelude. The subject of the D major fugue includes the same intervals and pitches as the opening of the prelude. Also it is important to mention that fugue in D major does not have a countersubject. This fugue (as well as his many other pieces) exhibits Bach’s compositional economy. In this fugue Bach exhausts all possibilities related to the subject. He works as a scientist, deriving entire piece from a short idea. It also exhibits Bach’s possibilities to write strettos and it is also very symmetrical. In the fugue in B flat major, Bach reveals his ability in writing countersubject and episodes. In this fugue he also uses double invertible counterpoint. It is also important to notice that Bach always carefully plans the climax in every piece. Usually the devices that help to create climax are: increase of voices, expanding the diapason, increasing harmonic intensity, building up the dynamic, etc. For example, in his fugues, climax is often built by using a few voice strettos. The dramatic exception of the traditional climax is the climactic part in the St Mathew Passion of the Chorus #78. Here in the most climactic point of the piece, the dynamic reaches the triple piano (ppp). This is a very unusual thing in the Baroque period. It reveals Bach as creative innovator and musical genius. Another noticeable thing about Bach’s compositions is his ability to write for different size of performing forces. For example, such collection as WTC requires only one instrument and a single performer. In contrast to this, the opening chorus from the St Mathew Passion requires double choir with the small third choir, and double orchestra (also the soloist for the later movements). This example also shows Bach’s ability to use entire space in the church. Bach also uses varied textures, for example in the Duets from the Clavierübung III there are only two voices, in the Ricercare from the Musical Offering Bach employs six voices. One of the most significant things in Bach’s music is his ability to write in the contrapuntal style. There are numerous examples from the pieces that we have studied in class that show how masterfully Bach uses the learned devices. I will briefly mention only a few, because I’ve already mentioned some. For example, in the chorale Jesus Christus unser Heiland (from the Clavierübung III) Bach incorporates two melodic lines in one voice at the same time: one descending and one ascending. This opening phrase is later used in retrograde, in inversion, and in the retrograde inversion. Another fascinating example of Bach’s polyphonic mastery is the fugue in E flat major from the Clavierübung III. This is a triple fugue where Bach not only writes three subject that he later combines, but also these subjects exhibit different types of fugues. For example: the first subject exhibits the style antico, the second subject exhibits the spielfugue, the third subject is dance type (gigue), and the combination of all these subjects makes it the art fugue. Moreover, all these subjects symbolize the Holy Trinity (1-the Father, 2-the Sun, and 3-the Holy Ghost). This entire cycle is full of the Trinitarian symbols, and this last fugue is the culmination of the entire cycle. The other fascinating example of Bach’s contrapuntal genius is his Musical Offering. I have already briefly touched the six-voice Ricercare, which shows Bach’s maturity. Another significant example is his ten canons. These canons are the most sophisticated musical puzzle, which requires a lot of intelligence and patience, while trying to figure it out. In five of these canons, Bach uses the other voices in canon. In the other five, he uses the Royal theme in canon itself. Another significant aspect of Bach’s music that makes him a genius is his creation of images and text painting. Bach used text painting in both instrumental and vocal compositions. The Cantata 80, the St Mathew Passion, and the Clavierübung III are full of wonderful examples of the text painting. In general, when text deals with pain and sorrows music becomes more intense, dissonant, and chromatic. In the St Mathew Passion, Bach often uses the symbol of cross. In the # 71, when before death Christ shouts Eli, Eli, lama, lama a sabthani, no strings accompany Jesus voice. There is significant image of the tears in #18. Another significant example is in the # 12 on the word snake. This movement is also full of the sigh motives. Another significant example is Bach use of tonalities in the chorale “O sacred head now wounded”. It appears a few times in the Passion, every time in the different key: # 21-E sharp major, # 23-E flat major, # 53-D major, # 63 F major, and #72 in a minor. As we can see, the keys move chromatically down in # 21, 23 and 53. It goes up to the F major in # 63. This section is the highest point of tension in the entire Passion. In the # 72, it reaches the lowest point which is the A minor, and is concluded on dominant instead of tonic. This happens right after the death of Christ. The last chord of Passion incorporates dramatic dissonant. All these examples (as well as many others) reveal Bach’s ability to express text and images trough music. The last example I would like to cite is from the opening movement of the Cantata 80. Here Bach keeps a constant canon between continuo and the oboe (bottom and upper lines). This canon surrounds the singers, and creates the image of God as almighty fortress. Here I should also mention that this and other cantatas by Bach served as musical sermons in the Lutheran liturgy in Leipzig. All these examples of the text painting reveal Bach not only as a genius composer, but also as a man of a great piety and deep