Bach_ Aspects of Unity in J.S. Bach's Partitas and Suites. An Analytical Study [David W. Beach]...

Aspects of Unity in J. S. Bach’s Partitas and Suites

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Aspects of Unity in J. S. Bach’s Partitas and Suites: An Analytical StudyDavid W. Beach

Eastman Studies in MusicRalph P. Locke, Senior Editor, Eastman School of Music

(ISSN 1071–9989)

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Aspects of Unity in J. S. Bach’s Partitas and SuitesAn Analytical Study

David W. Beach

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER PRESS

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Copyright © 2005 David W. Beach

All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation, no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded, or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

First published 2005

University of Rochester Press668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USAwww.urpress.comand of Boydell & Brewer LimitedPO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UKwww.boydellandbrewer.com

ISBN: 1–58046–202–2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Beach, David W., 1933-Aspects of unity in J.S. Bach’s partitas and suites : an analytical study

/ David W. Beach.p. cm. – (Eastman studies in music, ISSN 1071-9989 ; v. 33)

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 1-58046-202-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)1. Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750. Suites. 2. Suite (Music) I. Title.

II. Series.MT145.B14B44 2005784.18�54–dc22

2005020429

A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

This publication is printed on acid-free paper.Printed in Canada.

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to

Marcia Francesca, Juliana, and Matthew

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Contents

List of Figures viii

List of Tables x

Preface xi

The Partitas and Suites of Johann Sebastian Bach xv

Part I1 Introduction 3

The Role of Repetition and Variation 3

The Variation Suite 8

2 Harmonic Plans 15

3 Motivic Parallels 27

4 Structural Associations 39

Part II5 Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV 818a) 57

6 French Suite VI in E Major (BWV 817) 71

Epilogue 85

Appendix: Theoretical Terms and Definitions 87

Bibliography 89

Index 91

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1.1. Partita VI (BWV 830) 41.2. French Suite II (BWV 813) 51.3. French Suite II (BWV 813) 61.4. Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV 818) 61.5. English Suite VI (BWV 811) 71.6. Violin Partita I (BWV 1002) 71.7. Reincken, Hortus Musicus, Sonata I 91.8. Reincken, Hortus Musicus, Sonata I 101.9. Reincken, Hortus Musicus, Sonata I 101.10. Praeludium et Partita del tuono terzo (BWV 833) 111.11. Hypothetical model 12

2.1. Partita II (BWV 826) 152.2. Partita II (BWV 826) 172.3. Partita I (BWV 825) 182.4. Partita I (BWV 825) 192.5. Partita I (BWV 825) 202.6. Partita I (BWV 825) 202.7. Partita V (BWV 829) 202.8. Partita V (BWV 829) 202.9. Partita V (BWV 829) 212.10. Cello Suite III (BWV 1009) 212.11. Cello Suite III (BWV 1009) 222.12. Cello Suite III (BWV 1009) 222.13. English Suite V (BWV 810) 23

3.1. Partita III (BWV 827) 283.2. English Suite I (BWV 806) 283.3. English Suite I (BWV 806) 293.4. Partita II (BWV 826) 303.5. Keyboard Suite (BWV 821) 303.6. Keyboard Suite (BWV 820) 31

3.7. Keyboard Suite (BWV 820) 313.8. Orchestral Suite I (BWV 1066) 313.9. Keyboard Suite (BWV 822) 323.10. Cello Suite I (BWV 1007) 333.11. Partita IV (BWV 828) 343.12. Partita IV (BWV 828) 353.13. Cello Suite IV (BWV 1010) 363.14. Cello Suite IV (BWV 1010) 363.15. Cello Suite IV (BWV 1010) 363.16. Orchestral Suite I (BWV 1066) 37

4.1. Flute Partita (BWV 1013) 394.2. Flute Partita (BWV 1013) 404.3. Overture in the French Style (BWV 831) 414.4. Violin Partita I (BWV 1002) 444.5. Violin Partita I (BWV 1002) 464.6. Violin Partita II (BWV 1004) 474.7. Violin Partita II (BWV 1004) 504.8. Violin Partita II (BWV 1004) 514.9. Violin Partita II (BWV 1004) 52

5.1. Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV 818a) 575.2. Interpretation of figure 5.1 585.3. Structural models 595.4. Prelude 605.5. Allemande 615.6. Allemande 625.7. Courante 635.8. Courante 635.9. Sarabande 645.10. Sarabande simple (BWV 818) 655.11. Menuet 66

Figures

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5.12. Gigue 675.13. Gigue 685.14. Comparison of structures 69

6.1. Prelude in E (BWV 854/1) 726.2. Prelude in E (BWV 854/1) 736.3. French Suite in E Major (BWV 817), Allemande 756.4. Allemande 75

6.5. Courante 766.6. Courante 766.7. Sarabande 786.8. Gigue 796.9. Gavotte 806.10. Polonaise 816.11. Petit Menuet 826.12. Bourrée 83

List of Figures ix

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1.1 Formal-tonal design of the Praeambulum, Partita V (BWV 829) 3

1.2 Formal-motivic-harmonic design of the Menuet from French Suite II (BWV 813) 5

Tables

2.1 Occurrences of �7 (A�) in Partita I (BWV 825) 16

3.1 Harmonization of the stepwise descent from a2

to g�1 in bars 1–5 of the Allemande of English Suite I (BWV 806) 29

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THIS STUDY IS AN examination of the types and degree of unity—bywhich I mean the common features—within the individual partitas

and suites of Johann Sebastian Bach.1 While this topic has been touchedon in passing in recent publications,2 it has yet to be examined in depthfrom an analytical-theoretical perspective. That is the focus and purposeof this investigation.

Perhaps the best way to clarify the focus of this study and how it dif-fers from others of Bach’s suites—that is, to clarify what it is as well aswhat it is not about—is to begin with the term “unity.” At a very basiclevel, unity implies consistency of style, which in this context meansconsistency of melodic writing (including ornamentation), harmoniclanguage, contrapuntal complexity, texture, dimension, etc. Indeed,changes in these parameters are what differentiate Bach’s early stylefrom his more mature works and, for that matter, Bach’s styles fromthose of his contemporaries, a matter of some importance to scholarsfaced with the difficult task of establishing chronology and authenticity.3

Equally important as background to our investigation is a consider-ation of the circumstances under which the suites were written and firstpublished, matters that have been dealt with in depth by Christoph Wolffand others.4 As we approach the issue of unity, it would be comforting toknow, for example, that Bach conceived of these works as inseparable enti-ties, but alas that is not always the case. As noted by David Schulenberg:

We know from the successive versions of Bach’s later suites that move-ments could be added or subtracted from such works. Thus, his suitesare not closed cycles, but open sets of pieces in the samekey . . . . Especially in his early years, Bach, in composing harpsichordpieces, may have set out not to write suites but individual movementsthat could be grouped together at a later date. . . .5

The manner in which some of the suites were altered from early con-ception to final version raises at least two pertinent questions regarding

unity. First, does this suggest we are looking for something that simplyisn’t there? The evidence, the music, clearly indicates the contrary.Furthermore, it is clear that Bach, and no doubt his predecessors andcontemporaries, were well aware of the practice of relating two or moremovements of a suite by some unifying device, either a cantus firmus, acommon harmonic plan, or a motive. Second, knowing the disparate cir-cumstances under which the suites were written and assembled, would itbe reasonable to exchange a movement here and there between twosuites in the same key without disturbing the sense of unity? There is nosimple answer to this question. Perhaps it would work, but only as longas the two were stylistically compatible as defined above.

Let us return now to the matter of focus. I have purposely raisedissues of stylistic consistency and historical context, since I believe theyare crucial to a comprehensive study of the suites. But I also believe theyhave been dealt with sufficiently elsewhere, and thus I feel comfortablein looking beyond these matters to other factors—motivic repetitionand parallelisms, repeated harmonic and/or voice-leading patterns—that contribute to unity in Bach’s suites. In taking this approach, it mustbe made perfectly clear from the outset that this investigation is notbased on any preconceived notions regarding coherence or unity.Rather it reveals and, where possible, attempts to explain the composi-tional logic of the common elements where they exist, or, more appro-priately, where I have perceived them to be. It should come as nosurprise to those who are acquainted with these works that analysisreveals a great variety in the degree and types of common elementsbetween or among the movements of a given suite. At one end of thespectrum are those that exhibit a high degree of unity, sometimes read-ily perceived but other times existing only in the underlying structure,and at the other end are those revealing no such associations. Finally, Iwant to stress that by focusing on matters of commonality I am not inany way denying the significance of contrast and differentiation between

Preface

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successive movements. These are obvious features of the baroque suite,in most cases derived from the difference dance types of the period. Butthese features, and for that matter the circumstances mentioned aboveregarding the progression from early conception to final version of thesuites, in no way suggest a lack of continuity or commonality.

According to recent research, Bach is credited with forty-four suites:thirty for keyboard/lute; three for solo violin, six for solo cello, one forsolo flute, and four for orchestra. A listing is provided in the chart fol-lowing this preface. As noted above, the results of my study indicate agreat variety in the types and degree of interconnectedness among themovements of the individual suites, ranging from no discernible com-monality except consistency of style and dimension, to a few that exhibitconsiderable and varied associations, sometimes between pairs of move-ments but in other cases involving several of them. Thus I will not bediscussing all forty-four, but only those where I have observed connec-tions, namely in about two-thirds of them. Because I have relied on myear to tell me where I should dig further, it may be that I have missedsome interesting connections. In fact I would be surprised if that werenot the case, and thus I have no illusions about this study constituting adefinitive statement on unity in these works. Rather this is a beginning, areport on my observations on the types of associations I havefound. Some of the works will be discussed only briefly, others in greatdetail.

Some of Bach’s suites, particularly those for solo cello and violin andthe three keyboard collections, are generally regarded among the greatinstrumental works of the mature baroque, the culmination of a tradi-tion in Germany that can be traced through preceding generations—individuals like Kuhnau, Buxtehude, Reincken, Böhm, and others—toFroberger. Since these works come from that tradition, it seems logicalthat at least some of what I have discovered about Bach’s works wouldapply to the suites by his predecessors and contemporaries like Handel.At the same time, it is clear that Bach surpassed these individuals in thecomplexity and sophistication of his contrapuntal writing, and thus itwould not be surprising to find a richer and more varied complex ofrelationships in this music.

Aspects of Unity in J. S. Bach’s Partitas and Suites is organized as follows.Part I, divided into four chapters, presents the basic findings of this

investigation. Chapter 1 is introductory, opening with a discussion of therole of repetition and variation in individual suite movements as prepa-ration for a consideration of inter-movement connections. This is fol-lowed by a section dealing with the variation suite, a topic of centralimportance to this study. Growing out of our discussion of thePraeludium et Partita del tuono terzo (BWV 833) at the close of the firstchapter, the second opens with two further examples—in this instance,excerpts, not complete movements—where the unifying element is theharmonic succession (common figured-bass pattern) and then presentsseveral examples where the unifying pattern is the overall harmonicscheme rather than the detailed progression of harmonics. While anexamination of harmonic progression and large-scale harmonicschemes does indeed reveal a number of interesting connections, thisapproach, in isolation, leads to only a partial picture of unity in theseworks. We must also consider motive and voice-leading at various levels.This is the focus of the next two chapters, which form the core of my the-sis. Chapter 3 introduces an expanded concept of motive, differentiat-ing among three types: 1) the rhythmic motive; 2) the pitch motive; and3) the voice-leading motive. Drawing on the latter of these types, chap-ter 4 deals with voice-leading motives at deeper structural levels. Sinceharmony, motive, and voice-leading structures are musically dependent,it is inevitable that a focus on one will involve reference to the others. Asa result, you will encounter a certain amount of crossing of the topicboundaries as outlined above in the initial chapters. Where all this isintentionally brought together is in Part II, which presents two summaryexamples: the Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV 818a) and French SuiteVI in E Major (BWV 817).

I will employ a number of analytic symbols and techniques, whateverseems to convey the idea most clearly. These will include figured bass,harmonic analysis (roman numerals), simple reductions to show under-lying voice-leading in the immediate context, and Schenkerian graphs.I have purposely progressed from simple to complex, and I haveattempted to make the Schenkerian graphs, which are useful to repre-sent deeper-level musical connections, as clear and accessible as possi-ble.6 For those not acquainted with this approach I have provided, in anappendix, definitions of theoretical terms employed throughout. It ismy hope in writing this book to communicate with all musicians who are

xii Preface

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interested in these wonderful works and, along the way, to open a pathto further research into Bach’s music.

In closing I would like to thank a number of individuals for their helpand expertise in bringing this project to completion: Jessica Lovett, a for-mer graduate student in musicology at the University of Toronto, and mywife, Marcia, for typing and proofreading various versions of the manu-script; several individuals at University of Rochester Press, includingRalph P. Locke, senior editor of the Eastman Studies in Music series,Timothy Madigan and Suzanne Guiod, former and current editorialdirectors, respectively, Sue Smith, production manager, and LouiseGoldberg, copyeditor; and Dejan Badnjar of Musette Desktop Publishingfor his very beautiful settings of the numerous musical examples and par-ticularly the graphs that are so central to this study. I also gratefullyacknowledge assistance from the Otto Kinkeldey Publication EndowmentFund of the American Musicological Society.

David BeachTorontoJuly 2004

Notes

1. Bach used various terms to designate a set of dance movements,with or without prelude: Overture, Partita, and Suite. The term partita (pl.partite) was used by Bach both in its earlier meaning as variation, as inthe Partite diverse, BWV 766–768, and in its later meaning as a collection

of dance movements in the same key. Throughout this work I will useonly the word “suite,” except where referring to a specific work of differenttitle.

2. The issue of unity in Bach’s suites is raised by David Fuller in thearticle “Suite” in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed.(New York: Grove, 2001), 24:665–84, and by Hermann Beck in TheSuite, trans. Robert Kolben (Cologne: Arno Volk, 1966). The most com-prehensive view of Bach’s compositional style in relation to his suites canbe found in the following works by David Schulenberg: “Compositionas Variation: Inquiries into the Compositional Procedures of the BachCircle of Composers,” Current Musicology 33 (1982): 57–87; The KeyboardMusic of J. S. Bach (New York: Schirmer, 1992); and “Composition andImprovisation in the School of J. S. Bach,” Bach Perspectives 1, ed. RussellStinson (1995): 1–42.

3. Regarding the matter of authorship, it is interesting to note thatsome works previously attributed to Bach have been identified throughefforts of modern scholarship as not authentic. See, for example, the list ofdoubtful and spurious works for keyboard—including individual dancemovements and the Suite in A, BWV 824—compiled by Elwood Derr andlisted at the end of section III: 7 (Johann Sebastian Bach) in the Bach entry,New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. (New York: Grove,2001), 2:372–73.

4. For information specific to the suites, see Schulenberg, The KeyboardMusic of J. S. Bach. For general information about Bach and his works, seethe entry on Johann Sebastian Bach by Christoph Wolff and others in theNew Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. (New York: Grove,2001), 2:309–82; and Christoph Wolff, Johann Sebastian Bach: The LearnedMusician (New York: W. W. Norton, 2000).

5. Schulenberg, The Keyboard Music of J. S. Bach, 30.6. These Schenkerian graphs are of two types: 1) those showing con-

siderable detail (with bar lines included); and 2) those showing only deeper-level connections.

Preface xiii

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I. Keyboard/LuteA. Individual Works

BWV 818/818a Suite, A Minor819 Suite, E-flat Major820 Overture, F Major821 Suite, B-flat Major822 Suite, G Minor823 Suite, F Minor831 Overture nach französischer

Art, B Minor832 Suite, A Major833 Praeludium et Partita del

tuono terzo, F MajorB. English Suites

BWV 806 Suite, A Major807 Suite, A Minor808 Suite, G Minor809 Suite, F Major810 Suite, E Minor811 Suite, D Minor

C. French SuitesBWV 812 Suite, D Minor

813 Suite, C Minor814 Suite, B Minor815 Suite, E-flat Major816 Suite, G Major817 Suite, E Major

D. PartitasBWV 825 Partita, B-flat Major

826 Partita, C Minor827 Partita, A Minor

828 Partita, D Major829 Partita, G Major830 Partita, E Minor

E. LuteBWV 995 Suite, G Minor

996 Suite, E Minor997 Partita, C Minor

II. Other Solo InstrumentsA. Violin

BWV 1002 Partita, B Minor1004 Partita, D Minor1006 Partita, E Major

B. CelloBWV 1007 Suite, G Major

1008 Suite, D Minor1009 Suite, C Major1010 Suite, E-flat Major1011 Suite, C Minor1012 Suite, D Major

C. FluteBWV 1013 Partita, A Minor

III. OrchestraBWV 1066 Suite, C Major

1067 Suite, B Minor1068 Suite, D Major1069 Suite, D Major

The Partitas and Suites of Johann Sebastian Bach

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Part I

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1

Introduction

The Role of Repetition and Variation

ALOGICAL POINT OF DEPARTURE for a study of unity in Bach’s suites is anexamination of the role played by repetition and variation, first

within individual movements and then between or among them.Repetition—of a harmonic pattern, a motive, or a theme—is basic to ourperception of form in this music; without it there is no form or coher-ence. The important role of motivic repetition in Bach’s suites, which isthe primary focus of chapters 3 and 4, was indelibly stamped on my con-sciousness many years ago by the following experiment. One of my pro-fessors announced to his class on Form that he wanted us to listen to ashort composition he was going to perform on the piano, and to iden-tify what, if anything, might be lacking in it. He proceeded to play whatwe all assumed was a suite movement by Bach, an Allemande, as I recall.Actually, what he played was a hybrid formed by juxtaposing the firstpart of one Allemande with the second part of another one in the samekey. At first I listened for harmonic anomalies, but of course there werenone; the piece progressed normally. It was only with subsequent hear-ings that the “problem” became apparent. The two parts were not com-positionally linked in any way. That is, the hybrid movement was lackingin motivic integrity. We shall return to this point later on.

The role of motive in defining form is most clearly evident in some ofthe introductory movements of the suites, the preludes and overtures.1

Consider, for example, the Praeambulum from Partita V (BWV 829),where the form is defined by repetitions of a single idea, a motive, at dif-ferent tonal levels. Statements of this one idea are connected by pas-sages consisting of scales, arpeggios, and sequences. A diagram outliningthe main formal divisions and the corresponding tonal progression ofthis simple movement is provided in table 1.1.

Another clear example of the role of motive in defining the form isthe opening movement, the Toccata, from Partita VI (BWV 830). The

form of the movement is ternary: A (1–26)–B (27–89)–A1 (89–108). TheA section, which is improvisatory and chromatic in character, sets thetone for much of the partita. The improvisatory character is evident inthe Allemanda and Sarabande, and the chromaticism becomes domi-nant in the Corrente and Gigue, less so in the Sarabande. The A sectionis harmonically closed (E minor), alternating between statements of themain idea (see figure 1.1a), characterized by the dotted rhythmic figureand following appoggiatura (the “sighing” motive), and repeated equal-note figures. The dotted rhythm of the main idea reappears in theAllemanda, Sarabande, and Gigue. The B section is a 3-part fugue.Though clearly a contrasting section in terms of character and texture,the fugue subject may be understood as derived from the opening idea.Here the approach to the main tone (g) occurs by stepwise ascent, eachstep being articulated by the sighing motive and further elaborated bymordents, rather than arpeggiation as in the opening dramatic gesture.In addition, prolongation of the main tone by its upper neighbor, evidentin the opening two bars, is also represented here, though in this instancethe tone a passes through the following g on its way to scale degree 2 (f �)and on to local closure, as shown in the underlying voice-leading

Table 1.1. Formal-tonal design of the Praeambulum, Partita V (BWV 829)

Bars Content Tonal Level

1–4 motive I5–16 scale passages and arpeggios leading to

17–20 motive V21–40 sequential passages, arpeggios leading to

41–44 motive VI45–64 scale passage and sequences leading to

65–68 motive IV69–72 sequence leading to

73–87 prolongation of the dominant (This passage Vintroduces the chromatic elements b� (�3) and e� (�6), both of which appear in the Allemande.)

88–95 extension of the tonic (Note the registrally Iexpanded octave descent from g2.)

Note. The registers of pitch are designated throughout this work by the system wherebymiddle c is c1. Thus g2 is the g an octave and a fifth above middle c.

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superimposed on the music in figure 1.1b.2 The final section returns tothe improvisatory character of the opening, beginning in B minor (V)and ending in the tonic.

These are but two of the simpler examples of an interesting body ofworks, the preludes, that are worthy of further study—not only the form-defining role of motive but also the links to the suite movements that follow.

Let us return now to the matter alluded to in the opening paragraph,namely the important role of repetition, particularly varied repetition,in the binary dance movements, where, with few exceptions, we find theopening material restated in varied form at the beginning of the secondpart. In all such cases the original material is transposed, either to thedominant or to the relative major, and in some instances, particularly ingigues, the original idea appears inverted as well. Rarely is the transpo-sition an exact replica. More frequently it is transformed in some way,yet with a recognizable link, perhaps in some instances only rhythmic, tothe opening material. In those few instances where there is no referenceto the opening material after the double bar there is a link to the pre-ceding material at the cadence, creating a sense of continuity. In allthese instances, the repetition and/or link contribute significantly to theaural logic and compositional integrity of the work.

