7/25/2019 Bach's Solo Violin Sonatas and the Modern Violinist

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Bach's Solo Violin Sonatas and the Modern ViolinistAuthor(s): Henry JoachimSource: The Musical Times, Vol. 72, No. 1057 (Mar. 1, 1931), pp. 221-222Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/914851Accessed: 21-01-2016 13:27 UTC

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7/25/2019 Bach's Solo Violin Sonatas and the Modern Violinist

2/3

THE

MUSICAL

TIMES-MARCH

1

1931

221

of

the

Cathedral,

has

exercised

large

and

healthy

influence

upon

the musical

life of

that

great

and

beautiful

ity.

Brisbane

and Adelaide

are

also

centres

f

musical

activity.

The

Queensland

city

had

recently

a

four-days'

Bach

Festival

organized

and

conducted

byMr.Dalley-Scarlett,whilethe SouthAustralian

capital

has a fine

Conservatorium

n

connection

with

the

University, resided

over

by

Dr. Harold

Davies,

an

enthusiastic musician who

has also

devoted much

time

to

research

work n

the domain

of the

Australian

aboriginal

folk-music.

Australian

composers

are,

as is natural

in

so

youthful community,

ut few n

number.

Chief

among

them

is that

very

live

wire,

Mr. Fritz

Bennicke

Hart,

who

has to his credit no

less than

thirteen

omplete peras,

besides

many

other

works

on a

large

scale,

and innumerable

ongs.

Mr.

Hart

has

a

personality

of

aboundingvitality;

his

whole

being

throbs

with

life

and

energy,

and

these

qualities are reflectedn his music, temperedby

the

restraint of

a fastidious self-critical

aculty

and

a

real

feeling

or

beauty.

Mr. Frank

Hutchens,

of

Sydney,

is also

pro-

ducing

individual

work,

a

pianoforte quintet

in

particular

having many

fine

qualities.

The

Australian cities have

many

musical

clubs;

the

various branches of the

British

Music

Society

(particularly

strong

at

Melbourne),

the Kretsch-

mann Club at

Sydney,

and the

more recent but

thoroughly nterprising

.

A. B. Clubs at

Sydney,

Newcastle

(N.S.W.),

Melbourne,

nd

Adelaide,

the

members of which

consist

exclusively

of

the

holders of the

coveted

diploma

of

the

Associated

Board,

serving

s

a means

both of

drawing ogether

music-lovers and of spreadingappreciationand

knowledge

of

the

art.

Musical education

is

being

fostered

in

the

secondary

chools

and

Universities,

nd the annual

examinationsof the Associated

Board and

kindred

organizations

re

raising

the

standard of

technical

and artistic achievement.

In

the

elementary

schools there

s

yet

muchto

be

done,

but

it

is

hoped

that before

ong

singing

will come to be

regarded

by

the authorities s

the natural

heritage

of

the

child.

Perhaps

I

may

add

a

little

personal

note

in conclusion.

Everywhere

went,

n

both of

the

Dominions,

I

received

the

greatest

kindness,

friendliness,

nd

hospitality

from

all with

whom

I

came

in

contact;

and

the

Canadian

Rockies and

the Australian Bush and sunshine are

unforget-

table.

Each Dominion

has

its own individual

stamp.

The

Canadian,

when

speaking

of

England,

refers

o it

as

'

the

old

country';

the Australian

calls

it

'home.'

BACH'S SOLO

VIOLIN SONATAS

AND THE

MODERN VIOLINIST

BY

HENRY

JOACHIM

When,

in

the summer

of

1750,

Bach closed his

eyes,

his art was

put

to rest

withhim.

And

though

to

us it seems difficult o

conceive

music without

the

great

name

of

Sebastian

Bach,

who

to-day

is

acknowledgedto be one ofthe greatestmen who

ever walked

the

earth,

yet

in the

light

of

history

this fact becomes

quite plain

and

the historian

s

unable

to

put

the blame

on the

contemporaries

f

Bach.

The old

contrapuntal

eriod

and

objective

expression

eded

to

the

new

art,

the Rococo

period,

which is

the

dawn of

subjective

expression

in

music.

The

feeblest

ttempt

t

subjective expres-

sion

was

thought

o be nearer he

great

truth han

all

the

pedantry

and

contrapuntal

tricks of

the

Baroque age.

Little wonder

then,

that

with

the

passing

of that

age

Bach's music was thrown

nto

the common

rave

n which

t

was

to restfor

ightylong years. Onlytowards he end of the twenties

of the

19th

century,

when music

had become

satiated

with

subjective expression,

which is

the

true characteristic

f

romanticism,

was the

world

prepared

for

the art

of

Bach. His

spirit

had been

in the

air

for

some time

already,

but

the actual

revival

of his music dates from the

performance

of

the

'St.

Matthew' Passion

at

Berlin,

under

the

direction

f

Mendelssohn,

n

1829.

