Music 343—Encounter 8             Name:

Due Date: Monday, November 29, 2004

Readings—

• K Marie Stolba, The Development of Western Music
• Chapter 13—Renaissance Instrumental Music, pp. 218-223
• Chapter 16—Baroque Instrumental Music, pp. 270-298
• Chapter 17—Eminent Composers of the Early Eighteenth Century, pp. 302-305, 307
• Claude V. Palisca, Norton Anthology of Western Music, Vol. 1 (NAWM)
• NAWM 45-46, pp. 221-229
• NAWM 63-64, pp. 388-392
• NAWM 67, pp. 399-402
• NAWM 73-75, pp. 430-452
• Mattheson, Der vollkommene Kapellmeister (RESERVE)
• Part I, Chapter 3, Sections 49-83, pp. 103-110
• Part II, Chapter 13, Sections 79-142, pp. 451-468
• Dart, The Interpretation of Music (RESERVE)
• Chapter V, Style in the Eighteenth Century
• The Italian Style, pp. 86-93
• The Difusion of the Styles, pp. 93-94
• Donington, The Interpretation of Early Music (RESERVE)
• Chapter X, Later Baroque Ornamentation, Sections 3-5, pp. 175-179
• Chapter XXXI, Instruments of Accompaniment, pp. 359-368
• Chapter XXXVII, Dance Tempos, pp. 392-404
• Chapter LVII, The Violins, pp. 531-544

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I. Der vollkommene Kapellmeister

Early Baroque sources used the terminlogy of rhetoric (the art and craft of persuasive speech, practiced by orators and actors) to explain how composers could express an emotion by imitating the speech patterns associated with that emotional state. Later in the Baroque period, notions of how to express and move the affections evolved into a deeper, more “scientific” system known as the Affektenlehre (Doctrine of the Affections). One of the principal sources of information about the Affektenlehre is Mattheson’s Der vollkommene Kapellmeister. Based on Descartes’ scientific writings on the nature of the affections, Mattheson’s book takes each of the primary affections listed by Descartes and discusses the musical devices appropriate to express each one (see pp. 103-110). Mattheson goes even further, indicating that each musical genre, whether instrumental (see pp. 451-468) or vocal (see pp. 431-448), is naturally suited to the expression of some specific affection.

Browse through the pages in the reading list above to find the information you need to answer these questions:

1. According to Descartes and Mattheson (on pp. 103-110), what are the six primary affections a composer should attempt to express? Give one specific example of how a composer might express a specific emotion?
2. Overall, what musical devices can a composer use to express emotions? For this question, I don’t want another example; I want you to look at all of Mattheson’s examples (on pp. 103-110) and figure out which specific musical elements (intervals? melodic figures? rhythms? tempo? other?) he mentions most often in describing how to express affections.
3. What is the point of Matthesons list of instrumental genres and the affections associated with each one (on pp. 451-468)? Why is this important? If you encountered one of these dance types in a Corelli sonata, how would this influence your understanding of the music?

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II. Baroque Performance Practice

The study of performance practice is vital to anyone who anyone who undertakes a career in early music performance—and very useful to anyone who listens to this music. Since your paper requires that you describe an early performance of a specific piece of music, it is crucial that you have some idea what that performance really sounded like! So where do you go looking for information on performance practice?

Many treatises on music and musical performance were written in the Renaissance and Baroque periods (not so many in the Middle Ages), and we have read excerpts from several of these in the past few Encounters. Modern scholars who make a careful study of these primary sources will often write books on performance practice that summarize their findings—a kind of one-stop source of information on performance practice. The books by Dart and Donington on the reading list above fall into this category. Dart’s book provides a brief overview of performance issues in all of early music, covering Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque; Donington’s book provides a much more comprehensive look at performance, but only in the Baroque era. These two books were standard sources for several decades, but in the past ten years, many other excellent (and more specific) books on performance practice have been published. Dart remains a helpful starting point, but if you can find more specific books on your time period, use those instead! If your piece comes from the Baroque period, then Donington remains a fine source.

What did performances of Corelli trio sonatas sound like? To give you some practice looking at books on performance practice and thinking about the sound of early music performances, read several excerpts from Dart and Donington to figure out how Corelli trio sonatas might have sounded. Check out Donington and Dart from the Reserve desk and browse through the pages from the reading list above to find the information you need to answer these questions:

1. According to information in Dart’s book, what important features of Italian style would have influenced the performance of a trio sonata by an Italian composer such as Corelli?
2. According to information in Donington’s book, what would Baroque violins have sounded like, and how would they have been played? What continuo instruments (see Instruments of Accompaniment) would have been used and what would they have sounded like?
3. According to information in Donington’s book, how much and what kinds of ornamentation would have been used in a trio sonata performance? How does this differ from the amount of ornamentation used in a Corelli solo sonata?
4. According to information in Donington’s book, what tempos would have been appropriate for the dance types encountered in Corelli trio sonatas, especially allemande, sarabande, and gigue?