theological knowledge. In addition, the opening movement of the Cantata 80 shows Bach’s strive to variety because he uses all possible combinations of voice entries. Most of the times, Bach in his music combines variety and unity. I think it would be impossible to cite all the significant examples from Bach’s pieces in such a short essay. However, I think that examples that I have cited give enough reasons for the acknowledged greatness of Bach’s music. These examples reveal Bach as a scientist, pietist, contrapuntist, and the greatest composer. They also show Bach’s strive for perfection in all possible ways. He carefully plans his pieces starting from an overall picture and finishing with the smallest detail. Nothing in Bach’s music happens by coincidence. Such collections as WTC and Clavierübung III are the most excellent tools for teaching different compositional and performance techniques. Finally, above all, the most fascinating thing about Bach’s music is that even though the scores of his music are so complex and sophisticated, the sound of his music is aesthetically pleasing and beautiful. Happy 332nd birthday, J.S. Bach! By Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene (get free updates of new posts here)
An hour ago I was having a harmony review lesson online with Victoria who is my student from California. We were discussing things like harmonic progression between tonic and dominant and vice versa and tonic and subdominant and vice versa. We did the most simple keys, like C major and A minor. Victoria understood that she also needs to work on other more complex keys with more accidentals. So for this we refreshed the concept of the circle of fifths. At some point our discussion went to minor keys and how to find them from the major key with the same number of accidentals. You need only to take the first scale degree of the minor key and go 3 steps upward to find the parallel major (an interval of minor third). For example, F minor and Ab major or B minor and D major. Simple. It's opposite, if you want to find minor from major key. Go 3 steps down from the 1st scale degree of the major key (and interval of minor third). For example, F major and D minor or Db major and Bb minor. Hope this helps. [Thanks to Victoria] Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #86!
Today's guest is a young and talented American organist and pianist Matthew Cates who is an avid lover and player of classical music - from Chopin and Rachmaninov at the piano, to Messiaen and Durufle at the organ. He has a huge passion for composition and improvisation as well. Matthew currently studies organ with Dr. Timothy Olsen as a junior organ major in the high school program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He won the Second Prize at the 6th Annual UNCSA/Salem College High School Organ Competition, where he performed works of Bach and Litaize. He also won two superior prizes for piano performance in the 2013 and 2014 ACSI competitions. Matthew started his piano study at the age of nine with Carly Karns. His passion for music continues and he is very dedicated to playing and performing music from the Baroque to contemporary compositions. In this conversation, Matthew shares his insights about the flow in performance, adjusting to tracker action and stories that organ can tell. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Listen to conversation By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)
We had spent about 30 minutes trying to connect for a podcast conversation. At first the technology on Zoom only allowed us to hear without seeing each other. Then I tried to make a video call on Facebook but without success. We finally decided to go back to Zoom and talk using audio only. It was worth it, I tell you. Here are 10 things I learned from Jeff Perks, concert organist and pianist from Charlotte, North Carolina, during our virtual cup of cappuccino together. 1. Sound delays. The first pipe organ that Jeff played in his youth was an instrument with a significant sound delay. Perhaps it had an old pneumatic action. He learned the hard way that you can't force the organ to play faster. Instead, you have to relax and follow your fingers and not sound. 2. Hand and feet coordination. One of the most significant challenges for Jeff when he first started playing the organ was coordinating hands and feet. Whenever his left hand played a downward melody, his feet also wanted to follow the same direction. Studying separate voices and voice combinations solved this problem. 3. Playing fugues. One of the first pieces Jeff learned on the organ was Bach's G minor fugue, BWV 578. We joked that even though the voices come in one by one here, the listeners tend to go out one by one and even in droves. He stressed the importance of knowing in which voice and key does the subject appear. 4. Dealing with panic during performance. In his early days, Jeff suffered several instances of anxiety during performance. Then he learned to control his nerves by concentrating on the music and breathing instead on the audience. 5. Playing with feeling. Whenever mistakes occur in a performance, they are completely natural, Jeff says. We shouldn't beat ourselves up for this. We can play with wrong notes, but we can't play without feeling, though. 6. People are rooting for us. When we are afraid to play in public, we should remember that in most cases our listeners are rooting for us. It's rare that our colleagues are observing our performance in secret wanting to criticize us. 7. Dealing with criticism. Sometimes young people are full of criticism. Jeff believes that this generally changes with age and maturity. People learn how to appreciate others who are putting themselves on the line. Organists who can play well never criticize others for making mistakes. It's those who can't play well that become critics. 