There are a few movements where we find a return to the openingmaterial at the original pitch level in addition to the transposed (and

sometimes inverted) reference immediately following the repeat of part 1.Two movements, the Sarabande and Bourrée anglaise from the flute par-tita (BWV 1013), are in rounded binary form, where the repetition of theopening material occurs in conjunction with a return to the tonic, a pro-cedure that becomes the standard in classical composition. The same pro-cedure is followed in the Courante of the first orchestral suite (BWV1066). In at least three other movements we find a variant of this proce-dure, namely where the repetition at the original pitch level does notoccur with a true return to the tonic. Consider, for example, the Polonaiseand Menuet from French Suite VI (BWV 817). The return at bar 17 in theformer movement might at first appear to be a double return, but in thiscase the E-major harmony is not tonic, but V of the subdominant. And thereturn at bars 17–18 of the latter is subsumed under a prolongation of thedominant arrived at in the preceding bar. The Sarabande from FrenchSuite V (BWV 816) presents yet a different situation. Here the brief refer-ence to the opening at bar 25 is reharmonized (vi).

The Menuet from French Suite II (BWV 813) provides an excellentsummary example to our brief examination of the roles of motivic repe-tition within a single movement and a glimpse ahead to the types of rela-tionships discussed in chapters three and four. The complete score of thismovement is reproduced in figure 1.2, and on the score I have indicatedrepetitions of two surface motives: a, first stated in the right-hand part inbar 1, by a straight bracket; and b, first stated in the right-hand part inbar 5, by a curly bracket. These two ideas are closely related; what differ-entiates them are their contours. Examination of their deploymentreveals how cleverly Bach has used them to articulate the phrase struc-ture. Consider, for example, the first part of the binary form, a modulat-ing period that is divided into two four-bar phrases. Motive a initiatesphrase 1, and b initiates phrase 2. Looking now to the next eight-barperiod we see that the same pattern applies. This is followed by an eight-bar sequence derived from motive b that connects the subdominant, thegoal of the preceding period, to the dominant in bar 24. At this point wemight expect a return to the tonic and a final eight-bar period closing themovement. Indeed there are eight bars following, the first four initiatedby motive a and the last four by motive b, by now a familiar scheme. Butinstead of a return to the tonic in conjunction with the return of motivea, Bach extends the dominant for four bars, with motive a now in the

4 Aspects of Unity in J. S. Bach’s Partitas and Suites: An Analytical Study

!

W

c

a

C

C

C

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CW

CC

OC C CC

B

CC

B

C

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c

C

C

C

C

B

CW

C

C

C CC

B B

B

# WCb C

w

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h

C C

w

C T

h

C C

w

CC

C

CC

CWC

C

C

C

C

CWCC

ascent to

CC

3̂í

CC

C

h

j

C

h

C

Figure 1.1. Partita VI (BWV 830), Toccata

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Careful examination of this movement reveals that there is yetanother motivic idea that plays an important role in this movement. It isthe third a�–g–f, first stated in the right-hand part in bar 2. I have circledits repetitions on the score (figure 1.2) and also indicated its prominentplacement at the cadence in bars 15–16. It is important for us to viewthe original statement of this idea in its larger context. As shown at a infigure 1.3, a sketch of the voice-leading of bars 1–5, the a�2–g2–f 2 con-tinues on to e�2 on the downbeat of bar 3, moving in parallel tenths withthe bass. The motion continues on to d2 and from there descends rap-idly, eventually reaching the inner voice tone g1. If we now look at theunderlying voice-leading of the passage beginning in bar 17, we see thatit is far more than a sequence based on motive b. It is a clever expansionof bars 2–4. Here the motion in parallel tenths, which was elaborated bya varied repetition of motive a in the left-hand part of bar 2 (see figure1.2), is expanded by a 10–7 sequence. That is, what had occupied onemeasure (bar 2) has been expanded to six. Any doubt about this refer-ence should be erased by the continuation. Bars 23–24 are an almostexact replica of bars 3–4. This time the melodic line does not return toe�2 over tonic harmony, as it had in bar 5, but the line is transferred tothe bass, now articulated by statements of motive a, as part of theextended dominant harmony.

A natural starting point for an investigation of Bach’s variation tech-nique exists in those suite movements with Doubles, where one canobserve an additional stage of elaboration of an underlying voice-leading pattern.3 Consider, for example, the opening four bars of theSarabande and its variation from the Keyboard Suite in A Minor, BWV818, which are provided in figure 1.4, along with a reduction ofthe voice-leading.4 A salient feature of the Sarabande simple is the fig-ure first stated in the right-hand part in bar 1, a slightly embellished

left-hand part, and the return to the tonic is delayed until bar 29, coin-ciding with the final appearance of motive b. A diagram of the formaldivisions labeled according to motivic articulation and the accompanyingharmonic scheme of this movement is provided in table 1.2.

Introduction 5

!

Y

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4

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a

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b

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#

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Y:

CXC

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S CC

C

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Figure 1.2. French Suite II (BWV 813), Menuet

: : :: a (4) + b (4)

i V, i [V] III

8a (4) + b (4)

III V, [V] iv

8

í í

8 8sequence (b) a (4) + b (4)

i ii V iV

Table 1.2. Formal – Motivic – Harmonic Design of the MENUET from FrenchSuite II (BWV 813)

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arpeggiation of the tonic triad downward from e2, repeated a steplower in bar 2, and then varied in bar 3 leading to the dominant (bar4). Notice that Bach preserves this manner of varied repetition in theDouble, though here the arpeggiation is filled in by passing tones andthe inner and outer voices are connected by arpeggiation on the thirdbeat. Bach also maintains the elaboration of the fifth of the triad by itsupper neighbor, f 2, in the variation.

A second example, the opening of the Sarabande from English SuiteVI (BWV 811) and the corresponding bars from its Double, is providedin figure 1.5. Here the Sarabande is very simple, almost identical tothe underlying voice-leading shown, except for repeated notes andembellishments. The Double moves in steady eighth-note motion thatarticulates the inner voices by means of elaborated arpeggiation, wherechord tones are introduced by step from below. The top part is elabo-rated only minimally by arpeggiation (thirds above) and by passingmotion.

Figure 1.6a provides the opening of the Allemanda from the first vio-lin partita (BWV 1002), the corresponding bars of the Double, andabove a reduction of the Allemanda. Figures 1.6b, 1.6c, and 1.6d providethe same for the Sarabande, Tempo di Borea, and Corrente, respectively.The reason for this organization, that is, of placing the Corrente last, isto highlight the motivic similarity among the other three movements, amatter to be discussed in greater detail later on. In each of these threemovements the main melodic tone, f�2, is first prolonged by its upperneighbor note before descending to the local goal. In both theAllemanda and Tempo di Borea, the f�2 is temporarily covered by b2,


!

Y

Y

Y

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g

CC

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C

1a

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etc.

#

Y

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CC

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i

C

10 10 10 10

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b4̂ cf. bar 2

cf. bars 3-4

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etc.

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iv

10 - 7 10 - 7 10 - 7

X

C

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C

h

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i

Figure 1.3. French Suite II (BWV 813), Menuet. Comparison of bars 2–4 and17–28

!

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reduction

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Figure 1.4. Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV 818)

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strengthening the association. By contrast, the reduction of the corrente(figure 1.6d) shows that its opening melodic gesture is an ascendingline. Returning now to the matter at hand, we can see that the Double ofthe Allemanda does not preserve the rhythmic character of the original, butrather progresses by sixteenth notes. The individual lines are articulatedthrough arpeggiation and passing notes, and the bass line begins an octavehigher. The same general procedure is followed in the Doubles of theSarabande and Tempo di Borea.5 By contrast, the arpeggiation figura-tion of the Corrente is transformed into scale passages—filled-in arpeg-giations—in its Double.

Introduction 7

!

Y 3

2

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reduction

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Figure 1.5. English Suite VI (BWV 811)

!

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a reductionC

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6 42

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í

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c

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tempo di boreaC

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C

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t

C

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CC

CC

C

C

C

CC

CC

h

C

Figure 1.6. Violin Partita I (BWV 1002)

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Though the sample is relatively small here, there are at least twogeneral principles that can be drawn from examining all thirteenmovements with their Doubles.6 First, it seems that many of the variationmovements employ a consistent note value, the eighth or the sixteenth.In these instances the rhythmic character of the original movement islost; what is being varied in each case is the underlying voice-leading. Wehave just seen three very clear examples of this procedure in theAllemanda–Double, Sarabande–Double, and Tempo di Borea–Doubleof the first violin partita. This is also true in the Double of the Sarabandefrom the sixth English Suite and the Double of the Gigue from the thirdlute suite (BWV 997). By contrast, there are several examples where therhythmic character of the original is retained, as in the two Doubles ofCourante II from English Suite I (BWV 806), the two Sarabandes withagréments from English Suites II and III (BWV 807 and 808), and theSarabande double from the Keyboard Suite BWV 818. In the first ofthese, the original character of the Courante is retained in the right-hand part. The left-hand part of the first variation maintains continuouseighth-note motion, but this is not followed in the second Double. And,as we have observed in figure 1.4, the repeated pattern of the Sarabandesimple from BWV 818 is not lost, but rather replaced by a variant in itsDouble. Second, one can take as a general principle that sustainedchords in the original movement are replaced by arpeggiated chords inthe variation and that arpeggiated chords in the original are filled in by

passing notes. The procedure can be observed in the examples pre-sented in figures 1.4 through 1.6.7

The Variation Suite

Unity in the baroque suite is most clearly represented in what is appro-priately called the variation suite, a generic term encompassing a varietyof practices. On the one hand, we have examples like Buxtehude’s famoussuite Auf meinen lieben Gott (BuxWV 179), where each of the movements—the chorale setting followed by a Double, then a Sarabande, Courante,and Gigue—are clear variations of the opening chorale, both melody andbass.8 (This type of variation set is represented in Bach’s work by hischorale variations, BWV 766–768, with the obvious difference that the“partite” are not cast as dance movements.) The composing of such asuite, where all movements are derived from a single source (in this casea figured bass rather than a chorale setting), is the goal of the Handleitungzur Variation (1706), Part II of the Musicalische Handleitung, by FriederichErhard Niedt.9 It is significant that Niedt begins instruction with the studyof thoroughbass in Part I of his treatise before progressing to the study ofvariations and the application of variation technique in Part II. This sec-ond part begins in the tradition of the older diminution treatises with alisting of the many ways to vary each diatonic interval, from unison tooctave, both ascending and descending, following which this knowledgeis applied to a simple bass recast in different meters. The following chap-ter then adds the right hand above this same bass and presents differentways to vary this part—by means of simple arpeggiation, running passages,and repeated patterns. Having added the right-hand part, Niedt then pro-ceeds to demonstrate how to vary the common signatures of figured bass,those introduced in the first part of the treatise, and he then applies thisknowledge to a given figured bass. Where all this is leading is to the com-position of a series of suite movements based on the given bass, which issubsequently rewritten in various meters to fit the character of the differ-ent dance types. The results are not always satisfying musically, but thisdoes not lessen the historical significance of this unique work.

There is a fair amount of circumstantial evidence connecting Niedt toBach. We do know, for example, that Niedt’s teacher, the one referred to inthe preface to Part I of Die musicalische Handleitung, was Johann Nicolaus


!

W

W OB

OB

OB

OB OB OB

d reduction

OB

OBW

6

OB

!

W

W

h

C C

C

C

C

C

CC

C

CW

CC

CC

C

C

C

C

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corrente

!

W

W

h

C CC

CC

CC

CC

CC

CCW

CC

CC

CWCW

CC

CC

CC

CCX

CXC

CC

CC

CC

C

double

Figure 1.6. (continued)

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Bach (1669–1753), Johann Sebastian’s cousin. As reported by DavidSchulenberg, this fact has led to speculation that Niedt’s treatise may welloutline what was a Bach family tradition in composition.10 As we havealready noted, Niedt does begin instruction with thorough-bass realizationin four parts, which according to both Carl Philipp Emanuel and his father’sstudent, Johann Philipp Kirnberger, was exactly what Johann Sebastian didin the instruction of his students.11 A further piece of evidence comes to usin the form of a manuscript consisting of basic instruction and practicalexercises in four-part thorough-bass realization, apparently compiled byBach for his students at the Leipzig Thomasschule.12 The second part of thismanuscript, titled Gründlicher Unterricht des General-Basses, is a close para-phrase of the initial volume of the Niedt treatise.13

Whether or not Bach was acquainted with volume 2 of the Niedt trea-tise, the one on variation technique, is an open question, but not crucial

as a link between Bach and the tradition of the variation suite. That linkis clearly established by Bach’s keyboard arrangement (BWV 965) ofSonata I from Johann Adam Reincken’s Hortus Musicus (1687).Examination of the Reincken sonata reveals that the composer’s meansof creating associations among the movements are more varied than thesingle approach outlined by Niedt in his treatise. Two of the movements,the Allemande and the Courante, are indeed derived from the sameharmonic/contrapuntal framework, but in other instances the associa-tions are created by motivic references and even direct quotation.

The prelude to the Reincken sonata begins with a slow introductorysection (Adagio) followed by an Allegro (fuga) and then a third sectionalternating between slow and fast tempi for solo violin and continuo.A reduction of the opening Adagio is provided in figure 1.7 (level a).Note the bracket above bars 8–12, which highlights a passage that is

Introduction 9

! c

B

Adagio [Reduction]

1C

C

AWC

OB CC

C

C AWA

C

CW

CC

A

A

A

A

A

A

10

A

A

B

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CWA

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CA

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í

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5 - 6

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5W

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5-

A

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A A

7W

A

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T

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CC

CC

C

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CC

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C CC

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CC

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8ve

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CC

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CC

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h

j

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b

20

Allegro (Fuga)

C

C

C

g

C

N

C

CC

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CC

CC

!

12

8

C

CC

CC

C

C

N

CC

C

C

C CC

CC

CC

CC

CC

CC

CC

CC

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CC

C C

CC

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CC

c

GigueC

C

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g

CC

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CC

6th

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OC

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Bach

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8ve

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Figure 1.7. Reincken, Hortus Musicus, Sonata I

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stated in varied form in both the Allemande and Courante. This passageis immediately recognizable because of its static quality. Level b presentsthe fugue subject of the middle section. As shown by the analytical addi-tions, the first part of the subject is characterized first by the descendingarpeggiation of the tonic triad followed by the reintroduction of theprimary tone (e2) by its upper neighbor. This is followed by an elabo-rated statement of the octave descent from a2 to a1. The derivation of theGigue subject (shown at level c) from the fugue subject is obvious. It iscurious that Reincken altered the descending octave to a descendingsixth, stalling at c2, and equally interesting that Bach changes thisfeature in his keyboard arrangement, restoring the octave progressionand thus strengthening the motivic correspondence between Fugueand Gigue.

Reductions of the opening measures of the Allemande and Couranteare provided in figure 1.8, aligned to show the correspondence betweenthem. It is perfectly clear that the two are based on the same contra-puntal model, that is, on the same melodic and harmonic framework.

This is a stronger association than one finds in the Niedt treatise, whereall movements are based on the same figured bass (bass line and har-monic succession) but not melody. Here the Courante is truly a variationof the Allemande. Furthermore, as noted above, the characteristic staticpassage from the Adagio is repeated in varied form in both these move-ments (see brackets), enhancing the sense of continuity from movementto movement. Since the Gigue is derived from the earlier fugue, thatleaves only the Sarabande, the opening measures of which are given infigure 1.9. While the movement as a whole cannot be considered a vari-ation of preceding movements, the reference to the melodic contourand pitches of the previous two movements (figure 1.8) is clear in theopening measures.

What might Bach have learned from preparing an elaborate key-board arrangement of this sonata? Perhaps the greatest lesson to belearned is that there are various ways at creating associationsbetween/among movements, ranging from direct quotation and motivicreference to various levels of derivation, including the recomposition ofan entire movement to create something new. It should come as not sur-prise that we find all this, and even more, in his suites.

So, did Bach write any variation suites? According to both ElaineSisman and David Schulenberg, there is but a single example amongBach’s numerous suites, the early work titled Praeludium et Partita deltuono terzo (BWV 833).14 Perhaps they are correct according to a narrowdefinition of the term, though, as we shall see, there are several othersuites by Bach that exhibit far greater inter-movement associations. The


! c

U

T

Allemande [Reduction]

C C B

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BC

CA

A

A

A

see Adagio, 8-12

A

OB

CB

etc.

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C C A B

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C

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75

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compressed, the length remains the same as in the allemande: twentybars of [6/4]15

Schulenberg’s explanation reflects the complex and sometimestentative correspondences between these two movements, as revealed infigure 1.10. Here the two basses are aligned and lines are drawn betweenthe two to indicate equivalent harmonies. The correspondence betweenthe two is clear through bar 10 of the Allemande and again from bar 16to the end, but less so in the intervening section. The two bars of theCourante described by Schulenberg as being inserted, highlighted infigure 1.10 by a bracket and asterisk, arise from extension of the F-majorharmony, here functioning as V of the subdominant, the arrival at whichin bar 16 is the point where the two basses once again begin to align.Because the Allemande comes first, it naturally is taken as the modelfrom which the Courante is derived, but perhaps neither should be con-sidered as the source. Instead one might consider both to be elabora-tions of a much simpler abstract model, as provided in figure 1.11.

Introduction 11

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Allemande and Courante movements of this work form a variation pairwith two common features that are immediately apparent. First themodal inflection g–a�–g, that is, scale degrees 5–�6–5 in the key of thedominant, that appears in bar 7 of the Allemande is restated at theequivalent place in the Courante. And second the repeated note patternthat is pervasive in the Allemande reappears at several points in theCourante. However, what qualifies these two movements as a variationpair is the fact that they are based on the same underlying framework,though not as clearly as we have seen in the Reincken sonata. DavidSchulenberg has described the relationship as follows:

The courante is notated in [3/4] . . . but is really in what we would call[6/4] . . . two measures here correspond to one in the allemande.Although the two movements share some motivic material, their maincommon point is the harmonic ground, a notable feature of which isthe use of the minor mode in the closing phrase of the first half. . . . Atone point the courante departs from the ground, two bars (29–30)being inserted. But because several other bars of the model are

Figure 1.10. Praeludium et Partita del tuono terzo (BWV 833). Comparison of Allemande and Courante

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Notes

1. The introductory movements of Partitas II, III, and VI (BWV 826, 827,and 830) are titled Sinfonia, Fantasia, and Toccata, respectively. All other intro-ductory movements in the suites are titled Prelude (Praeludium, Praeambulum)or Ouverture.

2. My placement of stems showing the stepwise ascent in figure 1.1b may atfirst appear counterintuitive. That is, why not place them on the accented notes?The reason is the implied harmonic support, which suggests that the accentedpitches, emphasized here by ornaments, are appoggiaturas and thus not sup-ported harmonically. This simple example illustrates the potential confusionthat can arise in analysis depending on whether one is following the musicalarticulations or the underlying organization.

3. The following movements from the suites have Doubles:

metric suspensions) and rhythmic shifts. Note values in the reduction indicateduration of control or influence, in contrast to the sketch, where note valuesindicate relative structural weight.

5. Notes implied by context but not actually stated in the music are indi-cated in the reductions (and later in sketches) by parentheses. See, for example,the c�2 in my reduction of the Sarabande (top voice, bar 4) and the implied bassnote f�1 on the downbeat of bar 2 of the Tempo di Borea.

6. An anomaly is the Polonaise and its Double from the second orchestralsuite (BWV 1067). In this case the Double consists of an elaborate flute obbli-gato added above the original melodic part. Careful examination of the fluteobbligato reveals its origins in the original melody.

7. Bach’s Double movements have been discussed only briefly here becausethe topic of diminution technique is not central to the main thesis of this study.However, they are worthy of more careful examination in themselves and in rela-tion to those of his immediate predecessors and contemporaries, particularlyHandel.

8. The Buxtehude, where all subsequent movements are variations of theopening chorale, is an extreme. It is far more common that only two or some ofthe movements of a variation suite are so related.

9. Friederich Erhard Niedt, Musicalische Handleitung I: Vom General-Bass(1700); II: Handleitung zur Variation (1706; 2nd expanded edition, ed.J. Mattheson, 1721); III: Von Contra-Punct, Canon, Motetten, Choral, Recitativ-Stylo,und Cavatten, ed. J. Mattheson (1717). English translation as Musical Guide byPamela Poulin and Imgard C. Taylor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.

10. See David Schulenberg, “Composition and Improvisation in the Schoolof J. S. Bach,” Bach Perspectives 1, ed. Russell Stinson (Lincoln: University ofNebraska Press, 1995), 8n22.

11. C. P. E. Bach provides the following well-known description of hisfather’s method of teaching in a letter to Forkel, dated 13 January 1775 (quotedin The New Bach Reader, ed. Hans T. David and Arthur Mendel, rev. and expandedChristoph Wolff [New York: W. W. Norton, 1998]: 399):

His pupils had to begin their studies by learning pure four-part thoroughbass.From this he went to chorales; first he added the basses to them himself, andthey had to invent the alto and tenor. Then he taught them to devise the basses


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Figure 1.11. Hypothetical model

BWV Suite Movements with Doubles

806 English Suite I Courante II (2 Doubles)811 English Suite VI Sarabande818 Keyboard Suite Sarabande833 Praeludium et Partita del Sarabande

tuono terzo997 Lute Suite III Gigue1002 Violin Partita I Allemanda, Corrente,

Sarabande, Tempo di Borea

1067 Orchestral Suite II Polonaise

Also in this category are movements with added embellishments, theSarabande movements with agréments from English Suites II and III (BWV 807and 808). See also the Chaconne from Violin Partita II (BWV 1004).

4. The type of reduction used here and elsewhere is a simplification of thevoice-leading, resulting from the elimination of unessential embellishments (all but

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themselves. He particularly insisted on the writing out of the thoroughbass in[four real] parts. . . . The realization of a thoroughbass and the introduction tochorales are without doubt the best way of studying composition, as far as har-mony is concerned.

