It has a structure unique to it. The principles on which improvisational forms are built, the logic of their development are based on patterns that are individual for each such play; Thus, the prelude does not have constant constructive features that determine its form, which is significantly different from the fugue.

Nevertheless, a significant number of foreplays have some common features. These include the motor nature of movement, uniformity of rhythm and texture.

In this kind of prelude, unlike a fugue, it is not always possible to highlight the theme, to accurately indicate the line where the theme ends and its development begins. Usually the initial thematic core - the primary embodiment of musical thought, closely fused with the subsequent fabric - serves as the basis for further, often long-term development.

Following the techniques developed for prelude forms by Bach is combined with bright individual character himself musical material. Outwardly submitting established forms, Bach breaks them from the inside and transforms them. Using the richest means of melodic and harmonic development, he overcomes the mechanicalness of motor movement with its inherent non-stop melodic development.

Fugue- the highest and most complex form in polyphonic music. It was formed gradually and experienced a long process of development. The fugue acquired its classically perfect form in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach's fugues are still considered the highest example of polyphonic music, the norm of its beauty and skill.

Any fugue by Bach - organ, keyboard or choral - is unique in concept and artistic in form. Each fugue is original and different from the other; but fugues, taken together, have common formal and constructive features that are distinctive features of the fugue form.

It is almost immutable for a Bach fugue (as well as a prelude) that there is one musical theme, one musical image. True, there are fugues with two or even three themes (double, triple), but even in them all thematic material is usually subordinate to the main, first theme, which embodies the main, leading idea and thereby determines the nature of the work. So, a fugue is a polyphonic composition based on one theme. There cannot be less than two voices in a fugue; the most common fugues are three-voice, many four-voice, fewer five-voice and very few six-voice fugues.

The usual structure of a fugue is three-part. Each section has its own name: exposition, middle part, or development, reprise. The names of the sections already determine their place and purpose.

Exposition- showing a musical image through repeated presentation of the theme in different voices. The number of voices the fugue is written in, the number of times the theme is presented in the exhibition (Sometimes, after all the presentation of the theme in the exposition, the theme appears again in one of the extreme voices. This is called additional presentation. There are fugues with the so-called double exposure, otherwise - counterexposition, when the theme is presented a second time in all voices, but the order of the voices changes. ). The fugue begins with a monophonic presentation of the theme in the main key. Imitation of the theme (entry of the second voice) most often takes place in the dominant key, that is, a fifth higher or a fourth lower. The theme and its imitation received the characteristic names “leader” and “companion”, but usually other, simpler ones are used to designate them: topic and answer.

The entry of the second voice with an imitation of the theme does not suspend or interrupt the movement of the first, which, as a counterpoint to the theme, acquires a new meaning and receives a name anti-addition (In those cases when the first-sounded counteraddition retains its melodic or rhythmic structure in the further course of music, it is called a retained counteraddition.):

The counterposition clearly highlights the theme, and the gradual layering of counterpointing voices constitutes specific feature polyphonic music, a means of dynamic growth, accumulation of sonority (In polyphony, the accumulation and switching off of voices has a special meaning and creates specific effects: strengthening sound dynamics in one case, relaxation, weakening of tension in another.).

The comparison of the tonic and dominant tonality in the exhibition indicates a keen sense of the functions of the mode, its foundations and non-foundations. In the comparison of theme and response, tonics and dominants, the mode-tonal relationships in the sonata between the main and secondary parts are anticipated.

The transition from the exposition to the middle part is revealed quite clearly by the departure from the dominant tonalities in the exposition. Carrying out the theme in a new key, most often parallel, indicates the onset of the second section of the fugue.

Middle part(or development) - the place of the most active and dynamic development of the topic. The scale of the middle part largely depends on the space given to interludes in it.

Sideshow- intermediate construction between the presentation of the theme - constitutes an essential element of the fugue form. Interludes can be found in all sections of the fugue, but usually the first extended interlude is placed outside the exposition, it serves as a link between the exposition and the middle part.

Interludes are especially frequent in the middle part, since they carry out their special purpose here - modulation (transition from one scale to another), preparing the key in which the theme should be heard again. The more intense the process of modal tonal development occurs, the more the scale of interludes expands, and with them the development of the entire form as a whole.

The interludes also focus on moments of thematic development. Bach was the first to show the meaning and purpose of thematic work as the main means leading to the final transformation of the musical image, and as a means of dynamizing the form.

Bach builds interludes primarily on the material of the theme - on individual melodic-rhythmic turns extracted from it. The musical fabric, rich in thematic elements, creates the impression of unity and internal integrity of the work. In interludes the theme is never fully pursued; temporarily removing the topic gives it newness and freshness when presented again.

Transition from middle part to reprise often so obscured that it is difficult and controversial to determine the boundary separating the second section of the fugue from the third. The reprise should consolidate the basic tonality, restore the stability, tonal balance and symmetry lost in development.

These are the most general ideas about the main structural elements of the fugue form.

The evolution of the “small baroque cycle”: prelude and fugue in the works of composers - predecessors of I.S. Bach

Introduction

Epoch XVII - first half XVII The first century is traditionally viewed in the research literature as a time of intense research in the field musical art. At this time, the range of stylistic means was expanding, new genres and principles of composition were being formed. Among the brilliant achievements of this time are the appearance of opera, oratorio, cantata, as well as the flourishing instrumental music, which until that time was “in the shadow” of the dominant vocal polyphony.

In the music of the era, three periods are distinguished: early (the work of C. Monteverdi, G. Gabrieli, G. Schutz), middle (A. Scarlatti, A. Corelli, J.B. Lully, G. Purcell), later (I.S. Bach, G.F. Handel, G.F. Telemann, A. Vivaldi, D. Scarlatti, R. Couperin, J-F. Only by the names of composers, and, accordingly, genre preferences, one can understand how wide and deep the musical world was. “Moreover, we can say absolutely precisely what a great many musical styles did not combine any previous stage in the history of art.”

Among the discoveries of instrumental music of the 17th century half of the XVIII century, one can call the formation of a “small” cycle (microcycle), consisting of a prelude (toccata, fantasy) and fugue, which is one of the most interesting phenomena of the musical art of the Baroque era. In many ways, the comparison of the improvisational freedom of the first part and the strict intellectualism of the second reflected the worldview of a complex era, its extremely intense and diverse antinomy. At the same time, the uniqueness of the microcycle is also due to the fact that, having reached its peak in the work of I.S. Bach, he does not go into the past along with the era that gave birth to him, but already in the art of the 19th-21st centuries. “creates a kind of connection between times.” As is known, F. Mendelssohn, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, S. Frank, M. Reger, P. Hindemith, D. Shostakovich, R. Shchedrin and many other composers turn to the cycle “prelude (toccata, fantasy) and fugue”.

Traditionally, in music science, the small polyphonic cycle is considered using the example of the work of I.S. Bach. At the same time, an important stage in the development of this genre in the previous period, that is, in the works of the predecessors and contemporaries of the great German master, remains behind the scenes.

Interest in the formation and evolution of the “small cycle” until it reaches the peak in the work of I.S. Bach determined the choice of theme for this course work: “The evolution of the “small baroque cycle” in the work of composers - predecessors of I.S. Bach."

The purpose of this course work is to analyze the evolution and ways of forming a small (polyphonic) baroque cycle using the example of the work of composers of the “pre-Bakhov” period.

The object of the study was three preludes and fugues written by I. Pachelbel, I. Fischer and D. Zipoli. These works reflect various stages of the formation of the genre model that interests us.

