MUSC 447 Comprehensive Exam Study Notes
Listening Repertoire Requirements
Score Access & Listening Directions: All required scores should be studied using IMSLP (imslp.org) while listening to recordings.
Johann Sebastian Bach Required Listening:
Partita in C minor, BWV 826
Toccata in D major, BWV 912
Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, BWV 859 (The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I)
Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 874 (The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II)
Chromatic Fantasie and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Required Listening:
Sonata in A major, W. 55 no. 4
Domenico Scarlatti Required Listening:
Sonata in D major, K. 96
Sonata in A minor, K. 175
Sonata in A major, K. 208
Sonata in E major, K. 380
Joseph Haydn Required Listening:
Sonata in D major, Hob. XVI: 33
Sonata in C major, Hob. XVI: 50
Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. XVI: 52
Early Keyboard Repertoire Genres (14th–17th Century)
Toccata:
Originating from the Italian verb toccare ("to touch"), the toccata is a virtuosic keyboard genre designed to highlight the performer's dexterity and touch.
Characterized by rapid scale passages, arpeggiated chords, broken-chord figuration, and contrasting sections alternating between free, quasi-improvisational textures and strict contrapuntal or fugal textures.
Ricercar:
An instrumental composition of the 16th and 17th centuries that served as a direct precursor to the fugue.
Characterized by strict imitation, continuous polyphony, and thematic exploration of one or more motives throughout the piece.
Prelude:
Originally an unmeasured or improvisatory introductory piece used by organists and lutenists to test instrument tuning and set the pitch/mode for church services or subsequent suites.
Evolved into structured independent keyboard works showcasing specific motivic, harmonic, or figural patterns.
Variations (Differencias / Partitas):
A genre based on the repeated presentation of a ground bass pattern (basso ostinato), harmonic scheme, or melodic theme, altered across consecutive variations through rhythmic intensification, ornamental figuration, and counterpoint.
Key Composers Associated with 14th–17th Century Keyboard Genres:
Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643): Italy. Master of the Italian Baroque toccata, ricercar, and variation sets (Fiori musicali, 1635).
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621): Netherlands. Central figure in developing the North German organ school, known for echo toccatas and vocal-style keyboard fantasias.
William Byrd (c. 1540–1623): England. Leading composer of the English Virgininalist school, famous for pavans, galliards, and keyboard variation sets found in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.
Dietrich Buxtehude (c. 1637–1707): Germany/Denmark. Influential organist and composer of North German organ toccatas, preludes, and chaconnes.
Historical Keyboard Instruments & Organology
Invention of the Fortepiano:
Credit for the invention of the first fortepiano is attributed to Bartolomeo Cristofori in Florence, Italy.
Approximate date of invention: c. 1700 (documented in an inventory of Medici family instruments in 1700; detailed descriptions published by Scipione Maffei in 1711).
Original Italian name: Gravicembalo col piano e forte ("harpsichord with soft and loud").
Structural and Sound Production Differences:
Harpsichord Mechanism:
Sound is produced by plectra (made of quill or leather) that pluck the taut wire strings when keys are depressed.
Dynamic control is mechanically uniform; pressing a key harder or softer does not change the volume or force of the pluck.
Dynamic contrast is limited to register shifts, stop changes, or switching between upper and lower manuals.
Fortepiano Mechanism:
Sound is produced by small, leather-covered wooden hammers that strike the strings and instantly fall back via an escapement mechanism, allowing the strings to vibrate freely.
Dynamic control is continuous and proportional to finger velocity and pressure, enabling smooth gradations from piano () to forte ().
Stylistic Movements: Galant & Empfindsamkeit
Galant Style (Style Galant):
Musical style originating in the 1720s and persisting through the mid-18th century as a reaction against the dense, complex polyphony of the High Baroque.
Characteristics include homophonic textures, periodic phrasing (clear 2-bar and 4-bar antecedents and consequents), simple harmonic rhythms, light accompaniment patterns (such as Alberti bass), and highly ornamented melodies.
Associated Composers: Johann Christian Bach (J.C. Bach), Domenico Scarlatti, Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Baldassare Galuppi.
Empfindsamer Stil (Empfindsamkeit / "Sensitive Style"):
An expressive German musical style closely linked with the mid-18th-century literary movement Sturm und Drang.
Aimed to convey intimate, rapidly changing human emotions and passions.