Kirnberger, who studied with Bach in Leipzig (1739–41), claimed his majorwork, Die Kunst des reinen Satzes in der Musik (I, 1771; II, 1776–79), was based onBach’s method of teaching, a claim supported by Forkel. This work begins withinstruction in pure four-part writing, and later in the work—when he beginsinstruction in simple counterpoint—Kirnberger breaks with tradition by insist-ing on starting in four parts and only later learning the more difficult task ofwriting in two and three parts.

12. The manuscript (AA27.224, Bibliothèque du Conservatoire Royal deMusique, Brussels) is titled “Des königlichen Hoff-Compositeurs und

Capellmeisters ingleichen Directoris Musices wie auch Cantoris der Thomas-Schule Herrn Johann Sebastian Bach zu Leipzig Vorschriften und Grundsätzezum vierstimmigen Spielen des General-Bass oder Accompaniment für seineScholaren in der Music, 1738.” The title page is in the hand of Carl AugustThième, who studied with Bach between 1735 and 1745.

13. Variants from the Niedt treatise are clearly indicated by Pamela Poulinin her translation of this work. See J. S. Bach’s Precepts and Principles for Playingthe Thorough-Bass or Accompaniment in Four Parts (Oxford: Clarendon Press,1994.)

14. Elaine Sisman, “Variations,” New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,ed. Stanley Sadie, 2nd ed. (New York: Grove, 2001), 26:284–326; DavidSchulenberg, “Composition and Improvisation in the School of J. S. Bach,” 9.

15. Schulenberg, The Keyboard Music of J. S. Bach (New York: Schirmer,1992), 36.

Introduction 13

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at the dominant. (It is only in the subsequent measures, namely in theconfirmation of the dominant, that the two differ significantly). Bothopen in a similar fashion, with the motion 8–�7 over a tonic pedal, and,following the initial four-bar prolongation of the tonic, both progressthrough the same or equivalent harmonies to the dominant (bar 9). Asshown by the roman numerals below the voice-leading reductions, the

2

Harmonic Plans

IN THIS CHAPTER we will consider two types of harmonic repetitionexhibited in the suites: 1) a succession of chords over several measures

common to a pair of movements; and 2) a large-scale harmonic schemeshared by several movements. We have already encountered a primeexample of the first type in our brief consideration of the Allemande–Courante pair from the Praeludium et Partita del tuono terzo (BWV 833) atthe close of the preceding chapter. This appears to be the sole instancethroughout the forty-four suites where this type of relationship existsthroughout the two movements. However, there are at least twoinstances where this relationship holds for a significant portion of amovement pair. One of these occurs in the first parts of the Allemandeand the Courante from Partita II (BWV 826). Though very different incharacter and surface design, the two movements share a common planleading from the tonic to the cadence on the dominant at the close ofpart 1. (The scores of the Allemande, bars 7–16, and of the Courante,bars 6–12, are provided in f igure 2.1, and reductions of these passagesare provided in f igure 2.2). What is striking to the ear is the exact repe-tition of harmonies connecting the tonic harmony with the same chordin six-three position (Allemande, bar 9; Courante, bar 8), now func-tioning as iv6 in the key of the dominant. (An interpretation of the har-monic succession using roman numerals is provided below the passagefrom the Courante). From this point the two movements progress dif-ferently, though arriving at the same goal. However, both movementscontain parenthetical registral digressions, and further scrutiny revealsthat both melodic passages are elaborations of the same underlyingdescent by step from e�2 to g1.1

A similar relationship exists between the opening measures of theAllemande and the Sarabande from Partita I (BWV 825), the scores ofwhich are provided in figure 2.3. As shown in figure 2.4, a comparisonof the essential voice-leading of the first parts of these two movements,the relationship is clear through bar 9 of each, the point of initial arrival

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“modulation” to the dominant is accomplished through a commonpivot: vi in the original key (B�) becomes ii in the dominant.2 This samemeans of modulating to the dominant has been foreshadowed in thePraeludium (bars 7–14).

In very similar fashion to what we encountered with the first example,the Allemande and Courante from the second partita, the harmonicrelationship between this movement pair continues into the secondpart, at least with respect to larger harmonic goals if not in the detailedsuccession of harmonies. Both movements contain a confirmed modu-lation to the supertonic, the Allemande in bar 32 and the Sarabande inbar 20. A comparison of the overall harmonic plan of both movements,utilizing both music notation (an analytic bass line showing the hierar-chy of harmonies) and roman numeral representation of harmonicfunctions, is provided in figure 2.5.3 Though the correspondence is notexact, it is clear that the underlying harmonic design of both movementsis essentially the same. As shown on the lowest system, the fundamentalprogression of both movements is I . . . ii V I.

As we look beyond the Allemande–Sarabande pairing, it is of utmostimportance to our general topic of unity within the suites to note thatevery movement in this work is related by virtue of a common element,the flat or lowered seventh degree (a�) of the B�-major scale. Its employ-ment is so pervasive and in many cases so blatant, as employed in theopening bars of both the Allemande and Sarabande (see figure 2.3), thatit achieves the status of a motive. In most cases, a� is employed as �7 in B�,that is, as part of I�7 (� V7 of IV), resulting in an emphasis throughoutthe suite on the subdominant, but it is also employed in relation to otherharmonies/temporary key centers as well. A listing of its occurrences andfunctions in each of the movements is provided in table 2.1.

In summary, we note the following features of the first partita. First,there is a thread—the pervasive a�—that runs through the entire suite,commencing with the Praeludium. Second, the Allemande andSarabande are paired by virtue of the similarity in their harmonic plans,both in terms of their overall tonal design and the succession of har-monies, particularly in their first parts. There is yet another point rele-vant to the topic at hand, namely that the remaining movements,

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Table 2.1. Occurrences of �7 (A�) in Partita I (BWV 825)

Movement Measure Numbers Function

Praeludium 7, 14, 19, 20 I�7 (= V7 of IV)Allemande 1 I�7

15 �3� of V (F)23–26 leading to ii (c)33, 35, 36, 38 I�7

Corrente 16 �3� of V37–39 leading to E� as VI of ii (c)47, 58 I�7

Sarabande 2 I�717–18 o7 of ii (c)25 I�7

Menuet I 5, 26 I�729 4� in IV (E�)

Menuet II 2, 13 I�7Gigue 10, 12 �3 of V (F)

13 o7 of V of V18 I�7

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Harmonic Plans 17

Several of the Bach suites are unified by the employment of the samelarge-scale harmonic design in a number of their movements. Onemight argue that this is unexceptional, since almost all of the binarydance movements, certainly all those in the major mode, progress to thedominant at the end of part 1 and then close in the tonic at the end ofpart 2. This is certainly true, but what we are considering here in addi-tion to these basic features is a design incorporating, at the very least, acommon modulation, confirmed by a cadence, internal to the secondpart. There are numerous suites where this does not occur, but when itdoes, the repetition is apparent to the trained musician; even short ofthat, it at least contributes to the sense of coherence to the less sophisti-cated listener.

A clear example of this phenomenon occurs in Partita V (BWV 829).Five of its movements—Allemande, Corrente, Sarabande, Tempo di

excluding the Praeludium, all follow the same large-scale harmonicplan, a different plan from the one that is exhibited in theAllemande and Sarabande. This large-scale tonal design, as it occurs inMenuet II, is shown in figure 2.6. In the other three movementsthe motion to the submediant (vi) is confirmed by a cadence in thatkey—at bar 46 in the Corrente, at bar 24 in Menuet I, and at bar 28 inthe Giga. In all cases the modulation to vi is followed directly by asecondary dominant ( I�7 ) leading to the subdominant—at bar 48 inthe Corrente, at bar 27 in Menuet I, and at bar 30 in the Giga—thuscompleting the large-scale descending third progression leading onto the dominant and closure. This point leads us to the second ofour topics within this chapter, a consideration of suites containing sev-eral movements related by virtue of a common large-scale harmonicdesign.

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Figure 2.3. Partita I (BWV 825), Allemande, part 1, and Sarabande, part 1 Figure 2.3. (continued)

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Harmonic Plans 19

Minuetta, and Gigue—follow the harmonic scheme outlined in figure 2.7.The main feature of this scheme is the confirmed modulation in part 2to the submediant (vi) followed by a motion to the subdominant,completing the large-scale descending arpeggiation by thirds as prepa-ration for closure. This is a common tonal paradigm that gains in sig-nificance by virtue of its employment as the foundation of all themovements but the Praeambulum and Passepied.4 Furthermore, thereare other features that reinforce the association between the first twomovements in this group of five, the Allemande and the Corrente. Moststriking are the deceptive delay of closure in the final parts of part 1 ofboth movements and the ensuing octave descent from d2 to d1, as shownat a and b in figure 2.8. Note that the octave progression, also employ-ing the lowered seventh degree of the scale, was heard at the very end ofthe Praeambulum, as shown at c. Finally, in this regard, note that the

final bars of the Corrente, a reduction of which is provided in figure 2.9,provide a diminution of the large-scale harmonic scheme outlined inFigure 2.7 as well as a further example of a descending line—here atenth—involving the lowered seventh (f�).

Another clear example of unity created by means of a common har-monic plan occurs in the third cello suite (BWV 1009). As is the case withthe fifth partita, several of the movements—in this case the Allemande,Courante, Bourrée I, and Gigue—are related by virtue of a plan involv-ing a confirmed modulation to the submediant in the second part of thebinary form.5 A graphic representation—utilizing both music notationand roman numerals—of how this plan unfolds in each of the four move-ments is provided in figure 2.10. This figure is organized from simplest(Bourrée I) on the lowest stave to the most elaborate (Gigue) at the top.One can easily see the variants in the manner in which the motion to the

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Figure 2.4. Partita I (BWV 825). Comparison of Allemande and Sarabande (part 1)

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Figure 2.5. Partita I (BWV 825). Large-scale harmonic plans of the Allemandeand Sarabande

Figure 2.6. Partita I (BWV 825). Large-scale harmonic plan of Menuet II

Figure 2.7. Partita V (BWV 829). Common large-scale harmonic plan

Figure 2.8. Partita V (BWV 829)

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Harmonic Plans 21

dominant at the end of part 1 is achieved. Of greater significance to thisdiscussion are the contents of the second part of the binary form, includ-ing the modulation to vi. With the exception of the Gigue, the modula-tions to the submediant are achieved in much the same way.

Following confirmation of the modulation at the cadence, the sim-plest of the movements, Bourrée I, progresses directly to II7 (� V7 of V)and on to closure. In both the Allemande and the Courante, the pro-gression of harmonies continues in very similar fashion to the subdomi-nant and then to the supertonic, each introduced by their dominants(in one case by a substitute for the dominant, the diminished-seventhchord). Once the modulation to vi is finally confirmed in the Gigue theharmonies progress sequentially through the dominant to the subdom-inant on its path to closure.

The outline of the harmonic plan of the Gigue (figure 2.10, top sys-tem) indicates that the modulation to vi is delayed by a parentheticaldigression. The context for that digression is provided in figure 2.11, areduction of bars 49–72 of the movement. As shown below the reduc-tion, the modulation to vi is prepared in bars 53–56 but not realizeduntil bar 72. In the intervening bars the music first recalls the main key,then its subdominant (F), the eventual goal of the descending arpeg-giation by thirds, before reestablishing and confirming the submediantas the immediate goal of modulation. Digressions of this sort add greatcolor while creating tension, and, from an analytic perspective, are farmore interesting than passages that are more predictable.

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Figure 2.9. Partita V (BWV 829), Corrente, mm. 57–64

Figure 2.10. Cello Suite III (BWV 1009)

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One technique employed by Bach to avoid a sense of completion is tosubstitute for the expected chord of resolution or arrival a more activeone, like a secondary dominant, thus propelling the music forward.A clear example of this procedure occurs in the second part of theSarabande of BWV 1009, where Bach once again has carefully prepared amotion to the submediant. We expect completion of this promise, and ifour expectation had been fulfilled this would have been yet anothermovement in this suite, the fifth, to take this path. Instead Bach substitutesfor the expected A-minor harmony a six-five chord above c�, thuspropelling the music on to a new goal, which is achieved in bar 24.

A reduction of these bars with accompanying harmonic analysis is providedin figure 2.12. Note that the point of substitution (bar 21) coincides with asudden shift of register, accentuating the necessity for continuation.6

So far we have considered only examples in the major mode.7 For ourfinal example in this group let us turn our attention to a work in Eminor, English Suite V (BWV 810). Three movements of this suite—theAllemande, Courante, and Sarabande—share a large-scale harmonicdesign involving a confirmed modulation to the subdominant (A minor)in part two of the binary form. In addition, these movements share sim-ilar melodic characteristics at the background level, and for this reasoninterpretations of their essential voice-leading structures—Schenkeriangraphs of the middleground and background levels—are provided infigure 2.13. Harmonically all three movements progress as expected tothe dominant at the cadence closing part 1, through they differ consid-erably in their details. However, as shown in figure 2.13, this temporarystabilization of the dominant exists within a tonic prolongation, and it isthe transformation of this tonic into a major harmony with added sev-enth in part 2 that leads to the subdominant and from there eventuallyto the dominant and the close in E minor. From a melodic perspective,all three movements are controlled by a fundamental-line descent fromscale degree 3, which is prolonged at the deepest level by its upperneighbor note, first supported by the subdominant and later trans-formed into a dissonant seventh requiring its return to scale degree 3and from there its descent to closure. Also note that in all three move-ments establishment of the first note of the fundamental line occurs sev-eral measures into the movement, introduced by what Schenker wouldlabel Anstieg, a stepwise harmonized ascent of the main melodic line tothe initiating tone of the fundamental line. While these three move-ments share this characteristic, it must be stressed that the compositionof the Anstieg varies considerably from movement to movement. That is,the three share the same deep-level structure, but differ considerably intheir details.

The Anstieg in the Allemande is particularly complicated. Scale degree3 is articulated on the downbeat of bar 2, but with the statement of theright-hand material of bar 1 now in the left-hand part, the melodic linecontinues its upward projectory to b2 and from there descends by step toe2 supported by tonic harmony in bar 4, forming a closed unit prolonging

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Figure 2.11. Cello Suite III (BWV 1009), Gigue, mm. 49–72

Figure 2.12. Cello Suite III (BWV 1009), Sarabande, mm. 17–24

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Harmonic Plans 23

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Figure 2.13. English Suite V (BWV 810). Comparison of Allemande, Courante, and Sarabande

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the tonic and e2, and it is from this point that the structure unfolds. Themusic moves almost immediately toward the dominant, and by the timethe g2 over e is reached in bar 7, it is no longer heard in relation to thetonic key, but rather in relation to its dominant. That is, by the time g2 isestablished as the first note of the fundamental line, the harmony hasalready moved away from the home key. From this point, the linedescends to the inner voice tone b1 at the cadence. In part two the tonicharmony with g2 on top is restated prior to its alteration introducing a2,the upper neighbor note, supported by the subdominant harmony. Thecadence in the key of the subdominant occurs in the lower register in bar17, but the continuation is in the upper register. From a2 the linedescends to f�2 over a prolongation of the subdominant harmony (wherethe subdominant is transformed into a supertonic harmony by means ofthe 5–6 motion), but then the a2 is restated over the dominant harmonybefore returning to g2 and on to closure.

From a structural perspective, the Courante is by far the least com-plex. In this movement g2 is established as the Kopfton, the first note ofthe fundamental line, in bar 4 in direct relation to the tonic harmony.Harmonically the path to the dominant is divided by a motion to III (G).Melodically the first part is characterized by two descending sixthprogressions, the first from the inner-voice tone e2 (bar 4) to g1 at the G-major internal cadence and the second from g2 (implied) in bar 9 tob1 at the cadence on the dominant. As occurred in the Allemande, g2,supported by tonic harmony, is restated in part 2 before its chromaticalteration leading to the subdominant supporting the upper neighbortone a. Here again the cadence is in the lower register, but the continu-ation is in the upper register. (All cadences prior to the final one—inbars 9, 12, and 16—are in this lower register. This is true in theAllemande as well). The neighbor note is restated in the upper registerin bar 21, harmonized by a D-major harmony (VII), before its statementas seventh of the dominant and resolution to g2 over tonic harmony andimmediate continuation to the f inal cadence.

The Sarabande opens with a two-bar closed unit in the tonic, Eminor, which is then stated in modified form a third higher, leading toa brief cadence on III. What follows is a sequence leading to g2 sup-ported by an E-minor harmony in the second half of bar 6, whichbecomes the point of departure for the progression to the dominant at

the cadence in bar 8. That is, by the time the first note of the funda-mental line is established the harmony has already moved away from thehome key, similar to what we observed in the Allemande. The E-minorharmony and g2 are restated in bar 10, from which point the line firstprogresses down a third to e2 and then an additional fifth to a1 at thecadence on iv in bar 16. Recall that the cadences on the subdominant inboth the Allemande and Courante occurred in this lower register,followed almost immediately by a return to the upper register. Here,however, the upper register is not regained until bar 21, coinciding withthe prolongation of the subdominant (transformed into a supertonic bya 5–6 motion, as occurred in the Allemande) incorporating an ascend-ing sequence connecting a1 to e2. Considering what had occurred at theequivalent point in the previous two movements, we might expectclosure in the upper register. Instead the neighboring a is transferred tothe lower register, as shown in figure 2.13, now as the dissonant seventhof the dominant, leading to closure in the lower register. Note that thefinal descent is covered by a varied repetition of the opening motivicgesture.

The preceding discussion of three movements from English Suite V(BWV 810) anticipates a topic that will be developed in chapter 4 andis central to the detailed examination of two works in Part II of thisstudy. This example was introduced in this context to illustrate the asso-ciation of movements from a minor-mode suite by virtue of a commonlarge-scale harmonic scheme, but the similarity goes far beyond the harmonic realm. The three movements share a deep-level structuralpattern.

Notes

1. The correspondence between these two movements continues, at least atthe macro level, into part 2. Both movements modulate to the subdominant,though in the Courante Bach avoids a cadence on the subdominant at the lastminute.

2. Pivot chords between keys are indicated by a single bracket. Romannumerals or other symbols enclosed in square brackets are functions of the sub-sequent harmony. That is, the symbols [V] vi mean V of vi followed by vi, like-wise [o 6

5] vi indicate diminished seventh chord in six-five position of vi followed


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Harmonic Plans 25

by vi. It is possible to extend this method of short-hand notation to include sec-ondary functions other than dominant, for example [ii V] V.

3. Figure 2.5 does not attempt to represent the entire succession of chordsbut rather the essential harmonies of the two movements. Details of the first partare shown in Figure 2.4.

4. However, the modulation to the submediant (vi) is foreshadowed in thePraeambulum and prepared, though not confirmed, in the Passepied. The com-pleted modulation to the submediant in the Sarabande is particularly interest-ing in that it involves a parenthetical reference to the tonic, an internalexpansion of the phrase, on the way to reaching its goal.

5. The emphasis on the submediant occurs already in the Prelude (bars24–28), though here the modulation occurs within a tonic prolongation.

6. For an analysis of the complete movement see Heinrich Schenker, “TheSarabande of Bach’s Suite No. 3 for solo violoncello [BWV 1009],” trans. Hedi

Siegel, in The Masterwork in Music, A Yearbook, vol. 2 (1926), ed. William Drabkin(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 55–58.

7. Two additional suites in the major mode that have several movementsrelated by virtue of a common harmonic plan are: 1) French Suite V (BWV 816):Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gavotte, Bourrée, and Gigue; and 2)Orchestral Suite I (BWV 1066): Courante, Gavotte I, Bourrée I, Menuet I, andMenuet II. For additional examples in the minor mode, see Partita II (BWV 826),Allemande and Courante, the first parts of which were compared at the beginningof this chapter. In addition, these two movements share not only the same overallharmonic plan but also the same deep-level voice-leading structure. The samerelationship exists between the Allemande and Sarabande of Partita VI (BWV830). Finally, consider English Suite VI (BWV 811): Allemande, Courante, andGavotte I, the first and last being characterized by their last-minute avoidance ofa cadence confirming the modulation to the subdominant in their second parts.

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3

Motivic Parallels

THE WORD “MOTIVE” has acquired multiple meanings over the years,and thus it seems prudent to attempt a definition of the term and,

by doing so, to clarify its meanings.1 In its broadest meaning, a motive isa musical idea that is repeated in the course of a composition. Wheretheorists in the past have differed is in the nature of the idea and, forthat matter, in the nature of its repetitions. As a starting point, we mightdistinguish between two basic types of motive, the rhythmic motive andthe pitch motive. Though a rhythmic idea can be subjected to augmen-tation and/or diminution in the course of a work, repetitions are mostoften at the same level. Undoubtedly the most famous example of thisphenomenon in the classical literature is the rhythmic motive thatpervades Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. While this idea is associated withspecific pitches at specific points in the composition, it is the rhythm,not the pitch, that defines it as a motivic idea. We have, in fact,already encountered a rhythmic motive in our brief discussion of theToccata from Partita VI (BWV 830) in chapter 1. The dotted rhythmicfigure that opens the partita is repeated within the outer sections of theToccata itself and reappears in different guises in the Allemanda andSarabande.

