Bach articulation

[BuyBuy]

Hey everybody.

I am currently working on Bach French Suite #6 (my favorite one of the 6).

Has anyone played it ?

Some players (especially Gould, obviously) have an extremely crips and clear articulation (that means, staccato everywhere, pretty much), while some others tend to perform with a rather legato line.

What are the pros and cons of staccato/legato in Bach ? How would I know if I should interpret with more staccato or more legato articulation ?

[m1469]

Hey there.  Listen to several different recordings with a fresh score in hand for each one.  Mark in everything they do.  You will find that there are absolutely no rules (many people want rules and try to make rules).

There are several things to think about.  But because I am in a big hurry, I will try to keep it very brief.

Stacatto vs. Legato

I see these two articulations as a means to give contrast.  The melody, or motif, should stand out and often times one might use legato in 1/16 note passages, with stacatto or marcatto accompanying, but ALWAYS listen to see if it is achieving the desired affect.

However, this should never be a rule.  It would be quite silly to hear that the entire way through.

I have to go, will write more later

m1469

[rph108]

When playing Bach I suggest you use portato for longer notes such as a quarter of eighth note. Portato is a type of touch where 50 to 75 percent of the note value is played. There should always be a rest in between notes, not connected. Faster notes generally are played less portato and more legato because it requires more time to play portato.

[rph108]

Oh, and Gould usually uses portato.

[m1469]

how interested are you in this subject Buy Buy?



m1469

[sharon_f]

I'm also currently working on the E major French Suite, which I love.

My teacher and I have spent a considerable amount of time talking about and exploring not only articulation, but ornaments and pedalling.

Performance practices usually have longer notes played non-legato. Now non-legato can mean staccato or marcato or portamento...and almost anything in between.

Try each dance with different touches and articulations. Listen to various recordings. I love Glenn Gould's interpretation, but I also love Alicia de Laroccha's. Look at different scores. (Even the much-maligned Schirmer edition can give you different ideas on articulation and phrasing.) Read as much as you can about Bach performance pratices. You'll see how much they've changed over the years.

Ultimately it comes down to you. The choices are yours to make. Make the piece your own.

I personally have found the most difficult thing about this suite is to make the entire suite balanced so that tempo, dynamic range, rhythm, pulse connect each dance with the one before it and after. I try to even gauge how much time I pause between each dance.

Good luck and enjoy the process.