The

discovery

of his music was

not,

however,

accompanied

by

an

understanding

of

his

art.

Tradition,

which

s

of uchvast

mportance,

ad been

lost.

This is the

more

amentable ince

the

mental

attitude

ofthe two

periods

s

diametrically pposed.

Even to this day, in spite of thoroughhistorical

research,

opinion

varies as to

the

correct

under-

standing

and

interpretation

f

Baroque

music.

It

is,

of

course,

questionable

whether

musicians of

one

period

are

capable

of

seeing

music

of

a

past

period

with

the

eyes

of the

composer.

But

though

this

may

be

doubtful,

ne

cannot,

unfortunately,

credit

the world

with a

serious

attempt

in

this

direction.

The

tremendous

hange

whichmusic had

under-

gone

at the

beginning

f

the 19th

entury

aturally

had

a

marked

influence n musical

instruments.

Our modern

pianoforte

s

developed

from

the

ancient

clavichord

f

Bach's

time from

he

point

of view

of

interpreting

ach's

music,

however,

t

is far frombeinga development. The clavichord

has a

peculiarly

mall

tone,

and its

outstanding

characteristic

s

the

possibility

f

combining

ne or

more octaves

to sound

together,

hough'only

one

key

is

actually

struck.

This

is

a most

important

feature

n

keyboard

music

of

polyphonic

genre,

and

helps

the

performer

o

bring

out the

leading

voices.

The

violin as

an instrument

id

not

suffer

ny

change;

indeed,

s

everybody

nows,

t

was

brought

to

perfection

y

Stradivarius

lightly

efore

Bach's

time. Not

so the

bow,

which

was as

yet

subjected

to

considerable

modificationbefore

reaching

its

final orm.

In the

Germany

f the

Baroque

period

the stickwas of almostsemi-circularhape,andthetensionof the hairwas

regulatedby

the thumb of

the

player,

who

was thus able to

tighten

r

slacken

the bow

as occasion called

for.

It will

readily be

understood

hat

with

bow of

this

structure here

is

no

difficulty

n

sustaining

three or four

notes,

and

that

polyphonic

laying

on the

violin

becomes

quite

a feasible matter.

The

mechanically

tightened

bow

in its modern

shape originated

n

Italy,

where

it

very

soon became

popular.

Extreme

gility

nd the

arger

nd intenser

uality

of tone it was

capable

of

producing

werethe chief

causes of

rapid

acknowledgmenrt.

With its intro-

duction

came the more

highly

arched

bridge,

enabling

the

player

to cross the

strings

with

much

more ase andprecision. But as there re twofaces

to each

coin,

so

our modern

type

of bow

has

its

pros

and

cons. Its

advantages

are

apparent,

but

soare

ts

shortcomings.Polyphonic laying

annot

be rendered

with

such

perfection

s with the

older

form f

bow. Here

we

have the

arched

stick and

slight

tension

ofhair

together

with an

almost flat

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7/25/2019 Bach's Solo Violin Sonatas and the Modern Violinist

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222

THE MUSICAL TIMES-MARCH 1 1931

bridge

enabling

the

player

to

keep

three

or

four

voices

going

without

ny

apparent

effort. In the

modern

ormwe have the

slightly

onvex stick nd

mechanical

tension of

hair,

with

considerably

rounded

surface of

bridge,enabling

the

player

to

use his

bow with more

freedom nd

at the same

time

producing

'carrying'

tone. But no more

than two

notes can be sustained.

It

is,

therefore,

not

astonishing

o find

n

a

country

ike

Germany,

where

polyphony

was held

in

such

esteem,

that

themodern ow took

onger

o

usurp

he rchedbow

than

in

Italy,

where here

was a marked

decline

of

counterpoint.

Thisdoesnothold

good

n the caseof

the

arger

members f

heviolin

family.

The

'cello,

for

nstance,

was

quick

to

adopt

thenew

bow,

nd

t

is

interesting

o

observe how

in the

six solo 'cello

sonatas

Bach

kept

his

polyphonic

imagination

within

very

imited

boundaries,

not

even

making

use

of

ll the

simpler

ombinations f

hord-playing.

Now,

coming

back to

Mendelssohn's

uccessful

attemptat restoringBach's music to the world,

it

is

of

importance

to

note

that

he

was

keenly

interested

n

popularising

he

six solo

sonatas for

the

violin,

and

forthis

purpose actually

wrote an

accompaniment

to

the

Chaconne. Schumann

followed n his

steps by publishing

the

sonatas

with

his

own

pianoforte

accompaniments

with

Breitkopf

&

Hartel,

in

1854.

Now

what

must

we

infer

from

his ?

Obviously,

that

these

great

artists had a

feeling

hat

the

sonatas were

in

the

way

of an

experiment

n

Bach's

part,

and one

that

was

not

altogether

satisfactory.