A pitch motive is defined by its specific pitch or scale-degree succes-sion and its contour, but not normally by its rhythmic articulation. To besure, any given statement will be articulated rhythmically, but that artic-ulation will not necessarily be repeated with successive statements of themotive. What is repeated is the specific succession of pitches, in whichcase the relationship is called pitch specific,2 or the specific successionof scale degrees, in which case the relationship is scale-degree specific.Let us consider a simple example, the neighbor-note motive g–a�–g,scale degrees 5–6–5 in C minor. When this idea is repeated at the samepitch level, it is easily recognized as a parallel statement. But the paral-lel is also recognized when the motive appears transposed to the domi-nant: d–e�–d. What is preserved is the scale-degree succession. There are

also cases where the pitch content of two ideas is so similar that it is thecontour that differentiates them. We have observed just this situation inour brief encounter with the Menuet from French Suite II (BWV 813).What were identified as motives a and b, originally stated in bars 1 and5, respectively, are defined by contour. See figure 1.2 and the accompa-nying discussion in chapter 1.

Repetitions of pitch motives are subject to a greater variety of manip-ulation than rhythmic ones. Repetitions may be at the same pitch level,or they may be transposed as well as inverted and/or stated in reverse.Perhaps more pertinent to this study, they can appear at different levelsof the voice-leading structure. This is an important corollary ofSchenker’s definition of structural levels. He has shown that a musicalidea may appear at different levels, either expanded or contracted inrelation to its original appearance.3 In such cases, recognition of the par-allel depends on an understanding of the underlying voice-leading of amusical work. Because these motives, or at least some of their state-ments, exist at layers below the musical surface, we will refer to them asvoice-leading motives to distinguish them from pitch motives that areeasily recognizable from their surface articulations. That is, the voice-leading motive is a type of pitch motive whose statements appear atdeeper layers of the structure. Examples below will clarify the distinctionbetween these two types.

It is possible that a single pitch class, particularly when it is an alter-ation of a diatonic scale step and thus has a strong aural impact, mayfunction like a motive. Most common in Bach’s style are scale degreesborrowed from the parallel minor: �7, �6, and �3, as well as �2. Consider,for example, the use of the so-called Neapolitan sixth chord in the sec-ond lute suite (BWV 996). Its reappearance in bars 16–18 of the Gigueclearly recalls its original statements in bars 11 and 64 of the Praeludio.Perhaps a more striking example of the use of �2 occurs in Partita III(BWV 827) in A Minor (see figure 3.1). B� (�2), which is first introducedtwo bars from the end of the opening Fantasia as a melodic embellish-ment of scale degree 1, becomes a characteristic feature of the Giguesubject. In the intervening movements, B� makes several appearances,most frequently as scale degree 6 in the key of the subdominant.4

We mentioned briefly in chapter one the employment of �6 as a linkbetween the Allemande and Courante movements of the Praeludium et

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Partita del tuono terzo (BWV 833). The neighbor-note pattern 5–�6–5(g–a�–g) in the key of the dominant, first introduced in the approach tothe cadence at the end of the first part of the Allemande, is repeated atthe equivalent spot in the Courante, creating a clear aural connectionbetween the two movements. Also noted previously was the pervasive useof �7 in Partita I (BWV 825) most frequently as I�7 (V7 of IV). See table2.1 and the accompanying discussion in chapter 2.5 A more complex sit-uation involving the juxtaposition of the lowered seventh degree of thescale with the leading tone occurs in several movements from EnglishSuite I (BWV 806). Figure 3.2 provides the music with analytic additionsfor the following excerpts from that work: Prélude, 1–7; Gigue, 1–7;Sarabande, 1–4; and Allemande, 1–5. The idea that unites the first two ofthese is the pitch succession a2–g�2–f�2–a2–g�2, indicated on the score, inboth cases harmonized by the progression I8–�7 IV [V] V. Careful exami-nation of these two passages reveals an even closer relationship than thisencompassing voice-leading motive. As shown in the sketches provided infigure 3.3, these two passages also share the following characteristics: 1)imitation at the octave; and 2) the same general voice-leading framework.Note also the secondary emphasis on the inner-voice tone c�2. As we turnnext to the Sarabande, note that it opens with this pitch (c�2), which wemight interpret as an inner-voice tone beneath an implied a2. If we can


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Figure 3.1. Partita III (BWV 827). Uses of �2

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Figure 3.2. English Suite I (BWV 806)

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accept this a2 in retrospect as implied by context—a notion that has greatsignificance for our interpretation of the deep structures of three move-ments from the keyboard suite, BWV 818/818a (chapter 5)—then we canunderstand the opening of this movement as a condensed statement ofthe motive identified as the overall voice-leading pattern common to theopening bars of the Prélude and Gigue. Finally, a variant of this ideaoccurs in the opening bars of the Allemande, where the lowered seventhdegree of the scale (g�)6 is part of an extended stepwise descent in thetop voice-leading from a2 to g�1. (Note also the interchange betweeng�1and g�1 in the inner voice in bar 3.) As shown in table 3.1, the stepwiseconnection between the outer-voice tone a2 and the inner-voice tone c�2

occurs over a tonic pedal (A).A common type of pitch motive is one based on arpeggiation of the

tonic triad. Consider, for example, the statements of the C-minor triadfrom the second partita (BWV 826) reproduced in figure 3.4. When we

hear the opening chord, there is no reason to attach to it any particularsignificance, but later, when it is stated in a linear fashion—first in bar 8of the Sinfonia, then in bar 7 of the Allemande, and finally in the open-ing bar of the Sarabande—it begins to function more and more like amotivic link. A more obvious example of the arpeggiated triad as motive

Motivic Parallels 29

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Table 3.1. Harmonization of the stepwise descent from a2 to g�1 in bars 1–5 ofthe Allemande of English Suite I (BWV 806)

a2–g�2–f�2–e2–d2–c�2–b1 - - - - - a1 - - - - - g�1

I - - - - (pedal) - - - [V42] V6 [ii V4

3] V

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Figure 3.3. English Suite I (BWV 806)

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is found in the early keyboard suite in B� (BWV 821). Statements of thisbasic idea as articulated in the opening bars of the Praeludium,Sarabande, Echo, and Allemande are provided in figure 3.5. The arpeg-giation, highlighted by analytical overlay, is clear in the first three, but inthe Allemande the arpeggiation is incomplete, consisting only of thethird d2–f2. A similar situation occurs in the opening statements of theOuverture and Entrée of the Keyboard suite in F (BWV 820), anotherearly work, as shown in figure 3.6.7 And, as shown by the sketches infigure 3.7, these motivic links are part of a structural arpeggiation to a2,the first note of the fundamental line, in both movements. A final exam-ple in this category is taken from the first orchestral suite (BWV 1066).As shown in figure 3.8, several of the movements of this work—Ouverture, Courante, Gavotte I, Menuet I, and Passepied I—open withideas that are all based on arpeggiation of the tonic triad. The Couranteand Passapied I are additionally linked by a descending stepwise lineconnecting the third and root of the chord.

The following three sets of examples illustrate what is defined aboveas a voice-leading motive, that is, a pitch motive articulated at successivelayers of the voice-leading fabric of a composition. In all three cases, themotive is the common neighbor-note paradigm. The first set is takenfrom the early keyboard suite in G Minor, BWV 822. As shown in figure 3.9,the prolongation of scale degree 5 by its upper neighbor note, harmo-nized by the progression i [V7] III, is first stated in the opening bars ofthe Ouverture.8 In three succeeding movements what is preserved or atleast alluded to is the neighbor-note progression d2–e�2–d2. This is mostclearly stated in the opening bars of the Gavotte en Rondeau and


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Figure 3.4. Partita II (BWV 826)

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Figure 3.5. Keyboard Suite (BWV 821)

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Bourée, though in the former the return to d2 is delayed until the returnof the tonic harmony in bar 5. The situation in the opening bars of theAria is somewhat different. Here the reference to e�2 as upper neighbornote of d2 is clear enough, but instead of returning directly to scaledegree 5, the motion continues on to c2 as the middle member of adescending third progression.

Another work having several movements united by a neighbor-notemotive, in this instance involving scale degrees 3–4–3, is the first cellosuite (BWV 1007).9 The opening bars of six movements—the Prélude,Sarabande, Menuet I, Allemande, Courante, and Gigue—are reproduced


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Figure 3.8. Orchestral Suite I (BWV 1066)

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in figure 3.10, and in all but the last of these, the excerpt is followed bya reduction of the voice-leading. The paradigm stated at the opening ofthe Prélude is replicated in different metric settings in the Sarabandeand Menuet I. The voice-leading is more complex in the Allemande,though the main difference, as shown in the reduction, is the additionof the harmony in the second bar, thereby introducing the neighbornote c from above. This change elaborates but does not fundamentallyalter the underlying pattern, as is the case in the opening phrase of theCourante, where the pattern receives further elaboration. Finally, the3–4–3 neighbor-note pattern is clearly stated in bars 3–4 of the Gigue, asindicated by the analytic addition to the music. This is no doubt theclearest example you will find in Bach’s suites of linking several move-ments by means of a simple voice-leading motive.

The neighbor-note motive is also represented in several movementsfrom Partita IV (BWV 828), though in less obvious ways than in the twopreceding examples. Figure 3.11 provides the opening bars of five of itsmovements (Ouverture, Allemande, Courante, Aria, and Sarabande)and figure 3.12 the corresponding voice-leading graphs. The cleareststatement of the neighbor-note pattern shared by all movements occursin the opening bars of the Ouverture in counterpoint to the descendingmotion in parallel tenths, marked by the curved lines in the graph. Thestatement of the motive in the Allemande is more elaborate and some-what obscured by introduction of the upper register, which prepares thecontinuation from scale-degree three in that register beginning in bar 5.Register also plays an important role in the opening phrase of theCourante, where 3� is clearly articulated in both registers. The lower reg-ister, where the motive 3–4–3 occurs, is shown as primary, but thismotion is covered by an elaborated descending third progression in theupper register. The motive is once again clearly articulated in the open-ing phrase of the Aria, where the 3–4–3 occurs within a larger motionfrom 3� to 2� supported by the harmonic progression I to V. While thisstatement of the motive is relatively clear, the one in the opening bars ofthe Sarabande is almost completely lost in the complex writing. Herethe neighbor-note motive occurs by means of a registral shift in con-junction with a descending stepwise progression from d2 (inner voice)to f�1. What began as a clearly recognizable feature in the voice-leadingof the opening gesture of the partita has become obscured in the


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Figure 3.10. Cello Suite I (BWV 1007)

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Sarabande, where it is a feature of the voice-leading, but not easily rec-ognizable as a motivic repetition.

We have twice so far noted the role of the lowered seventh degree ofthe scale as a motivic component, first as an adjunct to our considera-tion of harmonic repetition between the Allemande and Sarabande ofPartita I in chapter 2 (see table 2.1 and accompanying discussion, p. 16),and earlier in this chapter in reference to the first English Suite (see fig-ures 3.2 and 3.3). A third example of this phenomenon occurs in thefourth cello suite (BWV 1010). We first encounter �7 in the Prélude,where it is part of a linear progression that can be represented abstractlyas 8–�7–6–�7–8. As shown in figure 3.13, this “motive” occurs at leastthree times within the Prélude itself: first in the opening nine bars,where �7–8 is transferred into an inner part; second in bars 11–27, whereit is reharmonized; and finally at the end of the movement (bars82–100).10 This idea is not repeated per se in subsequent movements, butrather the linear motion 8–�7–6 is extended to form a middle-groundprogression of a descending octave that is subsequently repeated. Thisoctave progression is heard most clearly at the opening of theAllemande and the closing of the Courante, as shown by the reductionsin figure 3.14. Though the motive 8–�7–6–�7–8 from the Prélude is notheard directly here, note that �7–6 in the top part in bar 3 of the


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Figure 3.11. Partita IV (BWV 828)

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Allemande is answered immediately by �7–8 in an inner part, suggestinga stronger relationship between the two ideas than just the employmentof �7.11 One might also hear this octave line in the closing bars of theAllemande, as indicated in the reduction at (a) in figure 3.15. However,as shown in the voice-leading sketch at (b), the octave descent actuallybegins one bar earlier (from f 2) within the prolongation of thedominant. The correspondence to the closing bars of the Courante isstriking.

Let us return briefly to the first orchestral suite (BWV 1066) for afinal illustration in this chapter of an extended voice-leading motive.Earlier in the chapter we demonstrated that five movements from thework share similar opening pitch motives, each progressing either bystep or by arpeggiation to scale degree 5 (see figure 3.8). If we nowexamine the continuation of these motives, we discover that four ofthe five movements—the Ouverture, Courante, Gavotte I, and MenuetI—also share an extended linear progression in their opening sections:the octave g2–g1. Reductions of the appropriate portions of these fourmovements, with added interpretative markings, are provided in figure3.16.12 The octave is most clearly articulated in Gavotte I and Menuet I,perhaps a bit less so in the Courante due to the implied but not explicitstatements of scale degree 7 (f 2). In the Ouverture the octave is dividedinto two segments, 8–7–6–5 and 5–4–3–2–1, separated by eight bars.

In the final two examples in this chapter, but particularly in this lastone, we have employed the term “motive” to refer to a repeated linearprogression, what Schenker labelled Zug. For some this may seem astretch, though the use is consistent with the very general definition ofmotive given earlier—a musical idea that is repeated in the course of acomposition. No matter what label we may use, it is clear that the octaveprogressions cited contribute to the sense of unity and coherence inthese two works.


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Figure 3.12. Partita IV (BWV 828)

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Figure 3.14. Cello Suite IV (BWV 1010). Octave progressions

Figure 3.15. Cello Suite IV (BWV 1010), Allemande, mm. 30–40

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Notes

1. The title of this chapter reflects Schenker’s term “motivic parallelism” aconcept discussed in depth by Charles Burkhart in his article “Schenker’s‘Motivic Parallelisms,’ ” Journal of Music Theory 22, no. 2 (1978): 145–75. Itimplies a repetition of the motivic idea.

2. Throughout this discussion the term pitch is to be understood as mean-ing pitch class.

3. For a detailed discussion of Schenker’s notion of motive as related to his concept of structural levels, see Burkhart, “Schenker’s ‘MotivicParallelisms.’ ”

4. See the Allemande, 10–11; Corrente, 43; Sarabande, 17–19; Burlesca,20–23; Scherzo, 15–18 (where we also hear e� as �2 of D minor); and Gigue, 28,33, and 47. We also hear b� once as scale degree 4 in the key of the submediant(F): Sarabande, 6. Because �2 is a feature of the Gigue subject, it is heard againin that context in bars 9 and 21.

5. Another feature that unites particularly the Praeludium and theAllemande of this work is the stepwise motion to the high b-flat (b�2) intheir opening measures. See also the opening of the Corrente and firstMenuet.

6. The lowered seventh degree of the scale also occurs prominently inCourante II and its two Doubles, creating an aural link to the other movementscited.

7. David Schulenberg notes that the “opening gestures of the overture andof the entrée have similar gestures . . . ,” The Keyboard Music of J. S. Bach (NewYork: Schirmer, 1992), 31.

8. The arabic numerals between the staves indicate that the hypermetricstructure begins in the second bar following an upbeat bar.

9. This motivic link is noted by David Fuller in the article “Suite” in TheNew Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., 29 vols. (New York: Grove,2001), 24:665–84.

10. The initial bar of the Prelude has been added at the end of figure 3.13so the reader can see the pattern (the arpeggiation figure which persiststhroughout the first part of the movement) from which the reduction is derived.The textures of succeeding movements are more complex and varied. Thosereaders interested in examining carefully the reductions provided in figures 3.14and 3.15 will have to consult the score.

11. �7 also plays a prominent role in the Sarabande.12. Compare to figure 2.6, which illustrates the use of the octave progres-

sion as a unifying device in Partita V (BWV 829).


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4

Structural Associations

THIS CHAPTER IS A CONTINUATION of our investigation into the role ofmotive as a unifying device in Bach’s suites, the focus now being on

motive within the context of structural voice-leading. The term “struc-tural” is used here and elsewhere in this work to refer specifically toHeinrich Schenker’s concept of structural levels progressing from theUrsatz (fundamental structure). It is extremely important that we makea clear distinction between this concept of musical structure and othermeans of musical organization, like form and key succession. We havealready observed the symbiosis of large-scale harmonic organization andvoice-leading structure in chapter 2. Several of Bach’s suites containmovements that share the same harmonic plan, occasionally at the levelof a common figured bass, but more commonly at a much deeper level(e.g., common key succession). In some instances those in the lattergroup also share the same deep-level voice-leading structure, strength-ening the association.1 We now turn our attention to motive within sucha context.

Our first example is taken from the flute partita (BWV 1013). Figure 4.1provides the opening sections of two of its movements, the Sarabandeand the Bourrée anglaise. While each is unique in certain respects, it isalso clear that the two openings share several motivic components. Ofprimary importance in this respect is the fifth a1–e2, and secondarily theprolongation of a1 by its lower neighbor note g�1 and of the e by itsupper neighbor note f. In addition, following the prolongation of e2,both phrases descend by step to b1 supported by dominant harmony.The Sarabande opens with the ascending fifth a1–e2, then returns to a1

via g�1 before leaping to the metrically and agogically stressed f1 as theincomplete upper neighbor of the following e1. From there the lineascends to d2, which is subsequently decorated by its own third f 2–e2–d2

before descending by step to b1. By contrast, the Bourrée opens with aleap of a descending fifth e2–a1, then prolongs a1 by a progression involv-ing the lower neighbor g� before returning to e2. From there the upper

line descends to b1 while the lower line decorates e1 by its upper neigh-bor f1. So, while each phrase maintains its own character, the two areconstructed of the same motivic components2 and exhibit the sameunderlying voice-leading.

Figure 4.2 provides voice-leading sketches of the first parts of theSarabande and Bourrée. Following the initial four-bar phrase of theSarabande, the initial fifth a1–e2 is restated, then each of its elementsdecorated by their respective neighbor notes, first a1 by g�1, then e2 by f 2,which is subsequently reharmonized as the seventh of the dominantleading to the mediant as new support for the return to e2. This pro-gression occupies another four bars.3 The melodic line now leaps to g2,scale degree 5 in the key of the relative major (mediant). From there theoverriding voice-leading progression is a descending fifth g2–c2, indi-cated in the sketch by the beam.4 Covering this progression is a second-ary line leading to the high c (c3).

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Figure 4.1. Flute Partita (BWV 1013)

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The sketch of the first part of the Bourrée reveals its close associationwith the Sarabande. Following the restatement of the tonic harmony inbar 5, the Bourrée progresses directly to g2 supported by the mediant viaa (5)–6 progression. From a metric perspective, this motion extends theinitial phrase by two bars, replacing the second four-bar group of theSarabande. The remainder of the first part (bars 7–20) can be under-stood as an expansion of the equivalent portion of the Sarabande. Thatis, what had occupied eight bars in the Sarabande now occupies four-teen bars. The overall progression is once again the descending fifthg2–c2, embedded within which is the covering ascent to the high c (c3).This latter gesture, which now occupies ten bars, is expanded first byrepetition of the opening two-bar segment and overlapping—addedupper thirds—supported by chromatic passing tones (secondary domi-nants) in the bass. The details have changed, but the underlying voice-leading remains the same.5

The Overture in the French Style (BWV 831) presents a different sit-uation altogether. Here the common thread uniting several of the move-ments is not a recognizable motive but the underlying voice-leading oftheir opening statements. As shown in figure 4.3, seven movements of

this work are related in this way. At the most basic level the common fea-ture is the delayed establishment of the primary tone d2 ( 3� ),6 thoughmovements share other characteristics as well. A brief description of theunderlying voice-leading of the opening bars of each of the seven move-ments follows.

An important feature of the opening of the Ouverture is the descend-ing tetrachord in the bass, above which there is an inner line, beginningwith the d2 in bar 1, progressing in parallel tenths. The top line, begin-ning with f�2 in bar 2, descends by step to the primary tone d2 in bar 5.

The clearest relationship to the opening movement occurs in BourréeII. Once again we have the descending tetrachord in the bass and aninner line progressing parallel to it a tenth above. The upper line, begin-ning from the opening f�1 progresses by means of a series of 7–6 suspen-sions in relation to the bass (also derived from the opening movement),and at the last moment the passing tone e is transferred to the upper reg-ister to introduce the primary tone d2 on the downbeat of bar 5.

The voice-leading of the opening of the Courante varies in somerespects from the two movements just described, though one basic fea-ture, the descending tetrachord, remains. Here, following the initial


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Structural Associations 41

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extension of the tonic harmony (bars 1–3), the descending basssupports a stepwise ascent to the primary tone (d2), what Schenkerwould describe by the term Anstieg. So, in this case, the primary tone isapproached by step from below rather than from above, as occurs inboth the Ouverture and Bourrée II.

Bourrée I maintains the Anstieg to 3� supported by the bass motionb–a�–b rather than the descending tetrachord pattern. Note the doubleneighbor-note decoration of f�1 in the inner voice, which is a feature ofthe Courante and Gavotte I as well as the Ouverture.

The Echo also introduces the primary tone by an ascending step pro-gression, in this instance progressing to the e2 to introduce d2 fromabove. The harmonization of the elaborated Anstieg involves a descend-ing progression by thirds connecting tonic and scale degree 4 in the bassas preparation for the confirming cadence.

The opening gestures of the Sarabande and Gavotte I also share somecharacteristics with the five others just described. The approach to theprimary tone in the Sarabande is by means of a stepwise ascent, thoughmissing the initial b1. The descending tetrachord appears in the detailof an inner voice, and the bass harmonization of the Anstieg is the sameb–a�–b as heard in Bourrée I. The controlling bass of the Gavotte Iexcerpt is the same as in the opening of the Echo. Here the primarytone is introduced directly after the bass has begun its descendingarpeggiation. Note also the elaboration of the inner-voice tone f�1 by itsupper and lower neighbors, a characteristic of the Courante andBourrée I movements as well as the opening gesture of the Ouverture.

