THE SET OF 24 PRELUDES AND FUGUES DIDACTIC INTENTION OR CONSTRUCTIVISM?

Gabriela Vlaho ol! Ab"#ra$#% One of the most popular collection of preludes and fugue on all notes of chormatic scale, Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, belonging to Johann Sebastian Bach, represent the starting point of a long series of cyclical wor s with didactic purpose, made after the same pattern of tonal se!uence" #he didactic goal of the set, e$plicitly e$pressed by the composer in wor prologue, and structural organi%ation were important premises for subse!uent revaluation of bachian model" #his study aims to discover the relationship between teaching and constructivist side both in Wohltemperierte Klavier, but in its modern iterations, and the transformation over time of the original intent of the teacher Bach" &e'(or)": cycle, didactic, constructivism, Bach, modernism, tonality

!* I+#ro),$#io+ Das Wohltemperierte Klavier &iclul represents a collection of piano preludes and fugues, each of the two volumes containing 24 sets in all major and minor tonalities in ascending order (1722, 1744). The title of the paper refers to a new system of chording called e ual temper, where each octave is divided into twelve e ual intervals, method that replaced the previous one, meantone, where the tone of ! major and its relative were the only ones with pure intonation, while those with sharps and flats had relative intonation. "n the meantone tempered sound scale, each tone and semitone were significantly different, while the e ual temper avoids the perfect intonation through an e ual division of the octave, so each tone and semitone is e ual. #ach recogni$es the value of this new system, allowing greater freedom of modulation and use of chromatics, so that #he Well'#empered &lavier serves as a way to populari$e within the composing circles of the time the new methods of chording, a living demonstration of fle%i&ility and practical character of e ual sharing of the 'ey&oard. (owever, the cycle is an e%ample of #achian composing genius) despite perfect e%pressiveness of his music, as well as the attention to specific technical issues, it seems that #ach composed this wor' in the a&sence of the intended instrument, during a trip with *rince +eopold. 2* E),$a#io+al a" e$#" ,ohann -e&astian #ach is one of the first teachers of piano, who comprised collections of repertoires for teaching. .oreover, #ach organi$es many of these cycles of plays &ased on several e%haustive learning principles, including the design, technical, e%pressive and musical cultural area)
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*h/ +ecturer, 01eorge 2nescu3 4niversity of 5rts, "ai, ga&riela6vlahopol7yahoo.com

Klavierb(chlein f(r Wilhelm )riedemann Bach* is &ased on the se uence of plays &ased on their technical comple%ity, +nventionen und Sinfonien #89 772:;<1 ('nown as "nventions for two or three voices) are arranged in ascending order of tonalities, each volume covering eighth major tonalities and seven minor tonalities. #he Well'#empered &lavier, according to the allegations of the composer, is a collection that initially aims the pedagogical primacy, the wor' &eing designed for study and training the sons of #ach, and the secondary purpose is the idea of entertainment. The original title &ears the following inscription) for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already s illed in this study,. +i'e other pedagogical wor's of the composer, Well'#empered &lavier is a collection of wor's whose musical value is e ually significant as the formative one. 2ach play proves and at the same time proposes various issues in the pianistic techni ue= however, #ach does not sacrifices the musicality for the pedagogy, so that the theme of fugues are &oth simple and interesting, the motifs are s'ilfully developed and the melodic lines are graceful and harmonious at constructive level. The #oo' "" of the cycle, composed after twenty>two years after the first volume, is less focused on the pedagogical side, &eing clearly addressed to trained instrumentalists and not to young learners mentioned in the title of #oo' ". 5lso, #oo' "", in its printed score, does not have a decisive role in the e ual temper) since 1744, this new system was already 'nown and it did not re uire the special support of the composer. The stylistic diversity of the plays included in the cycle proves a fundamental didactic principle) the repertoire approached &y the student must contain enough variety, stylistic and formal wealth, so that he would &e highly motivated in his formative effort. "n terms of teaching, the two sets of preludes and fugues in Well #empered &lavier raise a num&er of technical and e%pressive pro&lems, whose solution is the foundation of a fair training of the performer of all time) a* -ir#,o"i#' : figural writing, &ased on formulas that evolve from simple to comple%, from rarefaction to rhythmic density, associated with the choice of tempo represent a technical challenge for the instrumentalist performer. ?n the other hand, the chordal homophony and polyphony develop the a&ility of multivocal e%ecution of the discourse, with temporal emphases of several sound interest areas placed in different registers. b* ar#i$,la#io+ : approaching the staccato, non>legato and legato techni ues according to the movement of the play, phrasing, intervallic composition of the melodic line or the indications of the score.
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The &oo' &egins with a preface that contains an e%planation of clefs and a guide to playing ornaments and two of the plays represents the only surviving wor's that feature the fingering in #ach@s own hand. A Das Wohltemperirte &lavier oder -r.ludia, und )ugen durch alle #one und Semitonia, so wohl tertiam ma/orem oder 0t 1e 2i anlangend, als auch tertiam minorem oder 1e 2i )a betreffend" 3um 4ut%en und 5ebrauch der 6ehrbegierigen 2usicalischen Jugend, als auch derer in diesem studio schon habil seyenden besonderem 3eitvertreib auffgeset%et und verfertiget von Johann Sebastian Bach" p" t7 8ochf(rstlich 9nhalt' &:thenischen &apel'2eistern und Directore derer &amer 2usi!uen" 9nno ;<**" -ource www.wi'ipedia.de

