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1982 Froberger's Toccatas: Stylistic Considerations and Modern Editions James W. Kosnik Old Dominion University, [email protected]

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Repository Citation Kosnik, James W., "Froberger's Toccatas: Stylistic Considerations and Modern Editions" (1982). Music Faculty Publications. 1. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/music_pubs/1 Original Publication Citation Kosnik, J. W. (1982). Froberger's toccatas: Stylistic considerations and modern editions. The American Organist, 16(5), 42-44.

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Music at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Music Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. can· balabal, mo! Iron [ ram , the FROBERGER'S'S TOCCATA& as, ~ non PART I pro, oft the STYLISTIC CCONSIDERATIONS ONSIDERATIONS AAND ND MMODER ODERN EEDITIONS DITIONS [ can cha James WW.. Kosnik vide Exar HE MUSMUSIC IC OFOF JOHANNJOHANN JAKJAKOB OB FROFROBERGER BERGER isis recognized by Example 1.1 Toccata VI,VI, mm.mm . 30-31.30-31 . scholars and musicians to be of significant artistic achieve­ Tment and historical interest.interest. Yet, with the possible excep­ ~ tion of the suites, few modern-day performances of his music are likelylikely to be heard for several reasons: the music does not fulfill the requirement of easy and accessible listening;listening; the music lackslacks a certain superficial brilliance; or the proper in­in­ i~ struments are unavailable so that the music cannot be heard in itsits most authentic language. The most importantimportant reason,reason, how­ ever, isis our own lack of understanding of the correct perfor­ 1 1 1 1 1 r I mance style which prevents the beauty and meaning of his ' .h1Jrrn 1 -- ··- - ·- ~ music from being conveyed. The following letter from Princess -- ~ Sybilla, Froberger's patroness during his final years, to Con-Con­ stantin Huygens, an internationalinternational diplomat and connoisseur,connoisseur, il­ Even though thisI figure is evidentI inin most keyboard music of the ~ lustrateslustrates that Froberger himself felt that not even his contem­ period, itit isis an essential feature inin Frescobaldi'sFrescobaldi's elevation toe·toc­ poraries could unlock the secrets of his art: catascat as from the FioriFior, musicali,musicalt, and inin hishis two books of toccatas.toccatas His [Froberger's][Froberger'sl noblenoble compositions II [Sybilla][Sybilla) am treasuring so much,much, The elevation toccatas exhibit Froberger'sFroberger's mmostost expressiveexpress1v~ anda~d that II cannot and do not want, as longlong as II live,live, toto give them out of my personal writing: the sudden harmonic shiftsshifts and chromaticchromatic! in­ hands, the more so as I have promised him so frequently upon his request,request, flections produce a very dramatic effect. AnalAnalysisysis reveals an in­in- not to give anybody anything of them,them, or ifif II would ever give anybody 1 cipient diatonic harmonic practice throughthroug~ thethe use of?f syssystem- tem­ I Exan something,something, it should be from the first two opera;opera ; the other things I was to aticat1c chord progressions,progressions, even though an improvisational1mprov1sat1on~I stye keep with myself; II know, of course,course, that he has loved Herr Chevalier 01 Huygens dearly,dearly, and that he would not have likedliked to refuse something, pervades these pieces.pieces Toccata VI isis representative of I therefore II shall with pleasure copy something of his compositionscompos1t1ons and Froberger's best writing inin the elevation style.styl e. The frequent send to himhim- —ifif II only knew which of his pieces he already pos­ melodic passages and exotic harmonic treatment createcre~te aa sesses-butsesses - but