Including this discussion of characteristics common to the openingstatements of these movements under the general rubric of “motive” mayappear a stretch to some readers. Certainly we are not talking about motivein the traditional sense, but rather voice-leading patterns—repeated voice-leading patterns—as motive. Whatever label is most appropriate to assignto the relationships just described, it is clear that these relationships pro-vide audible links among several movements of this work.

Three of the four principal movements from the first violin partita(BWV 1002) open with a similar motivic pattern, the neighbor-note figuref�2–g2–f�2, and once we look beyond the surface we discover other commonfeatures as well. Figure 4.4 provides both the music and corresponding voice-leading sketches of the opening bars of the four movements: Allemanda,



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Corrente, Sarabande, and Tempo di Borea. Following an initial statementof the neighbor-note motive in the top part, the Allemanda descends fromthe primary tone f�2 ( 5� ) to d2 within a tonic prolongation before f�2 is rein-stated, now supported by the mediant harmony, followed by a secondstatement of the neighbor-note figure. From this point a2 is overlappedabove f�2 to approach g2 from above, and from there the line descends toc�2 supported by the dominant. The top line in these bars,f�2–a2–g2–f�2–e2–d2–c�2, is marked with a bracket since it is repeated inslightly varied form in the next movement. The Corrente opens in a very

different fashion, with a stepwise ascent (Anstieg) to 5� and once f�2 isattained on the downbeat of bar 5 a varied repetition of the bracketedidea follows. Note the close correspondence between the harmonizationin the Allemanda and in the Corrente.7 The Sarabande opens with a state-ment of the neighbor note, with f�2 first being harmonized by the tonicand the return by the mediant, recalling in one gesture the two supportsgiven to the primary tone in the initial bars of the Allemanda—at bars 1and 3–4. The line then descends by step to c�2, first in bar 4 (implied) andagain in bar 8. Finally, we have yet another appearance of the f�2–g2–f�2

figure in the initial phrase of the Tempo di Borea, followed by an elabo-rated descent of a fifth from the primary tone f�2 to b1.

The two movements of this work most closely related at deeper levelsof structure, though in fact not in the detail of their progressions, arethe Allemanda and the Sarabande. Middleground-background sketchesof these two movements, aligned to highlight the correspondences, areprovided in figure 4.5. Let us begin with the Sarabande, since it is theless complex of the two. Following the opening statement of the neigh-bor-note motive (not shown in figure 4.5), the line first descends a fifthfrom the primary tone f�2 to the inner voice tone b1, a motion that isembedded within the overall progression of a descending fourth fromf�2 to c�2 within the first part. After the double bar, the dominant in four-two position returns to the tonic, now in six-three position with b2 in the


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top part, and from there the line descends a fifth to scale degree 4 of thefundamental line, harmonized by the subdominant. Over the next sixbars the bass descends by step to the tonic, which provides consonantsupport for the passing tone d2 within the descending third e2–d2–(c�2).The goal of this eight-bar phrase is the dominant, which is subsequentlyprolonged until e2 is reinstated and finally resolved to d2 (3� ) in bar 30immediately prior to closure at the cadence in bars 31–32.8

The Allemanda, which, as noted above, opens with the neighbor-notefigure, initially descends a third from the primary tone f�2 within a pro-longed tonic harmony, and then from a reinstated f�2, now harmonized bythe mediant, descends via the progression discussed above to the innertone c�2, supported by the dominant, in bar 8. The following four barsconfirm the dominant as the goal of part one and reinstates f�2 as primaryvia g�2. Thus the opening motive f�2–g2–f�2 has been expanded and trans-formed into f�2–g�2–f�2 encompassing the entire first part. In comparingthe two movements to this point we see that they correspond only in their

larger goals, not in the details of their progressions. Following the doublebar, the inner voice tone b1 is transferred to the upper register and theline descends a fifth from b2 to scale degree four of the fundamental line,supported by the subdominant harmony. The correspondence to theequivalent passage in the Sarabande is striking despite the differences inthe details of the voice-leading. What follows also bears a resemblance tothe Sarabande. From the cadence on the subdominant (bar 19), the bassdescends by step to the tonic supporting d2, but here too the motion con-tinues beyond this point until the cadence at the close of the phrase.

The final set of examples in this chapter is drawn from the extraor-dinary second violin partita (BWV 1004) in D Minor. A basic idea com-mon to several of its movements is the stepwise ascent (Anstieg) to theprimary tone f 2 (3� ). Also of significance is the neighbor-note motivea–b�–a (inner voice) and the persistent idea b�2–a2–g2–f 2 resulting fromtransfer of the inner line to the upper register to reintroduce f 2

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Figure 4.6. Violin Partita II (BWV 1004)

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which provides both music and sketches of the opening bars of all fivemovements.

The Anstieg to 3� is most clearly articulated in the Giga. Following theestablishment of the primary tone on the downbeat of bar 3, the innerline is transferred to the upper register and f 2 reinstated by means of adescent from b�2.

The Chaconne opens with a leap from the inner voice tone a1 to e2,reminiscent of the same gesture at the opening of the Allemanda, andwhen e2 progresses directly to f 2, the primary tone, it may be understoodin retrospect to come from an implied d2. This rising motion covers astatement of the neighbor-note motive a1–b�1–a1. The ascent to 3� is fol-lowed by a statement of the b�–a–g–f idea in the lower register, but whenthe opening four bars are repeated in varied form, this idea is transposedto the upper register leading to f 2 on the downbeat of bar 9.

As noted above, the Allemanda opens in a very similar fashion as theChaconne, except here the harmonies are composed in a linear fashion.The leap to e2, covering the inner voice statement of the neighbor-notemotive, may once again be understood as coming from an implied d2.Here, however, f 2 does not follow immediately, as in the Chaconne.Though f does follow in the lower register (f 1), the result of a descentfrom the inner voice tone a1, the Anstieg is not completed until thedownbeat of bar 7 following a diminution of that motion.

In the Corrente the primary tone f 2 is not reached until bar 16, andit is not introduced by an ascending linear motion but by large-scalearpeggiation: a1 (bar 1)–d2 (bar 5)–f 2 (bar 16). Motivic parallels to theother movements are clear. Note the neighbor-note motive a1–b�1–a1 atthe beginning and the introduction of f2 by the descending stepwisemotion b�2–a2–g2–f 2. Though not stated here as a continuous line, as itis later in the partita, this is, in fact, the first time we hear this importantidea in this work.

The Sarabanda differs from the other movements in that f2, the pri-mary tone, is stated immediately at the beginning. Despite this differ-ence, motivic references to the other movements are clear. Note onceagain the neighbor note motive in the inner voice at the beginning andthe transfer of b� to the upper register in bar 6 followed by a statementof the b�2–a2–g2–f 2 idea. In this case the descending motion continuesbeyond f 2 to e2 supported by the dominant harmony at the cadence.9

Structural associations among movements of the D-minor Partita alsoexist at deeper—that is, at more remote—levels than just described.Figures 4.7, 4.8, and 4.9 provide sketches of the Allemanda, Corrente,and Sarabanda, respectively. Comparison of the first two of these revealsthat they are based on the same underlying model, which consists of thefollowing features subsequent to the establishment of the primary tone f 2.First the top voice descends a sixth from f 2 to a1 at the cadence on the


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dominant at the end of part 1 of the binary form. The outer-voice tone e2,either stated explicitly or implied by context at this point, is stated imme-diately after the double bar and returned to f2 and the tonic harmony,forming a tonic prolongation that incorporates the preceding formaldivision at the dominant. Next the top voice progresses via the chro-matic passing tone f�2 to g2 at the internal cadence on the subdominant,and from there the line descends a third to scale degree 2, supported bydominant harmony, and on to closure.

The opening of the Allemanda—the stepwise ascent to the primarytone f 2—has already been described. From bar 7 the line descends asixth to the inner-voice tone a1 at the cadence. (Not shown in this sketchis the considerable activity in the upper register. In other words, only themost essential features of the voice-leading structure are indicatedhere.) In this case the outer-voice tone e2 is stated explicitly at the

cadence, then restated after the double bar in preparation for thereturn to f 2 and the tonic harmony. The chromatic motion through f�2

to g2 is elaborated by a descending motion from f 2 into the inner voice,eventually arriving at b�1 at the subdominant cadence (bar 23), and bythe descending third introducing f�2. Figure 4.7 shows that the followingmotion to the mediant (F) in bar 27, which provides consonant supportfor the implied passing tone f 2, falls within a prolongation of the sub-dominant (iv5–�6) leading to the dominant supporting scale degree 2 andsubsequent closure at the cadence in bars 31–32.

As shown in figure 4.8, the main line of the Corrente descends a sixthto the inner-voice tone a1 (implied but not stated) at the cadence on thedominant following the establishment of the primary tone f 2 in bar 16.The parallel to the Allemanda is clear, though of course the details andcharacter differ. The return to f 2 and the tonic harmony occurs in bar 28,


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Figure 4.7. Violin Partita II (BWV 1004), Allemanda

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and from f 2 the line descends to the inner-voice tone b�1 at the subdom-inant cadence as the upper line progresses through the chromatic pass-ing tone f�2 to g2. Again the parallel is clear. The subsequent prolongationof g2 and its transformation from a stable pitch, supported by the sub-dominant harmony, to an unstable pitch, as seventh of the dominant,occurs in bars 37–49. Connection of the seventh to the fifth of the dom-inant harmony (2� ) occurs through the consonant passing tone f 2 in bar50, supported by tonic harmony, as the melodic line progresses towardclosure. However, harmonic closure is avoided at the last minute and themotion is directed beyond that point to the cadence on d1 in bar 54.

Figure 4.9 provides a sketch of the Sarabanda, revealing structuralconnections (as well as differences) between this movement and the pre-vious two. Following the repeat, e2 is not returned to f 2 and tonic har-mony, as occurred in the Allemanda and Corrente, but is prolonged

through bar 12, where it is supported by a C-major harmony. From therethe approach to the cadence on the subdominant (bar 16) is reminis-cent of the equivalent passages in the other two movements. The toppart, from e2, splits into two lines, one descending by step to b�1 at thecadence and the other progressing to g2 via f�2. Note the approach to g2

via a chromatic version of the voice-leading motive b�2–a2–g2–f 2, high-lighted in the sketch by the bracket. The subsequent prolongation of g2

and the subdominant harmony, transformed by the indicated 5–�6motion, is related to the equivalent passage in the Allemanda.10

Following a final statement of the b�2–a2–g2–f 2 idea, the line progressesto closure in the upper register.

Let us review briefly what we have discovered so far about inter-movement connections in the Bach suites. First, it is important to


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Figure 4.8. Violin Partita II (BWV 1004), Corrente

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reiterate that some, but not all, the suites exhibit inter-movement asso-ciations beyond the obvious feature of a common tonality. Some may becollections of individual movements in the same key, while others clearlymust have been written at one time as integrated works. Second, of thoseworks that do exhibit inter-movement connections, no single composi-tional technique emerges as dominant. Rather there seems to be amultiplicity of approaches, in some instances operating alone and inother cases working in combination. We have seen clear examples of twoor more movements of a suite being connected by means of commonsurface characteristics, e.g., common motives or figured-bass patterns.We have also observed the opposite, that is, suites with movementsexhibiting common large-scale plans, harmonic and/or structural, withor without recognizable surface repetitions in common. Clearlythe most unified are those, like the D-minor Violin Partita, that arehighly integrated at multiple levels. Multiple levels of inter-movementconnections are attributes of the two works to be examined in Part II,the Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV 818a) and French Suite VI(BWV 817).

Notes

1. See Figure 2.13 and the accompanying discussion in chapter 2 of theAllemande, Courante, and Sarabande from the fifth English Suite (BWV 810).Also see note 7 in that chapter, p. 25.

2. The common motivic components—the fifth a1–e2 and the neighbornotes g�1 and f 2–are clearly articulated in the opening movement, theAllemande, though in that movement the primary tone is 3� (c3) not 5� (e2).

3. Numbers above the staff indicate the metric groups. Those interested inreading more about metric organization in relation to the phrase in tonal musicshould consult William Rothstein, Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music (New York:Schirmer, 1989).

4. Both the Allemande and the Bourrée are written in rounded binary form,that is, with a clear return to the opening material in conjunction with the returnto the tonic harmony. The descending-fifth progression in the relative major thatcloses part 1, when transposed to the tonic in this last part, becomes the vehicleof the final descent of the fundamental line to closure.

5. While the second parts of these two movements share several feature, theclose correspondence is not continued throughout.


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Figure 4.9. Violin Partita II (BWV 1004), Sarabanda

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6. The purpose of the diagonal line connecting the opening bass note andthe later established primary tone (Schenker’s Kopfton) in all seven sketches is toshow that they are conceptually related.

7. This correspondence is noted by Joel Lester in Bach’s Works for Solo Violin(New York: Oxford University Press), 142–43.

8. My colleague Edward Laufer provided several very helpful suggestionsregarding the structural organization of this movement.

9. Joel Lester recognizes the tight connections uniting the movements ofthis work, but by focusing on thoroughbass he misses the important motivic andstructural connections. See Bach’s Works for Solo Violin, example 6.3 and theaccompanying discussion.

10. From an analytic perspective the A-major harmony in bar 20 presentsan interesting interpretative choice. One possibility is that it is the structuraldominant supporting scale degree two (e2) of the fundamental line. The otheris that it is passing within the extended subdominant/flat supertonic (iv5–�6)

harmony, as shown in figure 4.9. One might make the case for the first of theseon the basis of the prevailing four-bar hypermetric organization, as follows:

16 20 24||: 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4 :||

iv V� i

However, Bach avoids articulating bar 20 as a point of sub-arrival by continuingthe motion beyond that point. In other words, we do not hear a subdivision ofthis eight-bar phrase into four-plus-four. The potentially confusing factor here isthe apparent stalling of motion in bar 21 if the performer plays the rhythm aswritten. If, on the other hand, the performer arpeggiates the chords in bar 21 aswritten out in the first half of the next bar, then the motion is directed throughto the �II harmony.


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Part II

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5

Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV 818a)

THE KEYBOARD SUITE in A Minor is a relatively early work. According toDavid Schulenberg, it “seems to occupy a stylistic position between

the English Suites and the First French Suite,”1 though it may well havebeen written much earlier. It exists in two versions, BWV 818 and 818a,both transmitted to us through copies. The earlier version is preservedin two copies, one in the hand of his student, Heinrich Nicolas Gerber,the other anonymous, both dating from the early 1720s. This versionconsists of five movements: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande simple, itsDouble, and Gigue. The later version (818a) adds a Prelude, marked“Fort gai,” and in place of the original Sarabande–Double pair providesa variant of the Sarabande simple and a Menuet. This version is basedon two surviving copies dated much later, around 1740. The followingdiscussion focuses on this later version.

The movements of BWV 818a are related in a variety of ways and atmultiple levels. With the exception of the Prelude and the Allemande,each movement opens with a variant of a common underlying pitchmotive, the arpeggiation of the tonic triad (a1–c2–e2), most frequentlywith decoration of the tonic by its lower neighbor note, g�1, and the fifthby its upper neighbor, f 2. The initial bars of all movements but theAllemande are reproduced in figure 5.1. Each of these ideas, thoughbased on a common underlying pitch motive, is unique, expressing itsown character. Still the connecting thread is there, and this threadbecomes more pronounced when we examine the voice-leading of theopening phrases of these movements. As shown in figure 5.2, four ofthem—the Prelude, Sarabande, Menuet, and Gigue—open with harmo-nized descents of a sixth from e2 to g�1. The Courante differs only in thatits opening phrase is harmonically closed, supporting a descent of a fifthfrom e2 to a1. Note the employment of f2 at various levels as a local neigh-bor note, complete or incomplete, harmonized or unharmonized, andin one instance (the Menuet) extended over several bars.

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Figure 5.1. Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV 818a), Opening bars of thePrelude, Courante, Sarabande, Menuet, and Gigue

Similarities among the movements of BWV 818a extend to the har-monic sphere, an aspect of unity to be addressed here in relation tostructure, since harmonic associations frequently coincide with similar-ities in background-level voice-leading. It is important as we approachthe matter of background structure in this work to make a clear dis-tinction between motivic design and voice-leading structure. The twomay coincide, but in this instance they do not. As we have seen, thecommon motivic link among several of the movements is the fifth e2–a1,and one might expect the fundamental line to follow this path. But, infact, it appears as if several of the movements exhibit near-identicalfundamental structures involving the descent of an octave, not the fifth.There are at least two important issues associated with this interpreta-tion that require comment, the first having to do with the structure ofthe fundamental descent from scale degree 8 in the minor mode. It isthe descending form of the scale.2 The second involves consideration ofpotential variance of this structure. Perhaps the best way to approach

AOU-Ch-05.qxd 03/08/2005 2:34 PM Page 57


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Figure 5.2. Interpretation of figure 5.1

this matter is to begin with the prototype represented at (a) in figure5 .3. With minor alterations, this pattern represents the deepest level ofstructure of four of the movements of BWV 818a. At (b) we have a dif-ferent pattern, an elaborated descent from scale-degree five, yet onethat is related to (a). The primary difference between the two is theinterpretation of f2 and e2. At (a) they are part of the fundamental line,but at (b) they are part of a lower-level descent introducing scaledegree 4 of the fundamental line. The other difference, of course, isthat a2 is missing, and thus g2 is interpreted as reaching above e2

to introduce f2 from above. Thus they are different, yet related. The

AOU-Ch-05.qxd 03/08/2005 2:34 PM Page 58

relationship between the two becomes clearer when scale degrees 7 to 1 receive full harmonic support, as at (a). In this instance, the inter-pretation at (c), where a2 (8� ) is not stated but possibly implied bycontext, seems appropriate. This last type corresponds to the structuresof the Sarabande simple from BWV 818 and of the Menuet fromBWV 818a.

Prelude

The Prelude is divided into two large parts (bars 1–27 and 27–50)—marked by roman numerals in figure 5.4, a detailed sketch of the entiremovement—followed by a coda (bars 50–58). This binary division isclearly articulated by the repetition of the opening material on the dom-inant, rearranged so that the third of the local tonic (g2) is the highestsounding note, providing consonant support to that pitch as prepara-tion for its later introduction as seventh of the dominant of the sub-dominant (7� of the fundamental line). Though much has taken place inthe interim, this g2 (bar 38) is interpreted as associated at the deepestlevel with the opening a2 (8� ). From bar 38 the fundamental line beginsits descent toward closure, which at the last minute is delayed by thedeceptive motion and ensuing parenthetical statement (bars 45–49).The coda makes reference to the opening material, this time leading byarpeggiation to a2, the opening pitch, before confirming closure in thelower octave.

The first part of the Prelude is subdivided into two large phrases, thefirst arriving at the cadence on III (bar 18) and the second at v (bar 27),creating a large-scale bass arpeggiation I–III–v. The first phrase openswith the neighbor-note figure on e2, then on c2, followed by a sequentialprogression leading to the dominant. This motion is contained withinthe larger motion to III, supporting an initial descent from the openinga2 to c2, a motion to an inner voice. The outer voice g2 is implied at thispoint, then confirmed by subsequent events leading to the cadence inbar 27.

The deepest level of melodic motion is shown to be an octave pro-gression, where g2 is twice provided consonant support, first by III, thenby v, before becoming a dissonant seventh, setting in motion the descent

Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV 818a) 59

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Figure 5.3. Structural models

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Figure 5.4. Prelude

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to closure. This is a pattern that is repeated in varied form in severalother movements.

Allemande

The Allemande, though relatively short in length, is a sophisticated con-trapuntal movement, not unlike some of the movements in the Englishand French Suites. As shown in figure 5.5, the first note of the funda-mental line (a2) is introduced in bar 2, following the opening idea,which bears a motivic resemblance to the other movements.3 From thisa2 there is an initial descent of a fourth, a2–g2–f�2–e2 over the course of

the first part, a motion that prolongs the initiating tone ( 8� ). This inter-pretation is based on hearing e2 implied in bars 9–10 covering the con-tinued descent to g�1 at the cadence on V.4 In the second part a2 isreinstated, supported by a D-minor, then D-major, harmony that isextended over several measures. This leads to a G-major harmony (VIII)providing consonant support to g2 (bar 17) before that pitch is reintro-duced in bar 19 as the dissonant seventh of the dominant of the sub-dominant, that is, as scale degree 7 of the fundamental line, from whichpoint the line leads directly and convincingly to closure. A condensedversion of the detailed sketch of the voice-leading is provided in figure5.6. Here one can see quite easily the strong relationship between theAllemande and the Prelude at deeper structural levels.


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Figure 5.5. Allemande

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Courante

The Courante is quite brief (only sixteen bars in length), suggesting thedate of composition as much earlier than the French or English suites.Its voice-leading structure, shown in figure 5.7, bears strong resem-blances to both the Prelude and the Allemande. As in the Allemande,the primary tone (8� ) is introduced following the statement of an initialmotivic idea, here a four-bar phrase. Following the introduction of a2

the melodic line descends a fifth from g2 to c2, the latter coinciding witharrival at the cadence on III in bar 8. This motion is shown to prolongthe initiating tone of the descent, and though g2 is only implied in bar8, it is immediately reinstated in the following phrase before descendingthrough f�2 to e2 at the cadence on the dominant in bar 12. To this pointthe overall tonal motion is I–III–v supporting an initial descenta2–g2–f�2–e2, exactly as occurred at this level in the first part ofthe Prelude. (Since the Prelude was written later, perhaps it would bemore appropriate to say that the structure of its first part parallels bars1–12 of the Courante). This large-scale motion is embedded within alarger tonic prolongation, where the initial tonic supporting 8� is trans-formed into a major harmony supporting 7� leading to 6� supported by sub-dominant harmony and from there on to closure. Note that the support

for scale degree 5 in this descent is harmonically “weak.” The setting is,in fact, a contrapuntal one, with the outer voices progressing in paralleltenths, a feature that reappears in the final movement. In figure 5.8, asimplification of the more detailed sketch, harmonies are added inparenthesis at this point to show the correspondence to the equivalentpassage in the Allemande.

