Dance and the Music of J. S. Bach, Expanded Edition

Natalie Jenne, Meredith Little

Description

An expanded edition of a favorite Bach book!

Stylized dance music and music based on dance rhythms pervade Bach's compositions. Although the music of this very special genre has long been a part of every serious musician's repertoire, little has been written about it.

The original edition of this addressed works that bore the names of dances—a considerable corpus. In this expanded version of their practical and insightful study, Meredith Little and Natalie Jenne apply the same principals to the study of a great number of Bach's works that use identifiable dance rhythms but do not bear dance-specific titles.

Part I describes French dance practices in the cities and courts most familiar to Bach. The terminology and analytical tools necessary for discussing dance music of Bach's time are laid out.

Part II presents the dance forms that Bach used, annotating all of his named dances. Little and Jenne draw on choreographies, harmony, theorists' writings, and the music of many seventeenth- and eighteenth-century
composers in order to arrive at a model for each dance type.

In Appendix A all of Bach's named dances are listed in convenient tabular form; included are the BWV number for each piece, the date of composition, the larger work in which it appears, the instrumentation, and the meter.
Appendix B supplies the same data for pieces recognizable as dance types but not named as such.

More than ever, this book will stimulate both the musical scholar and the performer with a new perspective at the rhythmic workings of Bach's remarkable repertoire of dance-based music.

Preliminary Table of Contents:

Preface to the Expanded Edition
Preface to the First Edition

Part I: Introduction
Chapter 1. French Court Dance in Bach's World
Chapter 2. Terms and Procedures

Part II: Bach's Dance Music
Chapter 3. The Bourée
Chapter 4. The Gavotte
Chapter 5. The Minuet
Chapter 6. The Passepied
Chapter 7. The Sarabande
Chapter 8. The Courante
Chapter 9. The Corrente
Chapter 10. The Gigue
Chapter 11. The Loure and the Forlana
Chapter 12. The Polonaise
Chapter 13. The Chaconne and the Passacaglia
Chapter 14. Dance Rhythms in Bach's Larger Works
Appendix A. Titled Dances by J. S. Bach
Appendix B. Dance Rhythms in Bach's Larger Works

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Musique
• Histoire de la musique
• Music
• History
• History of classical music traditions
• Criticism
• Multiple signal classification

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 27 janvier 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253013729
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Dance and the Music of
J. S. Bach
Music: Scholarship and Performance
Paul Hillier, general editor
Thomas Binkley, founding editor
Dance and the Music of
J. S. Bach
Expanded Edition
Meredith Little and Natalie Jenne

Indiana University Press
Bloomington and Indianapolis
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
Orders by e-mail [e-mail]
In chapter 7 , the translation by Patrick Ranum of Father Fran ois Pomey s Description d une Sarabande dans e is reprinted from Early Music 14/1 (1986) by permission of Oxford University Press.
1991, 2001 by Meredith Little and Natalie Jenne
All rights reserved. First edition 1991
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Little, Meredith, date
Dance and the music of J. S. Bach : expanded edition / Meredith Little and Natalie Jenne.
p. cm. - (Music-scholarship and performance)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-253-33936-7 (cl : alk. paper) - ISBN 0-253-21464-5 (pa : alk. paper)
1. Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750-Criticism and interpretation. 2. Dance music-18th century-History and criticism. I. Jenne, Natalie, date. II. Title. III. Series.
ML410.B13 L52 2001
784.18 82 092-dc21
2001016944
ISBN-13 978-0-253-33936-2 (cl.)
ISBN-13 978-0-253-21464-5 (pbk.)
4 5 6 7 14 13 12 11 10
To the memory of our remarkable teacher and dear friend, Putnam Aldrich
CONTENTS

PREFACE TO THE EXPANDED EDITION
PREFACE

PART I: INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1. French Court Dance in Bach s World
CHAPTER 2. Terms and Procedures

PART II: BACH S DANCE MUSIC

CHAPTER 3. The Bour e
CHAPTER 4. The Gavotte
CHAPTER 5. The Minuet
CHAPTER 6. ThePassepied
CHAPTER 7. The Sarabande
CHAPTER 8. The Courante
CHAPTER 9. The Corrente
CHAPTER 10. The Gigue
CHAPTER 11. The Loure and the Forlana
CHAPTER 12. The Polonaise
CHAPTER 13. The Chaconne and the Passacaglia
CHAPTER 14. Dance Rhythms in Bach s Larger Works
CHAPTER 15. Gigas

