This month the MIDI Connection is devoted entirely to music for the harpsichord. Most popular during the 18th century, the harpsichord differs from the modern piano in that the strings are plucked by a quill rather than struck with a hammer. This results in a tonal quality that is much more thin and sensitive than that of the piano. It also prevents the harpsichord from having any ability to achieve dynamics (play loud and soft.) In fact, the term "piano" is actually an abbreviated version of the modern instrument's full name, "pianoforte," which literally means "soft & loud," testimony to the fact that hammer technology permits full dynamics to be performed. To overcome this limitation harpsichord manufacturers began building instruments with dual keyboards and "couplers" that enabled a single keystroke to pluck multiple strings. Composers, as well, found that pseudo-dynamic effects could be achieved through the music itself in creating thick chordal textures where greater "loudness" was desirable.
Domenico Scarlatti and Johann Sebastian Bach were both born in 1685, in Naples, Italy, and Eisenach, Germany, respectively. Both were composers of the highest order and champions of the harpsichord. Their styles and approach to the instrument, however, were dramatically different.
Scarlatti lived the first half of his life in the shadow of his father, Alessandro Scarlatti, the well-known composer of operas and cantatas. It wasn't until after his father's death that Domenico began to display his unique and highly innovative keyboard writing. He wrote over 550 works for harpsichord, several of which were published in collections called Essercizi (Exercises). Today scholars call these works Sonatas even though they bear little resemblance to the form or scope of, say, the Sonatas of Beethoven or Schubert. Each is a two-part composition following an AABB form, spun from a single musical thread or motif.
This month we continue our exploration of these Sonatas with numbers 21 through 30 from Book 1, more specifically:
Sonata 21 in A minor K. 175, L.429
Sonata 22 in D major K. 140, L.107
Sonata 23 in A major K. 208, L.238
Sonata 24 in A major K. 209, L.428
Sonata 25 in E major K. 215, L.323
Sonata 26 in E major K. 216, L.273
Sonata 27 in F minor K. 238, L.27
Sonata 28 in F minor K. 239, L.281
Sonata 29 in G major K. 259, L.103
Sonata 30 in G major K. 260, L.124
(Scarlatti's Sonatas 1-10 may be found on Nautilus Vol. 2-4; Sonatas 11-20 on Vol. 3-3.)
It is particularly interesting to see how Scarlatti utilized massive chordal textures and fantastic dissonances in an attempt to make the harpsichord more expressive [e.g., bar 22ff of Sonata 21]. There can be little doubt that Scarlatti strove to convey emotion through his music and would not be satisfied until he had challenged every limitation of the harpsichord in his efforts. It was this uninhibited experimentation that secures his place in music history as more than just another court composer.
This month we also feature the Partita III from Clavierubung Part I of Johann Sebastian Bach. The term "Partita" is interchangeable with the term "suite." Both refer to a collection of stylized dances arranged for solo instrument or ensemble, in this case, the harpsichord. During his life Bach wrote four Suites for Orchestra, 18 for keyboard and several for solo cello (featured on previous NautilusCD issues) and violin.
Each suite or Partita follows certain conventions as to the order and type of dances used; and while terms like Allemande, Courante and Sarabande are foreign to us today, they were popular dance forms of the 18th century, much like the waltz or polka today. While the number of movements in any given suite can vary, all are in the same key.
The Partita III in A minor consists of seven movements as follows:
Fantasia (Fantasy, a freely composed introduction)
Allemande (German Dance, usually in moderate quadruple rhythm)
Courante (French Dance, characterized by dotted rhythms)
Sarabande (Spanish Dance, slow and stately)
Burlesca (Burlesque, humorous & bawdy)
Scherzo (Light and rapid, the term literally means "joke")
Gigue (Italian Dance, in 3/8 or a derivation thereof)
(Bach's Suite No. 1 for unaccompanied cello appeared on Vol. 2-7.)
As is typical of Bach's music, the polyphonic writing is both creative and impeccable and the ornaments never obscure the clarity of the melody. Unlike Scarlatti's, Bach's music is as pure and structurally correct as can be, his genius reflected in the almost mathematic precision of his music.
Where the heat of Scarlatti's passion can be heard in the Sonatas trying to overcome the constraints of the harpsichord, Bach's goal of an absolute music of technical perfection can heard in the Partita.
Next month: "Impressionism" with a trio of French masters.
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MIDI files on NautilusCD are stored in two popular formats - Standard MIDI (as designated by the file suffix ".mid") and MasterTracks Pro format (".mts"). We also include an audio only Video for Windows movie (".avi") so that you can audition the selection without need for MIDI gear.