on this condition that they would not become known lyricallyrical and expressive composition that demands the ultimateultima~e Bra generally, as he often had said to me that many did as if his compositions sensitivity from the performer.performer ItsIts intimate and romanticrom antic antanc were theirs,theirs, and did not know anyway what to do with them,them , butbut only qualities reveal a very personal style that may indicateindicate w.hYwhy Iha spoilt them,them, and so he did not like his pieces to reach other people'speople's Froberger was so reluctant to share his compositions witwith ant hands.hands.2 anc others. 1 BIOGRAPHY ( Frc Details of Froberger'sFroberger's lifelife are shrouded inin darkness due to a Example 2.2. Toccata VI,VI, mm.mm. 27-29.27 - 29. • Ori! lack of verifiable 33 lack of verifiable historical information. He was born, according en1 ( to the baptismal record, on May 19,1616,19, 1616, in Stuttgart, Germany, to where he grew up in the socially and politically unstable climate [ voe of the Thirty Years War.War. He was appointed court organist to the Holy Roman Emperor in 1637, and later that same year he re­ s~i in 1637, and later that same year he re­ Pie quested and receivedreceived permission to travel toto ItalyItaly to study with ( J Frescobaldi. Froberger returned to Vienna inin 1641, a period ( ~lie which marks the beginning of an international career as a key­key­ ' 1s r board virtuoso with frequent trips throughout Europe. The final 1n t years of his life were spent at the private estate of Princess the Sybilla of H6ricourt,Hericourt, near Montb6liard,Montbeliard, inin eastern France. He The died at Hericourt inin May of 1667,1667, and isis buried not far from lere Montbeliard. . ral di!· dist Froberger's sectional toccatas are derived from severa' I STYLISTIC CONSIDERATIONS Froberger's sectional toccatas are derived from ~eve free , due ferent sources; however, the use of contrasting sections 0of I Froberger'sFroberger's extant toccatas may be divided intointo two ferent sources, however, the use of contrasting section~ toe· I Th and strict writing continues the tradition of the Venelian categories based on stylistic characteristics: toccatas inin the of the Venetian orn· co' catas of Gabrieli and Merulo. The toccatas contain man^c ; elevation style; and sectional toccatas which result from the catas of Gabrieli and Merulo. The toccatas contai~ many ~ice;jce N r positional techniques: the trill motive as organizational dev ' alternation of free and strict writing. positional techniques. the trill motive as organizational dework l~ a vocal-polyphonicvocal-polyphonic style of chordal writingwriting;; rapid passage Froberger'sFroberger's close stylistic affinity with Italian keyboard music 0111 isis particularly evident inin the elevation toccatas, pieces which with abrupt terminations.t rminations. 1ns I Iii were used inin the Catholic liturgyliturgy to create a mystical and ExampleExampl 3.3. Toccata XV/flXVIII,, mm.mm . 33-34.33-34. \ Si~: ethereal mood for the consecration of the bread and wine.wine. The roots of this type of toccata antedate the intabulatedintabulated madrigal Wh and are found inin the ItalianItalian adaptation of Spanish Renaissance br,; lute music.music. The elevation toccatas are also relatedrelated to early ~is Neapolitan keyboard pieces written by TrabaciTrabac1 and Mayone in I 1n I the durezze e ligature style,style, where chainschains of suspensions and I SI~ dissonances create a highly chromatic texture.texture Finally,Finally, these lo1 . catas d • co, pieces are also reminiscent of the harmonic and chromatic ex­ex­ TheseTh characteristics arear particularlypartlcul rly evidentv dent inin thethe t?~ encej Co perimentationperimentation found inin the early Baroque madrigal. 