{"id":98,"date":"2013-09-14T22:07:17","date_gmt":"2013-09-14T20:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/?p=98"},"modified":"2026-02-12T16:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:04:20","slug":"urtext-clear-text-an-analysis-of-the-prelude-in-g-major-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/urtext-clear-text-an-analysis-of-the-prelude-in-g-major-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Urtext = Plain Text ? &#8211; An Analysis of the Pr\u00e9lude in G Major, Part 1 (Bar 1-3)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/Britain.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/Britain.jpg\" alt=\"Britain\" width=\"38\" height=\"24\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>This is a translation of the post \u201e<strong><em>Urtext = Klartext? <\/em><\/strong>&#8220;, September 13, 2013<br \/>\nby Dr. Marshall Tuttle.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Michael Bach<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>This is the first part of the transcript of my talk<\/strong><strong><br \/>\n<em>&#8220;Urtext = Klartext?&#8221;<\/em>,<\/strong><strong><br \/>\nto be given on May 4, 2013, at the Stiftung Domnick in N\u00fcrtingen, Stuttgart<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div align=\"justify\">\u00a0\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: small;\">\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/Urtext-Klartext-Still-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-88\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/Urtext-Klartext-Still-3.jpg\" alt=\"Urtext Klartext Still 3\" width=\"720\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/Urtext-Klartext-Still-3.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/Urtext-Klartext-Still-3-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/Urtext-Klartext-Still-3-624x499.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: small;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Lecture: <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/i5EwxK-dZAE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/i5EwxK-dZAE<\/a><\/div>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The first five bars of the Pr\u00e9lude in G Major:<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays measures 1-5 on the cello]<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Bach could have written:<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the first few bars, but transposed to G minor]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Why have I just now demonstrated this?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I have done so in order to better explain below what it means to represent a sequence of harmonies melodically.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A harmony instrument would play these harmonies as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the harmonies as three-note chords with the curved bow]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You see, this is clear: since all three notes of the triad sound together &#8211; and at the same time. So, there is nothing further required to provide harmonic clarity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But if this harmonic progression is now to be done melodically, then the composer needs to decide which tone comes first and which tone follows and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In addition to the keynote &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the note G2]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">the third is\u00a0the most important part of the chord. Because the third determines whether we hear major or minor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the notes of the triad of G major and G minor]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here (in the Pr\u00e9lude) the third is in the upper voice:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays again G minor and G major, this time with the thirds B3 and Bb3 in the upper voice]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So, not until we hear this third (B3), do we know that we are in G Major.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thus can be seen that only when the third sounds &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the first notes of the Pr\u00e9lude]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">is the harmony clear, and Bach &#8211; or the copy of Anna Magdalena Bach (AMB) &#8211; has placed the first slur on the note B3.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-203\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/0-1024x162.jpg\" alt=\"0\" width=\"625\" height=\"98\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/0-1024x162.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/0-300x47.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/0-624x99.jpg 624w, https:\/\/www.bach-bogen.de\/blog\/thebachupdate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/09\/0.jpg 1703w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the next measure the following occurs :<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the beginning of measure 2]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Note that Bach uses the slur on the 3rd of the chord. With the attack of E3, we know that the harmony will change. We actually hear this change already <span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">on the second note of the measure <\/span>before the root of the subdominant chord appears on the third note.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can see up here &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[points to the appropriate measure of the projected score]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the 1st measure the slur is on the 3rd Note and in the 2nd measure the slur is on the 2nd note. Why ?