8. Sharing the gift. In his current church Jeff appreciates the opportunity to share his gift with his parishioners. He believes that every organist should go out and play in public. Playing alone and hiding in the practice room is not sufficient for a development of a well-rounded musician. 9. Let them hear a variety of repertoire and stops. Jeff's new congregation previously only heard hymns during services and a standard set of registration combinations. What he likes the most about his new job is the opportunity to demonstrate a wealth of organ repertoire and a curious combination of stops. "I didn't know our organ could play like this", is a frequent compliment he gets. 10. The danger of copying. There is so much social pressure to become like the mega-church next doors - praise band, guitars, and synthesizers. We should all try to carve our own path of what we do best instead of blindly following the others, Jeff says. This applies to congregations and organists alike. Find your angle, your unique voice and others will later start following you. Look forward for a real podcast conversation with Jeff on March 26. By Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene (get free updates of new posts here)
Yesterday I went to practice to the church Bach's Eb major Prelude and Fugue, BWV 552. The biggest challenge for me was to adapt to the huge acoustics. It was the first time I played it in a space with such a long reverberation. In the past, I performed BWV 552 only in dry and relatively dry buildings: the Cornerstone chapel and Grace Lutheran church in Lincoln, Nebraska. Playing it for the first time at St. John's church in Vilnius for me was a surprise because I had to adapt my articulation and tempo. It seems everything must be played slower and more detached in such a space. Despite all these challenges, though, this piece is one of the biggest dreams for any organist. By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)
I've been experimenting with adding fingering and pedaling for some pieces I've been playing lately. Everybody will agree, it's such a tedious job. Not necessarily figuring out the fingering and pedaling. No, this part can be mastered to the degree when you can think very quickly. But editing, writing it on the score... Sometimes I would add fingering directly while looking at the computer screen. This is hard for the eyes and a slow process. Another method I use is simply to write down fingering with black pen directly on the score while practicing. Also slow but not as hard on the eyes. Today I found another way to do this: I recorded the first page of BWV 548 into an mp3 file where I literally said the finger numbers and pedalings out loud. It took me a little more than 9 minutes. Then what's left only is to notate it on the score. How do you write down fingering and ensure that you don't spend all day and night doing this? By Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene (get free updates of new posts here)
How would you feel being in one of the churches of Augsburg, Germany in 1591? There you might have heard Laudate Dominum by Hans Leo Hassler, a polychoral motet performed by a double choir based on the words of 150th Psalm. Each choir would be positioned on a separate balcony, creating stereo effect, sometimes singing in alternation, sometimes together (especially at the end). Hassler learned this technique from Andrea Gabrieli in Venice, Italy the organist at St. Marco who wrote music for multiple choral and instrumental groups. Can you imagine two choirs singing in this video? By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here) Have you tried to notate in notes your improvisations? Sometimes it's worth it. Usually not, though. Most of the time, my improvisations are not at the level of written down compositions. But very seldom you get a result you are actually proud of. Like this Meditation in D, Op. 35. I first improvised it as a prelude for church service here at St. John's. When I transcribed it to sheet music notation, I watched this video on YouTube at half speed in short fragments and wrote down everything I heard. It was like a long and complex 2.5 minute dictation. Do you have some recordings of your playing that you actually like? Perhaps it's time for you to transcribe it. PS It helps if you place the camera close to the keyboards so that you could literally see your fingers. By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)
How do you learn free improvisation on the organ? Simply by sitting down on the bench and trying to play something. Something interesting. If you can't play with both hands and feet, play without the pedals. If you can't play with both hands, play with the right hand only. If you can't play in the entire range of the keyboard, play just in two octaves. If you can't play in two octaves, choose just one octave. If you can't play chromatically, use white keys only. If you can't play in sixteenth notes, use eighth notes. If you can't play with eighth notes, use quarter notes. If you can't play in quarter notes, use half notes. If you can't play in half notes, use the whole notes. If you can't play with leaps, use stepwise motion up or down. Use rests to breath. Choose a simple meter and off you go. You see, there are no more excuses left for you to start to improvise. |
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
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