Characteristics include sudden dynamic shifts, sharp rhythmic contrasts, abrupt harmonic modulations, dramatic pauses, sigh motives (Seufzer), unexpected chromaticism, and recitative-like passages on keyboard instruments.
Associated Composers: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (C.P.E. Bach), Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (W.F. Bach).
Catalog Systems for Key Composers
BWV (Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis):
The thematic catalog of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, created by Wolfgang Schmieder in 1950.
Organised chronologically by genre rather than composition date (e.g., BWV 1–224 for Cantatas; BWV 806–817 for Suites; BWV 846–893 for WTC).
K. or Kk. (Kirkpatrick Numbers):
The chronological thematic catalog of Domenico Scarlatti's 555 keyboard sonatas, compiled by American harpsichordist and scholar Ralph Kirkpatrick in 1953.
Replaced the earlier cataloging system established by Alessandro Longo (indicated by L. numbers).
Hob. (Hoboken-Verzeichnis):
The thematic catalog of works by Joseph Haydn, created by Anthony van Hoboken in 1957.
Divided into category numbers using Roman numerals (e.g., Hob. XVI designates Keyboard Sonatas, Hob. I designates Symphonies).
W. or Wq. (Wotquenne Catalog) / H. (Helm Catalog):
Catalogs created for Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's output by Alfred Wotquenne (1905) and E. Eugene Helm (1989).
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Biographical Dates: Born March 21, 1685 (Eisenach) – Died July 28, 1750 (Leipzig).
Compositional Periods & Major Keyboard Contexts:
Arnstadt / Mühlhausen (1703–1708): Early virtuoso organ works, early keyboard suites, and virtuoso toccatas.
Weimar (1708–1717): Court organist and concertmaster; concentrated heavily on organ masterworks and transcriptions of Italian concertos (Vivaldi).
Köthen (1717–1723): Kapellmeister for Prince Leopold; focused on secular instrumental and instructional keyboard music due to Calvinist court restrictions on church music.
Leipzig (1723–1750): Director of Church Music and Cantor at St. Thomas Church; mature contrapuntal keyboard collections published under the title Clavier-Übung.
Specific Quantities of Major Keyboard Works:
The Well-Tempered Clavier (WTC): 48 Preludes and Fugues in total (Book I: 24, Book II: 24).
Keyboard Toccatas: 7 standalone toccatas for harpsichord (BWV 910–916).
English Suites: 6 suites (BWV 806–811).
French Suites: 6 suites (BWV 812–817).
Partitas for Keyboard (Clavier-Übung I): 6 suites (BWV 825–830).
Inventions and Sinfonias: 15 Two-Part Inventions (BWV 772–786) + 15 Three-Part Sinfonias (BWV 787–801).
Goldberg Variations (Clavier-Übung IV): 1 Aria + 30 Variations + Aria da Capo (BWV 988).
Importance of The Well-Tempered Clavier (WTC):
Consists of two sets (Book I, 1722; Book II, 1742), each containing 24 preludes and fugues systematically exploring all 12 major and 12 minor keys in ascending chromatic order.
Proved the artistic viability and practical advantage of new "well-tempered" tuning systems over mean-tone temperaments, allowing music to be played in every key without harsh dissonance.
Stands as the ultimate pedagogical and compositional standard for counterpoint, fugal construction, and keyboard expression.
Forerunner of WTC:
Title: Ariadne Musica
Composer: Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer
Date: 1702
Significance: A collection of 20 preludes and fugues in 20 different keys designed to guide organists through complex tonal terrain, serving as Bach's direct structural model.
The Baroque Dance Suite
Standardized Core Dances (in sequential order):
1. Allemande:
Origin: German.
Tempo/Meter: Moderate, duple meter (typically 4/4).
Characteristics: Begins with a short upbeat (anacrusis); contrapuntal, running 16th-note figuration; serious and noble character.
2. Courante / Corrente:
Origin: French (Courante) or Italian (Corrente).
Tempo/Meter: Triple meter (3/2 or 6/8 for French; fast 3/4 or 3/8 for Italian).
Characteristics: French version features rhythmic complexity with frequent shift of accents between 3/2 and 6/8 (hemiola); Italian version is fast, lighter, with continuous running scale motion.
3. Sarabande:
Origin: Spanish / Central American origin.
Tempo/Meter: Slow, triple meter (3/4 or 3/2).
