Bach; Inventions and Sinfonias : Another look

[m1469]

I am taking a deeper look at Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias and have categorized the 2-part Inventions (to start with) in the following manner.  The ones with parenthesies or brackets around them have been placed into two different categories.   Perhaps other people have done similar things with them, or would like ?  I would be interested to see other people's opinions on this. 

m1469


Vocal                        

No 1 in C Major                     
No 2 in c minor                     
No 7 in e minor                  
(No 5 in Eb Major)                  
(No 9 in f minor)         
(No 11 in g minor)                     
(No 15 in b minor)                  
                           

Dance                           
No 3 in D Major
No 6 in E Major                     
[No 8 in F Major]
(No 9 in f minor)      
[No 10 in G Major]
(No 12 in A Major)
      

Idiomatic to the Keyboard

No 4 in d minor
(No 5 in Eb Major)
[No 8 in F Major]
[No 10 in G Major]
(No 11 in g minor)
(No 12 in A Major)
No 13 in a minor
No 14 in Bb Major   

[bernhard]

There is some evidence that Bach taught the inventions in the following order:

No. 1 in C – no. 4 in Dm – no.7 in Em – no. 8 in F – no. 10 in G – no. 13 in Am – no. 15 in Bm – no. 14 in Bb – no. 12 in A - no. 11 in Gm – no. 9 in Fm – no. 6 in E – no. 5 in Eb – no 3 in D and no.2 in Cm
 
Here is my take:

No. 1 in C – Mostly a didactic piece (and a compositional tour-de-force) where Bach exemplifies how to write a piece using a single motif. It fits the voice supremely well, so definitely “vocally inspired” piece.

No. 2 in Cm – Another “vocal piece”, this lyrical and beautiful piece is also a canon.

No. 3 in D – Again a vocal piece, and like no. 1 a predominantly didactic piece, where Bach goes out of his way to show how to work to its limits a short (six-notes) motif (bar1 is the motif, bar2 is retrograde inversion, and then through repetition variation and sequencing he goes on to build longer and longer phrases).

No. 4 in Dm – This is a “keyboard piece” exploring a variety of articulations. As in most of the inventions, following the motif through its transformations is always a joy (the motif here is a palindrome and Bach must have liked it, since he used it again as the second part of the subject in Sinfonia no. 2).

No. 5 in Eb – Written in invertible counterpoint. A keyboard piece and an excellent study in mordents.

No. 6 in E – Although this is clearly a vocal piece, it is also – and foremost – a graceful dance in binary form. Check out the “Courante” in the Em Partita for a similar dance.

No. 7 in Em – A beautiful, expressive vocal piece, this is a very good example (intentionally) of the use of long ornamentation as expressive means.

No. 8 in F – A virtuosistic (if we can use the term) keyboard piece, written largely as a canon.

No. 9 in Fm – Another beautiful, slow and lyrical vocal piece. The whole piece is in double counterpoint, once again showing Bach at its pedagogical best. Bach supplied (unusually) lots of slurs in the original autographs.

No. 10 in G – Both a dance (giga) and a keyboard piece, where most of the counterpoint is in the accents. Check out the French suites in Eb and G for similar gigas.

No. 11 in Gm – This is one of the most interesting inventions to analyse, since its countertheme is chromatic. Both a vocal piece (especially if played at a slow tempo) and a keyboard piece. This invention comes quite late in Bach’s teaching scheme, so now he starts mixing several of the elements that in the first inventions (following his teaching order) he kept isolated.

No 12 in A – Another dance (giga) doubling as a keyboard piece. Technically it is the most difficult of the inventions (when played at the fast tempo of a giga). As with the “dance” pieces” the rhythmic elements are given priority.

No. 13 in Am – Both vocal (when taken at a slower tempo) and keyboard piece (when taken at a faster tempo).

No. 14 in Bb – The interplay between the several version of the motif and its inversions are a true delight. This is both a dance and a keyboard piece. One of the few pieces by Bach where rubato is not completely out of place.