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Listening Report 8

Baroque Suite and Sonata

For the listening portion of Quiz No. 6, I will play excerpts from Corelli sonata movements. For each excerpt you must first describe important style features, including:

• tempo (fast or slow?)
• meter (duple, triple, or compound?)
• anacrusis (yes or no? short or long?)
• instrumentation (one or two violins?)
• continuo instruments (organ or harpsichord continuo?)

On the basis of that information you must identify:

• the most likely movement number (I, II, III, or IV?)
• the movement type (French overture, allemande, sarabande, gigue, or fugal?)
• the type of sonata (solo sonata or trio sonata? sonata da chiesa or sonata da camera??)

Before you listen, use Stolba Ch. 16 (pp. 292-293) and either the History I Stack or the Baroque Sonata Listening Guide below to determine characteristic features of Corelli’s sonatas, including the number and order of movements (for both church and chamber sonatas) as well as the typical form, tempo, meter, rhythms, and character for each movement. Make sure you understand the differences between the sonata da chiesa (church sonata) and the sonata da camera (chamber sonata) and between solo sonatas and trio sonatas. The listening report sonata examples and questions below will give you practice recognizing each of these features. As always, you really want to read the NAWM notes and follow the score for every work from NAWM.

Each cluster of works listed below is accompanied by a set of questions. Your listening report consists of your answers to these questions. Listen as many times as necessary to provide complete answers to each question. Organize your report so that you discuss each work separately.

Listening List

Dances and Dance Suites

1) NAWM 63—Gigue: La Poste (Gigue)—CD4, tracks 42-43

• NAWM 63a—Ennemond Gaultier, Gigue: La Poste (Gigue for solo lute)—CD4, track 42
• NAWM 63b—Jean-Henri d’Anglebert, Gigue: La Poste (Gaultier gigue arranged for keyboard)—CD4, track 43

2) NAWM 64—Johann Jakob Froberger, Lamentation faite sur la mort...de...Ferdinand le troisieme... (Tombeau for keyboard)—CD4, track 44

3) DWMA (Development of Western Music)—RESERVE MCD D489 1998

• DWMA 102—Johann Froberger, Suite XXII in E minor (German Dance Suite for keyboard)—CD5, track 5
• Allemande—CD5, track 5 (at 0:00)
• Courante—CD5, track 5 (at 2:20)
• Sarabande—CD5, track 5 (at 4:03)
• Gigue—CD5, track 5 (at 5:16)

4) NAWM 67—Jean-Baptiste Lully, Le bourgeois gentilhomme: Ballet des nations (Dance suite)—CD4, tracks 49-50

• L’entrée des Scaramouches (allemande)—CD4, track 49
• Chaconne des Scaramouches (chaconne)—CD4, track 50

5) DWMA (Development of Western Music)—RESERVE MCD D489 1998

• DWMA 106—Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, Pièces de Clavecin, Suite in D minor (French Dance Suite for keyboard)—CD5
• La Flamande (allemande) & Double (French for a variation on the previous dance)—CD5, tracks 11-12
• Courante—CD5, track 13
• Sarabande—CD5, track 15
• 2nd Gigue—CD5, track 18

6) NAWM 73—François Couperin, Vingt-cinquième ordre (French dance suite for keyboard)—CD5, tracks 20-25

• La Visionaire (French overture)—CD5, tracks 20-21
• La Misterieuse (allemande)—CD5, track 22
• La Monflambert (gigue)—CD5, track 23
• La Muse victorieuse—CD5, track 24
• Les ombres errantes—CD5, track 25

Questions on Nos. 1-6:

• As you listen to each dance above, describe its overall mood and identify important style features, such as the use of tempo, meter, melody, texture, and so on.
• One of the early innovations in Baroque dance music was the development of an “international” dance suite. Taking the core of the basic mid-Baroque dance suite—allemande/courante/sarabande/gigue—in what country did each dance originate?
• Palisca uses the d’Anglebert version of Gaultier’s La Poste to introduce the style brisé, in which keyboard composers adopt the broken-chord figuration typical of music for plucked-string instruments. Which other keyboard works on the Listening List provide examples of style brisé?
• Except for the Froberger pieces, every work above was written by a French composer. Based on these works, what do you hear as important features of French Baroque style? In other words, what features do all of these works share?

