P26 Mel HTP 108-Ep-Finalish.Indd 26 07/05/2019 16:20

DON’T MISS MELANIE SPANSWICK’S TRACK 5 LESSON Johann PACHELBEL (1653-1706) BEGINNER/ ON THIS PIECE INTERMEDIATE PAGE 26 Fugue in C P.144

German-born composer Johann Pachelbel is most well-known for Pachelbel wrote it during a time in which Nuremburg was enjoying a late his Canon in D – a piece which has been arranged for almost every flowering of culture in the aftermath of Europe’s Thirty Years’ War. The instrument possible. Pachelbel become head organist of St. Sebald church composer certainly benefited from the cultural bloom; he produced more in his hometown of Nuremberg. This was a role that would be passed than 100 fugues during this time. on to his son Wilhelm Hieronymus years later. As for this Fugue in C, Read Melanie Spanswick’s step-by-step lesson on page 26.

Allegro q = 1 38 – 1 44

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4 4 1 f f f f f f f f F F & F Ó f f p f f f f f f f f F F f f f f ? f # { 3 2 5 2 1 3 2 1 2 2 5 2 4 FULL SCORE ON PAGE 32 5 1 4

7 f f3 f F5 F F 3 f f f f f f f f f & f f f f f F f f F f f f f f f f f ? { 4 5 2 1 3 2 1 3 10 1 f5 f f f 3 4 2 1 f f f f f f f f F f f f f f & # Œ f mf f f f f F F ? Œ f f f f f f f f n # { 1 2 5 3 5 play 32• Pianist 108 33• Pianist 108

P32 SCORES Pachelbel-FINAL.indd 32 07/05/2019 15:39 PACHELBEL Fugue in C major P.144 There’s no need to be afraid of the fugue: a little bit of preparation and a lot of slow practice will have you asking for more, says Melanie Spanswick

Ability rating Late beginner Melanie Spanswick is a pianist, author, teacher and Info Will improve your composer. She selected the repertoire for The Faber Key: C major 3 Counterpoint playing Music Piano Anthology, and is author of Play It Again: Tempo: Allegro 3 Articulation PIANO (Schott Music), a course for those returning to Style: Baroque 3 Rhythmic control playing. Melanie gives workshops in Germany, the USA and the Far East; she is a tutor at Jackdaws Music Education Trust, Finchcocks Music and Piano Johann Pachelbel is famous for his Week, and is now a Schott composer with a new Canon in D. He also wrote keyboard collection of intermediate piano pieces entitled and organ works, including this fugue, No Words Necessary. www.melaniespanswick.com which demands careful finger control and a variety of touches. A metronome As you play each entry, sound the Use similar practice techniques for marking of crotchet = 138 should allow quaver beats rhythmically. A useful the LH. Pay extra attention to bars sufficient time to contour the musical method of practice is to play every 7-8, 10-11, and 20-23. Keep the faster lines and to focus on the articulation. note to the bottom of the keybed, passagework rhythmical and even. The with a heavy touch using the tips of subject appears at bars 2, 6, 10-11, A fugue is a contrapuntal composition. your fingers. This might take some and 16. It consists of two or more ‘voices’ or focused concentration at first. Keep musical lines. The ‘subject’, which is a your wrist relaxed. This will be vital short melody or theme, introduced at when playing the interval of a 4th in Learning Tip the beginning of the piece, is repeated the subject, as it demands the use of In order to gain an even tone, in different voices throughout, often the fifth finger (G in bar 1) which can practise slowly using a heavy, at different pitches. The musical be prone to ‘swallow’ beats due to the deep touch. When secure, lighten lines interweave around each other tendency for it to collapse. To alleviate your touch and add speed. incorporating other material such as a this issue, move your wrist and hand ‘countersubject’. slightly to the right as the fifth finger plays. This will give it the necessary This is a two-part fugue.It contains support. Observe your fifth finger as With contrapuntal music, it helps to two voices; one to be played by the it strikes the key; joints should be firm know each hand from memory. You RH and the other by the LH. Each and not collapsing. don’t need to perform the piece from requires thorough assimilation, memory, but the added security will therefore it’s advisable to begin by Practise at a third of the suggested aid fluency. working hands separately. tempo. Use a metronome set on a quaver pulse, and try to stick fairly Time to practise hands together. Make markings on the score first. rigidly to the tick, placing each Again, choose a tempo around a third Of particular importance is fingering, RH quaver firmly on the beat. This of the intended speed. Play with a so write in your ideal fingering (see will help develop your inner pulse. metronome, and be sure to ‘place’ score), and ensure that you stick Quaver passages and minims can notes absolutely together, particularly to it. Try making a note of various be articulated with a legato touch, in the rapid passages. Work a bar at articulations; this piece is best played but all crotchets (such as those at a time and aim to contrast the sound with legato quaver passages, contrasting bars 18, 20, and 22) need a ‘lift’ at and touch, e.g. practise the RH forte, with a non legato touch for some of the the end of the beat. This involves and the LH piano, then reverse. Or longer notes, such as the crotchets (e.g. removing the finger from the key add a staccato LH to a legato RH, and the final two LH beats in bar 3). just a fraction before playing the then change to non legato. This variety next one, proffering a very slight gap of disparate touches and dynamics Let’s start out with the RH. The between notes. This will add a dash of will ensure total focus and a deeper theme is stated in bar 1 and consists of wonderful elegance and lightness to understanding of note patterns. a rising group of five quavers (middle your interpretation. C to G), followed by a falling and When fluent, emphasize the rising interval of a perfect 4th (G to The ornament at bar 23 needs subject at every appearance. Keep D, and back to G), ending on the E special attention. I’ve made some the surrounding material softer. The at the beginning of bar 2. This theme fingering suggestions on the score. musical layers demand various colours, appears several times in the RH within Play each note very slowly with a so do have fun experimenting.The the piece and I’d suggest marking the heavy touch, adding accents to the top sustaining pedal will add a touch of entries, bearing in mind that they note E and the lower note D. When resonance to the final bar, but very little won’t all begin on the same note (bars played at tempo, lighten your touch is necessary – clear articulation is vital n © Erica Worth 1, 5, 12, and 15). for even demisemiquavers. when playing contrapuntal music.

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P26 Mel HTP 108-ep-FINALish.indd 26 07/05/2019 16:20