The purpose of the work allows us to formulate a number of tasks:

· consider the small polyphonic cycle in the context of the aesthetics of the Baroque era;

· trace the processes of formation of improvisational instrumental forms and fugues;

· analyze the features of the interpretation of the small cycle in the works of composers of the pre-Bach period using the example of the works of I. Pachelbel, I. Fischer and D. Zipoli.

Research literature devoted directly to the small polyphonic cycle as a wholenot numerous.

In this regard, we note the article by E. Svetalkina, in which the small cycle is considered as a unique and original phenomenon of the Baroque era, incorporating “its most characteristic and expressive features.” Thus, the small cycle is viewed through the prism of “genre instability, multiplicity, diffuseness,” when the most dissimilar compositions could be united by one “generic name” and “the boundary between many instrumental genres of the Baroque was arbitrary.”

Here it seems appropriate to do small retreat and explain where the term “small cycle” actually comes from. This question was of great interest to the author of this work when studying sources, since it was found everywhere in musical works, but at the same time, such a textbook concept does not exist either in the music encyclopedia or on electronic resources. BUT! “The seeker will find,” and in the work of M. Lobanova there is this definition: “The personification of the Baroque cosmos is the “Well-Tempered Clavier.” “New Chromatics” is contained within a strict framework. Number 2 builds the entire composition - the whole (two volumes - two chromatic circles), a small cycle (prelude - fugue) // italics by I.S. //, organization of the tonal plane (the antithesis of the major and minor of the same name in adjacent small cycles), styles (the antithesis of the “free” prelude and the “ordered” fugue).”

Further mention is made of the process of convergence of toccata with ricercar “mainly in organ music” and “the transformation of a multi-themed ricercar into a single-themed fugue and the formation of the prelude that precedes it in the work of G. Frescobaldi.” The article concludes that “at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. the prelude was the most natural pairing for the fugue.”

As for the problem of the evolution of improvisational instrumental forms and fugues, there are many works on this issue. Let’s call it “Essays on instrumental forms of the 16th – early 19th centuries” by Vl. Protopopov, in which an entire chapter is devoted to the predecessors of the fugue: ricercar, canzone and fantasy. N. Simakova’s monumental monograph “Counterpoint of Strict Style and Fugue” in two volumes deserves close attention in the context of the chosen topic. The first volume examines how, from the forms of polyphony in the Middle Ages and then in the Renaissance, norms for the behavior of voices gradually emerged, which subsequently led to the rules of contrapuntal writing, and also shows ancient genres, in which an imitation form was formed (since in the musical treatises of the 15th-16th centuries the terms “canon”, “imitation”, “fuga” often overlapped). In the second volume, in addition to understanding the “contradictory, ambiguous” art of the Baroque, detailed coverage is given of the development of counterpoint leading to the fugue, as well as the works of musicians and theorists of the 16th-17th centuries. (pre-Bach period), considering the fugue as “one of the particular issues music theory and practice." The conclusion made by N. Simakova reads: “1. the fugue is closely related to a number of the most important phenomena of counterpoint; 2. A huge number of musicians take part in its formation.” Also in the 2nd volume, the works of theorists of the late 18th-20th centuries are analyzed, in which the fugue is considered as an independent composition and as a genre. It should be noted that in the works of various composers XIX-XX centuries fugue was given great attention, which can be read in the works of A. Dolzhansky, Yu. Kon, S. Korobeinikov, N. Krupina, J. Fain, T. Frantova, I. Tsakher, K. Yuzhak. In connection with the analysis of small cycles presented in the 3rd chapter of this work, the necessary techniques were drawn from the Guide to the practical study of V. Zolotarev “Fuga”, which in more detail“provides technical skills without which the student is usually unable to approach complete and fluent mastery of the complex writing of a fugue.”

A separate “block” of literature consists of works devoted to the aesthetics and poetics of the musical baroque. The fundamental research in this area is the monograph by M. Lobanova, which is first extensive workabout the musical theoretical and aesthetic views of the Baroque era, the styles and genres of the main musical schools, the interaction of music with other types of art, the doctrine of allegories and emblems, as well as the work of O. Zakharova, giving a detailed overview of the problem of “music and language” (“sound and word") and the meaning of musical rhetoric, which helps “to comprehend many musical techniques, “inventions,” partially described later from the position of musical theory itself.”

Also, when revealing the chosen topic, the following works turned out to be interesting and informative: the chapter “Baroque Music as a Historical Artistic Paradox” from A. Kudryashov’s Textbook; monograph by S. Kozlykina “Style of G. Frescobaldi”; " Chamber music Early Baroque" by L. Shevlyakova and many other works.

1. “Small cycle” as a reflection of the worldview of the Baroque era

As is known, in the 17th - first half of the 18th centuries there was a change in the socio-economic structure, grandiose scientific discoveries were made that changed the understanding of the universe, and Europe was shaken by seemingly endless conflicts, revolutions and wars. The proclamation of freedom and innovation, declared by the very essence of Baroque aesthetics, sometimes gave rise to strange and bizarre forms of creative expression. “Where old and new eras collide, fantastic images and forms in culture are inevitably born.”

This also concerned musicians who tried (and found!) new means of expression, choosing “invention” as their motto, understanding it as “discovery”, “invention”, “innovation”. But the “invention” concerned precisely creative process, which presupposes knowledge of general “topics” and “ideas”. “The system of “discovery” (“ars inveniendi”) and the art of “combination” (“ars combinatoria”) require special ingenuity: the old basis is preserved, the material is usually traditional - ready-made formulas associated with a strict canon of representation of affect, style, genre "

Affect theory is a new dimension in music related to the "analysis of the soul", the expression human passions- one of greatest achievements Baroque era. “Monteverdi identified three main passions: anger, confidence and humility (prayer). This pattern persisted throughout the era.” Strict canons for depicting affect were developed; so, joy (good) - Lydian, Mixolydian, Hypoionian modes, prohibition of dissonances, increased and decreased intervals (joyful: third, fourth, fifth), saltos figure, anabasis, fast tempo without syncopation, 3rd time signature. Affect of love: “weak” intervals, syncopation, dissonance, calm smooth movement. The affect of sadness: rigid intervals, free dissonances, chromatics, sixth chords, violations of harmonic connections, slow tirata movement with sharp syncopations, Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian modes, musical and rhetorical figures ellipsis, climax, gradatio, katabasis. The affect of complaint: second intonations lamento, suspirato - sigh, wide intervals (fifths, sixths, sevenths), other means are similar to the affect of sadness.

A direct relationship is drawn between dissonances, musical-rhetorical figures, rhythm and affects: punctuated and sustained notes should express the serious and pathetic in music, the alternation of long and fast notes serves the sublime and majestic. The typification of tonalities depending on the affects was developed by the Neapolitan opera: D-dur - bravura and heroism, d-moll - revenge, g-moll - complaint, G-dur - pastoral, A-dur - love, cis-moll, fii-moll - demonic scenes. Changing the context of a rhetorical figure entailed the possibility of a transition to the opposite affect. In the late Baroque, from the depiction of affects, there is a transition to the depiction of a certain character.

Another striking consequence of the renewed Baroque culture was the “awareness of the spatiality of the compositional factor.” All scientists and thinkers of the Baroque are occupied by a new perception of space: man exists between two abysses - the infinitely small and the infinitely great. In music, the exploration of space was manifested primarily in the Venetian polychorany: Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli “were destined to make a qualitative leap - to make the new polyphony multidimensional.” Just as important was the doctrine of “musical order” - the purpose of music, its place in the world. The category of time was interpreted in a new way: the “theme of frailty” permeated the Baroque with endless lamentations.

