An Interpretative Analysis of the Capriccio in B Flat Major, BWV 992, by JS Bach, with Specific Reference to Comparative Interpretations on the Clavichord, … (original) (raw)

Abstract

Hierdie verhandeling is moontlik gemaak deur die hulp en bystand van verskeie persone en organisasies. Ek wil my dank betuig aan die Universiteite van Durham, Cambridge en Oxford in Enge/and vir hul goedgunstige toestemming vir die benutting van hul fasiliteite. My dank aan die volgende persone: My studieleier, Prof D. G. Geldenhuys, vir leiding en volgehoue optimisme ondanks my wankelrige aanvangspogings. Frik Nothling, wat benewens gereelde raad en bemoediging, ook sy eie knap program onder verdere druk moes plaas om al die bindwerk en inhandiging namens my in Suid-Afrika te behartig. My vrou, Elmi, wat die pot in Enge/and aan die kook moes hou en wie se lie/de, geloof en ondersteuning met hierdie blaaie vervleg in die pad wat sy met my geloop het deur tye van moeisame vordering en twyfel. Aan alma! in Suid-Afrika en Enge/and wat ons so gereeld in hul gebede aan ons Hemelse Vader opgedra het, baie dankie. Soli Deo Gloria! This dissertation was made possible through the help and involvement of many different people and organizations. I should like to thank the Universities of Durham, Cambridge and Oxford in England for their generosity in allowing me to use their facilities. I am deeply indebted to the following people: My supervisor, Prof D. G. Geldenhuys, who remained optimistic in the face of my initial struggles. Frik Nothling, for his frequent advice and encouragement, but also for his willingness to sacrifice time in an already hectic schedule by arranging the binding and submission of the dissertation in South Africa. My wife, Elmi, who has earned our keep in England and without whose love, courage and support not one of the following pages could have been written. She has journeyed with me in my intellectual explorations and has been my inspiration in tortuous times of difficult progress and self-doubt. To all those in South Africa and England who prayed for us, thank you. Soli Deo Gloria! CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1 Introduction.

Figures (39)

In the following explanation of Figure 1, symbols are used to indicate lost sources which the sources and reproduced here, has been obtained from the NBA Knitischer Bericht,

The segregation of the above elements of performance practice is both necessary and will be made to present the positions, findings and interpretations of leading Bach amount of existing musicological data relating to Bach performance practice. An attempt This chapter proposes to provide a framework for the analyses and discussions in Chapters

As Bach never indicated chromatic alterations of the auxiliary for any of his trill symbols, The basic pattern of the trill is the alternation of a tone with its upper neighbouring tone.

These symbols, consisting of different variations of the chevron, are all strictly keyboard

would benefit from a livelier tempo than would be regarded as the norm today. principle, most authors seem to agree that both slow and fast movements in Bach’s music

The Affekt of this movement, as in all the movements of this piece, is clearly implied in the TABLE 1

‘xample 11), a fourth (measures 2 and 6 as seen in Example 12) and a third (measure 8 as

A good case can be made for treating the Vorschldge in this movement as grace-notes The following table gives an overview of the frequency at which different ornaments are

Taken from Neumann, Ornamentation in Baroque and Post-Baroque Music....,p. 44 “ .both mordents, even the second one which falls on the heaviest beat, might best be Neumann writes of the first two mordents of this movement (measures 1°” and 2"*) that

The Vorschlage in this movement should all be executed as grace-notes. The first two in total in the brief space of nineteen measures Ornamentation is a characteristic feature of this short movement of the Capriccio, The the fourth beat. This being the case, it seems justifiable to assert that the grace-notes do

The first trill of the movement (measure 17), is preceded by a grace-note. The grace-note main note. This trill and the similar one in measure 2° do suggest that the trills not similarly

realisation of measures 13-15, indicated in Example 19 on the next page, in which he lamentation implies a rather heavy, full-voiced realisation, with both hands striking as many

accompagnato. Bach uses a variety of tonal materials within the brief space of eleven bars modulatory and improvisatory in character, reminding strongly of Italian recitativo

The open tonality of the music (the movement begins in E flat major and ends in F major), confirms the dependency of movement 4 on the larger context in which it appears. It is

TABLE 6

process which characterise the last three movements and structure of the Capriccio as a whole, as it forms part of the gradual acceleration

be repeated.

sectional divisions represent the most likely interpretation of Bach’s intentions in this With regard to the sectional structure if the fugue, Rolf Dammann asserts that the following

complete expositions of the theme in all voices in sections 3 and 4, is in keeping with the from the fact that most melodic and rhythmic motifs in the fugue can be derived from these He continues to indicate the relationship of the different sections to one another in terms of

provides a graphic illustration of the tonal structure of the Capriccio, which is seen in

Much has been written in this study about Bach’s use of rhetorical devices. Rolf Dammann

FIGURE 3: Graphic illustration of the tonal structure of the Capriccio in B flat major. of the Baroque. From this perspective the open tonal endings of movements 2 and 4 is described by him as the use of the rhetorical device Clausula minus principalis (1984

place where the string is hit. A simple representation of this mechanism is provided in of the tone, which is produced on the sounding side of the string, depends entirely on the Clavichords manufactured before approximately 1710, made good use of the economic

the harpsichord. possible on the harpsichord. Figure 5 below gives a simple illustration of the mechanism of

Cline Of good and “bad” notes as set out in Chapter 3. In this instance, however, the nord. in all of the cadences mentioned above, a non-legato resolution in the bass is also metrical duplicity of the music seems to encourage such a breach of convention. The result

measure, as is indicated below in Example 23: (see measures 3-4) shifting their metrical position and starting on the third beat of the the first (with the proviso that no mordent is played on the third beat), thus maintaining the

he “good” and “bad” parts of the measure respectively (the fingering and articulation Movement 6, measures 1-4, taken from the Neue Bach Ausgabe. metrical implications of the theme would suggest the following articulation to emphasise

Key takeaways

AI

1. The Capriccio in B flat major, BWV 992, reflects J.S. Bach's early stylistic development during 1704.
2. Historical Performance Practice integrates musicological research with practical musicianship for effective interpretation.
3. The dissertation critiques source authenticity due to the missing autograph of BWV 992 and its manuscript lineage.
4. Chapter 4 offers a detailed movement-by-movement analysis, while Chapter 5 discusses instrument-specific interpretative practices.
5. The study aims to formulate informed interpretations of the Capriccio through a fusion of cognitive and aesthetic approaches.

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References (66)

1. Rhythm........................................................................................ 96
2. 2.5 Tempo.........................................................................................
3. 4.3 Movement 3................................................................................. 98
4. 3. 1 General Structural Analysis.......................................................... 98
5. 3.2 Affekt..........................................................................................
6. 3.3 Ornamentation .......................................................................... •...
7. Rhythm........................................................................................
8. 3.5 Tempo......................................................................................... BIBLIOGRAPHY
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