How Music Developed: A Critical and Explanatory Account of the Growth of Modern MusicHenderson, W. J. (William James)
History
How Music Developed: A Critical and Explanatory Account of the Growth of Modern Music
Henderson, W. J. (William James)
Music -- History and criticism
Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach (born, Weimar, March 14, 1714; died, Hamburg,
Dec. 14, 1788), the third son of Sebastian Bach, was by nature and
artistic taste fitted for the work which his father did not attempt. We
have already noticed his theory that one should play the clavichord and
write for it in the singing style. It was his feeling for this style and
his keen insight into the capabilities of his instrument which made him,
though not a composer of genius, a powerful agent in the establishment
of the modern sonata form,--so powerful, indeed, that he has been called
the father of the sonata. We owe something, however, to the demands of
public taste. Music-lovers have usually, with the exception of the few,
preferred the purely sensuous beauty of music to its intellectual
qualities. They grew weary in those days of the severity of the fugue
form; and the composers of the time naturally endeavored to supply them
with what they desired, something easily, rhythmically pleasing. For
years after Emmanuel Bach's day it continued to be the aim of composers
to write with elegance and taste.
Emmanuel Bach excluded polyphonic writing from his sonatas, and adopted
a style entirely monophonic. He contributed toward the development of
the sonata in the direction of clearness and symmetry, and he insisted
upon a well-regulated contrast of keys and of the characters of the
different movements. In short, he established the outline of the sonata,
with the exception of duality of themes, determined the direction in
which it was to develop, and gave it a powerful impulse. The first
sonatas in which Emmanuel Bach showed his ability were six published in
1742, and dedicated to Frederick the Great.[10.1] The opening movement of
each is in the sonata form, as it existed then. The principal theme is
properly announced, there is a short section of "working out," and a
conclusion with the principal theme in the tonic key. In the working out
the composer does not use the principal key, and thus in returning to it
in his conclusion gets the effect of repose. In at least one of these
sonatas, the second, there is a clearly marked second theme in the first
part. There are touches of humor here and there in these sonatas, and
some of the slow movements are full of feeling. The finales are all
light and lively.
[10.1] The author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness at
this particular point to "The Pianoforte Sonata," by J. S.
Shedlock.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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