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Dissertation
MUS 642
Dr. Dale Newkirk
Outline
I. Introduction
1. Historical background of the Sixth suites for
cello solo.
2. Stylistically characteristics.
II. Tempo
1. Basic knowledge
2. Why a musicians must have basic knowledge
in acoustic
3. How this science is related with music
III. Concert hall 202 Potll Annex
1. Experiment nr.1
2. Experiment nr. 2
3. Experiment nr. 3
4. Conclusion of the experiment
IV. Conclusion for Music
I
1. Historical background of the Sixth suites for cello solo.
The score
The Six suites for cello solo by J. S. Bach are one of the most disputed scores in music
history literature. The first evidence of the six suites is the edition written by his wife Maria
Magdalena, in which are very few indications of slurs, phrasing or articulation. In the first
manuscript, for the sixth. suite is mentioned to be played by an instrument with five strings a
cinq cordes, not being said the name of it, but with the tuning if this instrument must be
C;G;D;A;E. The added string without doubt helps to overcome easily some of the technical
difficulties but the faze structures and polyphonic layers of the melodies require a separate
analysis in order to be clear for the player and for the listener.
Until now exist more than 80 edition of the suites each of them with different slurs,
articulation, phrasing, because each of this edition find a new ways of expression, for this paper I
will be using the German edition Werner Icking, Segburg for I consider it one of the most
accurate and close to the first edition when comes to indications of bowings and articulation.
This edition that I am using has also dynamic markings but the editor mentioned that most of
them wear added so they are subjective because in the manuscript they are not written. One of
the people who contribute to general organization of the dynamics in music from that period was
Leopold Mozart, quote1 the notes raised by sharps or natural signs should be played more
1
Bach. J. S. Text Volme. In B.Schwemer,&D. Woodfull-Harris, Suites a Violoncello senza Basso Bwv1007-1012.
Basel Barenreiter Kaessel (2004). Pog. 39
loudly, and those lowered by flat sign should be set apart in the same way. Long notes
interpolated in strings of short notes should be played decrescendo, beginning f and ending in p
(L. Mozart 1756, p.219) end quote. Dynamics have an important role in fraise organization and
Especially the sixth suite, by volume and texture was called a symphony for the cello 2.
The D- major tonality is used by Bach at the end of the B minor Mass in Dona nobis pacem.
With the sixth suite he concludes the whole suite cycle using also D major tonality expressing
2. Stylistically characteristics.
Thematically and melodically analysis
Prelude stylistically is a cadenza-like movement, allowing the player to experiment with phrases,
tempo and articulation. This particular prelude from the sixth suite is challenging the virtuoso
qualities for the player, especially for its cadenza, requiring high technical preparation in order to
overcome the virtuosic and intonation difficulties. It in 12/8 measure and is one of the largest
prelude from the preludes of previous five. Most of the part is written in a continuous pattern of
three eights and even though we dont have tempo markings on the score, this tree eight pattern
suggest a lively tempo. It hard although a strict tempo because historically the Prelude was
introduced in the suite by Bach, so historically we do not have indications of tempo rather than
the fact that is a improvisation movement, in which the player has some room of freedom of
phrasing and managing the tempo. The process of tonicisation is applied for changing the
2
Mstislav Rostropovich declared during in his recording of the 6 cello suites from, Vaezelay, France, 1991.
tonalities within the sections, the tonalities are closely related to D major. This being said,
stylistically in Baroque music, the dissonance passages or chords, players used to slow down the
II Tempo
1. Basic knowledge
Evolution
The word tempo comes from Italian language and means time. Although in different areas of
society it used in several expressions, to indicate, rhythm, beat, or the moment of action.