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Because that is where the harmony changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the 3rd measure there is no slur at first &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the 1st Half of the measure 3]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230; until the repetition &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the 2nd Half of the measure 3]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230; where a slur is placed on the 2nd Note. I will refer to this again below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To represent the whole thing a bit more clearly, I draw an analogy with Thomas Mann, who in his novel &#8220;Doctor Faustus&#8221; presents a bizarre character named Johann Conrad Bei\u00dfel, whose name sounds analogous to Johann Sebastian Bach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A Native of the Pfalz (Palatinate, Germany), he emigrated to Pennsylvania in his early years and there established himself as the head of a church that called itself &#8220;Anabaptists of the Seventh Day of Ephrata&#8221;. There he fed the souls with his composition of didactic texts that were sung to familiar church melodies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">At some point, it came into his mind to set his <span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">lyrics to his <\/span>own music. Because he was a man of action, he decreed that all tones should be labelled Masters and Servants. Without further ado, he designated the tones of the triad to be Masters, and all the other to be Servant tones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On the stressed syllables of text Master tones should be used, and all other unstressed syllables were set with Servants tones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Seen in this light, JS Bach apparently slurred the Servant tones to Master tones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So when I &#8216;m playing again &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the beginning of the Pr\u00e9lude to the B3]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">the Master tone is B3. The note A3 is a Servant tone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the first measure to the end up to measure 2]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the note E3]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">is the first exception, as he now binds two Master tones. The C4 &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the note C4]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">is the root of the chord (subdominant). But, unlike Mr. Bei\u00dfel,\u00a0Bach assigned relative weight to different Chord tones. So they are not all equal, because here it is the third (E3) that is important: it makes known to us what is the new harmony.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays again the second measure]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And here there are 3 Master tones that are really not congruent: we have the root note of G major, the persistent pedal point, which is actually a non-harmonic tone (in the chord of D Major, the dominant) &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the dominant sevenths with c4]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And these are the two tones of the dominant chord<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays F#3 and C4]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">which then resolve back into the tonic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the resolution]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So in measure 3, there are three tones that are Master tones that are not compatible and which are not slurred.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(Later I will discuss why in the second half of the measure there is a slur.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well, does that clarify the impact of slurs?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I conclude from these first bars of the Pr\u00e9lude that the initial note of a slur should be highlighted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How that happens is up to the artist, who can accentuate the note, play it louder, expand it, make a tenuto, or make agogic changes. The artist can bring the note something sooner or later which does not appear in the written score. But Bach writes a slur, which indicates that 1st sound of a slur is important.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now, I would anticipate one thing: The sound after the slur is also important. And it is even more important, the longer the slur. That is, if we have a very long slur, then the one note after the long slur is emphasized more so. I will explain this point in more detail later. Now first again:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the first measure to the second B3 note of the 2nd beat]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So, this note B3 (after the slur) is also emphasized.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[continues to play measure 2]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now one wonders, after the two slurred Master tones, now a Servant tone (B3): why is this Servant tone emphasized? The reason is that we actually have an ambiguity between two harmonies. Although we have clearly a subdominant &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays subdominant]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Which also contains the note G, we still have the same tonic, which also has the note G. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And in the next measure we will see that we are dealing with a pedal point that we actually\u00a0have several harmonies in the measure. It is therefore justified to emphasize the central B3 (in measure 2), because this is the third of this root (pedal G2). <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So, this is not a contradiction (note the emphasis on B3), but also makes sense. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now in measure 3 we have:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the first three notes]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">These 3 tones conflict with one another. We have a major seventh, which would have to resolve to the G3, and C4, which would have to resolve to B3:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[playing two voices the notes F#3\/C4 and then G3\/B3]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The tritone F#3\/C4 can not be slurred.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Note:<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The tritone is almost never slurred in the Suites, as it consists of two chord tones. But, in this Pr\u00e9lude, there sometimes occurs slur of notes F#3 and C4 respectively G3 and B3. These exceptions are explained at the appropriate places. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, in the second Half of measure 3, the notes are slurred on the third beat &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the 2nd Half of measure 3]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Bach, anticipating the resolution, explicitly stresses the note B3 (the third of the tonic chord).