At the same time, at the “historical crossroads,” according to Lobanova, the “extremes” of the Baroque era speak of “paradoxes and the limits of synthesis, achievable precisely in the combination of the incompatible, of tests for incompatibility, of connections found in the gap.” After all, the proclaimed motto of freedom and innovation not only gave birth to a rethinking of existing styles, genres and themes, but also brought a certain confusion into the heads of many artists and created an intensity of passions. The opposite principles of any phenomenon are considered absolutely equally; antonym feelings are inseparable from each other; Every question contains an answer; “yes” and “no” are two sides of the same essence... A logical question arises: how, in a time so full of contradictions, oddities, and sometimes pretentiousness, such (such?) a perfect symbiosis could crystallize - the cycle of “prelude and fugue”?

“In the emblems of the Baroque, eternity is a continuous running in a circle... which determines the choice of the leading key musical and rhetorical figures circulatio (circle) and fuga (running), into which most of the counterpoints are composed.” Eternity and time in music are understood as an alternation of incompatible processes filled with opposite affective meaning: genre and style antitheses, contrasting styles. So we have come close to the answer to the question posed above, and the paradox is that “chaos gave birth to harmony, and in harmony lies chaos”! The essence of Baroque aesthetics anticipated many trends in art several centuries ahead, sharpening to the utmost the problem “man - universe”, distinguishing these concepts and at the same time showing their inextricable connection. “The fact that the Baroque extended the principle of antithesis to the world and art gives this culture a unique originality.”

The prelude and fugue became the embodiment of such principles of baroque aesthetics and poetics as the combination of the incompatible, the balance of antitheses, the unity of opposite principles. An improvisational prelude (fantasy, toccata) embodies the idea of ​​freedom, a fugue - the established, established order; the emotional, unreal beginning characteristic of the prelude subjugates the intellectual rationalism inherent in the fugue; The spontaneous improvisation of the prelude is contrasted with the clear structure and organization of the fugue.

Thus, the small polyphonic cycle can be fully considered the embodiment of the aesthetic ideal of the musical baroque. “The measure of freedom is musical order, the measure of order is musical freedom. Baroque brings extremes together, creates a system from opposing principles. The balance of the Baroque is the balance of antithesis.”

The next question is that the small cycle reached perfection in I.S. Bach, crowning the apogee of the Baroque, but was created and very actively used by composers - the predecessors of the great Master of the late Baroque, which will be proven in the third chapter of this work.

polyphonic baroque fugue Bach

2. Formation of the “prelude and fugue” cycle in instrumental music of the late 16th century XVII century

To find out how and under what circumstances the small cycle was formed, it is necessary to trace the formation of each of its components: the fugue itself and the prelude.

Praeludere (Latin for “to play beforehand, to prepare to play”) originated in the improvisations of church organists establishing the mode of music to be played during the service; With similar improvised “intros” the performers tested the tuning and tone of their instruments. "The earliest surviving organ preludes are contained in Ihleborg's tablature (1448), Paumann's Fundamentum organisandi (1452) and the Buxheim Organ Book (1460-70)." The prelude was not characterized by a specific form; the improvisational principle prevailed, because, often acting as a test of the instrument before any piece, the prelude not only preceded it musically, but often contrasted. Characteristics prelude is the use from beginning to end of a single type of texture, free deployment, figurative development of material, often imitation and elements of a polyphonic warehouse. In its mature manifestations, the prelude is “an important independent type of composition, often very lengthy, the purpose of which is to anticipate the character and mood of the service, to provide a poetic musical commentary on the traditional text of the hymn. Chorale Prelude was cultivated by Bach's North German predecessors - especially Scheidt, Buxtehude, Pachelbel and Böhm."

Pieces similar to the prelude also had other names: preamble, intrada, ricercar, fantasy, toccata.

The toccata, like the prelude, was born from the “essence of instrumental playing,” but there are still significant differences between them: “most likely, organ and keyboard toccatas arose from the trumpet fanfares that opened festivities in the late Middle Ages... Pretorius ... points to the chord structure toccatas: the organist must, when playing it, give simple but ornamented chords.” In this regard, it is important to note the difference between a toccata and a prelude, the nature of which was not predetermined festive procession, but had origins of an everyday, lyrical-improvisational nature.

The fantasy genre is one of the oldest in instrumental music and dates back to the 16th century. Unlike early instrumental genres, which had a close connection with vocal ones, fantasy has an improvisational nature of an instrumental nature (since it was originally performed on plucked instruments). Its features “are expressed in the deviation of construction norms for its time, unusual combinations of “components” common for a given era - structural and substantive.” In the period of interest to us - the era of strict style - the fantasy genre was marked by a magnificent flourishing.

Developing, these improvisational forms (fantasies, preludes, toccatas) were divided into two directions: “In the 18th century. preludes began to be created as independent plays; at the same time...a stable cycle of prelude-fugue developed, in which both components shaded each other.”

“The result of the evolution of fantasy by the end of the 18th century... was its transformation into a prelude to a fugue or into an independent free form.”

Fuga (Latin - flight) initially denoted the canon, and when the term “fugue” was rethought, it is impossible to accurately designate. Some researchers give more precise dates, for example, R. Gruber: “Giovanni Gabrieli brings ricercar closer with the help of plastic characteristic themes and their counterpoint development to the fugue... The famous organ piece... 1595 is essentially the first fugue that has come down to us.” In the work “Syntagma Musicum” (1619) by the German theorist M. Pretorius, fugue is defined in its modern meaning: “Fugue is nothing more than a frequent repetition of the same theme in different places. It is named so from the word “to run”, i.e. one voice overtakes the other, singing the same theme. In Italian it means ricercare, which means “to explore”, “to search”, “to find”. It is by this figure that musical talent should be judged most of all, whether he knows how to evoke sounds suitable for a certain kind of melodies, and connect them with each other in a good and commendable sequence.”

It was in the ricercare of the 16th century. The features characteristic of a fugue were determined: the theme-cell, its inversions, increases, decreases, moving counterpoint, strett combinations. “The topic-response relationship (leader-companion) determined not only the expositional sequence, but also the ongoing part.” Later, ricercar acquired a specifically instrumental character, and in “the 17th century the number of themes in it was reduced to one - this process led directly to the fugue.” As you can see, the individual components of the fugue were polished over a number of centuries, absorbing (absorbing) the changes characteristic of a particular historical and cultural period.

“One of the secrets of such vitality was revealed more than a hundred years ago by Ludwig Bussler, author of the book “Strict Style. A textbook of simple and complex counterpoint, imitations, fugue and canon in church modes": of all forms based on imitation, fugue is the most perfect, not only because in its further development it can accommodate all contrapuntal forms, but also because it combines in itself the conditions of the greatest severity and the most unlimited freedom."

"In the Baroque era, the main cyclic forms there was a suite, sonata da chiesa, concerto grosso and a form consisting of a prelude (toccata, fantasy) and fugue.” Thus, many researchers agree that the prelude-fugue cycle developed much earlier than the 17th century. And even the “interweaving of destinies” of prelude and fugue in a truly polyphonic style: penetrating into each other, interacting in every possible way over the centuries, these two diverse, heterogeneous forms united into a strong tandem, a vicious circle, a “micro-Universe”.