No. 15 in Bm – Another dance and vocal (on account of the lyrical section starting on bar 15) piece where the rhythmic elements predominate.

Summary:

No. 1 – Vocal
No. 2 – Vocal
No. 3 – Vocal
No. 4 – Keyboard
No. 5 – Keyboard
No. 6 – Vocal & dance (Courante)
No. 7 – vocal
No. 8 – keyboard
No. 9 – vocal
No. 10 – Dance (giga) & keyboard
No. 11 – vocal & keyboard
No. 12 – Dance (giga) & keyboard
No. 13 – Vocal & keyboard
No. 14 – Dance & keyboard
No. 15 – Dance & vocal.

(And before people get nervous, remember that this is all [informed  ] opinion)

I will come back later for the Sinfonias.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[m1469]

Thank you, Bernhard, for your response.  It is quite helpful for me to be able to compare my impressions with yours (somebody with an [informed  ] opinion), it helps me to gain some perspective on my own thoughts about them.  I, as well, will be returning with the Sinfonias.

Thanks,
m1469



Anybody else getting that sneaky urge to partake in this?  Got a little urge to categorize the Inventions and Sinfonias, hmmm ?  Gotta... gotta a little desire to post in this thread ?  Gotta little... desire to start a Bach project ?  Hmmm ?  How's that going for you ?  Gotta... gotta few thoughts have you ?  Gotta few opinions ?  Gotta an idea you wish to share ?  hmmm ?  Gotta... gotta a few Bach-Inventions-filled dreams ?  Maybe a little brainstorm developing ?  hmmm ?  Gotta a few insights rollin' around in that head of yours ?  Gotta little itch to dig out your book of Bach Inventions and Sinfonias and make a little more sense of them ?  ..... hmmmmmm ? Well ... okay then.   
 

[bernhard]

Just bumping this thread with some inspirational words:

“The player should be aware that he is contending with great music. These are not merely stepping stones on the path towards the Well Tempered Clavier. Phillip Spitta was right in insisting that they  are fully equal to the 48 in all but dimensions. And their modest size and scope are part of their peculiar charm. It is hard to think of any other time in musical history in which so rich a content has been poured into such a small framework. As a whole they form a microcosm of Bach’s art. Approached as studies in part-writing, they can be found to employ all the important countrapuntual devices: imitation, inversion, fugue, canon and double or triple counterpoint. But they are by no means strictly contrapuntual […] And the vertical aspect of the writing is throughout quite as compelling as the linear.”

(Richard Jones – preface to the ABRSM edition of the Inventions and Sinfonias).

Yes, contending with great music, indeed.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[bernhard]

Let us bump this thread:

[…]the music [inventions and sinfonias] must be felt emotionally and played expressively. The anti-romantic reaction in Bach interpretation had its value in clearing away excrescences, but the extreme at which Bach continuous flow was interpreted with sewing-machine rigidity was totally misconceived. These pieces are neither a dry set of exercises nor mere studies in counterpoint. The unique balance of heart and mind in Bach’s music needs to be faithfully reproduced in performance”

(Richard Jones – Introduction to the ABRSM edition of the Inventions & Sinfonias)

Sinfonia 1 – Just like Invention 1 was a compositional tour-de-force where Bach showed us how to build a whole 2-voice piece on a single motif, here he repeats the deed by using a single theme (the semiquaver figuration in the first bar) and using in almost all bars of the piece, direct or inverted. This piece is completely idiomatic to the piano.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[m1469]

he he, thanks Bernhard.  Thanks for the start on the sinfonias also.  I actually sat down to go through the sinfonias but about half way through I realized that about half of my decisions were that they were all three...LOL.  I got myself confused (like normal).

Okay, I will try it again.


m1469

[m1469]

Okay, here are my decisions as of yet.  These pieces are super tickley to me...


1 C Major:   Idiomatic 

2 C minor :   Dance and Idiomatic- this one has a slower tempo, but I felt its use of scalar bursts and trilling qualify it as fitting into the category of Idiomatic as well as dance.

