The Classical Music Book

109

See also: Missa l’homme armé 42 ■ Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott 78–79 ■ St. Matthew Passion 98–105 ■ Elijah 170 –173 ■

Fauré’s Requiem 210–211 ■ The Dream of Gerontius 218–219

harmony, reduced the need

for musicians to master such

complex techniques. However,

Bach, the preeminent practitioner

of counterpoint in the Baroque

period, considered the skill to be

so vital that he attempted toward

the end of his life to organize and

display the results of his knowledge

in works such as The Art of Fugue,

a cycle of some 20 fugues.

Principles of counterpoint

Much earlier, Bach had published

didactic works to teach keyboard

players counterpoint. These

included two collections of special

significance—the 15 Inventions

in two parts and the 15 Sinfonias in

three parts. In each of the pieces,

a simple opening melody is

presented unaccompanied and

then transferred to the other parts

(or “voices” as they are known,

even in instrumental music) while

the first part continues with a

complementary melody.

For the performer, the difficulty

of such works is not just to be able

to play the often swiftly flowing

parts with ease but also to be able

to balance the relative importance

of the voices, so that the listener

can appreciate the interplay and

BAROQUE 1600 –1750

experience a satisfying musical

performance. While these works

abide by the strict Baroque rules

that govern dissonance when

it is permitted (for instance, on

passing notes on weak beats),

their structure is relatively free.

Building a fugue

Bach was best known for his

fugues, which follow the same

principles but organize them ❯❯

The second fugue of Bach’s The

Well-tempered Clavier is in C minor.

Both sets of 24 preludes and fugues are

arranged in the 12 major and minor

keys between C and the B above it.

Preludes, fugues, and well-tempered tuning

Bach’s two books entitled The

Well-Tempered Clavier each

contained 24 preludes and

fugues in all the major and

minor keys. These provided

models that keyboard players

could use to develop their

proficiency and also celebrated

the range of keys that could be

employed using the tuning

methods of his time.

Tuning, or “temperament,”

was always a tricky issue.

A note one octave apart from

another sounds similar because

the sound frequency can be

reduced to a simple 2:1 ratio.

Frequency ratios between other

notes are more complex, so

tuning to a C major scale,

keeping all the intervals pure,

would make other scales sound

out of tune to slightly different

degrees. The mean-tone system,

used from c.1570 and based on a

pure third interval, worked well

only for 10–15 of 24 keys. The

well-tempered system was a

compromise, tuning to intervals

sufficiently equidistant to allow

for performances in all keys. The

modern equal temperament

system divides the octave into

equal, mostly impure intervals.

When tuning a piano, such as this

Schimmel concert instrument from

Germany, the tuner uses a tuning

fork or an electronic device to adjust

the strings to the required pitch.

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