3. The cycle “prelude and fugue” in the keyboard works of composers - predecessors of I.S. Bach using the example of works by J. Pachelbel, J. Fischer, D. Zipoli

Based on the study of scientific research literature, we can conclude that the small polyphonic cycle was formed approximately in the third quarter of the 17th century. It seems interesting to analyze various options for its implementation in the works of Baroque composers: I. Pachelbel, I. Fischer, D. Zipoli. Let us present brief biographical information about each of them.

Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) - German composer and an organist who achieved wide fame also as a teacher. Johann Christoph Bach, the elder brother and teacher of J.S., studied with him. Bach. Pachelbel's extensive legacy is dominated by works for keyboard instruments: 70 chorale preludes, 95 organ fugues to the Magnificat (for the evening service), a number of non-church plays: toccatas, preludes, fugues, fantasies, etc. Pachelbel was one of the direct predecessors of J.S. Bach in the genres of organ music. The style of his polyphonic writing combines great clarity and simplicity of the harmonic basis; the fugues are distinguished by thematic specificity, but are not yet developed and essentially consist of a chain of expositions. Improvisational genres are characterized by significant integrity and unity. I.S. Bach carefully studied Pachelbel's instrumental works, and they became one of the sources of the formation of his own musical style.

Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (1662-1746) - a German court composer - composed mainly instrumental music: a collection of orchestral suites “Spring Diary” - 1695, Pieces de clavesin - 1696 in the French manner; Musicalischer Parnassus-1740, in Italian style; two collections of organ music Ariadne musica-1702, including 20 preludes and fugues in 20 keys and Blumen straube-1732, consisting of pieces in 8 church modes; there are also 2 vocal collections church music. The instrumental works of I. Fischer are well known to I.S. Bach, in particular, based on the collection Ariadne musica, created the “Well-Tempered Clavier”.

Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726) - Italian organist and composer. Studied in Italy with A. Scarlatti, B. Pasquini. In 1716 he published a collection of plays for organ and harpsichord, which quickly gained popularity. From 1717 he lived in Argentina. Masses, motets and other spiritual compositions by D. Zipoli were widely performed in churches South America, where he was sent to serve by the Jesuit Order.

“Prelude and Fugue” in d-moll by I. Pachelbel.

The chord-based prelude (even with some toccato elements) is a 3-part reprise form with a developing middle. Thematically, this prelude is surprisingly complete: each of the voices consistently pursues its own line, which remains unchanged throughout the work; in general, one gets the impression of severity, and in some places, the “inevitability of existence.”

The use of rhetorical figures and means characteristic of the affect of sadness helps create a vivid image of “fatality”: intra-bar (volumes 2, 4, 8, 22) and inter-bar (volumes 1, 2, 6, 8, 11 - 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26) syncopation; sixth chords; chromatic intonations (for example, the introductory tone to the 1st degree appears 5 times throughout bars 1 - 4).

Particularly interesting is the bass line, which begins with the rhetorical formula circulato, continuing in a downward course and ending with broken leaps: a fourth, mind. 5↓, quart and fifth ↓ from degree V to degree I (vol. 3-4). This theme will sound 6 times in the prelude, changing somewhat in the middle and becoming fully established in the reprise. In figurative terms, this theme expresses the drama of human existence: running in circles, quests, failures and losses, vicissitudes of fate. In general, the prelude is dominated by descending moves of the catabasis. And no matter how high the melody rises, acquiring major intonations (volumes 5, 6, 14, 23), the result is the same: a return “to the sinful earth”... The first time this figure appears in volume 3 in the main key, it “opposes” in reversed form and in a major scale (F-dur, III st.) the response rising theme (vol. 5,6), which rushes upward, then jumps down to a major sixth, rises again in semitones (vol. 7), and... inevitable move down from I st. to V, quarter notes...the circle is closed...

Strict verticality, sometimes minor delays in the middle and upper voices, which play a subordinate role to the dominant lower voice, rhetorical formulas of a certain affect - all this helps to feel the thoughtful, dramatic and somewhat detached spirit of the prelude.

The fugue has a bright theme not only intonationally, but also tonally: the theme itself has a modulation into the key of s-you (g-moll) - it ends on b (VI art., tertiary tone s-you). In the rhetorical aspect, the theme consists of an ascending sixth (I-VI art.) - an exclamation, and an ascending quart (V-I art.) - a statement. It would seem that everything is definite and life-affirming, but suddenly the quarter notes change to smaller durations, inter-bar syncopation arises and, despite the authentic progression #VII-V-I, then a deviation in s (g-mol) immediately follows: d¹ -c ¹ - b. The real answer is in the key of D - you (t. 3), a small codetta to return to the tonic, and the theme follows - the leader in the tenor part (t. 6) and the answer in the bass part (t. 8), i.e. the previous episode is repeated an octave lower. As for the counter-addition, with the introduction of the theme in the tenor, a retained counter-addition arises (vol. 6, 8-9). The development begins with t. 11, which is based on the motive of the first counteraddition, then in t. 14 the leader theme sounds, in counterpoint the initial motive of the theme appears - a jump to the sixth, and the part ends with a sequential descending move, consisting of fourths. Reprise from t. 18, the leader theme in the soprano part with the original type of counterpoint. The character of the fugue is more enlightened than in the prelude, and the rhetorical figures indicate feelings of hope and change for the better, although “reality is quite harsh.” The prelude leaves a feeling of some kind of piercing, light sadness. This cycle by I. Pachelbl is a vivid example of the “spiritual tandem” in a person: sadness, sadness, hope for the best, and, alas, the inevitability of fate interfering with the plans of such a defenseless person before “fate” coexist here...

The prelude and fugue fis-moll from the collection “Ariadne musica” by I. Fischer is an example of a polyphonic cycle in which, at first glance, the demonstrative, technical side prevails (it is no coincidence that J. S. Bach took the collection “Ariadne musica” as a model when writing his "HTK").

And indeed: on a very small scale - 10 volumes. prelude and 12 vols. fugue - Fischer demonstrated all the techniques inherent in parts of a small polyphonic cycle. Thus, in the prelude of a typically toccata, organ character, where future Bach intonations are clearly visible, the following is provided: - a “recognizable” tonal plan of the prelude t - s - D→s - D→III-VI-II - D - K6/4 - D - T; - texture consisting of arpeggiated broken moves - those indicators that have generally always been used will be used by composers working in the genre of prelude (and fugue). Against the background of sustained whole and half notes in the bass (vol. 1-2), in the upper voice (vol. 3), in the middle (vol. 4), again in the lower voice (vol. 5), “Ariadne’s thread” circles and unfolds with sixteenth notes “, its movement is non-stop, but where will it lead? The movement of the passages is mostly downward, starting from the highest note of the arpeggiated chord, with the exception of tt. 4, 7. In the cadence (vol. 9) the only “direct” descending passage from f² →eis by degrees of melodic fis-moll to major T.

I. Fischer's 12-bar fugue is an example of the most complex polyphonic technique. Over the course of 12 bars, the leader theme is repeated 7 times, of which once in increase (bars 7-8); the counterpoint to the topic-response becomes the topic in the address; Along with the retained counterposition, there is a vertically mobile counterpoint, and in the development (vol. 5) stretto techniques are used, condensing the already complex, “intense texture”.

“Prelude and Fugetta No. 2” e-moll is one of several similar small cycles by D. Zipoli, but in the context of our question, it is this prelude and fugue that are of particular interest from the point of view of “programmatic” thematics.