1u Merulo and Frescobaldi,Fr scob ld1 , and FrobergerFrob r r i is very muchmu?h infin uucturef6 Po· Froberger'sFroberger's elevation toccatas illustrate his assimilation of h\/by FrOQrnhalHi'cFrescobaldi's abilityohilitw tr*to rraatacreate an coherentrnhorDnt musicalmilf>iC3l SI' ^•, by Fr cobaldi's ability to creat a coh r nt musical s~ergers 101 certain aspectsaspects of Frescobaldi'sFrescobaldi's style,style, particularly the written-written­ throughthrou h aa v varietyri ty of contrastingcontra ting musicalmu ical figures.figures. Fr? si®Lfi- nil· brc 4 ....— , , csiah out trill as an organizational motive.motive.' unique contributionw to theth developmentdev lopm nt of the toccataa ii»15 g

1 42 THTHE AAMERICAN ORGA^ ^ cant: thethe dramatic boldness of the free material isis neatly Example 6. Toccata VI, mm.mm. 6-7.6-7 balanced by the logical simplicity of the imitative writing, and in most cases a satisfying sense of architectural symmetry results from the alternationalternation of contrasting material. The architectural I ramifications are important,important, for they represent the precursors of \h,-.~--=-t-r . the late toccatastoccatas and praeludia of the North German organists, pn-~~zr as well as ththe e early organ works of J.S. Bach. I I The imitativeimitative segments inin Froberger's sectional toccatas ex­ Most sscholars cholars have accepted the concept that the "free" or The hibit the Germanic predilection for counterpoint, and these sec­ nonimitative ssections ections inin the toccatas are the result of an im­ hibit tions are more logicallylogically organized than in corresponding ItalianItalian provisatory practice.practice. Murray Bradshaw inin his book, The Origins works. The monothematic treatment of an imitativeimitative figure and of ththe e Toccata,Toccata, however, states that Froberger's toccatas are the application of the variation principle to unify the different the culmination of a different practice:55 the use of the "ideal imitativeimitative sections illustrateillustrate compositional features of the con­ [ cantus firmus"firmus" technique. The concept means that a segment of temporary keyboard canzona. The imitative sections contain fre­ chant, usuausually lly a Gregorian psalm tone-oftentone- often inaudible-pro­inaudible- pro­ quent simple repetitions of a motive, and a noticeablenoticeable lacklack of [ vides a model for the structure of the free sections. episodic development. Even though the imitativeimitative writing inin I Wmple 4. Toccata XVIII, mm. 1-6 Froberger's sectional toccatas cannot be compared with the brilliance of a Bach fugue, thesethese sections provide an excellent counterbalance to the rhapsodic and dramatic writing found inin the free sections. ___.. I EDITIONS Most ofof Froberger's extant keyboard music isIs preserved inin three manuscripts of Viennese provenance which are dedicated -- I to Ferdinand III and Leopold I, rulersrulers of the Holy Roman Empire. to Ferdinand Ill The toccatas are beautifully copied and illustrateillustrate the use of ---0------r ItalianItalian keyboard tablature: a six-line staff for the right hand and a seven-line or eight-line staff for the left hand. This type of nota­ tion represents the stylus phantasticus, a term used by Athanasius Kircher, an importantimportant mid-seventeenth-century scholar: the The stylus phantasticus, or improvisatoryimprovisatory style:style. bizarre, quasi-unformed, toe· irregular inin texture and daring in harmony, only conceivable on the las. keyboard, and-really-conceivedand - really-conceived out of the keyboard. The form of this and style is1s the toccata. And, there being no voice-leading making score nota­ Italian tablature ... 11 ; in· tion possible, its notation isis the so-called Italian tablature... ." 