UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ FORMAL COHERENCE IN J. S. BACH’S THREE SONATAS FOR SOLO VIOLIN, BWV 1001, 1003, AND 1005 A thesis submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music in Music Theory in the Division of Composition, Musicology, and Theory of the College-Conservatory of Music by Eun-ho Kim 1600 Thompson Heights Ave. #501 Cincinnati, OH 45223 [email protected] B.M. Seoul National University (Seoul, Korea), 1995 M.M., College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, 1997 D.M.A. College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, 2002 Committee Chair: Robert Zierolf, Ph.D. ABSTRACT J. S. Bach’s Three Sonatas for Solo Violin exhibits formal coherence on three levels: first, through every movement; second, through the four movements in every Sonata; and third, through the three Sonatas in the set. The first issue has been treated in my previous thesis1 concerning the first statement and its development throughout the movement; this thesis will discuss the latter two subjects. The Fuga in each Sonata becomes the central movement due to its exceptional musical weight. The other movements surround the Fuga functionally: the first movement as a prelude, the third as a tension-reliever, and the fourth as a brilliant finale. Not only do the general figures on the surface support the function, the formal activities in each movement do as well. At the same time, the formal congruity between the four movements is observed in the choice of tonality, sectionalization, uses of motives, etc. After an analysis of each Sonata’s formal character based on the coherent compositional scheme, a meta-analysis is possible to determine the characteristics that shape the Three Sonatas as a whole. This thesis provides analyses of each movement, each sonata, and the entire set of Three Sonatas, concentrating on how the set is bound closely together through formal correspondences. Its chapter arrangements are: I. Introduction, II. Position and Function of 1Eun-ho Kim, “Form and Function in the Slow Movements of J. S. Bach's Three Sonatas for Solo Violin, BVW 1001, 1003, and 1005” (D.M.A. thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2002). ii Each Movement, III. Coherence and Individuality of Each Sonata, IV. Musical Characteristics of the Set of Three Sonatas as a Whole, and V. Summary and Conclusion. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In completing this thesis, I would like to thank Dr. Robert Zierolf for being a masterful and sincere advisor even during his busy schedule. My appreciation goes out to Professors Miguel Roig-Francoli, Steven Cahn, and again Robert Zierolf of the Music Theory Department at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music for their inspiration and invaluable advice throughout my studies, both in the classroom and in person. I also wish to gratefully acknowledge Dr. Won-Bin Yim not only for his review as a committee member, but for his personal support throughout my years in Cincinnati. My pursuit of this degree would not have been possible without the loving care of my family. I wish to thank my father, mother, brother, and in-law family in Korea for their support in many ways from afar. Finally, I deeply appreciate the trust and patience of my beloved husband Jungho and our precious son Teo. CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF MUSIC EXAMPLES 2 I. INTRODUCTION 4 II. FUNCTION OF EACH MOVEMENT 8 II-1. Movement Arrangement of the Sonata Genre 8 II-2. First Movement: Prelude 10 II-3. Second Movement (Fugue): Central Movement 18 II-4. Third Movement: Tension Relief 20 II-5. Fourth Movement: Brilliant Finale 26 III. COHERENCE AND INDIVIDUALITY OF EACH SONATA 28 III-1. G-minor Sonata, BWV 1001 28 III-2. A-minor Sonata, BWV 1003 37 III-3. C-major Sonata, BWV 1005 53 IV. BACH’S THREE SONATAS AS A SET 66 IV-1. Interrelationship among the Three Sonatas 66 IV-2. Characteristics of the Whole Series 70 V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 73 BIBLIOGRAPHY 77 2 LIST OF MUSIC EXAMPLES Chapter Example Page II-2. 1. First movements’ endings and fugues’ beginnings 15 a. G-minor Sonata b. A-minor Sonata c. C-major Sonata II-4. 