The Sonata for Church and Chamber

Trio Sonatas

7) NAWM 74—Giovanni Legrenzi, Trio Sonata: La Raspona (Sonata da chiesa)—CD5, tracks 26-27

8) DWMA (Development of Western Music)—RESERVE MCD D489 1998

• DWMA 108—Arcangelo Corelli, Trio Sonata, Op. 2, No. 4 (Sonata da camera)—CD6, tracks 1-4

9) NAWM 75—Arcangelo Corelli, Trio Sonata, Op. 3, No. 2 (Sonata da chiesa)—CD5, tracks 28-32

Solo Sonatas

10) DWMA (Development of Western Music)—RESERVE MCD D489 1998

• DWMA 109—Arcangelo Corelli, Violin Sonata, Op. 5, No. 1 (Sonata da chiesa)—CD6, tracks 5-9

11) Arcangelo Corelli, Violin Sonatas, Op. 5 CD set—RESERVE MCD C824/5m

• Violin Sonata in F major, Op. 5, No. 10 (Sonata da camera)—CD2, tracks 13-17

Questions on Nos. 7-11:

• As you listen to each movement, describe important style features, including the use of rhythm, instrumentation, and melody.
• Based on the examples above, what are the most important differences between church sonatas and chamber sonatas?
• Solo sonatas differ from trio sonatas, of course, in the number of solo violins used. Besides this obvious difference, there are nonetheless other important differences between solo and trio sonatas. Based on your listening, what are they?
• These Corelli sonatas provide excellent examples of Italian Baroque style. Based on the Dart reading for Part II, your observations on French Baroque style above (for Nos. 1-6), and the Corelli sonatas you just listened to, what do you hear as the chief differences between Italian Baroque and French Baroque styles?
• Dart tells a story about Handel’s frustration with Corelli’s “lackluster” performance of a piece Handel wrote in French style. When Handel confronts him, Corelli explains that he simply doesn’t understand French style. It sounds as though Corelli was playing the French-style piece using the Italian style he knew so well. Based on your understanding of French vs. Italian styles, why do you think Corelli’s Italian approach made this French work sound so dull and passionless to Handel? What features were missing that Handel wanted to hear?

Baroque Sonata Listening Guide

Sonata da chiesa

Sonata da camera

Important Questions to Ask

Sonata da chiesa (Church sonata) —evolved from the sectional canzona —some movements subdivide into canzona-like contrasting sections       (see 1st movement of Op. 5, No. 1) —usually alternates fast and slow movements (Slow-Fast-Slow-Fast) —most solo church sonatas add a fifth movement, usually somewhere in the middle —continuo may use violone, archlute, and/or organ —binary (dance) form is usually not used
I—severe, majestic, solemn, or proud —a stylized processional	—slow allemande (andante = walking tempo, sometimes with walking bass!) —occasionally a French overture, often marked grave (see 1st movement of Op. 3, No. 10)
II—resolute or contented	—bright, fast fugue —duple meter —continuo participates in imitation
III—tenderly melancholic	—slow triple meter operatic aria —often uses sarabande rhythms
IV—light and carefree	—fast gigue or allemande (usually not labeled as such), occasionally a gavotte or balletto —imitative texture —the only church sonata movement where binary (dance) form might be used

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Sonata da camera (Chamber sonata) —alternates fast and slow movements (Slow-Fast-Slow-Fast) —movement order less predictable than sonata da chiesa —continuo may use violone, archlute, and/or harpsichord —most movements use binary (dance) form
I—Preludio, slow tempo	—often a slow allemande —similar in mood and character to the 1st movement of a sonata da chiesa
II—Fast tempo	—often an allemande or corrente (fast Italian version of a French courante)
III—Slow tempo	—sarabande or other slow dance —slow allemande used in Op. 2, No. 4 (DWMA)
IV—Fast tempo	—often a gigue, gavotte, or allemande —more homophonic than the last movement of a sonata da chiesa

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IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK
Tempo? fast or slow?	Meter? duple, triple, or compound?	Anacrusis? short, long, or no upbeat?	Instrumentation? 1 or 2 violins with continuo?	Continuo? organ or harpsichord?
HOW TO APPLY YOUR ANSWERS
Which movement?
I		slow, duple meter
II		fast, duple meter
III		slow, triple meter
IV		slow, compound meter
Type of movement?
French overture		slow, duple meter with dotted rhythms, sometimes with a short upbeat figure
Allemande		fast or slow, duple meter, often with a short upbeat figure
Fugal movement		fast, duple meter, with or without upbeat
Sarabande		slow, triple meter, without upbeat
Gigue		fast, compound meter, often with an 8th note upbeat
Type of sonata?
Solo sonata		1 violin with continuo
Trio sonata		2 violins with continuo
Sonata da chiesa		organ continuo and frequent use of imitative texture
Sonata da camera		harpsichord continuo and frequent use of binary (dance) form

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Extra Credit Listening—

• MCD C824/1—Sonate da chiesa, Op. 1 & 3 (London Baroque)
• MCD C824/5m—Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 5 (Andrew Manze)

Created 11/05/03 by Mark Harbold—last updated 11/17/04