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Bach's Use of Dance Rhythms in Fugues
Part III
By Natalie Jenne
Concordia College
River Forest, Illinois
The pattern of the danced bourrée (see Ex. 3, BACH, Vol. IV, No. 4,
pp. 24-25) is consistently used in stylized dances from Lully to Bach.
Through careful analysis of many bourrées, I have been able to determine
that there are not only melodic and rhythmic theses on beats three (and
on parts of beats four, seven, and eight), but also, and of special import-
ance, a thesis occurs in the fundamental bass - a thesis in the rhythm of
the harmony,35 as it were.
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only) have been added for the convenience of the reader, so that keys and
modulations can readily be ascertained. The brackets over the harmonic
reduction enclose the pattern of the dance rhythm, either in its full eight-
beat form, or in abbreviated groups of four beats. Notice that the funda-
mental bass determines the level of the beat in both pieces. Although the
f-minor fugue is in 2/4 time and the c#-major fugue is in 4/4 time, the
beat in both pieces, which is the level where the main rhythmic activity
takes place, is the quarter-note.
Further indication that these are bourrée fugues lies in Bach's choice
of melodic figuration. The third and fourth or seventh and eighth beats
in bourrées by Bach and other composers are usually embellished by cer-
tain melodic formulae (Ex. 12). An examination of the full scores of
these fugues shows similar or identical figures on these crucial beats.
The rhythmic pattern of the danced gavotte is, likewise, clear in styl-
ized pieces based upon that dance (see Ex. 4, BACH, Vol. IV, No. 4,
p. 25). Bach's fugue in f#-major from the Well-Tempered Clavier (II)
is a remarkable example of a fugue based on this rhythm (Ex. 13). The
fundamental bass of the subject immediately establishes the beat as the
half-note. The consistent use of suspensions (both single and double) in
expositions and episodes creates feminine cadences characteristic of the
gavotte within the dance pattern, as well as at its termination. Thetic
points in the rhythm which are indicated in the fundamental bass by
unfigured notes or suspensions fall regularly on beats four and eight and
frequently on beats two and six. Melodic formulae common to the gavotte
are so clear in this fugue that separate examples would seem to be un-
necessary.
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tew suggestions on the performance of the three fugues previously men-
tioned may be helpful.
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The F-Minor Fugue
The ¥ -Minor Fugue is also based on the rhythm of the bourrée. In this
case, an additional eighteenth-century performance practice can be ap-
plied to emphasize the harmonic movement within the pattern - namely
notes inégales. The use of notes inégales is not simply a mechanical ap-
plication of long-short (L-S), the most common form, or short-long
(S-L) to a series of notes - in this case, sixteenths. It is a judicial inter-
mingling of the two for the purpose of emphasizing certain notes and
giving a kind of "swing" to the piece. The harmonic content of the phrase
can be brought out by making the harmonic tones long, at the expense
of the non-harmonic tones. This lengthening should be subtle, particularly
if the tempo is to approximate that of a bourrée (about quarter-note =
80). A few instances of the S-L form of notes inégales can be noted.
For example, in measure 4 the harmony changes on the last eighth-note,
but the d does not belong to a new harmony (see Ex. 10), so it must
be shortened in favor of the d! natural (Ex. 18). This shortening empha-
sizes the harmony and clarifies the up-beat to the next pattern. A simi-
lar lengthening of the last note of measure 8 shows that the d natural
belongs with the c'" of the soprano. The application of the same principle
to the last sixteenths of measures 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 (which are all
sevenths of the fundamental bass) determines the harmony, and, there-
fore, the proper articulation of the soprano (Ex. 19). By the same prin-
ciple, measures 17-22 will be articulated differently (Ex. 20). The funda-
mental bass reveals a particularly interesting articulation for the left-hand
eighth-notes from measure 79 to the end of the fugue (Ex. 21).
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the F'Minor Fugue, help to mark the harmonic tones for the listener.
35 The pas de bourrée and pas glissé steps of repose in bourrée choreographie
on the same beats.
36 The f-minor prelude in the Well-Tempered Clavier (II) is also based on the
gavotte rhythm. In this case, the beat is the quarter-note.
37 Clarification concerning the performance of this ornament is found in Putnam
Aldrich's article, "On the Interpretation of Bach's Trills," Musical Quarterly (July,
1963), pp. 289-310.
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Examples
Ex. 9. Three- voice Fugue, J. P. Kirnberger, meas. 1-13 ( Die Kunst des
reinen Satzes in der Musik ... , Berlin and Königsberg, 1774, p. I)
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Ex. 10. Bach, F-Minor Fugue , Well-Tempered Clavier (II) (Analyzed
According to Kirnberger s Principles)
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10
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11
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12
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Ex. 11. Bach, C-Sharp Major Fugue , Well-Tempered Clavier (I) (Ana-
lyzed According to Kirnberger's Principles)
13
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14
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Ex. 12. Melodic Formulae Employed in Embellishing Bourrées
15
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Ex. 13. Bach, Fugue in F -S harp Major, Well-Tempered Clavier (II)
(With Fundamental Bass Analysis)
16
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17
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18
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19
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Ex. 14. Bach, Well-Tempered Clavier (I), C- sharp Major Prelude, Re-
duction of Subject, meas. 1-3 (With Fundamental Bass Added)
Ex. 17. Bach, C-sharp Major Prelude, Portion of Subject, meas. 23,
and Suggested Manner of Performance
20
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Ex. 19. Bach, F -Minor Fugue , meas. 7-11
(With Fundamental Bass Added)
21
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