Sarabande

While there are clear associations between the Sarabande and othermovements in this suite, its deep-level structure differs. This movementis not controlled by an octave descent, but by a fifth, much like the pro-totype at (b) in figure 5.3. Figure 5.9 provides a sketch of this brief move-ment. Following the opening motion from outer to inner voice (from e2

to g�1), the melodic line descends to c2 at the cadence on III in bar 8.The primary tone, e2, is reinstated at the outset of part 2 and prolongedthrough the cadence on the dominant in bar 16. Internal to this phrase,g2 is introduced by its upper neighbor note and then descends throughf�2 to e2 at the cadence. This melodic motion g2–f�2–e2 is very reminis-cent of the same progression in the Prelude (bars 26–27) and in the

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Figure 5.8. Courante


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Courante (bars 11–12), less clearly in bars 6–10 of the Allemande. Whatis different is the chromatic harmonization of this progression, whichanticipates but does not totally prepare the listener for the chromaticismof the inner voices in bars 18–19. The large-scale harmonic progressionof bars 1–16 is the familiar arpeggiation i–III–v, and immediately follow-ing the cadence on v, f 2—supported by subdominant harmony—is intro-duced by the even more familiar secondary dominant seventh of iv withg2 in the top voice and c� in the bass. Here, however, f 2 is not 6� in a fun-damental descent, but the upper third of 4� , which is harmonized as sev-enth of the dominant leading directly to 3� supported by tonic harmonyin bar 19. Closure does not follow immediately, but is delayed as shownin figure 5.9, creating an eight-bar phrase to balance the earlier twophrases of that length.

Sarabande simple (BWV 818)

While the Sarabande from BWV 818a exhibits a fundamental structureakin to prototype (b) in figure 5.3, the structure of the originalSarabande appears to be a hybrid between prototypes (a) and (b),namely (c), an octave descent lacking the initial pitch (a2).5 There aretwo reasons for this interpretation, as opposed to a reading from 5� . First,there is the considerable emphasis given to g2. The introduction of g2 inbar 5 and subsequent descent to c2 at the cadence on III in bar 8 is notsufficient in itself to warrant this interpretation, since g2 here can easilybe explained as coming from e2 in order to introduce f2 from above.However, the conspicuous introduction of g2 in bar 5 coupled with itslater emphasis in bars 9–16 adds credence to this interpretation, though

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Figure 5.9. Sarabande

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it would still be possible to hear g2 as the upper third of e2. The clinchercomes in the final eight bars where there is a fully harmonized descentfrom scale degree 7 to closure on the tonic, unlike the equivalent pas-sage in the later version, where scale degree 5 receives no support. Aninterpretation of the voice-leading of the Sarabande simple from BWV818 is provided in figure 5.10.

Menuet

The main reason for including the earlier version of the Sarabande inour brief examination of BWV 818a is that its structure—an octave

descent a2–a1 lacking the initial pitch—occurs in modified form in boththe Menuet and in the Gigue. Like the Sarabande, the Menuet opensemphatically from e2 (scale degree 5), and from there the line descendsa sixth to g�1 at the half-cadence in bar 8. This motion to an inner voiceis covered by another line generated from g2 in bar 5 leading to animplied e2 at the cadence. Though this upper line is shown in figure5.11 as originating from an implied a2 in the very beginning, there is nocompelling reason at this point to hear this first phrase as anything buta prolongation of 5� . Those reasons come later. In any case, no matterhow we interpret the events of part 1, the motion initiated in thoseopening bars continues into part 2 with the upper line continuing itsdescent through d2 to c2 and the inner voice g�1 resolving to a1 over

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tonic harmony in bars 12–13. This motion is embedded within a largerconnection between the initial tonic and the cadence on III in bar 16.This is followed immediately by the emphatic articulation of g2 in bars17–18, initially receiving consonant support as the fifth of a C-majorharmony and then as the now familiar dissonant seventh of the domi-nant of iv with c� in the bass, that is, as scale degree 7 in a larger octavedescent. From this point the line descends, fully harmonized, toclosure, similar to what we have heard in four of the five movements dis-cussed so far. It is the strong articulation of g2 and the subsequentdescent from there which binds this movement so closely to others inthis suite and ultimately which suggests the interpretation presentedhere.

Gigue

As noted above the Gigue exhibits a fundamental structure related bothto the Menuet and the original Sarabande, namely, an octave descentwith its initial pitch (a2) implied but not stated. The first part exhibits alarge-scale harmonic motion we have heard several times before: i–III(bar 18)–V (bar 24). This in itself is not remarkable, but gains in poten-tial significance when we recognize that the melodic motion it supportsis a compound version of the descending fourth a–g–f�–e heard previ-ously in the Prelude (bars 1–27) and in the Courante (bars 1–12) in con-junction with the same progression. Here the fourth is an eleventh,divided into two descending sixths, (a2)–c2 and c2–e1, the point of

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Figure 5.12. Gigue

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division being articulated by the cadence on III (bar 18). See figure 5.12,which provides a detailed account of the voice-leading of the entiremovement. The motion to V in part one prolongs the initial tonic and,as indicated by the comma following roman numeral V in the sketch atbar 24, this prolongation is embedded within a larger-scale motion frominitial tonic to III supporting g2 (bar 29), which is subsequently pro-longed by a descending fifth to c2 supported by the cadence on III in bar33. Once again we find consonant support for g2 in preparation for itsharmonization as a dissonant seventh of the major tonic chord, namelyas 7� in the fundamental line, leading to f 2 (6� ) supported by thesubdominant in bar 35. Unlike the earlier movements, the continuingdescent to closure is not immediate. First 6� and the subdominant har-mony are prolonged through bar 39, internal to which there is a descentof a third: f 2–e2–d2. The harmonic progression generated from bar 35 isa sequence by descending fifths from iv to i, one consequence of whichis the contrapuntal setting in parallel tenths between top voice and bassfor the structural descent as far as 3� , after which the line continues to clo-sure supported by a standard cadential progression. A condensed sketchof the movement is provided in figure 5.13.

BWV 818a is a highly unified work motivically and with respect tolarge-scale harmonic-structural associations. The motivic parallels—thedifferent manifestations of the common pitch motive noted in figure 5.1as well as the related voice-leading patterns in figure 5.2—are very

clearly audible to the trained ear, despite the differences in surfacedesign of the various movements. Less obvious, perhaps, are the large-scale voice-leading associations, the identical and near-identical back-ground structures. In this respect, we have put quite a bit of effort intothe preceding paragraphs addressing rather fine points of interpreta-tion of background structure. These matters are of considerable con-cern to those interested in structural analysis and theory. Indeed thereare important differences among the three prototypes listed in figure5.3, but it is also true that the three, particularly (a) and (c), are veryclosely related, and it is the commonality that is most relevant to thisstudy. With the exception of the Sarabande, the movements of this suiteexhibit very similar structures involving the descent of an octave, inthree instances 8� implied but not stated. This is remarkable, particularlyin light of the unanimity of harmonic support for 8� –7� –6� namelyi . . . [V7] iv, as revealed in figure 5.14. In fact, the six-five harmony onc� is so prevalent in this work that it almost assumes motivic status. In allcases g2 (7� ) is provided consonant support in preparation for its intro-duction as a dissonant seventh, a trigger, it seems, to initiate the descenttoward closure. Also contributing to our perception of unity in this workare repeated patterns at the middleground level, for example, thedescent a2–g2–f�2–e2 in conjunction with the harmonic motion i–III–Vand the descent of the fifth g2–c2 at various levels within passagescontrolled by III.

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Notes

1. David Schulenberg, The Keyboard Music of J. S. Bach (New York: Schirmer,1992), 257.

2. In Free Composition, Schenker provides a prototype of the octave descentof the Urlinie in the major mode (see his figure 11) and places on it the restric-tion that the seventh degree of the scale must be natural, not lowered, as onefrequently finds in codas (p. 21). No prototype is given for such a descent in theminor mode, though logic dictates that the natural progression would be thedescending form of the scale. This is confirmed by Schenker’s reading of two ofthe Short Preludes by Bach, numbers 6 (BWV 940) and 12 (BWV 942) in DasMeisterwerk in der Musik I (1925), both translated by Hedi Siegel and publishedin The Masterwork in Music I, ed. William Drabkin, 54–57 and 62–66, respectively(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).

3. The motivic association to the other movements is not explicit, butrather implied by the incomplete neighbor note f 2.

4. BWV 818 has d�2 rather than d�2 as the final sounding melodic note inbar 8, weakening the effect of that pitch in the following bar. The subsequentchange to d�2 at this point strengthens the hearing of the later d�2 as a substitutefor the expected e2, a common device employed by Bach at final cadences.

5. The Sarabande from the French Suite in E Major (BWV 817) is alsointerpreted as controlled by an octave descent missing the initial pitch (8� ). Seechapter 6, pp. 77–78.

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suites somewhere along the way, and it must have been through thosestudies that he encountered the E-major suite in this fashion. As it turnsout the best evidence we have is the music itself. Careful examination ofthe Prelude reveals compelling evidence of strong compositional linksbetween it and the suite, particularly the opening movements, and thuswe will begin with a close look at the Prelude (BWV 854/1). Our inves-tigation of the suite proper will be divided into two parts: first, theStandard Movements (Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue),which are motivically and structurally related amongst themselves and tothe Prelude; and second, the Optional Movements (Gavotte, Polonaise,Menuet, and Bourrée), which exhibit a different set of relationshipsamongst themselves, yet with occasional seeming references to the othermovements.

Prelude

The Prelude is divided into three clear phrases, marked A, B, and A1 infigure 6.1, a detailed account of the voice-leading structure of thismovement.4 The first phrase (bars 1–8) modulates to the dominant, andthe second phrase, which begins from the cadence on the dominant,functions as a transition, leading to a varied repetition of the openingphrase beginning from the subdominant (bars 15–24).5 An importantmotive, one that helps to articulate the deep-level structure of this work,is the arpeggiation figure, repetitions of which are highlighted in figure6.1 by brackets. The first three statements of this idea articulate thelarge-scale arpeggiation e2 (bar 1)�g�2 (bar 3)�b2 (bar 9), the primarytone, which is reached only after the modulation to the dominant isachieved. The later arpeggiation to scale degree 4 (a2) in bar 15, sup-ported by subdominant harmony, connects registrally and motivically tothe earlier motion to b2 ( 5� ). Another important feature is the promi-nent d� in bar 11, which anticipates the later d� in bar 14. These fea-tures—the large-scale arpeggiation to scale degree 5, the prominent useof d�, and the registral connection of the b2 in bar 9 to the a2 in bar 15,as well as the subsequent registral isolation of those two pitches—areimportant characteristics of this piece. And, as we shall see, they arecompositional features which link this Prelude to the suite.

6

French Suite VI in E Major (BWV 817)

CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE COMPOSITION of the last of theFrench Suites are not known, though it seems likely that it was writ-

ten around 1725, somewhat later than the early versions of the first five,which are contained in the Clavierbüchlein for Anna Magdalena Bach(1722–25). The Urtext of the New Bach Edition presents us with two ver-sions of the six, one based on a copy in the hand of Bach’s student andson-in-law, Johann Christoph Altnickol, and a second one assembledfrom various later sources, including a manuscript in the hand ofanother Bach student, Heinrich Nicolas Gerber. An intriguing feature ofthe Gerber version of the last suite is the inclusion of the Prelude in EMajor (BWV 854/1) from The Well-Tempered Clavier I,1 suggesting thatBach might originally have intended this work to be one of the suiteswith preludes. Unless further documentation is uncovered, the reasonfor Gerber’s inclusion of the Prelude will remain speculative, though itseems likely that the idea must have originated with the composer.Perhaps Gerber heard Bach play the suite that way. Consider the follow-ing description of the elder Gerber’s studies published by his son someyears later in his Lexicon der Tonkünstler.2

At the first lesson he (Bach) set his Inventions before him. When hehad studied these through to Bach’s satisfaction, there followed a seriesof suites, then The Well-Tempered Clavier. This latter work Bach playedaltogether three times through for him with his unmatchable art, andmy father counted these among his happiest hours, when Bach, underthe pretext of not feeling in the mood to teach, sat himself at one of hisfine instruments and thus turned these hours into minutes.3

This account does not say that Bach played the suites for his student,only the Well-Tempered Clavier, though it is not much of a stretch of theimagination to suppose that he might have done so. In any case we doknow from this quote that he had the elder Gerber study a series of

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French Suite VI in E Major (BWV 817) 73

Let us turn our attention to details of the voice-leading, beginningwith the first phrase. The first part of the large-scale arpeggiation to b2,that is, the connection between e2 and g�2, is easy to hear. From the g�2 inbar 3 there is a descent of a sixth to b1 at the cadence in bar 8, which isthen followed by the surface arpeggiation to the upper register, thuscompleting the long-range arpeggiation to 5� . The voice-leading of thedescending sixth is complex. First g�2 is prolonged by a descent to theinner voice tone c�2 over a prolonged e in the bass supporting the com-mon voice-leading motion 5–6. This is followed by a second descent tothe inner voice, this time from f�2, within the prolonged dominant of thenew key (V). The prominent use of the chromatic d� in the descent to theinner voice foreshadows the use of that pitch later in the Prelude. Asshown in figure 6.1, this preliminary descent from f�2 (bars 5–7) isembedded within the longer-range descent to b1 at the cadence. This ges-ture, the descent from f�2 to c�2 in bars 5–7, is followed by a chromaticline leading from g�2 to b1, a summary of the larger gesture at its conclu-sion. One consequence of the chromatic writing is the displacement ofpitches in the structural descent in relation to their supportingharmonies. As indicated by the diagonal line in the sketch, the e2

sounded on the downbeat of bar 8 can be understood to belong with theF� harmony of the preceding bar, and this e2 momentarily displaces thefollowing d�2 supported by the local tonic (B).

The voice-leading of phrase 2, the connecting phrase, is no lesscomplex. As already noted, the deepest-level melodic connection is b2

(bar 9) to a2 at the beginning of the third phrase. The b2 is prolongedat the largest level by a descending third in which the passing tone a isfirst supported by a consonant harmony, that is, by an F�-minor chord,before being harmonized as the seventh of the prolonged dominantharmony. This seventh resolves as expected to the g� over tonic harmony,which, with the addition of the d�, leads us to the subdominant. At amore immediate level the prolonged b is destabilized, becoming the sev-enth of the secondary dominant chord on c�, which is extended throughbar 12 and involves a transfer to the lower register before its resolutionover the F�-minor harmony on the downbeat of bar 13. Internal to thiscomplex passage is the introduction of the d� as 9th of this secondarydominant (more locally as the seventh of the secondary diminished-seventh chord).

The final phrase is a duplication of the initial phrase transposed tothe subdominant. However, there are two important changes. The firstinvolves a shift to the lower register. Instead of arpeggiation from the c�2

on the downbeat of bar 17 up to c�3 as might be expected, Bach rewritesto remain on c�2, from which the phrase progresses to closure in thislower register. The second change involves the avoidance of closure inthe second half of bar 22 and the subsequent extension of the phrase bytwo bars. This is a common procedure in Bach’s instrumental music,one that is repeated at the close of the Courante and Bourrée move-ments from the E-major French Suite.

An overview of the deep structure of the Prelude is provided in figure6.2. There are three important points to be made here. First note that thearpeggiation to scale degree 5 and the subsequent motion from it aresuperimposed on the descent of an octave spanning the entire piece. Thisoctave is generated from the e2 in bar 1, which progresses through thedividing dominant at the cadence in bar 8 to the tonic harmony withlowered seventh (d�) in bar 14 as V7 of IV. From bar 15 the line descends asixth from c�2 to e1, the parallel to the descending sixth within the initialphrase. Second, let us examine the harmonic progression supporting thisoctave descent. As shown by the bass and roman numerals, the modulationto the dominant and its subsequent extension are embedded within a tonicprolongation supporting the motion 8–�7 (e2 to d�2), thus uniting the twophrases. Finally, it is important to comment on the unusual registral distri-bution of the fundamental line. We have already noted the registral

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Figure 6.2. Prelude in E (BWV 854/1)

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isolation of the b2 in bar 9 and the a2 of bar 15, scale degrees 5 and 4 of thefundamental line. Because of the registral shift in bar 17, completion of thefundamental line occurs in the lower register in conjunction with the com-pletion of the inner voice octave descent. It is almost as if the upper part isnever completed properly, at least registrally. It is interesting that Bachchose to end the subsequent fugue (Well-Tempered Clavier I) in the upperregister, thus completing a registral connection unrealized in the Prelude.

I. The Standard Movements

Allemande

Voice-leading sketches of the Allemande are provided in figures 6.3(details) and 6.4 (overview).6 The connection between the Allmenadeand the Prelude is immediately apparent in the opening four bars of thesuite movement. As indicated in figure 6.3, the features of this phrase thatexist just below the surface mimic the overall structure of the Prelude.The main melodic gesture is an arpeggiation to scale degree 5,e2�g�2�b2, followed by a stepwise descent back to e2. Less obvious is theinner voice descent of the octave e2�e1 indicated in the sketch. More care-ful examination reveals even closer similarities. Note that arrival at b2 inbar 2 occurs over the dominant harmony, as occurred in the Prelude. Thedifference is one of level: in the Prelude, arrival at b2 occurs after modu-lation to the dominant, while here it occurs in conjunction with a localchange to that harmony. Immediately following this point in theAllemande (bar 2, beat 3), d� is introduced in an inner voice in conjunc-tion with a return to the tonic harmony, just as we found in the approachto the third phrase in the Prelude, directing the motion to a2 over c�2 sup-ported by subdominant harmony, from which point the phrase progressesto local closure. Thus all the main features of the Prelude are encapsu-lated in these four bars. But there is an important distinction. Here thearpeggiation from e2 to b2 and the return to e2 is heard within a local pro-longation of the tonic (a closed phrase). The controlling pitch is e2 (scaledegree 8) and it is from this pitch that the fundamental line progresses.

As shown in figure 6.3, the melodic line descends from the e2 in bar4, first as far as c�2 on the downbeat of bar 7, but that progression turns

out to be a motion to an inner voice. The e2 is still active, finally givingway to d�2�c�2�b1 (scale degrees 7–6–5 of the fundamental line) at thecadence in bar 8. In the following extension of the cadence the upperline progresses to the high b, picking up the b2 of bar 2 and setting upthe continuation, while the lower line remains anchored on b1, scaledegree 5 of the fundamental line.7 It is important as we move into part2 of the Allemande, where the voice-leading is more difficult to inter-pret, to keep in mind that the primary register is the lower one and thatthe b2, from which the second part proceeds, is covering.

The complex voice-leading of part 2 is most easily explained begin-ning with the large picture and within that context considering greaterdetail. As indicated in figure 6.3, tonal closure is achieved on the down-beat of bar 25, and the major point of articulation prior to that is thecadence on c� in bar 20. Figure 6.4 shows that the function of the c� inthe bass is passing within a prolonged dominant, that is, as a passingtone between the root and third of the dominant, supporting themotion 8–7 (scale degrees 5 and 4 of the fundamental line), from whichpoint the line proceeds to immediate closure, completing the descent ofthe octave e2 to e1. This octave descent is interpreted as fundamentaland the arpeggiation to b2 and its continuation as covering, the oppositeof our interpretation of those elements in the Prelude. This is a subtlethough significant distinction for those interested in structural analysis.8

However, within this context, the most important point is that the basicelements, the octave descent and the arpeggiation to b2 as well as its con-tinuation, are the same in these two movements.

Returning now to the details of the voice-leading, let us look at whatleads to the cadence on c� (bar 20), keeping in mind that the high b2 fromwhich the second part begins is covering; the primary register is below inthe inner voice. Beginning in bar 13, the top sounding line descends bystep as far as c�2 in bar 16, above which the high a2 is introduced.Registrally, we hear a link between the b2 of bar 13 and the a2 of bar 16,just as we hear c�2, the goal of the descending motion, as connected to theb1 of bar 12. The c�2 is introduced by d�, an element that takes on greaterprominence in the following bar, where we hear it as the lowered secondscale degree in relation to the goal of this motion, the cadence on c�.Though the harmonies are different, the parallel with the Prelude is strik-ing. Meanwhile, the top sounding part (now on a2) begins to descend


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once again by step, finally reaching the c� in bar 20. The descents, firstfrom b2 and then from a2, bring attention to these two pitches, and thecontinuation only in the lower register from the c� cadence to the pointof closure leaves them registrally isolated. The purpose of the bracketabove these pitches in figure 6.4 is to highlight this prominent feature ofthe Allemande, another feature it has in common with the Prelude.

The passage connecting the cadence on c� (bar 20) and the comple-tion of the fundamental line (the octave) in bars 24–25 involves local pro-longation of c�2, first by a stepwise motion down to a1 and then an ascentback to c�2, from which point the line skips to a1 (4� ) on the downbeat ofbar 24. As shown in figure 6.4, this c�, which receives consonant support,functions as a kind of harmonized escape tone in relation to the longer-range connection between scale degrees 5 and 4 of the fundamental line.