3 D Major:   Idiomatic- the scalar nature is, agian, what lead me to view this as idiomatic

4 D minor:    Vocal- lyrical (I have a big crush on this one)

5 Eb Major:  Dance- Royal

6 E Major:    Dance, Idiomatic  (pretty fun)

7 E minor:    Dance, Vocal   (okay, so I have a crush on minor modes)

8 F Major:    Idiomatic

9 f minor:     Vocal   (I'm completely in love.. YAY for the picardy 3rd !!! )

10 G Major:  Dance, Idiomatic

11 G minor:    Dance

12 A Major:   Idiomatic, Dance (*ignorant thought here*... are there dances in "4/4" ?)

13 A minor:    Dance

14 Bb Major:  Vocal ? Idiomatic ?  maybe both, I am not sure.

15 B minor:     Dance, Idiomatic (I have a big crush, love the minor cadence at the end)


m1469


ps- doesn't anybody who might be lurking out there want to join in the fun ?  There's plenty of room in here and the water's just great !      

[00range]

Well, m1469’s repeated guiltings have pushed me off of my lazy rocker, and so I’m forced to partake! Also, it only makes sense that, having heard from Bernhard, and his informed opinion, we hear an uninformed opinion. Lastly, if it matters, I listened to Gould’s recordings.

Here we go (sinfonias):

1. Idiomatic
2. Dance, although the ornamentation sounds distinctly idiomatic of the keyboard.
3. Dance
4. Idiomatic
5. Vocal (an aria? Canon? Am I way off? )
6. Idiomatic
7. Vocal
8. Idiomatic
9. Dance
10. Idiomatic
11. Vocal
12. Dance
13. Vocal
14. Vocal
15. Dance

As hard as it was, I tried to limit myself to one choice per Sinfonia, although if I listened to them again, I doubt I’d come to the same conclusions.

[burstroman]

Hi, I dearly love these works and use them for daily warmup.  Yours is a welcome and thought-provoking approach.  Thanks

[m1469]

Well, m1469’s repeated guiltings have pushed me off of my lazy rocker, and so I’m forced to partake!

he he, well of course I am happy it worked.  I was not trying to guilt so much as I was just trying to be inviting and encouraging.   

Thanks for chipping in as well, burstroman ! 


*casts fishing line into the minds of the other lurkers and waits for another bite*  Be less shy, it's more fun sometimes.  There's still plenty of room in here for others (yes, even you) 


m1469

[bernhard]

Yes, of course you are right.

They are all of them, at different levels (which is what makes these little pieces such masterpieces – levels within levels).

So these are the most immediate levels (in my opinion of course)

Sinfonia 2 – A slow dance.

Sinfonia 3 – A fugue where every entry of the subject is combined with two countersubjects in triple counterpoint. A dance.

Sinfonia 4 – Another fugue, this time without regular countersubjects, and with the emphasis in the development of the subject. A most expressive piece requiring legato playing. Definitely a voice piece.

Sinfonia 5 – This is really a Sarabande. A dance piece foremost therefore. (for similar Sarabandes check out the Aria of the Goldberg Variations, and the sarabendes on partite no. 5 and the French Suite no. 5) However the beautiful lyrical subject make this an equally suitable for voice piece.

Sinfonia 6 – Another beautiful voice piece (compare with the preludes in E – WTC 1 and in A – WTC2).

Sinfonia 7 – Mostly a voice piece.

Sinfonia 8 – A lively fughetta, pretty much a dance piece

Sinfonia 9 – A dark and brooding piece, where chromatic writing predominates. (compare with the Gm chromatic variation in the Goldberg variations). This is a fugue with two countersubjects, and personally I do not think it can be classified as dance, voice or keyboard piece.

Sinfonia 10 – Another fast fugue. Idiomatic to the keyboard, but also a dance.

Sinfonia 11 – My favourite, this lyrical and hauntingly beautiful piece is definitely a voice piece (The Swingle Singers recorded it to great effect), but it is also a slow dance.

Sinfonia 12 – A lively fugue. Dance piece

Sinfonia 13 – A dance. Beautiful and elaborate counterpoint that just shows what Bach was capable of doing with the simplest of subjects. 