The prelude is in a typical improvisational chorale style; it may have originally been written for organ, because the editorial notes include a footnote stating that it is at the discretion of the performer to double the bass an octave below, as well as to use various variations of arpeggios. The static, monumental nature of the prelude is created by chords of entire durations with delays, “flowing” into each other, due to this a dense, unbroken texture is maintained. The use of UmVII, seventh chords of II, VI degrees gives internal tension to the prelude with external restraint. And the “breakthrough” comes in a dynamic 3-voice fuguetta with an extremely energetic theme, consisting of a quart jump from V to I degree (anabasis figure) and a sequential move from I → V degree and again a quart jump V↓IIV (vol. 2). The leader theme is followed by a tonal dominant response, turning into a circulato figure in the codetta, and in the upper voice a dissonant opposition with chromatic moves (vol. 3-4). With the onset of the theme, a retained “dissonant” counterposition sounds in the bass in the middle voice (bars 5-6), and after the codetta a small but intense development begins (bar 8) from the first part of the theme, the counterpoint of which is again the elements of the held counterposition - descending chromatic moves that develop into a climax (t. 11), where the stretto technique is used. The first part of the topic is carried out 4 times throughout the volume. 11-14, and the coda begins (vol. 15, the stage directions say “very loud, important, slowing down”), in which the rhythmic pattern of the theme is preserved, but intonationally changed, “softened” by a progressive descending move from VI → II, turning into IV step and resolved into a major third - the struggle and confrontation are over. Thus, this cycle represents the “unity of contrasts”

So, we have examined three small cycles, which differ in authorship, time of creation, style and methods of presentation, but each of them is an example formed a small polyphonic cyclein the period from 1690 to 1716, and this period was not yet flourished by the talent of the Great Master - Johann Sebastian Bach. Yes, of course, it has been proven that the cycle of prelude and fugue reached its highest point of development in his work, but according to the logic of the development of any genre, its apogee is preceded by origin and at least formation. Everything was explained with the origins and development in the research literature, but there was a certain gap in the specific definition of the small polyphonic cycle, as existingAnd currentgenre of instrumental music of the late Baroque. Without in any way claiming to make global conclusions or a detailed technical analysis of the genre of polyphonic music that interests us, the author of this work tried to “restore some injustice” regarding the appearance of the small polyphonic cycle and its role and relevance among composers of the pre-Bach period.

References

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2.Gruber R. General history music. Part I. M., 1956.

3.Druskin M. Keyboard music of Spain, England, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany XVI-XVIII centuries. L., 1960.

4.Zakharova O. Rhetoric and Western European music XVII-first half of the 18th century. M., 1983.

5.Parrish K., Owell J. Samples of musical forms from Gregorian chant to Bach L., 1975. [Electronic resource] /Access mode: #"justify">6. Kozlykina S. Style by G. Frescobaldi: Monograph. Rostov-on-Don, 2009.

7.Konen V. English instrumental music of the 17th century. // About music. Problems of analysis / comp. V. Bobrovsky G. Golovinsky. M.1974. - pp. 107-118.

8.Krasnoskulov V. Practice of modeling baroque clavier texture (modern view) // Ancient music today: Materials of scientific and practical studies. conference / ed.-comp. A. Zucker. Rostov-on-Don, 2004. pp. 346-356.

9.Kudryashov A. Content of ideas in Baroque music // Kudryashov A. Theory musical content. Artistic ideas European music XVII-XX centuries: Textbook. manual for music universities. St. Petersburg, 2006. pp. 43-150.

10.Livanova T. History of Western European music until 1789: Textbook for universities. M., 1983. Vol. 1.

11.Lobanova M. Western European musical baroque: problems of aesthetics and poetics M., 1994.

12.Ostroumova N.I. Kunau: the life and work of a baroque musician. Monograph. M., 2003.

13.Protopopov V. Essays on the history of instrumental forms of the 16th - early 18th centuries: Tutorial for universities. M., 1979.

14.Svetalkina E. The origin of the microcycle “Prelude and Fugue” in cultural context Baroque // Problems of culture and art in the worldview of modern youth: continuity and innovation. Collection of scientific articles based on the materials of the IV All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference of Students and Postgraduate Students. Saratov, 2006. pp. 119-124.

15.Simakova N. Strict style counterpoint and fugue. Story. Theory. Practice. A textbook for students of composition, historical-theoretical and conducting faculties of music universities. T.I.M., 2002.

16.Simakova N. Strict style counterpoint and fugue. Story. Theory. Practice. A textbook for students of composition, historical-theoretical and conducting faculties of music universities. T.II M., 2007.

17.Triandofilova K. The art of improvisation basso continuo and French harpsichord music of the 17th-18th centuries. // Ancient music today: Materials of scientific and practical studies. conference / ed.-comp. A. Zucker. Rostov-on-Don, 2004. pp. 338-346.

29.Bach's keyboard works. HTK, Italian concert, English and French suites

The first and second volumes of The Well-Tempered Clavier were compiled in 1722 and 1744 and each included works from different years. Nevertheless, the second volume apparently contains later preludes and fugues; the overall appearance of the volume is somewhat more complex, and a number of fugues are larger in scale. By creating these two huge cycles, Bach provided invaluable artistic support to the idea of ​​equal temperament, which was new in his time. Individual attempts to compose multi-tonal cycles had existed somewhat earlier (among them seventeen keyboard suites by Pachelbel), but it was Bach’s creative work that gained historical significance. With the introduction of equal temperament, it became possible to use all keys of major and minor, implement any modulation plans, and use enharmonism. If the fugues from "H.T.K." mark a high level of modal thinking, then their collection as a whole affirms the complete maturity of the entire major-minor modal tonal system.

In addition to "H.T.K." Bach has a number of separate preludes-fugues, preludes-fuguettes, fantasy-fugues, toccatas, fugues and fuguettes for the clavier. Among them there are pieces that are modest in scale, probably for educational purposes, and expanded, majestic (Prelude and Fugue in a-moll No. 894, reworked into a triple concert for flute, violin, clavier and orchestra No. 1044), and passages in the organ style (fugue a-moll No. 944, revised for organ). If the compositional principles of the clavier prelude-fugue are consistently revealed in “H.T.K.”, then the freer form of the toccata (or fantasy), although it comes into contact with some preludes, remains outside this framework. Bach's seven keyboard toccatas are brilliant works with significant signs of improvisation, coming most of all from organ traditions. The composition of the whole reveals a certain similarity with the “small cycle” and at the same time is not devoid of commonality with larger instrumental cycles. The sections of the toccata (there are three or four of them) are different in tempo and type of presentation, the fugue part is usually the most weighty, the lyrical Adagio is emphasized throughout in one way or another, but all this is not as complete as in the sonata cycle: one section directly passes into the other. Fantasia usually precedes the fugue and does not claim the same self-determination as the toccata.

Bach's only programmatic work for the clavier as a whole is not very indicative of him and dates back to a very early time (1704): “Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello diletissimo” (“Capriccio on the Departure of the Beloved Brother”). Nevertheless, in terms of intonation and imagery, here too one can notice some typically Bachian features. The first part is a small arioso “Persuasion of friends not to go on the road”, graceful and naive. The second, imitation, is “Depiction of various incidents that can happen in a foreign land.” Third, Adagissimo (as in vocal music, only melody and basso continuo) - “General complaints of friends.” This is Bach's lamento on an ostinato bass, with continuous sighs in the melody. The short chordal fourth movement is a solemn farewell. Fifth - “Merry Aria of the Postman” (the post coach drives off). And finally, the sixth and last, the three-part “Fugue in imitation of the postman’s horn.”