$* $o,+#er oi+# : &oth preludes and especially fugues develop the voices highlighting techni ue, independence of fingers and hands, as well as the simultaneously pursuing of melodic e%pressiveness and harmonic comple%ity. )* e. re""i-e+e"" > aspect with multiple &ranches and determinative elements) character of the play and its relation with the election of tempo, agogic fluctuations, phrasing in the polyphonic writing and the one of monody accompanied type, dynamics (influenced &y the capa&ilities of &aro ue instrument for which the wor' was designed or adapted to the tim&ral possi&ilities of the modern piano). e* /,"i$al i+#,i#io+ : element less uantifia&le of influenced &y e%ternal factors is &ased on the deep understanding of the aspects of historical, stylistic, aesthetic and psychological class. 0* S#r,$#,ral a" e$#" The clavier e%plores &oth the potential of tempered chording innovation, which, for the first time in history, put an e ual sign &etween the tonalities in the tonal system, and also the possi&ilities that the musical organisation develops due to the esta&lishment of the new tonal system. 2ach fugue is preceded &y an improvising prelude, where a particular melodic motif is developed and ornamented, often overlapped to a fi%ed harmonic pattern. ?ne of the elements of stylistic and formal diversity in Well #empered &lavier cycle is the correspondence &etween preludes and various forms and genres of dance music.
No* !1 No* 24 No* !2 No* 3 No* !0 No* 24 No* !! No* 1 Me+,e# Ga-o##e Aria Saraba+)e Gi4,e Trio5"o+a#a T(o -oi$e" i+-e+#io+ To$$a#a

Big. 1 ,.-.#ach > Well #empered Klavier &oo' "

The cycle Well #empered &lavier covers a typological diversity in the fugued writing, so the same type of fugue integrally repeated is not find as structure in the two volumes. Bugues is less developed than many other polyphonic wor's of the composer) they circumscri&e the whole assem&ly of techni ues specific to the fugue form, without the most comple% of them : stretto, augmentation and reduction : to &e imposed, as they seem to &e in other more comple% compositions. (owever, #ach uses significant rhythmic figures, derived in dance music, &y a great effect through their intrusion in the polyphonic writing.

5s the churches in #ach@s time were &uilt in the symmetric form, the concept of symmetry, which originates in the cross of !hrist, dominated the structure of the piece, penetrating deep into the constituting elements of music and the musical form itself. "f we divide the Well #empered &lavier + into two halves, we then notice that the concluding movement from each section is &uilt around an identical compositional concept) in section 1 (no. 12), all the twelve semitones are covered &y the su&ject and the answer, while in section 2 (no. 24), they are contained in the single su&ject entry. This can &e thought of as the sym&olic representation of the concept C @all the 'eys@. "f we e%tend our search into the details &y dividing the sections further, we find su&>divisions in threes, mar'ed &y the large fugues in minor 'eys, namely nos. 4, ;, 2< and 24 (no. 1D is not that su&stantial, however). Brom a different angle, we can also find a concept of symmetry in the num&er of voices used in the fugues) in each section there is one E>part fugue written in stile antico= "n the first section, there are seven A>part fugues (plus three 4>part and one 2>part), while there are seven 4>part (plus four A>part) in the second half. (@-even@ and @twelve@ FA % 4 or 4 % AG, often uoted as @holy num&ers@, seem to &e stressed here &y #ach.) 4* Pe)a4o4i$al i+#er re#a#io+" i+ 66#h $e+#,r' The e%ploration of various methods in piano pedagogy &ecame particularly important in the second half of HH th century, a phenomenon reflected in updating some important scores with pedagogical purpose. "n the case of #he Well #empered &lavier, there are many different editions of the two &oo's of preludes and fugues) /over, 5lfred, (enle, 1uild and -chirmer. The (enle edition (1ID;) is considered the most complete in terms of 'eeping the original intentions of the composer (4rte%t), &eing &ased on the study and research of the original manuscripts. #Jla #artK', one of the most important composers of the musical modernism, enforced respect for 4< years &y his dou&le profession of concert pianist and teacher, holding a particular vision on the act of learning. #artK' has trained many musicians and pianists who later enjoyed international recognition, &eing an outstanding piano teacher, &ut introverted, holding e%traordinary pedagogic principles and ideas, &ut they have never &een pu&lished systematically. (is wor's for piano, including 2i ro osmos, as well as the reprinting of a significant repertoire for piano, the most important &eing the one of #he Well #empered &lavier of #ach, are remar'a&le &y the wealth of teaching principles that they contain, referred in general &y detailed annotations. (is e%perience in the composing and teaching field determined #artK' to give up on the original tonal organi$ation &ased on the chromatic se uences in favour of a se uence of preludeLfugue type pairs &ased on technical and interpretative difficulties, the original num&ering &eing placed in parentheses. Thus, the edition of #artK' &egins with the -relude and )ugue in 5 ma/or,