Sinfonia 14 – A reflective voice piece.

Sinfonia 15 – A brilliant character piece idiomatic to the piano.

Summary:

1.   Idiomatic
2.   Slow dance
3.   Dance
4.   Voice
5.   Dance (Sarabande)
6.   Voice
7.   Voice
8.   Dance
9.   None of the above
10.   Idiomatic – dance
11.   Voice – slow dance
12.   Dance
13.   Dance
14.   Voice
15.   Idiomatic

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[00range]

Would you be willing to go into what makes each piece stand out as a dance/lyrical/idiomatic? For example, when I sat down to answer, I was relying, for the most part, solely on the impression (which had usually settled into my mind within the first 10 seconds) the piece made on me.

I just can't imagine this is the best way to differentiate, even more so when dealing with Bach, so perhaps you'd be willing to further dissect one? 

[m1469]

Would you be willing to go into what makes each piece stand out as a dance/lyrical/idiomatic? For example, when I sat down to answer, I was relying, for the most part, solely on the impression (which had usually settled into my mind within the first 10 seconds) the piece made on me.

I just can't imagine this is the best way to differentiate, even more so when dealing with Bach, so perhaps you'd be willing to further dissect one? 

Yes, 00range, I was pretty much in the same boat as you describe and I too, would love to have Bernhard (sorry, I simply refuse to spell your name, Bernhard, with a lower case "b"...  he he) go through and thouroughly dissect one. 

BUT, I also have an idea.  What if we took our own decisions and go back through them and look for any trends we might find between the ones that we chose as fitting into the same categories of each other ?  We could then post our results of this investigation.  We would probably learn a great deal by doing this and we may even realize we want to change how we categorize some of them.  It is what I would like to do, anyway.

Thanks for your responses people 


m1469

[00range]

BUT, I also have an idea.  What if we took our own decisions and go back through them and look for any trends we might find between the ones that we chose as fitting into the same categories of each other ?  We could then post our results of this investigation.  We would probably learn a great deal by doing this and we may even realize we want to change how we categorize some of them.  It is what I would like to do, anyway.

Thanks for your responses people 


m1469

I'd be willing to give this a go.

[m1469]

I'd be willing to give this a go.

oooooooo, GOODIE    It is tickley again in my stomach.  he he

m1469

[00range]

Bump!

I sat down two days ago to re-listen to the Sinfonias, to try to break them down further to my ear, and was about halfway through the first grouping when my power shut off. After a day without power. (and a torturous one at that, digital pianos don't work very well without power )

Anyway, I'll try to free up some time by Monday-Tuesday to sit down with my CD player again.

In the meantime, a question that was nagging at me, was the why of it. I wonder if grouping the pieces in these categories serves more than an educational purpose - that is, does it help us to play them better, does it give us a more educated ear?

I'm sure someone will come and shine light on the matter, and until then I'll content myself with my ponderings.

[Barbosa-piano]

Bump!

I sat down two days ago to re-listen to the Sinfonias, to try to break them down further to my ear, and was about halfway through the first grouping when my power shut off. After a day without power. (and a torturous one at that, digital pianos don't work very well without power )

Anyway, I'll try to free up some time by Monday-Tuesday to sit down with my CD player again.

In the meantime, a question that was nagging at me, was the why of it. I wonder if grouping the pieces in these categories serves more than an educational purpose - that is, does it help us to play them better, does it give us a more educated ear?

I'm sure someone will come and shine light on the matter, and until then I'll content myself with my ponderings.

I believe this is a great idea, and I believe it helps us distinguish the different "styles" of Bach, so we can aim our work on each individually, and increase the knowledge on Bach's music, making it easier to solve problems in each piece by the experience of dividing it in forms. I have a very old edition here, published by Ricordi, of all of the Inventions and Sinfonias. It has a very detailed study for all of the pieces, explaining the structure of harmonies, and many other facts. I will see if it mentions anything about styles (categories)...
Mario Barbosa