Part 4: Character
Establishing AFFECT or, the "Spirit" of the Music

We cannot even consider expressivity in harpsichord playing unless we consider the mood of the music. In other words, what was the composer intending to communicate to the listener so that he or she would be moved?

Beginning on page 49 of Harpsichord Technique, I discuss at length the Doctrine of the Affections and the “Rhetoric” of Baroque music. Baroque composers most certainly did plan the contents of their music with an ultimate “affect” in mind. George Buelow, in his article on “Rhetoric and Music” for the New Grove, defines the Affections as “emotional abstractions.” Going on he says “…during the Baroque period the composer was obliged, like the orator, to arouse in the listener idealized emotional states – sadness, hate, love, joy, anger, doubt and so on – and every aspect of musical composition reflected this affective purpose.” ¹

As we study pieces to determine their “affect,” we would do well to study the harmonic rhythm (quick change = strong beats and a serious affect; slow or no harmonic change = weak beats and a jolly affect).

Also important to consider is the intervallic structure (narrow intervals = more serious; wide skips = less serious). Finally, consider the meter, the rhythm, and tempo indications and titles if given.

Aligned with the Affections also is the concept of key symbolism in Baroque music. Although down played by certain authors, I give this important topic 3 pages in Chapter Five. For instance, in 1713, Johann Mattheson described the key of C Major as “bold, joyful,” and B Minor as “cheerless, melancholic.”²

Knowing about the stylized Baroque dances that make up so much harpsichord music surely helps us in determining character. Can you recognize a Menuet when it is not identified as such? How about a Courante or a March or a Gigue?

The dance chart below is abbreviated and rather basic. A more in depth study begins on page 58 of the book.

Examples of these dances and the French style Gigue occur in the Suite in F Major by Georg Böhm, which you can hear on the Companion CD. The score for that suite is printed in Appendix A in the book. An example of the Italian Giga (not identified as such by Bach) is the Prelude #5 from the Well Tempered Clavier, Book II. This piece has 2 meter signatures. The 12/8 compound meter, along with the two part form of the piece, the motific movement and the slower harmonic rhythm tell us this is a probably a Giga. The alla breve key signature indicates that it must be felt in 2. The Prelude #5 in D Major is recorded on Suites & Treats.

When we have determined the affect of a piece (usually one affect per piece or per movement), a 2nd task arises: that of communicating this (See page 74). We accomplish this by expanding or reducing articulation, softening the touch through arpeggiation and/or “fringing” (page 69) or perhaps by altering rhythm (page 63).

NOTES, PART FOUR

1. George Buelow, “Rhetoric and Music,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. by Stanley Sadie, Vol. 15 (London:  Macmillan Publishers Limited, 1980), pp. 800-801.
2. Johann Mattheson, Das Neu – Eroffnete quoted in Peter Williams, The Organ Music of J. S. Bach, Vol. III (Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1984) pp. 75-76.

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