Strictly speaking, Bach's educational plays are not sharply demarcated from his other keyboard works. After all, the French Suites (partly recorded in the first “Note Book for Anna Magdalena Bach”) and even the “Well-Tempered Clavier” were used by Bach for pedagogical purposes. 20 small preludes, 15 two-voice and 15 three-voice inventions (Bach called three-voice “symphonies”), composed specifically for educational classes, bear a vivid imprint of the composer’s personality and - within their modest framework - represent his individual style. They have long been familiar to all musicians, since they were the first to introduce them to the study of the great Bach heritage. The nature of polyphony, the figurative possibilities of any light prelude, the independent movement of voices in inventions without subordination to the structure of the fugue - all this naturally, even in childhood, begins for us not a “lite”, but a genuine Bach. The composer placed seven of the two dozen small preludes in the “Klavier Book” of his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann; In the same place, Bach himself wrote down “An Explanation of Various Signs Showing How to Play Certain Decorations with Taste,” which provide the key to his ornamentation.

A number of Bach's works for clavier were published during his lifetime - unlike other works, which remained almost entirely in manuscripts. In 1731, he released the first part of K1avierübung, including six partitas. The second part of the Keyboard Exercises (1735) contained the Italian Concerto and another partita. The fourth (1742) included the Goldberg Variations. When selecting plays for publication, Bach preferred those that could more easily be distributed and at the same time were not very large in volume: he was unable to publish at least the first volume of the Well-Tempered Clavier, which was distributed only in handwritten copies. For keyboard instruments (harpsichord, pedal harpsichord, two harpsichords), Bach's work as a scholar and composer, “The Art of Fugue” (1749 - 1750), is intended. Here, at the end of his days, he wished to collect and summarize much that had accumulated in his polyphonic mastery, and based on one clear, simple theme, he created thirteen fugues and four canons (having added to them an arrangement of the last two fugues for two harpsichords). In addition to the many polyphonic combinations (while varying the theme itself) in the eleven fugues, the twelfth and thirteenth solve a tricky problem: in each of them, the second half mirrors the first. The special methodological goal set by Bach did not imply any special figurative breadth or any immediacy of expression in this cycle. But the art of polyphony he demonstrated in all its complexity testifies to the greatest clarity of mind, which the composer maintained until the end of his days.

Bach's keyboard music provides a whole scale of movement from simple to complex - in terms of form, type of presentation, requirements for the performer: from small preludes, two- and three-voice inventions to French and English suites, from suites and partitas to concertos, to cycles " Wohltemperiertes Klavier”, to fantasies with fugues, to the idea of ​​“Kunst der Fuge”. The difference in scale and degree of complexity is associated, of course, with the different figurative content of the plays, but they are always figurative in Bach, even when conceived for educational, applied purposes. Essentially, everything here is meaningful and everything ultimately constitutes a school of mastery for a musician to this day.

The first place among Bach's keyboard works should be given to the preludes (fantasies)-fugues - the highest expression of his polyphonic writing in music for the clavier. This unity of two plays, a kind of “small cycle,” was prepared long ago in the practice of free prelude on the organ (or clavier) as an introduction (prelude, preamble) to the fugue that follows. There are also elements of such a comparison in large improvisational-polyphonic forms - organ toccatas and fantasies (for example, in Buxtehude), where passage or improvisational-prelude fragments are adjacent to imitative episodes. In Bach's work, as is known, a classical fugue developed. It usually followed the prelude (or fantasia), now written down by the composer as a developed and completed piece of a certain character.

Fugue and prelude can be compared as two different polyphonic forms, two different understandings of what O such an image. What does this prelude have in common with this fugue? Researchers are trying to find certain thematic connections between the two parts of the “small cycle”, but these particular observations do not yet allow us to draw a general conclusion and establish the pattern of such a combination. It is also impossible to draw analogies between the unity of prelude-fugue and the large cycles of that time (suite, sonata, concerto). In the latter there is a clearly expressed tendency towards establishing the function of each part along with the gradual determination of its figurative character (for example, the middle slow part as the lyrical center of the cycle, etc.). “Small cycle” is understood in principle differently. A fugue can embody images of any type - lyrical, heroic, majestic, mournful, joyful, calmly focused, idyllic, etc. Its function in the “small cycle” is not related to figurative typification. Prelude in a figurative sense also has no clear restrictions. This figurative breadth in both cases also presupposes many individual solutions for combining the prelude-fugue. The principle of compensating, or complementary, contrast is most clearly manifested here, often with a unity of figurative mood in the cycle, and sometimes with a common intonation pattern (Chromatic fantasy and fugue). However, almost every case is individual. Behind the large, many sections (70 bars) Es-dur prelude from Volume I of “H.T.K.” What follows is a short (37 bars), rather a light fugue. F. Busoni considered this an unfortunate discrepancy. Bach was probably looking for just such a contrast in this case, since the prelude carried the main meaningful load. A strict, objective in its thematic fugue in D major from Volume II of “H.T.K.” demanded for her part a lively zig-like foreplay. In the cis-minor prelude and fugue from Volume I, there is more unity of images and emotions (mournful, serious, with pathetic features), conveyed, however, in different ways: a small prelude (39 bars) is full of dramatic intonations of exclamations, and an extensive fugue (115 bars ) unfolds on a strictly focused main theme with a slow, consistent build-up of emotions. The preludes and fugues g-moll, b-moll, h-moll (all from Volume I of “H.T.K.”) are rather united than opposed. But this unity of figurative mood (sorrowful, lyrical, dramatic) is expressed with such a richness of shades in each of the cycles that each time an individual solution arises. A particularly striking example in this sense is provided by the prelude-fugue in B minor. To the most dramatic exclamation in the theme of the fugue (minor none! ), which determines the impression of the whole, corresponds to - and is opposed at the same time - the tense anxiety of the prelude with its pulsating rhythms. Sustained, prolonged anxiety - and after it a sudden exclamation, as if in a pathetic speech.

A special place among Bach's keyboard works is occupied by the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in d minor (1720 - 1730, No. 903) in terms of the nature of the theme and imagery, the scale of form (79 and 161 bars) and sound. Inheriting the traditions of organ art (monumentality, improvisational scope), Bach simultaneously introduced into the rhapsodic recitatives of fantasy and the theme of the fugue an emphasized subjective principle, close to dramatic forms (in particular, accompanied recitatives of spiritual cantatas). At the same time, he also carried out certain gradations in the expressiveness of fantasy, on the one hand, and fugue, on the other. Fantasy is saturated to the limit with the pathos of dramatic expression; the fugue seems to moderate the direct expression of feelings without removing the sharpness of the impression. The fantasy combines broad, bold, virtuoso instrumental improvisation of a pathetic nature and recitative monologue, connected as if in a single poetic impulse by rich texture, complex harmonic writing, and refined rhythms. The harmonic basis of the fantasy is unusually bold and new; Bach here reaches the limit in the free use of harmonic means, even enharmonic ones. In general, this work is, so to speak, extraordinary in its strength and scope of embodiment of images that are unusual in their intense drama. Therefore, Bach included the expressive properties of large organ improvisations into the clavier fantasy, combining them with musical-dramatic recitation of theatrical origin.