Characteristics: Dignified, expressive, and serious; strong metric weight or prolonged emphasis placed on the second beat of the measure.
4. Optional Dances (Galanteries):
Inserted between the Sarabande and Gigue.
Common forms include:
Minuet: Moderate 3/4 dance with stately, balanced phrasing.
Bourrée: Fast 2/2 (alla breve) dance starting with a quarter-note upbeat.
Gavotte: Moderate 2/2 dance starting with a half-measure upbeat (two quarter notes).
Passepied: Fast 3/8 or 6/8 dance originating from Brittany.
5. Gigue:
Origin: English / Irish jig (Jig).
Tempo/Meter: Fast, compound meter (6/8, 9/8, 12/8).
Characteristics: Highly energetic; usually imitative or fugal in texture; often features dotted rhythms; the second section (in binary form) frequently presents an inversion of the primary theme.
Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757)
Biographical Dates: Born October 26, 1685 (Naples, Italy) – Died July 23, 1757 (Madrid, Spain).
Number of Keyboard Sonatas:
Composed 555 single-movement keyboard sonatas.
Form & Stylistic Characteristics:
Form: Single-movement binary form (often referred to as K-form or Essercizi form), consisting of two sections (A and B), both repeated (AABB).
Tonal Scheme: Section A moves from the tonic to the dominant (or relative major); Section B begins in the dominant/foreign key area and returns to the tonic.
Pairing Structure: Many sonatas were composed in pairs (and occasionally triptychs) sharing the same tonic key or parallel tonic minor/major keys, designed to be performed together.
Virtuosic Idioms & Innovations: Rapid hand-crossing, repeated notes at high speeds, wide register leaps, virtuosic arpeggios, and dense clusters of acciaccaturas (crushed dissonance).
Spanish Cultural Influence: Expresses vivid Spanish guitar idioms, strumming figures (rasgueado), castanet rhythms, and modal harmonies derived from Andalusian folk music and flamenco.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788)
Biographical Dates: Born March 8, 1714 (Weimar) – Died December 14, 1788 (Hamburg).
Importance in Musical Style:
Fifth child and second surviving son of J.S. Bach; court harpsichordist to Frederick the Great in Berlin/Potsdam, later church music director in Hamburg.
Principal representative of the Empfindsamer Stil ("sensitive style").
Primary stylistic bridge connecting the High Baroque keyboard art of his father to the Classical period sonata forms of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.
Key Treatise:
Title: Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen (Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments).
Publication Dates: Part 1 published in 1753; Part 2 published in 1762.
Content: Definitive 18th-century treatise covering fingering, ornamentation (Manieren), accompaniment, performance practice, and improvisation (realizing figured bass and free fantasia).
Empfindsamkeit Context:
Elevated the clavichord and early fortepiano as supreme vehicles for expressive performance due to their dynamic sensitivity and capability for Bebung (a subtle vibrato effect executed on the clavichord).
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Biographical Dates: Born March 31, 1732 (Rohrau, Austria) – Died May 31, 1809 (Vienna, Austria).
Number of Keyboard Sonatas:
Composed 52 to 62 authenticated keyboard sonatas (cataloged under Hob. XVI).
Compositional Periods & Characteristics of Keyboard Sonatas:
1. Early Period (pre-1766):
Termed Divertimenti or Partitas.
Characterized by lightweight galant textures, simple home-teaching structures, short movement lengths, and three-movement layouts (often featuring a minuet).
2. Sturm und Drang Period (Late 1760s–1770s):
Influenced by passion, dramatic contrast, and emotional intensity.
Written in minor keys (e.g., Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI: 20).
Characterized by angular melodies, syncopation, counterpoint, sudden dynamic outbursts, and expanded formal boundaries.
3. Mature Classical Period (1780s):
Mastery of sonata-allegro form and balanced Classical architecture.
Frequent use of monothematic sonata structures (where the second theme area in the dominant is a varied restatement of the opening primary theme rather than a contrasting melody).
Playful wit, false recapitulations, and deceptive cadences.
4. Late Period / London Sonatas (1790s):
Written during or following his trips to London (e.g., Hob. XVI: 50 in C major, Hob. XVI: 52 in E-flat major).
Composed for powerful modern English Broadwood fortepianos with expanded octave registers and sustain pedal possibilities.
Highly virtuosic, sonorous, musically complex, with rich chromatic harmonies and dramatic formal developments.