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In closing our examination of this movement, I would like to sum-marize the features that it shares with the Prelude: the arpeggiation tob2, the octave descent from e2 to e1 spanning each work; the registrallyisolated b2 and a2; and the prominent d�. These two movements sharethese compositional features and in this sense they are linked. TheAllemande is also structurally related to the other movements in thisgroup: the Courante, the Sarabande, and the Gigue. All share the samefundamental line, the octave.

Courante

The Courante has an entirely different character than the Allemande,yet references to it and apparently to the Prelude as well are unmistakable.


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The elements common to both these movements are all here: the arpeg-giation to b2, the octave descent, and the prominent d�. Sketches of theCourante are provided in figures 6.5 (detail) and 6.6 (overview).9 Asshown in figure 6.6, the fundamental line is an octave descent, as in theAllemande. The difference between the two is that here the descentinvolves transfer to and completion in the upper register, a feature ofthe Sarabande and Gigue as well. This transfer is accomplished bymeans of an arpeggiation to a2 in bars 26–27, an unexpected gesturethat, in light of the Gerber copy, would seem to be a direct reference tothe arpeggiation motive of the later discarded Prelude. (This gesture ishighlighted by a bracket in figure 6.5.) Upon attaining a2 in bar 27, thetop sounding part progresses almost immediately to closure in theupper register, only to be delayed at the last minute by the substitutionin the bass of c� for the expected e.10

The Courante opens with the arpeggiation e2�g�2�b2, the last ele-ment of which is supported by a dominant harmony, as occurred in theAllemande and, at a much deeper level, in the Prelude. The stepwisedescent back to the e2 occurs in two stages, first a descent to g�2 in bar 4and then by implication a return to e2 in bar 7, over tonic harmony. Theimplied e2 is stated on the downbeat of the following bar. Bar 7 is heardboth as a point of arrival and as a point of departure, that is, as a pointof metric reinterpretation. As indicated by the arabic numerals betweenthe staves, the hypermeter, which elsewhere in the movement is quadru-ple, is irregular in these bars. As was the case with the opening phrase ofthe Allemande, the arpeggiation to b2 and return to e2 is heard within alocal prolongation of the tonic, and it is from the e2 in bar 8 that the fun-damental line descends, reaching the local goal, scale degree 5, on thedownbeat of bar 13.

As shown in figure 6.5, the second part opens with a four-bar phraseleading to the dominant of c� (vi). One might expect the melodicunfolding from f�2�b�1 spanning this phrase to be answered by c�2�e2,supported by a c� harmony, as shown in figure 6.6. Instead, Bach cancelsthe b�, redirecting the harmony temporarily to the subdominant of thegoal harmony, which is reached in bar 24 after reintroduction of itsdominant. (Note the introduction of d� in bar 21 as ninth of the domi-nant of the following F�-minor harmony). One consequence of this unex-pected change is the continued descent of the melodic line, reaching its

goal, e1, in bar 24. However, the continuation occurs in the upper regis-ter with the introduction of d�2 leading to c�2 supported by the subdom-inant harmony, completing a descending fourth from f�2 (bar 17) to c�2

(bar 26). It is at this point that a2 is introduced by means of the arpeg-giation figure, a seeming reference to that important gesture in thePrelude, as the bass completes its local descending arpeggiation to thesupertonic harmony, which provides consonant support for the a2 aspreparation for its introduction as seventh of the prolonged dominant.As shown in figure 6.6, the arpeggiation from f�2 to a2 (5–7 over the pro-longed dominant) is embedded within a larger motion 8–7, that is, scaledegrees 5 and 4 of the fundamental line.

Sarabande

Figure 6.7, a sketch of the Sarabande, provides an interpretation of thefundamental line as an octave descent with a transfer in the second partto the upper register, similar to what happens in the Courante. However,unlike the Courante, the descent does not originate from a clearly artic-ulated e2 supported by tonic harmony. Instead the melodic line ascendsby step from the inner voice tone g�1 to the outer voice tone d�2, scaledegree 7 of the fundamental line, in bar 6. Immediately preceding thispoint, e2 as the seventh of the secondary dominant, is overlapped abovec�2, thus approaching d�2 from above. As shown in figure 6.7, this e2 inbar 6 may, in retrospect, be considered as connected conceptually to animplied stable e2 associated with the opening tonic harmony.11 The situ-ation here is analogous to what we observed in the previous chapterregarding the fundamental structures of the Sarabande simple fromBWV 818 (see figure 5.10, p. 65) and the Menuet and Gigue movementsfrom BWV 818a (see figures 5.11 (p. 66) and 5.12/5.13 (p. 67–68),respectively), three different representations of the prototype given at cin figure 5.3 (p. 59).

Interpretation of the levels of voice-leading in part 2 presents particu-lar challenges because of the nature of the embedding. At the largestlevel the dominant is shown to be prolonged from the cadence in bar 8until its resolution to the tonic supporting scale degree 3 in the penulti-mate bar. That is, at the deepest level the motion is 8–7 over a prolonged


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dominant, followed immediately by closure. Internal to this prolonga-tion, a2 is provided constant support in bar 13 and then prolonged by adescending third to the cadence on F� (supertonic) in bar 16. The nextpoint of articulation is the reintroduction of the dominant in bar 20 fol-lowing a further descending third in the top voice: f�2�e2�d�2. In essencewhat we have is an unfolding from the outer voice tone a2, supported bysupertonic harmony, to d�2, supported by a return to the dominant. Byimplication a2 has now become a dissonance, and we might expect directintroduction of a2 at this point. Eventually a2 is reintroduced as seventhof the dominant, but first it is introduced as a consonance, supported bythe subdominant.12 An alternate way to interpret this passage might be tohear this subdominant harmony as connected to the earlier supertonicharmony (bars 13–16) and the return to the dominant in bar 20 at amore local level. Either way, the fundamental structure remains the same,and it is this structure, not the details of the voice-leading, that links theSarabande with the previous two movements.

Gigue

While the intervening movements—the Gavotte, Polonaise, Petit Menuet,and Bourrée—may be considered contrasting with occasional referencesto the earlier movements, the Gigue exhibits clear motivic and structural

links to the Prelude and to the opening three movements of the suite.The Gigue also resolves registral completion left open in several of theearlier movements, and in this sense it functions as a true completion aswell as a summary of the entire suite.

A striking feature of the Gigue is its opening motive, the triadic arpeg-giation, which, in the context of this investigation, might be heard as areference, indeed an inversion, of the arpeggiation motive of thePrelude, BWV 854/1. Because of the imitative nature of the Gigue, thisidea is heard several times. Some of these occurrences are marked infigure 6.8, a voice-leading graph of the movement, by vertical brackets.13

Another feature of the Gigue that would seem to link it with thePrelude is the harmonic progression of its second part—including theemployment of d�—through bar 38. This progression can be repre-sented as follows:

V8�( [o7] ii )

�7 I 8��7 IV.

This is precisely the progression of the connective phrase in the Preludeleading to the repetition of its first phrase beginning on the subdomi-nant. The difference is that in the Prelude the subdominant is the goal,whereas in the Gigue this progression is embedded within a larger pro-longation of the dominant. Finally, it should be noted that the treatmentof registers in part two of the Gigue is similar to what we hear in both

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Figure 6.7. Sarabande

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the Prelude and the Allemande. Like the Allemande, the Gigue opensits second part in the upper register (b2), yet closure, at least initially, isheard most strongly in the lower register (bar 44) with completion con-firmed in the upper register in bar 48 (not shown in figure 6.8). Thoughdifferent, there is a strong parallel here to both the Prelude and theAllemande, both of which close only in the lower register.

Part 1 of the Gigue opens with a closed eight-bar phrase in the tonicprolonging scale degree 8, and in this regard it is similar both to theAllemande and to the Courante, though otherwise different in content.The remainder of the first part is divided into two eight-bar phrases, eachending with a cadence on the dominant. While it might be possible to

hear bar 16 as the goal of tonal motion and the following phrase asextension and confirmation of that goal,14 there are at least two factorsthat point to bar 24 as the true goal: 1) the less-than-conclusive natureof the harmonized descent in bars 9–16; and 2) the continued sixteenth-note motion at the cadence at bar 16. As shown in figure 6.8, the fun-damental line descends from scale degree 8 (bars 1–8) conclusively toscale degree 5 at the cadence in bar 24.

The overall motion of bars 9–16 is a descent of a fifth from f�2 to b1,internal to which there is a preliminary descent from f�2 to c�2. Thedescending fifth prolongs its initiating tone, f�2. The final phrase of part1 opens with an ascent from b1 to e2, which is introduced as a consonance

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Figure 6.8. Gigue

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before being harmonized as the dissonant seventh of the dominant inthe key of the dominant. This e2 functions as a passing tone connectingthe prolonged f�2 of bars 9–16 to scale degree 7 (d�2) of the fundamen-tal line in bar 23.

As noted above, melodic closure—that is, completion of the descentof the octave—occurs in both registers. At bar 44, closure is most clearlyheard in the lower register, represented in figure 6.8 by the downward-directed stems and the beam. Closure is clearly implied at this point inthe upper register, then confirmed by the following cadence in bar 48.The contents of bars 25–40 are controlled by the dominant harmonysupporting the motion 8–7, that is, connecting the b2 of bar 25 to thea2 ( 4� ) in bar 40. Internal to this prolonged dominant is the progressiondescribed above, which contains its own extended dominant supportingthe motion 8–7, in this case in the lower register.

II. The Optional Movements

The four optional movements, like the four standard movements, arestructurally related. All have fundamental lines from 3� , either continu-ous or interrupted ( 3� 2� // 3� 2� 1� ). All but the Menuet, which was added

later, share one or more characteristics with earlier movements, thoughthese may very well be fortuitous. For the most part, they are differentfrom the standard four, suggesting that they could have been writtenseparately. By contrast, the strong motivic and structural relationshipsamong the standard four and the Prelude suggest they might very wellhave been conceived as a unit.

Gavotte

A graph of the Gavotte is provided in figure 6.9. Part 1 consists of a mod-ulating period, an antecedent (bars 1–4) answered by a consequent thatmodulates to the dominant. The first phrase opens with an ascendingline leading to scale degree 8 followed immediately by the introductionof the first note of the fundamental line, g�2 ( 3� ). However, in the con-sequent phrase the ascending motion stops at e2 and from theredescends by step to b1. The overall motion spanning the two phrases isa descending sixth from g�2 to the inner-voice tone b1.15 Only by impli-cation has 3� given way to 2� at this point, but the implied f�2 is immedi-ately stated at the outset of part 2 and subsequently prolonged throughbar 16 over a dominant harmony. Internal to this passage, d�, an impor-tant element in the previously discussed movements, particularly the

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Figure 6.9. Gavotte

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Prelude and the Allemande, makes another appearance, here as thedominant of the supertonic harmony. At the modified return to theopening idea, 3� is reinstated and from there the fundamental linedescends to closure in the upper register.16 Meanwhile, in the lower reg-ister we hear a clearly articulated descent from b1 to e1, completing anoctave descent originating in the first part. Once again we have anoctave descent encompassing an entire movement (as shown in figure6.9 by the downward-directed stems and discontinuous beam), reminis-cent of what we found in the Prelude.

Polonaise

The Polonaise opens with a closed phrase in the tonic supporting theoctave descent g�2�g�1, thereby prolonging the initiating tone ( 3� ) of thefundamental line. As shown in figure 6.10, the consequent phrasedescends as far as b1 at the cadence on the dominant. As in the Gavotte,the fundamental line has descended to 2� only by implication at this point;f�2 is clearly stated, however, at the outset of part 2 and subsequently pro-longed until its resolution to closure in the upper register in the final barof the movement. Part two is divided into two periods, the first leading toa cadence on vi, which is embedded within a longer prolongation of thedominant. The initial phrase of this period leads from the dominant to Vof vi, and the second phrase opens with the ubiquitous d� as part of a

secondary diminished seventh chord leading to an F�-minor harmony,heard in this context as the subdominant of c� minor (vi). This passage isreminiscent of the corresponding passage in the Courante (bars 21–24).The next four bars lead back to the dominant via the subdominant, intro-duced by its dominant seventh chord (yet another appearance of d�). Theharmonies of bars 9–20 support a stepwise descent from outer voice (f�2)to inner voice (b1), and, as occurred in the Gavotte, we hear a clearly artic-ulated descent from b1 to e1 in an inner voice in these final four barsbelow resolution of the fundamental line.17

Petit Menuet

The Petit Menuet18 is in rounded binary form, but the return to theopening material in bar 17 does not coincide with a return to tonic har-mony, but instead occurs over a prolongation of the dominant. As shownin figure 6.11, scale degree 2 of the fundamental line is prolonged by theoctave progression f�2�f�1 leading to closure only in the lower register.19

Bourrée

The Bourrée opens with an ascending gesture, an elaborated arpeggia-tion, leading to g�2 (bar 4), establishing it as the primary tone, and fromthere the melodic line descends a sixth to b1 at the cadence on the

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Figure 6.10. Polonaise

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dominant (bar 12). There are strong parallels here to the other move-ments in this group. First, in terms of voice-leading, the approach to theprimary tone ( 3� ) is analogous to what occurs at the opening of both theGavotte and the Menuet. Second, the ensuing descending sixth to b1 par-allels what occurs in the opening period of the Gavotte and in the secondphrase of the Polonaise. Compare figure 6.12, a graph of the Bourrée,with figures 6.9 (Gavotte, p. 80) and 6.10 (Polonaise, p. 81). As was thecase with these other two movements, f�2 ( 2� ) is implied but not statedexplicitly at the cadence on the dominant at the end of part 1.

Part 2 presents an interesting analytical question: where to hear thereestablishment of the tonic harmony and g�2 ( 3� ), at bar 29 or at bar 37?I hear the return at bar 29.20 As shown in figure 6.12, the prolongation ofthe dominant from the cadence in bar 12 up to this point may be consid-ered, at least in an abstract sense, to support an implied motion (5)–7,internal to which the 5th of the dominant ( 2� ) is displaced by b2, fromwhich the line descends to f�2 at the cadence on the supertonic (bar 24). Itis then from this f�2 that a2 is introduced by the now familiar arpeggiationfigure, first as a consonance, and then, by inference, as the dissonant sev-enth. Bars 29–37 are interpreted as a prolongation of the tonic harmonyand of g�2 by its upper neighbor a2, a characteristic gesture of the move-ment at multiple levels. From bar 37 the melodic line descends as if to closein the upper register, but harmonic closure is temporarily avoided, similarto what occurs in bar 29 of the Courante (see figure 6.5, p. 76) and, for thatmatter, at the end of the Prelude. The primary tone is then reintroduced

in the lower register by means of its upper neighbor, from which point clo-sure is finally achieved. As noted above, the task of establishing clear clo-sure in both registers is left to the final movement, the Gigue.

Our investigation of French Suite VI opened with speculation about thepossible relationship of the Prelude in E, BWV 854/1, to the Suite, basedon its inclusion in Gerber’s copy. The compositional links are clear, par-ticularly to the Allemande, Courante and Gigue. From a motivic perspec-tive, the d�, which plays such an important role in the Prelude, isprominent in the second part of the Allemande, Courante, Sarabande,and Gigue, as well as the Gavotte. And the surface arpeggiation motiveappears prominently in the Gigue as well as once at an important struc-tural spot in the Courante. From a structural perspective the encompass-ing octave descent becomes fundamental to the voice-leading structuresof the standard movements.21 And finally the large-scale arpeggiatione2�g�2�b2 of the Prelude and its harmonization are replicated at moreimmediate structural levels in the Allemande and Courante, strengthen-ing the links to those two movements. Within the Suite proper, thestrongest links are found among the standard four: Allemande, Courante,Sarabande, and Gigue. All these movements are related at the deepestlevel by sharing the same fundamental structure, and they are also linkedmotivically. The optional movements also share motivic and structuralcharacteristics, for the most part different from the other four, thoughone can find a possible link here and there between the two groups. This

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Figure 6.11. Petit Menuet

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raises an interesting possibility, namely that Suite VI, which was assembledseparately from the other five in the collection, may have originated frommore than one source. No matter what its origins might have been, therecan be no doubt that some of its movements are related at multiple levels,suggesting its inclusion, along with others discussed in this study, amongthose considered as true examples of the variation suite.

Notes

1. The E-major Prelude, along with other preludes later included in TheWell-Tempered Clavier, originally appeared as a separate movement (item 19) inthe Clavierbüchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1720).

2. Ernst Ludwig Gerber, Historisch-biographisches Lexicon der Tonkünstler(Leipzig, 1790–92).

3. Translated in The New Bach Reader, ed. Hans T. David and Arthur Mendel,rev. and enlarged Christoph Wolff (W. W. Norton, 1998), 322.

4. My analysis of this work is influenced considerably by ideas conveyed tome years ago by Ernst Oster, with whom I had an opportunity to study this andseveral other works.

5. This tonal procedure—where the opening motion from the tonic todominant is answered by a parallel motion progressing from subdominant to aclose on the tonic—is rare in baroque music and certainly in Bach’s works. It isa procedure found on occasion in classical works and more than occasionally inthe works of Franz Schubert.

6. Similar sketches were published in an earlier article, “The FundamentalLine from Scale-Degree 8: Criteria for Evaluation,” Journal of Music Theory 32, no.2 (1988): 271–94 (figures 7 and 8). See also Heinrich Schenker, Free Composition,

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Figure 6.12. Bourrée

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trans. and ed. Ernst Oster (New York: Longman, 1979), figures 76/4, 95/c2,106/1, 109/d1, and 125/3.

7. Extensions of the cadences at the close of part 1 (bars 8–12) and part 2(bars 25–28) are not included in figure 6.3 because their contents are not ger-mane to our investigation of inter-movement associations.

8. The primary reason for my differing interpretation of the octavedescents in these two movements has to do with the different natures of the sev-enth degree of the scale. In the Prelude the descent occurs through natural 7(d�), whereas in the Allemande it is by means of the diatonic seventh.Furthermore, the arpeggiation to b2 in the Allemande occurs within a closedphrase in the tonic where the controlling pitch is e2, whereas this is not the casein the Prelude.

9. cf. Schenker, Free Composition, figures 47/3 and 87/1b.10. Though harmonic closure is not achieved until the very last bar, I have

indicated the implied bass on the downbeat of bar 29 to be e and the harmonyto be “tonic” in figure 6.5 to show the parallel between the final four bars andthe equivalent passage at the end of part 1. There is, of course, an important dif-ference between the two. The last four bars of part 1 extend the local point ofarrival, whereas here they are necessary to confirm the delayed point of arrival.

11. Notes and preliminary sketches of this movement by Schenker indicateindecision regarding whether to interpret the fundamental line from the open-ing g� 1 ( 3� ) or the b1 (5� ) in bar 8, though at one point 3� is crossed out in favor of(5� ). The possibility of an octave line with a suppressed 8� , as interpreted here, wasnot considered. These notes and sketches are contained in The Oster Collection:Papers of Heinrich Schenker, New York Public Library, Music Division, File 69, p.41 and file 70, pp. 8–11.

12. See Schenker, Free Composition, figure 62/9. 13. The arpeggiation motive is represented in figure 6.8 as a chord in

order to economize on space.14. A graph of the Gigue in the hand of Angi Elias (The Oster Collection,

file 70, p. 17) indicates a descent of the fundamental line to 5� already in bar 16, though a preliminary graph by Schenker (file 70, p. 25)seems to indicate preference for the more definitive descent in bars 23–24.Though Schenker clearly settles on a reading of the fundamental line from 8� , apreliminary sketch (file 70, p. 18) reveals an attempt to read the structure from3� (g�2) in bar 8.

15. In a preliminary graph of this movement Schenker indicated a descend-ing fifth progression commencing from the f�2 on the upbeat to bar 4 and theprolongation of the dominant from this dividing cadence, rather than the inter-pretation given in figure 6.9, which shows this f�2 as part of a descending sixth.(See The Oster Collection, file 70, p. 12.) Schenker is consistent in this regard.See his interpretation of the first part of the Bourrée (file 70, p. 15).

16. The return of the tonic harmony is short-lived. With the addition of d�and the simultaneous chromatic change in the bass from e to e� the harmony isdirected again to the supertonic as preparation for the structural dominant.Though brief, the return to g�2 in conjunction with a return to the opening ideais sufficient, I believe, to warrant this reading of the Gavotte.

17. If closure had occurred only in the lower register, it would be temptingto read the prolongation of 2� by an octave descent f�2 to f�1 leading to e1, asoccurs in part 2 of the Petit Menuet.

18. My placement of the Petit Menuet, which was added at a later date atthe end, is based on an assumption that it was most likely intended as a trio tothe Polonaise. It is not appropriate as a closing movement.

19. This interpretation differs from the one provided by Schenker in a pre-liminary sketch (The Oster Collection, file 70, p. 14). Despite the return over apedal b (six-four chord), Schenker reads an implied tonic harmony in bar 17(the norm) rather than a continuation of the dominant.

20. Schenker’s preliminary graph of this movement (The Oster Collection,file 70, p. 15) clearly indicates the return at bar 37, subsuming the tonic har-mony in bar 29 within a larger dominant prolongation (supporting the disso-nant seventh) spanning bars 27–36.

21. The prominent role of the octave as a large-scale organizing device inthis suite, in the Suite in A minor, BWV 818/818a, and in general in Bach’s workspoints to an interesting question: why do we encounter structural octaves inBach’s music, or for that matter, in late baroque music in general, but not in com-positions of the classical period? Perhaps the answer to this question lies in thediffering nature of the forms employed. For example, the tonal motion of the typ-ical baroque binary form is continuous, a condition favorable to the large-scaleunfolding of octave lines, while classical binary forms (rounded binary andsonata form) involve interruption. For a recent discussion of this and other rele-vant issues, see David Smyth, “Schenker’s Octave Lines Reconsidered,” Journal ofMusic Theory 43, no. 1 (1999): 101–33.