Along with the polyphonic forms themselves, Bach willingly developed cyclic forms of suite sonatas on the clavier, in which he also did not abandon polyphonic methods of presentation and development. Six French suites, six English and seven partitas allow us to fairly fully imagine exactly how the composer understood the cycle keyboard suite and how his understanding changed. The title "French Suites" denotes a tradition rather than a precise definition of the genre. French authors of the 17th century established a tradition of turning to dance in music for the harpsichord (starting with J.C. de Chambonnières) and in musical theater (J.B. Lully). However, Bach's contemporary French harpsichordists (he knew their work very well) did not create dance suites, but large rows of elegant miniatures with programmatic titles. It was German authors, including Pachelbel in music for the clavier, who more consistently developed a suite of certain dances (allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue). When creating the “French Suites,” Bach singled out in this designation, on the one hand, the tradition of French harpsichordism, and on the other, the French tradition of the wide inclusion of dances in chamber, orchestral and theater music. But the French harpsichord suites themselves were not a model for him.

Unlike Handel, who understood the keyboard suite cycle completely freely, Bach gravitated toward stability within the cycle. Its basis invariably consisted of allemande-courante-sarabande-giga, but for the rest various options were allowed. Between the sarabande and the gigue, as a so-called intermezzo, various, newer and “fashionable” dances were usually placed: minuet (usually two minuets), gavotte (or two gavottes), bourrée (two bourrées), anglaise, polonaise, lure, passier. Sometimes in the same “inserted” function one can find an “aria,” a burlesque, or a scherzo. The main parts of Bach's suites are somewhat different from the dances included in the intermezzo and are often presented in a more transparent, homophonic presentation with greater proximity to the original dance source. The four main dances, which had already gone through the history of stylization in the suite before Bach, are already far from their original principles, although they do not break with it in the nature of the movement. In some details of texture and ornamentation, Bach partly relies on the experience of French harpsichordists. But first of all, he leaves his own mark on the style of presentation, polyphonizes the dance, introduces imitative techniques (especially in the gigue), and gives the dance a prelude or lush improvisational movement (in the sarabande).

The meaning of the comparison of the four main movements in the suite at first glance lies in the contrasts of the dynamic order: softer between the moderate and “dense” allemande and the easily moving chime, sharper between the slow, emotionally rich sarabande and the rapid gigue. This was the extent of the matter for many of Bach's predecessors and contemporaries. He deepened this contrast as emotional, figurative, and thereby outlined new functions of the parts in the suite cycle. This is best seen in the example of his sarabands. Without violating some traditional signs of movement (for example, emphasizing the second beat of a measure with a three-beat meter and a slow tempo), Bach gives the sarabands of his suites and partitas an unprecedented depth of expressiveness - lyrical, lamentous, pathetic (see successively II English Suite, II and VI French, VI English, I and VI partitas), equating them in importance to other excellent examples of his lyricism and pathos. Thanks to this, the saraband often becomes not just the slowest part of the suite in a certain movement, but the true lyrical center of the cycle. It is followed, further emphasizing its function, by light dances and intermezzo pieces, and the final gig forms a scattering, rapid, lively finale. Thus, the dynamic contrasts of the cycle begin to develop into figurative contrasts in Bach’s suites.

This process is also expressed in the interpretation of the beginning of cycles, which is noticeable in the example of the English suites and partitas. All of them open with either preludes (in eight cases out of thirteen), or overtures (in two cases - in partitas), or a symphony (sinfonia), fantasia, toccata (in one case in partitas). French suites do not have opening movements. In some cases, the initial prelude (in the English Suite I and Partita I) or the fantasy (in Partita III) does not perform any function other than the opening one. For the most part, in terms of the breadth of scale, the significance of development, even in form (a type of French overture, a large toccata of two sections in the partitas), the first, non-dance parts of Bach’s English suites and partitas claim to be the center of gravity in the cycle, which also determines their function among its other parts. The composer seems to be searching, “trying on”, choosing different types of pieces to begin the cycle, not yet settling firmly on any of them, but preferring those that are developed in composition, sometimes focusing on an overture or a toccata of two sections.

To find out how and under what circumstances the small cycle was formed, it is necessary to trace the formation of each of its components: the fugue itself and the prelude.

Praeludere (Latin for “to play beforehand, to prepare to play”) originated in the improvisations of church organists establishing the mode of music to be played during the service; With similar improvised “intros” the performers tested the tuning and tone of their instruments. "The earliest surviving organ preludes are contained in Ihleborg's tablature (1448), Paumann's Fundamentum organisandi (1452) and the Buxheim Organ Book (1460-70)." The prelude was not characterized by a specific form; the improvisational principle prevailed, because, often acting as a test of the instrument before any piece, the prelude not only preceded it musically, but often contrasted. The characteristic features of the prelude are the use of a single type of texture from beginning to end, free development, figurative development of material, often imitation and elements of a polyphonic warehouse. In its mature manifestations, the prelude is “an important independent type of composition, often very lengthy, the purpose of which is to anticipate the character and mood of the service, to provide a poetic musical commentary on the traditional text of the hymn. The chorale prelude was cultivated by Bach's North German predecessors - especially Scheidt, Buxtehude, Pachelbel and Böhm."

Pieces similar to the prelude also had other names: preamble, intrada, ricercar, fantasy, toccata.

The toccata, like the prelude, was born from the “essence of instrumental playing,” but there are still significant differences between them: “most likely, organ and keyboard toccatas arose from the trumpet fanfares that opened festivities in the late Middle Ages... Pretorius ... points to the chord structure toccatas: the organist must, when playing it, give simple but ornamented chords.” In this regard, it is important to note the difference between a toccata and a prelude, the nature of which was not predetermined by the festive procession, but had origins of an everyday, lyrical-improvisational nature.

The fantasy genre is one of the oldest in instrumental music and dates back to the 16th century. Unlike early instrumental genres, which had a close connection with vocal ones, fantasy has an improvisational nature of an instrumental nature (since it was originally performed on plucked instruments). Its features “are expressed in the deviation of construction norms for its time, unusual combinations of “components” common for a given era - structural and substantive.” In the period of interest to us - the era of strict style - the fantasy genre was marked by a magnificent flourishing.

Developing, these improvisational forms (fantasies, preludes, toccatas) were divided into two directions: “In the 18th century. preludes began to be created as independent plays; at the same time...a stable cycle of prelude-fugue developed, in which both components shaded each other.”

“The result of the evolution of fantasy by the end of the 18th century... was its transformation into a prelude to a fugue or into an independent free form.”

The emergence of the fugue - a musical form that left almost none of the composers of different eras indifferent - was prepared by the entire history of counterpoint, starting from the 15th century. The oldest type of development - variation - during the Renaissance took shape in the work of many composers into well-defined genre forms of both vocal and instrumental music. All of them were united by the dominant variational principle of development. “The artistic practice of the late 16th - first half of the 17th centuries provides excellent examples of the commonality of forms in such genres as ricercar, canzona, fantasy and, finally, fugue... Richercar gradually transformed into a fugue, the canzona also partly merged with the fugue..., fantasy led to both fugue, and to the free form of fantasy itself, the fugue, initially subordinated to the variation principle, under the influence of the ancient sonata, tripartite form and rondo, overcame variation and became a manifestation of the independent principle of musical form.”

Fuga (Latin - flight) initially denoted the canon, and when the term “fugue” was rethought, it is impossible to accurately designate. Some researchers give more precise dates, for example, R. Gruber: “Giovanni Gabrieli brings ricercar closer with the help of plastic characteristic themes and their counterpoint development to the fugue... The famous organ piece... 1595 is essentially the first fugue that has come down to us.” In the work “Syntagma Musicum” (1619) by the German theorist M. Pretorius, fugue is defined in its modern meaning: “Fugue is nothing more than a frequent repetition of the same theme in different places. It is named so from the word “to run”, i.e. one voice overtakes the other, singing the same theme. In Italian it means ricercare, which means “to explore”, “to search”, “to find”. It is by this figure that musical talent should be judged most of all, whether he knows how to evoke sounds suitable for a certain kind of melodies, and connect them with each other in a good and commendable sequence.”