considered the most easy and it ends with the couplet the most comple%, the -relude and )ugue in sib ma/or" "n the case of Well #empered &lavier ((uang, 1II4, p. E<), the edition of #artK' includes annotations organi$ed into four categories) a* Phra"i+4. #artK' uses some specific graphic elements indicating the phrasing : straight and curved lines, placement of each voice of fugue on a distinct staves, metrical modification >, references that, in the conte%t of a polyphonic multivocal writing, focuses on the musical structure, on the circulation of motifs in the segments of form.

Big. 2 8T! "")2E, Bugue in / major

b* Or$he"#ra#io+. The cycle of preludes and fugues Well #empered &lavier was designed for the e%ecution to organ and only occasionally to clavier, so that the tim&rality and interpretation must &e made in the sense of a sound as close as the one intended &y the composer. #artK' indicated in his score the e%ecution of chords e%panded and arpeggiated into a manner similar to that used at the clavier, suggesting at the same time to avoid an e%cessive sentimentalism, distorting the e%pression of the original instrument. ?n the other hand, the references to the sounds of organ are made &y using the pedal in some chordal fragments (process considered &y #artK' as e%treme option) or the suggestions for dou&ling the &ass line in octaves.

Big. A > 8T! "")17 5>flat major *relude

$* A$$e+#"7 )'+a/i$"7 a4o4i$ a+) e. re""io+ i+)i$a#io+"* The main types of accents used &y #artK'4 can &e classified into four categories ((uang, 1II4, p. E1)) initial sounds of the phrase, the most acute
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The numerous clarifications of metronomic and tempo class from the edition of #artK' provided a detailed and clear picture of the teacherMs vision regarding the speed of e%ecution of plays and hence on their character, considered the primary determinative factor in approaching the tempo. (owever, the score provides important suggestions of interpretation, mentioned &oth in footnotes and in the *reface and 5ppendi%.

sound with the most ample rhythmic value within the phrase the longest sound in the syncope formula and the complete chord in cadence. #ach@s clavier pieces do not often &ear tempo mar's. This is partly due to the domestic and educational nature of these compositions. 8hen learning pieces from the Well #empered &lavier, his pupils were e%pected to study not only how to play the correct notes, &ut also how to interpret individual pieces correctly. 5ll this is actually contained in the form of musical notation. The source of information resides in the use of a variety of time>signatures, the way the main motifs are shaped, and the way the te%ture is formulated. The tempo signs written in the Well #empered &lavier #oo' " are all e%ceptional cases, which are intended to clarify the composer@s intention. (ere #ach used five 'inds, namely 9dagio, 6argo, 9ndante, 9llegro and -resto) they appear in preludes no. 2 (-resto, 9dagio, 9llegro), no. 1< (-resto), no. 24 (9ndante) and its accompanying fugue (6argo). "t is important to note that they do not indicate the a&solute tempo, as we would understand it today. "n #ach@s time the tempo indication meant its emotional character, which in turn suggested the speed to which it &elonged. )* Fi+4eri+4. /iscovering a suita&le fingering, that is consciously and thoroughly chosen is one of the fundamental processes of o&taining an ade uate interpretation of the #he Well #empered &lavier, adapted to the individual level of e%ecution, as well as the psychological fund specific to every interpreter. The introduction in the #artK'Ms edition of a very detailed fingering wor' for each play, as well as the close connection with the phrasing results demonstrate the teaching intention of the new score revised, it articulates important structural references at musical level and ma'es connections &etween the sounds of the same phrase, &eing useful especially in the e%ecution of fugues for four or five voices. 8* Co+$l,"io+" ?ne of the main purposes of the teaching wor's of #ach is to demonstrate the universality of musical laws. The music of Well #empered &lavier can &e played &y musicians of all levels, providing important references at all formative levels of the interpreters) technical, e%pressive, stylistic.

Re9ere+$e"% 1. /y'stra, #rian ,ames (1IDI)) #he +nterpretation of Bach=s Well'#empered &lavier, Boo One7 9 Study in Diversity, 2astman -chool of .usic, 4niversity of Nochester

2. (uang, Bung>Oin (1II4) Bart> ?s &ontributions to -iano -edagogy7 8is @dition of Bach?s Well'#empered &lavier and +mpressions of )ormer Students, ?hio -tate 4niversity