In music the academic definition is: the speed at which a piece of a passage is performed. It
seems easy but has a much deeper meaning when it comes to apply this term. For understanding
the full complexity of this term we must research the historical evolution of this word and most
The earliest method of distinguishing the tempo was the human pulce. From her in the
Renaissance period in music it was established the Latin term tactus3 according to the theorist
Gaffurius in (1496) to determine the constant beat measure of the piece. But more important to
determine was the spirit of the piece, he represented the speed of the piece. The term of spirit
was often replaced with the term affect, which leads to an idea of how much important was
taking in consideration each pieces mood, because they wear using a very complex vocabulary
for this matter. For that period of time, the tonality was considerate an indication of the tempo
also. For example D-major had the spirit of joyous and very warlike4; somewhat shrill and
3
Tactus- up-and-down motion of the hand breading normally Performing Baroque Music, Mary Cyr, Amadeus
Press 1992,pag.30
4
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Regles de composition Paris, Biblioteque Nationale, (ca. 1682), nouv. Acq. 6355
stubborn, suited to noisy and rousing things5; songs of mirth and rejoicing6; ardent, proud,
Probably now we are more used to terms like , allegro, presto or adagio but very in the period
when they wear used the meaning of this terms also refereed more to the spirit rather than the
speed. For instance the indication of Allegro was describe as cheerfully; Adagio- not
faster then what was before; Largo- in a grand singing manner; Mouvement- spirit of
composition8 The tempo indication that we are using now as Allegro in Baroque period was
very often used, particularly by the publisher, as name for the movement of a piece9, without
Quantz10, a German music scholar of the time, established four categories of tempo and the
way they must be played. The guiding measurement that he used was the pulse, equal to a half
note. This term comes from the human heart beat he used for indication and added to him
I. 1 Pulse = half note - Allegro - Allegro assai - Allegro di molto - Presto - Vivace.
a lively , very light, nicely detached and very short bow stroke, especially in the
accompaniment, where must play more sportively that seriously in pieces of this
kind; and yet a certain moderation on the tone must also be observed
II. 1 Pulse =quarter note Allegretto Allegro ma not tanto Allegro non troppo
5
Johann mattheson, Das neu-eroffnete Orchestre (1713)
6
Jean-Philippe Rameau, Traite de Lharmonie, Paris 1722
7
Jean Benjamin de LaBorde, Essai sur la musique ancienne et moderne , Paris, 1780, pag. 28-29.
8
Sebastian Brossard Dictionaire de musique, Paris, 1703
9
J.S. Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 I-st movement (allegro);
Samuel Barber String Quartet II mov. (Adagio)
10
Cyr Mary Performing Baroque Music, Amadeus Press, Portland Oregon, 1992, pag.41
performed a little more seriously, with a rather heavy yet lively and suitably
vigorous bow stroke. In the allegretto the sixteenth notes in particularly, like the
eight notes in the Allegro, require a very short bow stroke, made with the wrist
rather than the whole arm, and particularly rather than slurred
III. 1 Pulse = eight notes Arioso Cantabile Soave Dolce Poco andante
executed quietly, and with a light bow stroke. Even if interspersed with quick
notes of various kinds, the arioso still requires a light a quiet stroke
IV. 1 Pulse = sixteenth notes Adagio assai Pesante Lento Largo assai Mesto
Grave
slow and melancholy requires the greatest moderation of tone, and longest,
Other practical indications for tempo, from that period wear considerate the dances, according to
the name of the dance and his style players choose the spirit. Two main schools of music
interpretation wear the most influential in this particularly aspect: French and German. Mostly
they established standards for the suites dances but they are slightly different on some aspects.
For instance the Allemande, In French was described as usually two beats per measure,
sometimes four,serious(grave)11 or four per measure slow but old fashioned12. The
Germans sugest for Allemande good order and calmthe image of a content satisfied spirit13
11
Brossard, Dictionaire de Musique (1703)
12
Rousseau, , Dictionaire de Musique (1768)
13
Metheson, Der volkommene Capellmeister (1739), transl. Harriss, 453-468
One of the first indication on the score of the time signature we find in C.
Monteverdis music14, this indication wear based on the principal Tactus which proportionally
One of the first devices for measuring the pulse was Pendumulus based on the human
pulse, and according to Tomas Maces description (1676), in order to manage the speed, they
used to change the length of the pendulum. This process was not to effective because sometimes,
The next important step was the invention of metronome in 1816 of Johann Nepomuk
Maelze, the principals of which are used until this days for the mechanic metronome. This lead
to a more precise measurement of the spirit and composers like L. van Beethoven wears one of
the first composer to use it in his works, more than that he published metronomic indications for
In 20th century period, where we find plenty of indications in the score, the term tempo
can be associated with pulse, probably in music the best definition for measuring the metrical
14
Claudio Moteverdi Madrigali Guerreieri et Amorosi, Venice, 1638.
