Episode 2 - The Baroque: Part 2
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Program
Elisabeth JACQUET DE LA GUERRE
Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major
Georg Frederic TELEMANN
Fantasy No. 10 in F# Minor
Johann Sebastian BACH
Suite for Solo Cello No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012
Show Notes
The Baroque, continued…
Episode 2 of The Chronophone continues to highlight music of the Baroque period, meaning Europe from roughly the mid-17th to the mid-18th century. If you missed Episode 1 you can check it out here. Baroque music, like the art and architecture of the time, is very ornate and stylized, and throughout the Baroque period there is a clear sense of Euro-centric globalization. While individual nationalities of composers did play a role in the style and type of music they were writing, there was a universal pan European focus on how music could embody the spectrum of human emotions. The last episode showcased Italian and Czech composers and featured one of the most popular genres of Baroque instrumental music, the sonata da camera, or chamber sonata. Episode 2 moves to France and Germany and features some of the solo instrumental genres of the Baroque period, including the solo sonata, the fantasy, and the suite.
Georg Philipp TELEMANN (1681-1767)
Born in Magdeburg in 1681, Georg Philipp TELEMANN is recognized as Germany’s leading composer during the first half of the 18th century. He was the most prolific composer of his time and his music provides and important link between the late Baroque period and the early Classical period of western music history. Telemann’s musical talents skipped a few generations; he was the first professional musician in his family since the 16th century.
He began his formal musical instruction in voice and keyboard at the age of 10 and was also partially self-taught. Telemann learned how to composer by transcribing the scores other composers and began writing his own music when he was 12 years old. Despite his talent, his mother forbid him to continue his musical studies because she did not want him to have a career as a musician. In order to appease his mother Telemann went to law school; however, he continued to secretly study music on the side and in the end music prevailed.
The early works from Telemann’s oeuvre are staunchly German; however, as his career developed his style evolved to what is now considered the “German mixed taste,” an amalgamation of Italian and French stylistic tendencies with German counterpoint. In order for his music to have the widest possible dissemination he typically avoided extremes of technical difficulty. This proved to be a successful tactic, and his music was beloved by both performers and critics of the time. Even music theorists looked to his works as “compositional models.”
His instrumental output was incredibly extensive, exceedingly diverse, and highly idiomatic. Telemann wrote his Fantasy no. 10 in F# minor originally for unaccompanied flute between 1732-33; today it is often performed on the oboe. A fantasy is a solo work that has an improvisatory style, and in this piece, Telemann demonstrates both his proficiency with melodic lines and the trademark baroque ornamentation.
Elisabeth JACQUET DE LA GUERRE (1665-1729)
French composer Elisabeth JACQUET DE LA GUERRE was one of the most trailblazing figures during the Baroque period. Born in Paris in 1655 to a family of musicians, Jacquet de la Guerre began her musical training at the mere age of five, and was immediately deemed a child prodigy. She pursued her musical education and developed her musical output at the center of musical activity in Baroque France, the Court of King Louis XIV. She was well renowned during her lifetime not only for her immense skill as a performer, but also as an imaginative composer who tackled a wide range of genres. .
Best known for her dramatic works, Jacquet de la Guerre was the first woman to compose an opera in France. Additionally she contributed to many other popular Baroque genres, her work in the Italian genres of the cantata and the sonata being some of her most innovative. Here she showcased her use of rhythmic vigor, expressive harmony, and original violin writing.
Jacquet de la Guerre wrote her Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major around 1707. In this work she shows off the versatility of the violin as a virtuosic instrument as well as her unique compositional style. It is the second of six solo violin sonatas that she wrote during her lifetime. Unlike the chamber sonatas of the time, this solo sonata features only one instrument playing the melody (the violin), while the rest of the instruments all play an accompanying role.
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Arguably one of the most legendary composers of all time, Johann Sebastian BACH developed a musical language so distinctive and immensely varied that it earned him his uniquely prestigious stature in western music history. During his lifetime he made incredible compositional contributions to nearly the entire spectrum of Baroque repertoires; however, it was his impressive technical abilities as a keyboard virtuoso that earned him his fame while he was still alive.
Bach’s incredibly innovative output was a force during the Baroque period; it propelled music forward and influenced the entirety of the next generation of composers. The technical demand of Bach’s pieces reflects his own skill as an instrumentalist, and to this day his music remains incredibly difficult to play.
Around the year 1720 Bach wrote six suites for unaccompanied cello. Suites were a favorite form of Baroque composers, especially Bach, and they contained multiple movements based on popular baroque dance forms. Bach structures all six of his cello suites in the same manner; they each have six movements: prelude, allemande, courante, sarabande, paired minutes or boureés or gavottes, and a gigue. While the cello suites were not intended to be danced, in each movement Bach stylistically pays homage to the original dances, especially through rhythm.
His Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 is arguably the crown jewel of the collection of cello suites. It is the longest and most virtuosic of the six, which leaves even more room for individualized performer interpretation. It can, and should, be considered one of Bach’s most remarkable achievements.
Credits
Musicians
Violins: Jean Huang and Freya Liu
Bass: Pete Walsh
Oboe: Andrew van der Paardt
Cello: Annie Jacobs-Perkins
Harpsichord: Julia Scott Carey
Staff
Host: Chris Voss
Principal Videographer: Scott Quade
Assistant Videographer: Chris DeSanty
Recording Engineer: Antonio Oliart Ros
Recording Engineer: Stephanie Rodgers
Video Editor: Michael Schondek
Research conducted by: Christina Dioguardi
Thank Yous
John Carey: for opening up his home
The harpsichord played in this episode is a William Dowd Double Harpsichord (1982)
Bibliography
Beer, Anna R. Sounds and sweet airs : the forgotten women of classical music. London, England: Oneworld Publications, 2016.
Burkholder, J P., Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014.
Cessac, Catherine. "Jacquet de La Guerre, Elisabeth." Grove Music Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.14084.
Wolff, Christoph, and Walter Emery. "Bach, Johann Sebastian." Grove Music Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.6002278195.
Zohn, Steven. "Telemann, Georg Philipp." Grove Music Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.27635.