It was in the ricercare of the 16th century. The features characteristic of a fugue were determined: the theme-cell, its inversions, increases, decreases, moving counterpoint, strett combinations. “The topic-response relationship (leader-companion) determined not only the expositional sequence, but also the ongoing part.” Later, ricercar acquired a specifically instrumental character, and in “the 17th century the number of themes in it was reduced to one - this process led directly to the fugue.” As you can see, the individual components of the fugue were polished over a number of centuries, absorbing (absorbing) the changes characteristic of a particular historical and cultural period.

“One of the secrets of such vitality was revealed more than a hundred years ago by Ludwig Bussler, author of the book “Strict Style. A textbook of simple and complex counterpoint, imitations, fugue and canon in church modes": of all forms based on imitation, fugue is the most perfect, not only because in its further development it can accommodate all contrapuntal forms, but also because it combines in itself the conditions of the greatest severity and the most unlimited freedom."

“In the Baroque era, the main cyclic forms were the suite, sonata da chiesa, concerto grosso and the form consisting of a prelude (toccata, fantasy) and fugue.” Thus, many researchers agree that the prelude-fugue cycle developed much earlier than the 17th century. And even the “interweaving of destinies” of prelude and fugue in a truly polyphonic style: penetrating into each other, interacting in every possible way over the centuries, these two diverse, heterogeneous forms united into a strong tandem, a vicious circle, a “micro-Universe”.

The outstanding composer of our time, Valentin Silvestrov, in one of his lectures on music, said approximately the following: “Fugue... What this musical term is can be understood by turning to Bach. This will be quite enough.”

Fugue: what is polyphony

The modern listener perceives the fugue as a secular musical work. A man who lived in the 17th century was a deeply religious man. The fugue was performed in church and continued the conversation with God in prayer in a language of deep musical and religious symbols that everyone could understand.

Bach's work is associated with the era of the Reformation, the main condition of which is the thought of salvation and faith. It is imbued with Protestantism and the ideas of Lutheranism. social life. Or rather, both of them (spiritual and secular) embodied man’s desire to understand the divine essence. Fugue is not just complex music, but a kind of spiritual code of German musical culture of the late 17th - early 18th centuries. Subsequently, it became the property of the whole world.

"My name is Bach"

Let's try to explain what a fugue is using an example from cinema.

In the early 2000s, the Swiss made a film called My Name is Bach. There is a remarkable episode in it. An aging Johann Sebastian Bach comes to Potsdam to visit his son. The young King Frederick (future Frederick the Great) shows the composer a collection of musical instruments. He immediately arrogantly invites the master to write a fugue for three voices on a theme he has previously chosen. Then he decides that the homework for a composer is too easy. He complicates it by declaring that he prefers to own the six-voiced fugue. The king is clearly provoking the guest. What is commonly understood in musical terminology by the concept of “fugue”? What are six voices? And why is a seemingly innocent conversation humiliating for the master?

Canon

First, let's turn to the canon, a faithful assistant to musicians during the Renaissance. Douglas Hofstadter, author of the world-famous book “Gödel, Escher, Bach: This Endless Garland,” for which he received a Pulitzer Prize, has a description of it.

In the canon, the theme is played and repeated in several voices. The simplest one is a circular one, when, upon entering, the second voice copies the theme, then others join in one by one. The next step: the topics differ in tone, the voices sound at different tempos.

The canons use complex reverse themes. Bach often resorted to them in his work. Ascending moves turn into descending ones while maintaining the intervals. The most bizarre form of such a canon is the “backward” one, in which the theme is played backwards. It is called the "rakhod".

Canon and fugue

A fugue is similar to a canon in that the main melody and imitations are performed by voices in different keys, sometimes at a different tempo. But she is not so strict, more emotionally intense. One voice carries the topic to the end. Then the next one comes in, but in a different key. The first voice complements the theme, contrasting the main one. Subsequent themes enrich the fugue with melodies. In the end, all voices are heard without following the rules. Thus, a fugue is defined as a polyphonic musical form in which one theme runs in different voices (usually 3) keys and modifications.

Of the 48 preludes and fugues of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, there are only two in five voices. Hofstadter believes that this type of improvisation is similar in complexity to a simultaneous blindfold chess game on 60 boards. But let's return to the plot of the film.

Gift for the monarch with a riddle

Bach returns home to Leipzig, sends the monarch a rich musical gift, which, among other things, includes 2 fugues for 3 and 6 voices. The canons sent as an offering were deliberately incomplete. The impolite Frederick was given the opportunity to come up with the ending himself, but the monarch was unable to do this. Only a few years later Bach's student would complete them. Fugues have many solutions, so it was impossible to put Friedrich in an awkward position.

Prelude and Toccata

Bach's prelude is a preface that precedes something important and significant. The chorale prelude was played on the clavier or church organ before the chorale was performed by the congregation of parishioners. The composer usually conceives the prelude and fugue simultaneously. Prelude - free improvisation. A fugue is an important maxim, a thought. In preludes, the mood is prepared before the start of a piece of music that is more significant and has strong images.

Over time, Bach, creating polyphonic cycles, elevated the prelude and placed it on a par with the fugue. In the future, composers turn less and less to preludes, although Chopin, Debussy, Scriabin, Shostakovich, Shchedrin, Slonimsky have them.

If the fugue is translated from Italian language means “running”, then toccata means touch or blow. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor is known to everyone. Usually it refers to the work for organ BWV 565, although the composer wrote a great many works of a similar nature.

Leonard Bernstein: on the complexity of understanding Bach

The reasoning of the American composer and conductor Leonard Burstein, a popularizer of classical music, is interesting. He believes that Bach's crushing musical style awes composers, reveres performers, and disheartens everyone else uninitiated in the musical mysteries.

As his own views (Berstein's views) on Bach's work changed, he came to understand that the composer's music contained the greatest beauty hidden from a cursory reading. “And you’ve probably never heard this music…” Burstein ends his thoughts with a provocative phrase. At first glance, the strange idea is simple and understandable. You can often hear skeptical arguments, as if all these concepts are so hackneyed: fugue, minor, and the master’s music itself sounds from almost every iron.

Fugue... What it is is not clear to everyone. And today, just like three centuries ago, the composer’s music is difficult to listen to; it requires effort and knowledge. And this is, of course, a lot of work. Hearing and hearing, Burstein believes, are different concepts.

Baroque music

The 17th century is considered rational. He went down in history, along with other achievements of human thought, Baroque music. She, as in a mirror, reflects the joys and contradictions of the century. Prelude and Fugue are two-pronged interconnected works. Prelude - improvisation and flight, fantasy, take-off.

Fugue is life itself, measured, orderly, solemn and somewhat ponderous. The first part is like youth, light, escaping, cheerful. The second is serious, polyphonic, subject to the laws of a mature and complex world. Fugue is a game of “who will catch up with whom.” The theme appears in one voice, then in another, they alternate, disappear, and are replaced by gaps. Then they (the voices) try to catch up with each other, literally stepping on each other's heels.

Bach's creative heritage is enormous and priceless. He left 1,100 works to his descendants. Experts say that this is only a third of everything written.