The Pianoforte Sonata: Its Origin and DevelopmentShedlock, J. S. (John South)
History
The Pianoforte Sonata: Its Origin and Development
Shedlock, J. S. (John South)
Sonatas (Piano) -- History and criticism
[63] Similar passages are to be found in the opening Vivace of J.G.
Muethel's 2nd Sonata in G. He was a pupil of J.S. Bach, and either a
pupil or close follower of E. Bach. His six published sonatas are of
great musical interest; in his wide sweeping arpeggios and other
florid passages he shows an advance on E. Bach. His 2nd Arioso with
twelve variations is worth the notice of pianists in search of
something unfamiliar. There are features in the music--and of these
the character of the theme is not least--which remind one strongly of
Beethoven's 32 C minor variations.
[64] A recitative is also to be found in a Mueller sonata.
[65] "In tempo in cui ebbi l'onore di darle Lezzione di Musica in
Berlino."
[66] "The two sonatas, which met with your special approval, are the
only ones of this kind which I have ever composed. They are connected
with the one in B minor, which I sent to you, with the one in B flat,
which you now have also, and with two out of the Hafner-Wuertemberg
Collection; and all six were composed on a Claviacord with the short
octave, at the Toeplitz baths, when I was suffering from a severe
attack of gout."
A series of six sonatas by E. Bach is in the _Tresor des Pianistes_,
and is said to have been published at Nuremberg in 1744; the work is
also dedicated to the Duke of Wuertemberg, and the Opus number (2) is
also given to it. There is mention of these sonatas in Bitter's
biography of J.S. Bach's sons, but not of the others.
[67] Sechs ausgewaehlte Sonaten fuer Klavier allem von Carl Philipp
Emanuel Bach bearbeitet und mit einem Vorwort herausgegeben von Hans
von Buelow (Peters, Leipzig).
[68] In like manner he feels in the Andante, _reflection_, and in the
final Andantino, _melancholy consolation_.
[69] _Leipziger Mus. Almanack_, 1783.
[70] The number of sonatas in each collection grew gradually smaller:
first six, then three, lastly two. The dates of composition in the
last column of above table may be studied with advantage: a later date
of publication does not necessarily imply a more advanced work. Thus,
of the three fine sonatas in the 3rd Collection (all of which are
included in the Buelow selection), one was written eighteen, another
fifteen, and the third (though first in order of reckoning), seven
years before the date of publication (1781).
[71] See particularly the Sonata in G (collection of 1783).
[72] All of these consist of two movements; in the first, both
movements are marked Andante.
[73] For the benefit of readers who may not possess Pohl's _J. Haydn_,
we insert in brackets, after the Pohl numbers, those of the Holle
edition.
[74] Cf. C.F. Pohl's _J. Haydn_, vol. ii. p. 311. They are in the keys
of D, E flat, and A, and are interesting. The Tempo di Menuetto of the
second presents a strict canon in the octave. In the last, too, there
is a curious canon.
[75] The treble of the tenth bar of the second section has been
frequently printed a third too high.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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