If

the

average

violinist or music-lover

were to

be

asked what

he

feels

about these

solo

sonatas,

and

if

he had

the

courage

to

give

a

perfectly

onest

nswer,

he

would

probably aythathe feels he music o be great,but

that

somehowhe never

really gets

complete

satis-

faction

when

hearing

them;

moreover,

ven

the

greatest

violinist

rarely

seems

to be

quite

at

his

ease

with

them.

And

he is

right.

So

long

as

the

modern

rtist

persists

n

playing

with

a bow

that

was never meant

for the

rendering

f

polyphonic

music,

so

long

will he and his

listeners

e

left

dis-

satisfied t the

results

chieved. It

does not

lie in

the nature

of

Bach's

music to be

played

like a

succession

of

abrupt

chords

n which

only

the

top

notes

are of

any importance.

His music

is

a

wonderful

ombination

of

voices

conversing

with

each other.

Sometimes the middle voice

has its

say, sometimes he ower and sometimes heupper

voice,

but

whichever s the most

important,

he

chord

should,

in

the first

lace,

be looked at

from

a

horizontal

nd

only econdly

rom chordal

point

of

view.

Bars

9-15

of

the Chaconne

afford a

striking example

of

how

helpless

the

modern

violinist s in his

effort

o

interpret

ach

properly:

(Bar

9.)

:

A

V

Here

the

violinist

plays

the

four

notes like an

ordinary

hord,

but

actually

scoops

back on to

the

G for

he

purpose

of

bringing

ut

the middlevoice

I

This

procedure,

which

is

admittedly

the

only

possible

way

with

a

mechanical modern

bow,

utterly

ruins

the

dignity

and

composureof

the

music. How different he same

passage

would

sound

if

played

with an

arched bow

No more

shuffling,

o

more

scrambling;

the

bow remains

quietly

on

the

strings,

nd the

music flows

freely

and

unrestrainedly

s indeed Bach

expected

it

to

do.

The violinist

can

get

a

slight

dea

of the

tone

thus

produced by

unscrewing

he

nut of

his bow

and

placing

the

stick

under

and the

hair

over

the

strings,

refixing

he nut

with

only

very

little

tension. When the

bow is

drawn

across

the

strings,

he

player

will

be

surprised

t

the

peculiarly

beautiful,

lmost

ethereal

one

produced.

It

is doubtful

whether he

modern

player

and

listener will accustom themselvesto this small

tone,

more

especially

as our

modern

concert

halls

are far

too

large

forthis

intimate

music,

and the

modern

rtist,

being anything

ut an

idealist,

will

not so

easily

give up

distorting

he

Chaconne in

front

f a

large public

n

a vast hall-for

this

piece

is

regarded

as a

supreme

test of

technical

and

musical

equipment

of the

performer.

Nevertheless,

he writer

has not

given

up

hope

that

one

day

a violinist f

genius

will

appear,

who,

endowed

with sufficient

ourage

and

idealism,

will

not

hesitate to

present

the

music in the

spirit

n

which it

was conceived

by

Bach.

The

host of

recitalists

ill

hen,

erhaps,

e forced o

follow

uit.

*Pew

Duetc

CHAMBER

MUSIC

If the

present age

has,

apart

from

trauss

and

Elgar,

no

composer

who

commands he

applause

of

musicians

all over

the

world,

ts

scholarship

nd

researches have been

rewarded

by

discoveries

which

compare very

favourably

with

those

of

any

other

period

of

history. English

scholars

n

par-

ticular

have reason

to

be

proud

of

their achieve-

ments.

It

is

impossible

o

over-rate,

or

nstance,

the

importance

f the revival of

interest

n

Eliza-

bethan music.

And

now

Dr.

W.

G.

Whittaker

well

deservesourgratitude or hecareful dition f the

works

fWilliam

Young (Oxford

University

ress),

which

for

almost

three centuries

ay

forgotten

n

the

archives

of

Upsala

University.

Their historic

importance

is considerable.

As Dr. Whittaker

notes

in

the

introduction,

hey

anticipate

traits

which we

have been

wont to considerPurcellian.'

Yet

they

were

written

ive

years

before urcell was

born.

Every

point

of

special

interest s

noted

in the

remarks

prefaced

to

every

one of

the

five

Sonatas

(No.

1,

in

F;

No.

2,

in

F;

No.

4,

in

F;

No.

5,

in

C;

No.

11,

n

A

minor),

nd

to

the

Suite

(No.

1,

n

D

minor).

The student

may

thus admire

not

only

the

scrupulous

are of an editor

who,

ven

in

cases

of obvious

error,

otes the

original

s well

as the correction, ut everyfeature which adds

to

the nterest

fthe

composition.

Dr.

Whittaker

ells us

that

Young

clearly

con-

sidered

the Sonata

in

A

minor

No.

11)

his

best

work. And

the

composer's udgment

did

not err

in

this,

for

nowhere

lse do

we

find

nything

om-

parable

to

the

wide

sweep

and sustained

dignity

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