1in· The following listlist represents important twentieth-century edi­ I tions of Froberger's music which contain toccatas: em- Example 5. Psalm Tone V.V. ,lye I Orgel-Orgel· und Klavierwerke. Edited by Guido M\erAdler (DenkmSler(Denk maier der Tonkunst of in,n Osterreich, Vol. IV,IV, Pt. 1; Vol. VI, Pt. 2; Vol. X, Pt. 2).2) . Vienna: Artaria, 1897-1903."1897-1903.12 Jeni , J e aI ^^'r^pp crr'pf'Pr'r- 'l Organ Works. Edited by Max Seiffert (Organum, Series IV,IV, Vol. 11). Capncci. Edited by Rudolf ,ate Toccaten, Fantasien,Fantas,en, Ricercari,R,cercan, Canzonen und Capricci. Edited by Rudolf Walter (Suddeutsche(S0ddeutsche Orgelmeister des Barocks, Band VII). AltOtting: .nt~ Bradshaw tracestraces the relationshiprelat1onsh1p of early keyboard intonations aid~d toccatas to the intabulatedintabulated vocal falsobordone, and says Alfred Coppenrath, 1967.1967. hY Oeuvres completes pour clavecin, Vol. 1. Edited by Howard Schott {Le(Le 'hatat the falsobordone of CabezdnCabez6n are the direct stylistic Oeuvres completes ii pupitre series). Paris: Heugel, 1977.1977. ancestors ofof the Venetian intonationsintonations and toccatas.88 Adler's edition of Froberger's complete works marks the revival ' F^e The application of the idealideal cantus firmus theory to of interestinterest inin Froberger's music at the beginning of the twen­ ( Froberger'sr?~erger's toccatas is1s somewhat problematic because the tieth century. Seiffert's edition of ten pieces isis reprinted by • 0or'f'natr'9inal pspsalm-tone alm-tone pitches are often neither audible nor pres- Kalmus; unfortunately, most of the toccatas are omitted from ~n®n ',band and the extraction of a specific psalm tone appears at times ( this edition. Walter's 1967 edition of selected works isis reliable '°vo bee_somewhat somewhat arbitrary. This theory, nevertheless, isis a pro­ and is recommended for itsits visual clarity and accuracy of detail; bative,ocative, even radical,~adical, departure from the traditional view which I 5 however, many excellent toccatas are also not included.included. In both syQgests~ggests ththat at improvisationImprov1sation alone isis the inspirationinspiration for these ( Pieces.Pieces. the Adler and Walter editions the music contains very few i discrepancies inin notes when compared with some of the :;::::::::: r PliAn~therAnother iimportant mportant stylistic consideration isis Froberger's ap-ap­ original manuscripts, probably due to the high degree of legibili­legibili­ ::::: is~ationP cation of thethe style brisd.brise. While his treatment of the style bris£brise ty inIn the original sources. The main differences, however, are 1 ,JJ°stin ~~t often found in the suites, evidence of itsits use isis apparent Walter's use of broken lineslines to indicate both measure lineslines and _ ththe h b the sesectionalc"ona' arand|d elevation toccatastoccatas.. The term describes tied notes, and Adler's somewhat arbitrary use of accidentals. ;::;: e brokenroken chord/arpeggiochord/arpeggio style of French lutelute playing: tied notes, 1 Heugel, the French publishing firm, has recently released - hebroke'oken chordh style is characterized by rapidly alternating notes in dif- lerentferent n c ord style 1s characterized by rapidly alternating Volume II of a new complete edition of Froberger's music. dif-dil· distrib registersr~gisters thatt_hat supply, inin turn, melody and harmony.harmony Seemingly distributed in arbitrary fashion over the various registers, the notes pro­ Howard Schott, the editor of the new Froberger publication, tree , duced ~ ed in arbitrary fashion over the various registers, the notes pro• free lr th states in thethe Preface that the preparation of the edition is based toe· >,The _n> theireir compositevv/iupwouc Irhythm M y II 11 H a continuousVsVSIIIll IUWUO strandouanu ofv/i ovunu.sound.sound. ' toe- almost entirely on the three Viennese holographs. Volume I con­con­ ;orn· con:idespreadWidespread