APPENDIX A: TITLED DANCES BY J. S. BACH
APPENDIX B: DANCE RHYTHMS IN BACH S LARGER WORKS
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
PREFACE TO THE EXPANDED EDITION
We were aware when the first edition was published that we had not completed our work on dance and the music of Bach. In Bach s music, it is easy to feel the forceful or at least graceful swing of the dance, not only in his titled dances but throughout much of his other music. In this expanded edition we identify and describe dance qualities in pieces without dance titles but which seem dance-like, using the tools developed in the earlier edition. We felt like treasure hunters as we reviewed the fine new recordings of the cantatas and other works, in search of pieces incorporating dance rhythms; indeed, the search was personally enriching as well as productive as we danced the dances with Bach.
We made no changes to material present in the first edition beyond the correction of a few minor typographical errors. The new chapter 14 discusses pieces we consider to be bour e-like, gavotte-like, sarabande-like, minuet-like, passepied-like, French gigue-like, loure-like, and forlana-like. Chapter 15 discusses gigas, both Giga I-like pieces which we could tie to a titled giga, and a few Giga II-like pieces though not directly related to titled gigas.
In order to clarify our methods and avoid subjectivity, we list for each dance type the specific characteristics which signal that type of dance when no dance title is present. These checklists are drawn from previous chapters in the book, with a few additions. Drawing on recent research on Bach s life and work, we have incorporated new dates, facts, and insights as necessary, and have updated the bibliography and index. We have also deleted the old Appendix B and replaced it with a new one which lists mainly pieces mentioned in chapters 14 and 15 . Appendix B is not all-inclusive, of course, and our choices are to some degree subjective. In considering the many pieces with dance qualities not included here, we realize that Bach undoubtedly knew and was influenced by other dances, as yet unknown to modern scholars.
We are grateful to friends and colleagues for their continued insightful responses to our questions. Erich Schwandt was particularly helpful in reviewing earlier drafts of the new material, as were George Houle, Don Franklin, and Bronwen Pugh. We profited from presenting a portion of our work at the Cambridge Bach Colloquium held at Harvard University in April, 1999, learning from comments and criticisms of those attending. Our families, as always, deserve high praise: Hilda Jenne, Milt and Louise Jenne, John Little, Tamarack Little, and Bernice Little.
We dedicate this expanded edition to the people of Saxony, in commemoration of the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche in Dresden.
PREFACE
In an age when it was fashionable to dedicate works of art to wealthy patrons or rulers, Johann Sebastian Bach offered his Clavier-Ubung to lovers of music, for their spiritual enjoyment and for the refreshment of the mind. 1 For almost three centuries lovers of music have responded to Bach s creations with a sense of their romance, drama, adventure, and intrigue with surprising resolutions. And, as lovers will, they have invariably searched for greater intimacy, for more knowledge about the structure of the music and more understanding of its inner qualities.
Clavier-Ubung I and II contain seven large-scale works for keyboard-six Partitas and Overture in the French Style -which together include forty titled dances (seven allemandes, seven sarabandes, six gigues, four correntes, four menuets, three courantes, three passepieds, two gavottes, and two bour es, Tempo di Minuetta, and Tempo di Gavotta ). Scholars agree that the Partitas illustrate Bach s complete mastery of the technical and structural features of Baroque dance music, as well as his consummate genius in bringing Baroque musical forms to a profound degree of expressiveness. Hundreds of titled dances by Bach have been preserved, and many more have undoubtedly been lost, including some that may have been part of the numerous symphonic and chamber works which have not survived. 2
It is clear that Bach devoted a significant portion of his life to the composition of dance music and that it was a serious interest for him. Yet until now there have not been any books which discuss structure and style in his dances, nothing which shows the choreographic origins of his dance forms, and no studies tying Bach s dances to those of his predecessors and contemporaries. Furthermore, there is no satisfactory history of Baroque dance music, and no comprehensive discussion of structure and style as it developed in dance forms in this period. Even the few books which deal with a single dance type, such as the allemande 3 or gigue, 4 treat only art music in a descriptive fashion and do not touch on such controversial but important topics as performance styles and the essential rhythmic characteristics of the dance.
The present book speaks to these needs by applying new information and analytical tools to characterize Bach s pieces with dance titles. At the same time it is also a source book on the structure and style of Baroque dances in general, with suggestions for performance. Part I lays the foundation for our discussions of Bach s dance music. The first chapter describes French Court dance practices in the cities and courts in which Bach lived, since most of the dance forms he used were choreographically alive and flourishing in Germany during his lifetime. The second chapter sets up terminology and defines the procedures used in Part II of this book. A new set of analytical tools is necessary in order to discuss dance music with precision. For example, the bour e until recently was still considered a piece in quick duple meter with a single upbeat, 5 even though this vague description fits numerous pieces which would never be considered bour es. Our system of analysis for temporal structure and dance rhythms enables one to make specific statements about particular places in particular pieces and to compare one piece structurally with another.
Part II presents the characteristics of the dance forms used by Bach, combining information from choreography, harmony, theorists writings, and the music of a variety of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century composers. All of Bach s titled dances are discussed. On some there is little comment, while others, more typical of Bach s mature style, require detailed analysis. The extraordinary variety of Bach s realization of the dance ideal demands this comprehensive approach.
As a personal word of advice, we urge readers not to intellectualize rhythm. Many problems arise when rhythm is analyzed as a thing to be understood by the mind, rather than as an activity perceived primarily by the body and only secondarily by the mind. One aim of this book is to encourage a feeling for the rhythms in Baroque dances so that the full strength of their vitality may be experienced, remembering that Johann Matthias Gesner once described Bach as a conductor by noting that he was full of rhythm in every part of his body. . . . 6
We are deeply indebted to the many peopl