2. Beginnings of third movements 24 a. B-flat major Siciliana b. C-major Andante c. F-major Largo 3. B-flat major Siciliana 25 a. Mm.1, sigh motives b. Mm. 2 and 10-11 c. Coda (mm. 19-20) III-1 4. G-minor Fuga 31 a. Mm. 56-57 b. Mm. 56-57, stretto suggested by author 5. G-minor Sonata 33 a. G-minor Adagio, mm. 12-14 b. G-minor Fuga, mm. 51-55 6. B flat-major Siciliana 36 a. Mm. 3-4 b. Mm. 8-9 c. Mm. 14-15 d. Mm. 18-19 III-2 7. A-minor Fuga, mm. 18-30 39 8. A-minor Fuga, with implied-rhythm versions 40 a. Mm. 101-03 b. Mm. 230-32 9. A-minor Fuga, mm. 122-27 41 10. A-minor Fuga, mm. 136-45 42 11. A-minor Fuga, mm. 219-23, mm. 230-32 43 12. A-minor Grave, mm. 13-14 45 13. A-minor Sonata 46 a. A-minor Grave, mm. 21-23, with a reduction 3 Chapter Example Page b. A-minor Fuga, mm. 285-90 14. A-minor Sonata 47 a. A-minor Grave, mm. 1-2, reduction b. A-minor Fuga, mm. 1-5 c. C-major Andante, mm. 1-4, reduction 15. A-minor Allegro, mm. 1-3, with and without 32nd notes 52 III-3 16. C-major Fuga 53 a. Mm 1-4, as is b. Mm. 1-4, with different bar-lines 17. C-major Fuga, mm. 200-05 with C and G implications 54 18. C-major Fuga, mm. 185-90 55 19. C-major Fuga, mm. 200-01, 277-78, 342-44 56 20. C-major Sonata 57 a. Fuga, mm. 4-8 b. Adagio, mm. 1-15, reduction 21. C-major Sonata 58 a. C-major Adagio, mm. 10-15 b. C-major Fuga, mm. 60-66 22. C-major Allegro assai, reduction 58 a. Mm. 38-42 b. Mm. 98-102 23. C-major Sonata 60 a. C-major Adagio, mm. 32-34 b. F-major Largo, mm. 12-13 24. C-major Adagio, mm. 1-15 61 25. F-major Largo, mm. 1-3, with reduction 62 26. F-major Largo 63 a. Mm. 1-4 b. Mm. 14-18 27. Beginnings of fourth movements 64 a. G-minor Presto, mm. 1-2 b. A-minor Allegro, m. 1 c. C-major Allegro assai, mm. 1-2 28. C-major Allegro assai 65 a. Mm. 88- 94 b. Mm. 101-02 4 I. INTRODUCTION In his Three Sonatas for Solo Violin (BWV 1001, 1003, and 1005; Köthen, 1720), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) explored the utmost musical possibilities and effects within the limited compositional range of the solo violin idiom. Even though these sonatas are known to be intended as performance study material rather than public concert pieces, they have drawn the attention of theorists for their polyphonic, harmonic, and formal values.2 Written in the Köthen period when Bach was most active in composing instrumental chamber works, the Three Sonatas are a set of the composer’s representative sonatas exhibiting his mature style for the genre. Each of the Three Sonatas consists of four movements in the order slow-fast-slow- fast following the tradition set by Arcangello Corelli (1653-1713). This is an effective arrangement, because contrast between adjacent movements was crucial in the Baroque era.3 However, since the second movement in every Sonata is a fully developed fugue in which the 2 Hans Vogt, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chamber Music: Backgraound, Analyses, Individual Works, ed. Reinhard G. Pauly, trans. Kenn Johnson (Portland, Oreg.: Amadeus Press, 1981), 167. 3 William Newman, The Sonata in the Baroque Era, 4th ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1983), 73. 5 utmost compositional and musical intensity cannot be overlooked, the tempo scheme appears to indicate more than a mere alternation of contrasting movements. In Bach’s time the fugue was one of the most serious and complicated genres, and a prelude often preceded it in order to prepare the listeners for a highly sophisticated contrapuntal work.4 Regarding the musical weight of the genre, presenting a fugue within a four-movement sonata format gives certain function to each movement as the fugue itself becomes the musical center of the piece. As Joel Lester claimed in his analysis of the G- minor Sonata, the first slow movement serves as a prelude to the fugue, the other slow movement relaxes the tension built through the fugue, and the last, fast movement works as a brilliant finale.5 Indeed, each movement’s general character works according to its function within the given tempo. In addition, its formal aspects seem to coincide with the functional character. I have discussed the function and form of the slow movements that surround the fugue in my previous thesis.6 4 Joel Lester, Bach’s Works for Solo Violin: Style, Structure, Performance (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 25-26. 5 Ibid. 6 Eun-ho Kim, “Form and Function in the Slow Movements of J. S. Bach's Three Sonatas for Solo Violin, BVW 1001, 1003, and 1005” (D.M.A.