popularity of thethe style brisebris6 even penetrated the pom- tains twelve toccatas which correspond to Toccatas l-XIII-XII inIn ice· ^1, servativeervative realmrealm of organ music: Vvice;' ,,ot Only Adler's edition. The comparison of Toccata IIJI (1649){1649) in both Adler C'y were numerous ornaments from French lutelute and clavecin music Nork/vork bodily t were numerous ornaments from and Schott editions with a microfilm copy of the manuscript il­Il­ °ftru"01 lrue ~~nsferrranS'erre.ed< *toto "the1e oorr9 aan,n- but even the style bris6,br,s , the very opposite 0r an lustrateslustrates Schott's closer adherence to original sources: inIn , 'n1n ssriectagan ® 9 idiom.idiom. The transfer to the _organ of a lute idiomidiom demonstratesdemonstr tes c,acu ar measure 41, Schott faithfully transcribes Froberger's indication \ flillictc) .bet cular' fashionfa~h!on that wheneverwhenev r inin Baroque music thereth re was a con-con• measure 41, Schott Siderati;eensirio. !,ween 'bethe idiom1d1om of a stylestyle and that of anan instrument,instrument, stylistic con-con• ofo,t a ^~ proportional shift inin white notation; however, Adler , • ns prevailed .' 1 con­ 11 prevailed transforms thethe~ 5 Intointo 1,|, and then employs modern rhythmic con­ Whii,vh1le e Fr b er e -' 5br,serA ro°b ergerg r probably acquired an appreciationapprec1at1on for the style ventions to accommodate the adjustment. Schott's edition, I I ( bisohisowrom FFrenchrench lutenists who werewer active inin Germany, or from therefore, provides a better appreciation for the proportional im­Im­ Wn l iInn pPari~ contactsconta?ts with Chambonni6resChambonnieres and Louis Couperin while plications between these sections and the surrounding I sty|style ritS '' th'bereere is1s no supportive evidence for his adaptation of the passages written in C time. th The following table collates four editions of Froberger's toc­toc­ LouiLouis~s p e ~e.ybAboard._oard. David Fuller has even suggested that The following table collates four editions coulcould Couperin'shoupenn s interest1_nter~st inin transferring lutelute style to keyboard catas, and includesincludes an indicationindication of recommended toccatas.toccatas have 9 CCoupeQu _ave beenb en inspiredinsp1r d by Froberger.Frob rger.• (Although the Louis Leonhardt suggests that all 25 toccatas found in Adler's editioned1t1on „*Posed Perm in preludesPreludes cannot beb dated, nonenon could have beenb en com­com- should not be considered authentic works for the following as ear| XVI, and Toe foi|fo110winas0w earlyy asa 1652, when Froberger visited Paris.)Paris.} TheTh reasons: Toccata XX//XXII is1s a duplication of Toccata XVI, and Toc­ n than bbroken_' 9gh exampleexampl illustrates1llu tr t s Froberger'sFroberg r's utilization of the catas XXJIJ-XXVXXIII-XXV should be attributed to Pachelbel rather than 'oke„ 13 chordc Ord style in an elevation toccata:toccata:1100 FrobergerFroberQer on the basis of stylistic considerations.13 >KS' "Ay , MAy 191982e 43 ty of Rochester,Rochester, 1979). Special thanks to Professor Russell SauSaunders 1 and Professor David Fuller for their generous assistanceassistance in tiet FROBERGER:S preparation of thethe present articles.articles. FROBERG ER'S 2.2 Constantin Huygens,Huygens, Correspondence et oeuvre musicales. Puts TOCCATAS lishedlished by W.J.A.W.J.A. Jonckbloet and JJ.P.N..P.N. Land.Land. Leyden,Leyden, 18821882.. Translat~Translated by Gustav Leonhardt,Leonhardt, "Johann Jakob Froberger and His Music;Muse 1 L'Organo VI (January-June,(January-June, 1968), p.p. 33. Adler Schott (Vol. 1)I) Walter Seiffert 3.3. Most biographical informationinformation is1s found inIn two sources:sources. MargareieMargaie. Reimann, "Johann Jakob Froberger,"Froberger," Die MusikMus1k in,n GeschichtetitiGeschichte LJ' **•• Toccata 1I 1I (1649)(1649) Gegenwart, edited