space. In order to have the right quality, a good musical interpretation must have interior
pulsation, and this is not gist a steady tempo but a combination between metrical freedom and
control with physical feeling. That is why in 20th-century the composers like Bla Bartk John
Cage and Alberto Ginastera instead of using markings like beats per minute (bpm), they indicate
the total playing time. In this case the player has the freedom of expression inside of the score,
dictated by his personal pulsation or feeling, limited only by the spatial time.
help us, musicians understand much better our job and ourselves as man. Physical space is
critical for determining the right timing, as timing must be correlated with the specific space that
we have available for a performance. That is why first thing that a musician must take in
Each concert hall is different, that is why a good musician must know how to adapt to it,
because the same piece played by the same person in different space, will sound different. In a
dry hall with not such good acoustic proprieties the tempi must be taken faster, even the slow
movements. The music must fill the concert hall faster because the progression of the sound in
that hall has a small distance, so by playing faster you will push the vibration on the notes much
further in the public, than if you will play slower. In a hall with right acoustic proprieties the
player must play slower. A slow piece will have more space to resonate the fast movements
will sound clear and articulated. Especially for the fast movement of a pieces, a good musician
must find the right tempo, otherwise in a church hall for instance a virtuosic piece will sound like
a noise without no direction or sense, and the tunes will overlap each other creating no clarity at
all. For the player it very difficult to hear himself from the public position, but keeping in mind
this principals will help adjusting his repertoire in every kind of concert hall. It very important
although to understand that audience has a different perception of the music from player who is
playing because the distance from the sound source is different. The knowledge of the acoustical
rules will have an important role in the performance, not only the performance itself.
Music is life and the pulse is a characteristic of all living beans, so if your music does
The concert halls are different, a presto in the church hall must be different from concert
The first impression of the public is the pulse of the music which is played, and they
appreciate it from the first minute. Regardless of the field they study or work, people can easily
distinguish a good interpretation from a bad one first of all from the interior pulse of the music,
either they feel it or not. The other musical qualities have not less importance, but they need
first of all the support of time and space to have the possibility of existence. Besides the
metrical marking (3/4; 4/4 etc.) to find the right pulse in music, it necessary to define at least
The fraises must be clear for the player, and can be found by following the structure of
the harmony along with the melodical lines, voices and motives.
fraise or motive.
Accidental changings of tempo (accelerando; ritardando; etc.), must be constructed
proportionally and the player will have the perception of the two pulsation of tempo,
The pauses are part of the music, even a GP (general pause) must have interior
pulsation of the music, because it part of one idea, our job is to understand it.
In perfectly normal for the same piece will sound slightly different played by different
people. Important is that each of them has to convince thru their own interpretation that they play
Exact science like physics, math and biology are close related to the musical act and
knowing some of the major aspects from this materials can considerably increase the
performance.
Physics and math will give us information of how the waves of overtones series work,
this is also the biggest difference between a recording and a live performance. The exterior
factors like humidity and temperature play a major role in choosing the tempo and the way how
gets projected. The construction of the instruments and concert halls is based on certain physics
and math principals which must be taken in consideration, as an example for getting a loud
sound on a string instrument in necessary to have an proportional equation between speed and
weight (pressure) or finding the best spot on stage, according to geometrical measurements, to
Biology will lead to an organic and balanced act of interpretation. First of all knowledge
of our muscles and how to avoid physical discomfort is critical. In the long run only musicians
who could find the perfect balance between body and instrument perform more than others. The
anatomy of the body is important for the physiological pressure over the player. Emotions,
adrenaline and strength are one of the most decisive factors on the stage during the act of
performance. All three factors must be studied from the scientifically view and adapted to each
individual. At the end we are different, physiologically and psychologically that is why having
basic knowledge of this areas can improve the search of the balance between the player and his
The cello was playing the passages from the middle of the stage. The microphones wear placed in
the middle of the seats, two on the sides and one in the middle.
3. Experiment 3
The cello was playing the passages from the left side of the stage. The microphones wear placed
in the far backside of the seats, two on the sides and one in the middle.