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This measure plays a role later in the piece, as this particular articulation is referenced again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We also take notice: when the beat is not slurred and then there follows a slur in the repetition as happens here in the 3rd measure, then that always signifies an increased emphasis in Bach, an emphatic increase of the expression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So, did I mention that the note after the slur is also emphasized?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This has physical reasons. Because the volume on the cello or the violin depends on the bow speed. A simple example: if I play a an eight note scale with 7 notes on one bow stroke and 1 note on the return stroke using the same length of bow, then the single tone is inevitably emphasized:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays 2 octave G Major, ascending and descending, each with 7 notes down bow and 1 note up bow]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">String players learn naturally to hide this effect. But J. S. Bach explicitly utilizes this technical artifact &#8211; his articulation is really very sophisticated . An example can be demonstrated from one measure from the Allemande. Since we have 13 notes to a bow stroke, this is very extreme:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays measure 13 from the Allemande in G Major]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There are reasons. Because we have first the parallel minor &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the first\u00a0four 16th notes of the 1st beat]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">followed by the dominant of the dominant &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the note C#4 and continues to the A3]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And &#8230; that&#8217;s the root of the secondary dominant (A3) and the seventh &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays G4]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230; resolving to D major. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So Bach uses these physical conditions of the bow technique in the extreme. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In this light, we consider the first bars of the Pr\u00e9lude as published in the Urtext editions:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[plays the first bars in the versions of the Urtext editions]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Always a slur three notes at the beginning of the first and second halves of each measure. What a burdensome monotony this creates! Yes, it is even distracting, as it highlights secondary elements: always this G2 bass note &#8211; and the changing note that follows the slur.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[demonstrates once again on the cello]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This is approximately the same as if you would aim at the wrong goal in a penalty shoot-out. (Audience laughs)<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I interrupt the transcription of my talk in order to summarize. The initial pedal cadence with G2 following should be noted:<span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"> T<\/span>he bowing, <span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">clarifies and emphasizes <\/span>the basic<span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"> cadential <\/span>constructiion<span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"> of this phrase:<\/span> tonic, subdominant, dominant seventh and tonic, overlayed on the tonic pedal point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The first measure is harmonically unambiguous.\u00a0 By means of a 2-slur the third B3 of the tonic is four times emphasized.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Note:<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When I speak of a two note slur (<strong>2-slur<\/strong>) on the note B3, that means that a two note slur begins on B3.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The second measure is harmonically ambiguous. It is home to the tonic and subdominant. The 2-B emphasizes the third of the subdominant E3 and the third of the tonic, B3.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The third measure contains three harmonies: the tonic (root G2), the subdominant (root C4) and the dominant (third F#3). Therefore\u00a0 the first Half measure has no slur, as a slur would create a hierarchical order among these pitches. The 3 pitches are on equal footing. Only in the second Half of the measure the 2-slur leads to an emphasis on the third F#3 of the dominant and through its connection to the note C4 to an emphasis on the third of the tonic, B3. The resolution of the dominant to the tonic is already anticipated here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Highlighting the B3 in these three opening bars still has a further meaning, which is developed in the course of Pr\u00e9lude: The Parallel Minor (E minor) is next to the tonic in this movement as the second most important harmony. These two harmonies make up something like 2 tonic gravitational fields. The second measure could be heard even as a relative minor first inversion chord with added C4 (sext suspension). That is, the note C4 would be in this harmonic interpretation a Servant tone, which is connected to the root note and the notes E3 and B3 would be strongly stressed Master tones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, of this double harmonic complex, more will follow in Part 2 of this transcription &#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">Michael Bach<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a translation of the post \u201eUrtext = Klartext? &#8220;, September 13, 2013 by Dr. Marshall Tuttle. Michael Bach This is the first part of the transcript of my talk &#8220;Urtext = Klartext?&#8221;, to be given on May 4, 2013, at the Stiftung Domnick in N\u00fcrtingen, Stuttgart \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Lecture: https:\/\/youtu.be\/i5EwxK-dZAE \u00a0 The first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Urtext = Plain Text ? - An Analysis of the Pr\u00e9lude in G Major, Part 1 (Bar 1-3) | the bach update<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is a translation of the post \u201eUrtext = Klartext? &quot;, September 13, 2013 by Dr. Marshall Tuttle. 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