by FreiderichFre1derich Blume (Kassel:(Kassel : Barenreiter,Barenre1ter, 19551r11955),I), **··Toccata Toccata IIII IIII (1649) Toccata VIII cols.cols 982-983; and Avo Somer,Somer, TheThe KeyboardKeyboard Music olof Johann JMJa c Toccata IIIIll IIIIl l (1649) Froberger (unpublished Ph.D.Ph.D. dissertation,dissertation, UniversityUniversity of Michigan, Toccata IVIV IVIV (1649)(1649) of M1ch1ga- JSfaS ' 1963).1963). Toccata V V (1649)(1649) 4.4. Unless otherwise specified,specified, musical examples are taken from tfiet Toccata VI VI (1649)(1649) following edition:edition: Johann Jakob Froberger,Froberger, Orgel- undund KlaviermkKlav,erwerke **··Toccata Toccata VII 1I (1656)(1656) Edited by Guido Adler (Denkmdier(Denkmaler der TonkunstTonkunst inm Osterreich,Osterrelch, Vol~Vol.IV, Toccata VIII IIII (1656) Pt. 1;1; Vol. VI, Pt. 2;2; Vol. X, Pt. 2).2). Vienna:Vienna: Artaria, 1897-1903.1897-1903 NIAs Toccata IXIX IIIIll (1656)(1656) 5.5. Murray Bradshaw, The OriginsOngms of the Toccata (Dallas:(Dallas: AmericanAmerica In­I Toccata X IVIV (1656)(1656) Iob stitutest1tute of Musicology,Musicology 1972),1972), pp.pp. 41-61.41 -61 . Toccata XI V (1656)(1656) nectii 6.6 Ibid.,Ibid., p.p 22.22. **• • Toccata XII VI (1656)(1656) Assei 7.7 Manfred Bukofzer, Music in,n thethe Baroque Era (New York:York: WW.W.Norton..W. Nort Toccata XIII Toccata VII tionaliona 1947),1947), p.p. 165.165. 011' Toccata XIV II 8. Ibid., p. 172. Thorr Toccata XV IIIIll 8. Ibid., p. 172. I I 9.9. Conversation with Professor David Fuller,Fuller, July 9,9, 1981,1981 , Buffalo,Buffalo N.V.Y Toccata XVI IVIV I Y, 10. For a fine discussion of J.S.J.S Bach'sBach's assimilation of the ""chord-break­chord-brea Celet Toccata XVII VI · Celet ing"ing" style inin his setting of Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland,Heiland, BWV59S, Centi **• • Toccata XVIII IIII BWV599 Cent, and his indebtednessindebtedness to the Froberger/Fischer tradition,trad1t1on, see: PPet eter Toccata XIX IIII Hum; Williams, The Organ Music Toccata XX Williams, The Organ Music of J.S.J.S. Bach, Vol. 2 (Cambridge:(Cambridge: Cam­Can:· lake bridge University Press, 1980),1980), p.p. 17.17. Toccata XXI V noon 11.11. Athanasius Kircher, MusurgiaMusurg,a universalisun,versal,s sives,ve arsar magna consoniet Toccata XXII (duplicates(duplicates s magna conson tousl dissoni Rome XVI) dissoni.. Rome,, 1650.1650. Translated by Leonhardt,Leonhardt, ""Froberger,"Froberger,'' p. 21. 12. This edition isis available through Broude Brothers Limited. ing o0 Toccata XXIII (Pachelbel?)(Pachelbel?) through Broude Brothers Limited. . . Ing 13.13. Leonhardt suggests that thethe fourteenth Toccata of Santini'seditionol forC Toccata XXIV (Pachelbel?) Toccata of Santini's edition j or C the Vatican Codex with Frescobaldi's works should be attributed to Toccata XXV (Pachelbel?)(Pachelbel?) works should be attributed t Froberger.Froberger. Leonhardt,Leonhardt, "Froberger,"" Froberger,'' p.p. 28.28. ----1 **• • outstanding composition James W.w. KosnikKosnlk isis chairman of the music department ofof Villa MariaMana Col­ I lege,lege, Buffalo, N.Y.,NY., organist and music director of St. JosephJoseph's's Cathedral.Cathedra NOTES Buffalo, and an adjunct professor at Christ the King Graduate SeminarySeminari 1. This article isis based on the author'sauthor"s dissertation,dissertation. The Toccatas of East Aurora, N.Y.N Y Dr. Kosnik receivedreceived his Doctor of MusicalMusical Arts degreed Johann Jakob Froberger:Froberger A Study of Style and Organ Performance and Performer'sPerformer's CertificateCert1f1cate from the Eastman School of Music,Music, where he (unpublished(unpublished D.M.A.D.M.A. dissertation, Eastman School of Music, UniversiUniversi­- studied organ with Professor Russell Saunders.Saunders.

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