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Epilogue

It has been my experience over the years that I have been drawn to cer-tain musical works, to listen to them over and over again, and eventuallyto study them in detail to understand what it is about them that engagesme, in essence to understand in concrete terms what my musical intu-itions have already grasped. Some of Bach’s suites—here I would citespecifically the first two violin partitas; the first, third, and fourth cellosuites; and the keyboard partitas—are among this ever-expanding list.What I have found about these and other works to which I have beendrawn is that they are particularly rich in harmonic, motivic, and struc-tural associations, and it was curiosity about the extent to which theserelationships might be exhibited throughout the forty-four suites thatled me to this study. That is, do all the suites exhibit inter-movementconnections of the variety I had perceived in, say, the first cello suite andthe second violin partita? The answer, of course, is negative. There aresome that appear to exhibit no such relationships, some with a variety ofdiscernible connections, and others that exhibit a diverse, and some-times complex web of inter-movement associations, some easily percep-tible but others less obvious except to the trained ear. Personally I amdrawn to those in this last group. The more complex the better. But thisshould not be taken as a value judgment. The baroque suite is a collec-tion of pieces in the same key, and there are many wonderful examplesby Bach that are just that. Consider some of the suites I have not dis-cussed, including some of the English and French suites. These too arefantastic works, equally worthy of our attention.

It should not come as a surprise that many of Bach’s suites do exhibitinter-movement associations, given the tradition from which he came.He learned his craft in part by studying the music of preceding genera-tions, often copying complete works or making arrangements of them.As noted in chapter one, he made a keyboard arrangement (BWV 965)of the first sonata, actually a partita, from Reincken’s Hortus Musicus(1687). This is a variation suite, so there can be no doubt that Bach was

acquainted with that tradition. Whether or not he was directlyacquainted with Niedt’s tract on variation technique, in which theauthor shows how to write an entire suite based on a given figured bass(not unlike basing a succession of movements on a cantus firmus, anolder tradition) is an open question, though, if he did, he seems not tohave adopted this method as a regular means of composing. Rather, theinter-movement connections exhibited in his suites are far more variedand sophisticated than what Niedt proposes, perhaps closer to what wefind in the Reincken work.

So what have we discovered in our study of unifying devices in theBach suites? First, in the harmonic realm, we have found very few exam-ples of movements based on the same figured bass. The only examplewhere this appears to hold throughout is the Allemande–Courante pairfrom the Praeludium et Partita del tuono terzo (BWV 833), and even hereone must work a bit to reveal the connections (see figure 1.10, p. 11).Much more common are suites exhibiting the same large-scale har-monic design, though it seems to me that this relationship is greatlystrengthened when these common designs are combined with similarmid-level and deep-level voice-leading patterns, as we have observed onseveral occasions. Having a common fundamental structure is not sig-nificant in itself, at least in this context, but takes on greater significancewhen this occurs in conjunction with other common features, harmonicand/or motivic. However, in this regard, I would suggest that move-ments from the Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV 818a)—the prototypesoutlined in figure 5.3 (p. 59)—function almost like Ur-motives. In thisparticular case, the movements are connected at more immediate levels,reinforcing the relationship.

The most fruitful avenue of investigation into inter-movement con-nections in these works has proven to be the concept of pitch motivedefined and developed in chapters three and four. In this regard, it isinteresting to note, but not surprising, that the examples of motivic rep-etition cited from early works, for example from the keyboard suitesBWV 820–822, are all very much at the surface of the music, that is, eas-ily recognizable, and though this type of relationship persists to somedegree, it would appear that the more complex types of motivic repeti-tions appear only in the more mature works. We have seen that the sin-gle pitch, e.g., the lowered-seventh degree of the scale, can function as

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a motivic link among movements, either by itself, as in the first keyboardpartita (BWV 825), or as part of a larger construct, as in the first Englishsuite (BWV 806) or the fourth cello suite (BWV 1010), and several exam-ples where movements of a suite are related by expanded voice-leadingpatterns: the flute partita (BWV 1013), the Overture in the French Style(BWV 831), and the first and second violin partitas (BWV 1002 and1004). In the last two of these works, as in the Keyboard Suite in A Minor(BWV 818a) and in the French Suite in E Major (BWV 817), motivic rep-etition at various levels is combined with structural similarities at thedeepest level of two or more of their movements. The last two workscited are particularly rich in harmonic, motivic, and structural associa-tions at multiple levels, the reason I have singled them out as summaryexamples.

I would like to close by returning briefly to a question that has beenimplied at various times in this study, but not yet posed directly: what isa variation suite? Or, more to the point, what are the conditions that

must be satisfied to qualify as a variation suite? It seems that the minimalcondition is that two or more of its movements must be related through-out. One approach is to limit our view to what contemporary theorists,like Niedt, had to say about musical organization. This view leadsinevitably to the conclusion that the only example of a variation suite inBach’s oeuvre is the Praeludium et Partita del tuono terzo, BWV 833. This isa reasonable conclusion. But I would argue that we should not limit our-selves in this way. The best evidence we have is not writings about music,but the music itself. If we can accept that movements can be relatedthroughout by common harmonic and voice-leading constructs, as Ihave attempted to demonstrate, and that these relationships are fre-quently supported by motivic associations, then surely we must includein our list of this genre not only BWV 817 and 818a and the first two vio-lin partitas (BWV 1002 and 1004), but also the fifth English Suite (BWV810) and perhaps several others whose movements have been shown tobe motivically linked.


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Appendix Theoretical Terms and

Definitions

Anstieg : A harmonized linear ascent to the primary tone [Kopfton], theinitial tone of the Fundamental line [Urlinie].

Closure: As employed here, this term refers to the completion of har-monic motion to the tonic (harmonic closure) in conjunction withdescent of the fundamental line to scale degree one (melodic clo-sure). Closure can occur at different levels, but normally the term, ifnot specified otherwise (e.g., local closure), refers to completion ofthe fundamental structure [Ursatz].

Fundamental line [Urlinie]: In Schenker’s theory a stepwise descendingline leading from the primary tone [Kopfton], always a member of thetonic triad (e.g., scale degree 3, 5, or 8), to closure. The fundamentalline is represented in musical graphs or sketches by open (white)notes and by Arabic numerals with carets above.

Graph or Sketch: Representation of an interpretation of musical struc-ture using musical notation, where the note values and other symbolsindicate the relative structural significance, not the duration, ofevents (as opposed to the reduction, where note values do indicaterelative duration). There are two types of graphs/sketches employedin this book, one which shows considerable detail and retains bar

lines as an aid to readers, and the other which omits details for thesake of representing more clearly structural connections at deeper(more remote) levels. See, for example, figures 6.1 and 6.2, two rep-resentations of the structure of the Prelude in E Major (BWV 854/1).

Hypermeter: The regular grouping of bars, normally in multiples of two,where the individuals components, the bars, function at a higher levelmuch the same as beats function within the bar with respect to rela-tive stress. In the suites, hypermeter is most evident in dance move-ments like the menuet. See, for example, the Menuet from thesecond French Suite (BWV 813) (figure 1.2), where the prevailinghypermeter is quadruple, corresponding in general to the phrasedivisions. Note, however, that the eight-bar phrase beginning in bar17, which is based on a two-bar sequence, is continuous, not divisibleinto four plus four. Specific references to hypermetric organization inthe suites are listed in the Index.

Primary Tone [Kopfton]: The initial tone of the fundamental line.

Reduction: A simplification of the music resulting from elimination ofdecorative elements. In the reduction, unlike the graph or sketch,note values represent relative duration, not actual duration in thescore but duration of control once melodic embellishments andrhythmic displacements are removed. See, for example, the reduc-tions of the opening bars of the Allemanda, Corrente, Sarabande,and Tempo di Borea movements from Violin Partita I (BWV 1002),provided in figure 1.6.

Ursatz: Fundamental structure, consisting of the fundamental line[Urlinie] and its harmonic support.

Zug : A linear harmonized progression spanning a specific interval, e.g.,a fifth.

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Bibliography

Bach, Johann Sebastian. J. S. Bach’s Precepts and Principles for Playing theThorough-Bass or Accompanying in Four Parts. [Leipzig, 1738]. Translationwith facsimile, introduction, and explanatory notes by Pamela L. Poulin.Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994.

Beach, David. “The Fundamental Line from Scale-Degree 8: Criteria forEvaluation.” Journal of Music Theory 32, no. 2 (1988): 271–94.

Beck, Hermann. The Suite. Translated by Robert Holben. Cologne: ArnoVolk, 1966.

Burkhart, Charles. “Schenker’s ‘Motivic Parallelisms.’ ” Journal of MusicTheory 22, no. 2 (1978): 145–75.

David, Hans T., and Arthur Mendel. The New Bach Reader. Revised andexpanded by Christoph Wolff. New York: W. W. Norton, 1998.

Fuller, David. “Suite.” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, editedby Stanley Sadie. 2nd edition. 29 vols. New York: Grove, 2001, 24:665–84.

Fuller, David, and Cliff Eisen. “Partita.” The New Grove Dictionary of Music andMusicians, edited by Stanley Sadie. 2nd edition. 29 vols. New York: Grove,2001, 19:173–74.

Lester, Joel. Bach’s Works for Solo Violin. Oxford: Oxford University Press,1999.

Nelson, Robert U. The Technique of Variation. Berkeley and Los Angeles:University of California Press, 1949.

Niedt, Friederich Erhard. Musikalische Handleitung I: Vom General-Bass(1700); II: Handleitung zur Variation (1706; 2nd expanded edition, ed.J. Mattheson, 1721); III: Von Contra-Punct, Canon, Motetten, Choral,Recitativ-Stylo, und Cavatten, ed. J. Mattheson (1717). Translated as

Musical Guide by Pamela L. Poulin and Irmgard C. Taylor. Oxford:Oxford University Press, 1989.

Rothstein, William. Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music. New York: Schirmer, 1989.Schachter, Carl. “The Gavotte en Rondeaux from J. S. Bach’s Partita in

E Major for Unaccompanied Violin.” Israel Studies in Musicology 4 (1987):7–26.

Schenker, Heinrich. Free Composition. [1935]. Translated and edited by ErnstOster. New York: Longman, 1979.

———. The Masterwork in Music. Edited by William Drabkin, translated by IanBent, William Drabkin, Richard Kramer, John Rothgeb, and Hedi Siegel.3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994, 1996 and 1997.

———. Notes and Unpublished Sketches of the French Suite in E Major,BWV 817. The Oster Collection: Papers of Heinrich Schenker, New YorkPublic Library, Music Division, File 69, pp. 37–46, and File 70, pp. 4–25.

Schulenberg, David. “Composition and Improvisation in the School of J. S.Bach.” Bach Perspectives 1, edited by Russell Stinson (1995): 1–42.

———. “Composition as Variation: Inquiries into the CompositionalProcedures of the Bach Circle of Composers.” Current Musicology 33(1982): 57–87.

———. The Keyboard Music of J. S. Bach. New York: Schirmer, 1992.Sisman, Elaine. “Variations.” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,

edited by Stanley Sadie. 2nd edition. 29 vols. New York: Grove, 2001,26:284–326.

Smyth, David. “Schenker’s Octave Lines Reconsidered.” Journal of MusicTheory 43, no. 1 (1999): 101–33.

Wolff, Christoph. Bach: Essays on His Life and Music. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press, 1991.

———. Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. New York: W. W. Norton,2000.

Wolff, Christoph, Walter Emery, Ulrich Leisinger, Stephen Roe, and PeterWollny. “Johann Sebastian Bach.” The New Grove Dictionary of Music andMusicians, edited by Stanley Sadie. 2nd edition. 29 vols. New York: Grove,2001, 2:309–82.

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Index

BWV 1067, Orchestral Suite II,12n3, 12n6

Clavierbüchlein für Anna MagdalenaBach, 71

Clavier-Büchlein für WilhelmFriedemann Bach, 83n1

Gründlicher Unterricht des General-Basses, 9

Well-Tempered Clavier I, 71, 74, 83n1Beck, Hermann, xiiin2Beethoven, Ludwig, Fifth Symphony, 27Böhm, Georg, xiiBurkhart, Charles, 38n1, 38n3Buxtehude, Dietrich, Auf meinen lieben

Gott (BUXWV 179), 8, 12n8

David, Hans T., 12n11, 83n3Derr, Ellwood, xiiin3double, 5–8, 12n3, 12n6, 12n7, 38n6Drabkin, William, 25n6, 69n2

Elias, Angi, 84n14

Forkel, Johann Nikolaus, 12n11form: of Praeambulum, Partita V, 3; of

Toccata, Partita VI, 3–4; of Menuet,French Suite II, 4–5, 6: roundedbinary, 4, 52n4

Froberger, Johann Jacob, xiiFuller, David, xiiin2, 38n9

Gerber, Ernst Ludwig, Historisch-biographisches Lexicon der Tonkünstler, 71, 83n2

Gerber, Heinrich Nicolaus, 57, 71, 82

Handel, George Frideric, xii, 12n7hypermeter: Flute Partita (BWV

1013), 40 (Figure 4.2), 52n3;Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV818), Sarabande simple, 65 (Figure5.10); Keyboard Suite in A Minor(BWV 818a), Sarabande, 64

(Figure 5.9); Keyboard Suite in GMinor (BWV 822), Overture, 32(Figure 3.9), 38n8; Violin Partita II(BWV 1004), Sarabande, 53n10.See also metric reinterpretation;parenthetical digression; phraseexpansion

Kirnberger, Johann Philipp, 9, 13n11Kuhnau, Johann, xii

Laufer, Edward, 53n8Lester, Joel, 53n7, 53n9

Mendel, Arthur, 83n3metric reinterpretation: French Suite

VI (BWV 817), Courante, 76(Figure 6.5), 77. See also hypermeter

motive: definition of different types,27, 39; form-defining role of, 3–5;motivic parallels, 27–37 passim

Niedt, Friederich Erhard,Musicalische Handleitung II:Handleitung zur Variation, 8–9,12n9, 13n13, 85, 86

octave progressions: Cello Suite IV(BWV 1010), 34, 35, 36 (Figure3.14); French Suite VI (BWV 817),74–80 (Figures 6.3–6.8), 84n21;Keyboard Suite in A Minor (BWV818/818a), 59–69 (Figures 5.3–5.8;5.10–5.14); Orchestral Suite I(BWV 1066), 35, 37 (Figure 3.16);Partita V (BWV 829), 19, 20(Figure 2.8), 21 (Figure 2.9),38n12; Prelude in E Major (BWV854/1), 73 (Figure 6.2)

Oster, Ernst, 83n4, 84n6Oster Collection (New York Public

Library), 84n11, 84n14, 84n15,84n19, 84n20

Altnickol, Johann Christoph, 71

Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel, 9, 12n11

Bach, Johann Nicolaus, 8–9Bach, Johann Sebastian:

BWV 766–768, Partite diverse, xiiin1,8

BWV 806, English Suite I, 8, 12n3,28–29, 34, 38n6, 86

BWV 807, English Suite II, 8, 12n3BWV 808, English Suite III, 8, 12n3BWV 810, English Suite V, 22–24,

52n1, 86BWV 811, English Suite VI, 6–7, 8,

12n3, 25n7BWV 812, French Suite I, 57BWV 813, French Suite II, 4–5, 27BWV 816, French Suite V, 4, 25n7BWV 817, French Suite VI, xii, 4,

52, 69n5, 71–84, 86BWV 818/818a, Keyboard Suite in

A Minor, xii, 5–6, 8, 12n3, 29,52, 57–69, 77, 84n21, 85, 86

BWV 820, Overture in F Major, 30,31, 38n7, 85

BWV 821, Keyboard Suite in B-flat,30, 85

BWV 822, Keyboard Suite in GMinor, 30–31, 32, 38n8, 85

BWV 825, Partita I, 15–17, 18, 19,20, 25n3, 28, 34, 38n5, 86

BWV 826, Partita II, 12n1, 15, 16,17, 24n1, 25n7, 29–30

BWV 827, Partita III, 12n1, 27–28,38n4

BWV 828, Partita IV, 32, 34, 35BWV 829, Partita V, 3, 17, 19, 20,

21, 25n4, 38n12BWV 830, Partita VI, 3–4, 12n1,

25n7, 27BWV 831, Overture in the French

Style, 40–43, 86BWV 833, Prelude et Partita del tuono

terzo, xii, 10–11, 12n3, 15,27–28, 85, 86

BWV 854/1, Prelude in E Major,Well-Tempered Clavier I, 71–74, 75,76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83n1

BWV 940, Little Prelude in DMinor, 69n2

BWV 942, Little Prelude in AMinor, 69n2

BWV 965, Keyboard Arrangementof Sonata I from Reincken’sHortus musicus, 9–10, 85

BWV 996, Lute Suite II, 27BWV 997, Lute Suite III, 8, 12n3BWV 1002, Violin Partita I, 6–8,

12n3, 43–46, 86BWV 1004, Violin Partita II, 12n3,

46–51, 52, 53n10, 86BWV 1007, Cello Suite I, 31–32, 33,

38n9BWV 1009, Cello Suite III, 19,

21–22, 25n5, 25n6BWV 1010, Cello Suite IV, 34–36,

38n10, 38n11, 86BWV 1013, Flute Partita, 4, 39–40,

52n2, 52n3, 52n4, 52n5BWV 1066, Orchestral Suite I, 4,

25n7, 30, 31, 35, 37

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parenthetical digression: Cello SuiteIII (BWV 1009), Gigue, 21, 22(Figure 2.11); Keyboard Suite in AMinor (BWV 818a), Prelude, 59,60 (Figure 5.4); Partita II (BWV826), Allemande and Courante,15, 17 (Figure 2.2); Partita V (BWV829), Sarabande, 25n4. See alsohypermeter; phrase expansion

phrase expansion: Flute Partita (BWV1013), Bourrée, 40 (Figure 4.2);Partita V (BWV 829), Sarabande,25n4. See also parenthetical

digression

Poulin, Pamela, 12n9, 13n13

Reincken, Johann Adam, xii; Hortusmusicus, Sonata I, 9–10, 85

repetition, role of, 3–8 passimRothstein, William, 52n3

Schenker, Heinrich, 22, 27, 35, 38n1,38n3, 39, 53n6, 84n11, 84n14,84n15, 84n19, 84n20; FreeComposition, 69n2, 84n6, 84n9,84n12; The Masterwork inComposition, 25n6, 69n2;Schenkerian graphs, xii, xiiin6

Schubert, Franz, 83n5Schulenberg, David, xi, xiiin2, xiiin4,

xiiin5, 9, 10, 11, 12n10, 13n14,13n15, 38n7, 57, 69n1

seventh degree of the scale lowered (flat 7); Cello Suite IV(BWV 1010), 34–36, 38n11;English Suite I (BWV 806), 28–29; Partita I (BWV 825), 15–17,28, 34, 38n6; Partita V (BWV 829),19, 20 (Figure 2.8), 21 (Figure 2.9)

Siegel, Heidi, 25n6, 69n2Sisman, Elaine, 10, 13n14

Smyth, David, 84n21Stinson, Russell, xiiin2, 12n10style, consistency of, xi

Taylor, Imgard C., 12n9

unity, xi–xii, 3, 8, 85–86

variation suite, xii, 8–11, 83, 85, 86variation technique, role of, 3–8

passim

Wolff, Christoph, xi, xiiin4, 12n11,83n3

92 Index

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Aspects of Unity in J. S. Bach’sPartitas and Suites

David W. Beach

Musicians—listeners, performers, and scholars alike—have often felt aprofound connectedness between various movements in multimove-ment works by the great composers. But sensing musical unity is onething; showing it is another.

In Aspects of Unity in J. S. Bach’s Partitas and Suites, David Beach exam-ines many of the forty-four works by Bach in this genre for keyboard,orchestra, and solo instruments, including the beloved solo works forviolin and for cello from this perspective.

Through careful attention to motivic and harmonic repetitions at vari-ous structural levels, made plain to the eye in numerous annotated musi-cal examples and diagrams, Beach establishes that Bach often did linkseveral movements of a suite in various ways, sometimes by overt but oftenby more subtle means. Aspects of Unity in J. S. Bach’s Partitas and Suites thusprovides new insight into the inner workings of these great pieces.

David W. Beach is a renowned music analyst and historian of music the-ory who recently retired as Dean of the Faculty of Music, University ofToronto. He co-translated Kirnberger’s The Art of Musical StrictComposition and edited Aspects of Schenkerian Theory (both for YaleUniversity Press) and is co-editor of Music Theory in Concept and Practice(Eastman Studies in Music, University of Rochester Press).

“This intense investigation of suites by J. S. Bach reveals his profoundand prolific invention, of a kind that has fascinated composers, per-formers, and theorists for nearly three centuries. Beach is the idealconnoisseur to lead us through this creative maze, with his intimateknowledge of the music, his sensitive musical perception, and a rare giftfor truly lucid analytical explanation.”

—Jonathan Dunsby, founding editor of Music Analysis and Professor of Music, University of Reading

“This book, with its meticulous analytical graphs and learned inter-pretations based upon many years of study, is certain to be of great interest to Bach scholars and to students of music in general.”

—Allen Forte, Battell Professor of Music Theory, Yale University

“An insightful study of inter-movement connections in the Bach Suites—some of the greatest multi-movement works ever composed. An import-ant contribution to the scholarly literature.”

—Carl Schachter, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Music, CUNY,and author of Unfoldings: Essays in Schenkerian Theory and Analysis

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