The vocal sense is the most important factor in the hearing of polyphony. One hears counterpoint far less in terms of its component notes than in terms of the transitions between these notes. - Ralph Kirkpatrick
2008, July 04
Death of a Mac
Logic board failure.
Suddenly, with no warning, the G5 has died. I really loved that Mac and now it is just parts, waiting to be disposed of. It will be replaced by a used MacBook from eBay. Not the same, but a very usable tool.
I got a MacBook for my daughter last year and am very impressed by it, so I don't think the transition will be too painful. She is graciously letting me use it for essentials, but it isn't reasonable to load on all my music software.
Of course, it means that there will be a suspension of the revision for a few weeks. It also means a change in the work habits and flow. I don't think QuickTime Pro 6.5 will work on the Intel system, so I may have to switch to GarageBand to make instrument choices for my files. This will entail a learning curve. I hope to have everything back up and running by the end of July.
2008, June 26
California Wildfires and a Red Sun
1000 wildfires are burning around us.
White sky, red sun at sunset. A very smokey day in the San Francisco Bay area, causing burning and itching eyes, dry cough, a headache, aching muscles. The smell of smoke is so strong that it smells like the fire is right next door.
QuickTime Default Synthesizer
Choose your sounds.
The sound of QuickTime files on any web page will depend on the synthesizer chosen as the default in the QuickTime Preferences on your computer, found on the Mac OS X in the System Preferences, under the Apple menu at the far left of the menu bar. QuickTime files on this website and the JSBChorales website are made to play with the QuickTime Music Synthesizer set as the Default. Other synthesizers will work, but you may get some strange sounds.
2008, May 26
Ninth chord
A revision of the analysis of the cross relation of April 22, 2008
A dominant seventh chord is built of four scale degrees: the fifth as the root, the seventh scale degree as the third of the chord, the second scale degree as the fifth of the chord and the fourth scale degree as the seventh of the chord. The fourth scale degree resolves to the third scale degree, thus acting as a passing tone.
Listen to the progression: i V V7 i:
Here is a discussion of chords and seventh chords.
The dominant ninth chord adds the sixth scale degree as the ninth of the chord. In four part writing, one note must be omitted, usually the fifth of the chord, the second scale degree.
Pertaining to the omission of the root of chords, R.O. Morris says: "It seems to the author…that a chord from which the root has to be omitted ceases ipso facto to be that chord at all, and that no suport should be given to so paradoxical a method of classification."
So I have revised my speculation about the analysis of the phrase in BWV 114.7 with the cross relation; I have changed it to the analysis shown below. I think this unnecessarily complex, cumbersome and academic analysis highlights the fact that Bach wrote chiefly with melody in mind and was not concerned with the mental anguish of his students three hundred years later.
Home page for Robert Frank's Theory on the Web.
R.O. Morris, The Oxford Harmony Volume One, Oxford University Press, 1946.
ISBN 0 19 321491 1, p130
2008, May 21
May Rose
Peak bloom for the Apothecary rose
Strong winds, and widely fluctuating temperatures have given the roses a beating, but they still stand.
2008, May 18
Trinity Sunday 2008
Cantatas for Trinity Sunday
For Trinity Sunday, Bach wrote three cantatas. He also revived BWV 194 on Trinity Sunday, June 4, 1724; it had originally been written for an organ consecration on November 2, 1723.
Take your pick.
2008, May 11
Whit Sunday 2008
Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Easter with J.S. Bach and Alexander Sadoyan..
Painting by Alexander Sadoyan.
For today, Pentecost or Whit Sunday, we have BWV 172, "Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten!" ("Ring out, you songs, resound, you strings!"), a favorite of mine, which concludes with a four part chorale with a wonderful violin obligato. It was written for Pentecost Sunday in May 1714, so is one of Bach's early cantatas. He also played it several times in Leipzig with some alterations.
Alfred Dürr says of this cantata: "All the various changes he made show how much trouble Bach took over a work which—as the number of documented performances (at least four) suggests—he seems to have particularly loved."
I have several performances of this cantata: Leusink, Leonhardt, Koopman, Suzuki, Rifkin, Gardiner and Rilling. The large number of performances available is another indication of the popularity and appeal of this cantata. The opening chorus is very festive; it puts me in mind of the opening movement of the Christmas Oratorio.
The six parts of the cantata are:
opening chorus
bass recitative with a low C at the end
bass aria
tenor aria
alto-soprano aria with the chorale "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott" in the instruments
closing chorale with violin obligato.
As for the low C discussed at such great length on the Bach Cantatas Website, it is most audible on the Suzuki performance, but all the basses do well. The most joyous performance for me is Rifkin's. His choice of one voice and one instrument per part also allows the violin obligato to shine through on the final chorale.
BWV 172 Complete cantata by Leusink
Listen to the closing chorale with the soundfont JEUX, by John W. McCoy.
The closing chorale by Leusink, BWV 172.6
A discussion of the melody of BWV 172.6
Discussions of the Cantata
Notes from the Bach Cantatas Website p. 1
Notes from the Bach Cantatas Website p. 2
Notes from the Bach Cantatas Website p. 3
Notes from Craig Smith
Translation by Craig Smith
2008, May 04
A Cross Quarter Day
A cold day in Los Osos.
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Two egrets stand in the chilly wind with necks contracted to keep warm. It doesn't really seem like Spring, much less the beginning of Summer in the old calendar. It feels like a California winter day and I am barely comfortable wearing a jacket with a wool lining.
Moro Rock is in the overcast distance.
However, cold as it is, I am having a very nice visit with my daughter and granddaughter.
