Boston Chamber Music Society

Program notes
Bach's vacations
Saturday, December 12, 2:00 PM at the First Church of Cambridge,
Congregational
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
Three symphonies for keyboard, arranged for flute and strings
Nº 3 en re mayor, BWV 789; Nº 9 en fa menor, BWV 795; Nº 8 en fa mayor, BWV 794

When Bach was preparing to apply for the position at St. Thomas Church, he knew that
he would have to demonstrate his ability as a teacher. He had never been to university, nor
he had directed an academic program, as would be required in Leipzig. However, he had
I have been a very successful teacher of several private students (including my own children), and
I had prepared valuable teaching material for them.
There are signs that, at this time, he decided to gather some of these materials in
published collections as a way to reinforce its application.
Thus, in 1722 he produced the Well-Tempered Clavier (which we now know as Volume I, another
set arrived later), and the collection of Inventions in two parts and Symphonies in three
parts (also called 'three-part inventions').
Given that practically all piano students of the following two centuries have
touched on at least some of these works, we can assume that their main objective was the
to serve as exercises for the fingers, teaching young keyboardists to play two (and more
three lines.
However, Bach's preface to the entire series indicates that his goal begins with the
interpretation and then provide models for composition.
It aims for the 'lovers of the harpsichord' not only to learn to play clearly at two
voices, but that they know how to deal correctly with three parts of obbligato and learn to
invent useful themed ideas. In addition, I wanted my students to 'arrive at
the singing style while playing and, at the same time, gaining a strong preview of the
composition.
It's a whole challenge for these thirty short pieces (fifteen in two parts and three in three parts),
but they seem to have served that purpose well.
The works in three parts, which Bach called 'symphonies' instead of inventions, usually offer
a line that is clearly a part of the supporting bass, with two melodic lines of
obligatory that are often imitative, as if they were related to a
fugue. The Symphony in D major begins with an independent bass line from the voices
superiors, although later
Although later it takes charge of the same musical material, it becomes a
fleeting exhibition.
The Symphony in F minor is one of the most studied for the expressive use that Bach makes.
from the chromaticism starting from when it begins in the descending line of the bass and extends to
the upper parts. The lively Symphony in F major is brighter, with sections
which also suggest fleeting statements in the three parts. Bach himself thought of
They are like a keyboard exercise, but listening to the lines played by instruments.
independent melodics, as in the present arrangement, highlights their independence
counterpoint
 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Inventions Nos. 1-15, BWV 772 - 786

Symphonies Nos. 1-15, BWV 787 - 801

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685 in a family of musicians. The early death of
his parents left him in the care of his older brother, Johann Christoph, an organist in Ohrdruf, where
he remained for five years, until becoming a student at the Michaelisschule in Lüneburg in 1700. Three
Years later he was appointed court musician in Weimar, but a few months later he moved.
in Arnstadt as an organist in the Neuekirche. In 1707 he moved to a similar position in the
Blasius Church in Mühlhausen, where he married his cousin Maria Barbara. The following year he brought the
appointment in Weimar as organist and chamber musician of Duke Wilhelm Ernst, one of the
two rulers of the Duchy. In 1714 he was promoted to the position of Konzertmeister, further consolidating
more its position as an authority in the construction of the body and its reputation as an interpreter. In
In 1717, he left the service of the duke, who briefly imprisoned him for his recklessness in attempting to leave.
Weimar, and took a more pleasant position as music director for the young Prince Leopold of
Anhalt-Cöthen. Here he was able to focus on secular music, as the Pietist practices at court
they obviated the need for an elaborate religious music. It was only the marriage of the prince to a
woman without musical interests which led Bach to seek employment elsewhere. In 1723 he signed a
contract with the authorities of Leipzig as Thomaskantor, with teaching responsibilities in the
Thomasschule, some of which could be delegated, and the post of music in the main
churches of the city. In 1729 he had also taken the direction of the university collegium
musicum, a society founded at the beginning of the century by Telemann, godfather of the fifth child of
Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel, and the first election of the Leipzig town council as Thomaskantor.
Bach remained in Leipzig as Thomaskantor until his death in 1750. His early years he
they were involved in the composition of a quantity of religious music, while the demands of
The collegium musicum was satisfied by the reorganization of previous instrumental concerts.
for one or more harpsichords. . Continued writing extensively for the keyboard and compiling and
editing his previous compositions, particularly in the four volumes of his and the first
election of the city council of Leipzig as Thomaskantor. Bach remained in Leipzig as
Thomaskantor until his death in 1750. His early years involved him in the composition of a
amount of religious music, while the demands of the collegium musicum were met
for the reorganization of previous instrumental concerts for one or more harpsichords. . Continued
writing extensively for the keyboard and compiling and editing their previous compositions,
particularly in the four volumes of his and the first municipal election of Leipzig
As Thomaskantor, Bach remained in Leipzig as Thomaskantor until his death in 1750. His
his early years involved him in the composition of a significant amount of religious music, while
the demands of the collegium musicum were met through the reorganization of concerts
previous instrumentals for one or more harpsichords. Continued writing extensively for the
keyboard and compiling and editing their previous compositions, particularly in the four
volumes of his Clavier-Übung.

The inventions and symphonies of Bach were written around the year 1723 in Cöthen, included in
a collection of pieces designed for the education of your eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach,
later employed as an organist in Dresden and then in Halle, before his final years in Berlin.
It has been suggested that Bach derived the title Invention for the fifteen compositions in two parts,
BWV 772 - BWV 786, from the work of the Italian priest and composer Bonporti, a set of
Inventions for violin and keyboard published in 1712 and known for leading a single life.
the term, however, was not new to Bonporti, as it began in the 16th century to describe
a variety of instrumental compositions. Originally, Bach used the title Praeambulum for the
first game of pieces and Fantasy for the Symphonies in three parts, BWV 787 - 801. Meanwhile in
The Well-Tempered Clavier, the 48 Preludes and Fugues, Bach used all possible keys,
majors and minors, in the Inventions and Symphonies to avoid keys with more than four sharps or
bemoles.
 The first four Inventions, in C major, C minor, D major, and D minor, and the Invention No
8 in F major, opens with a direct imitation of the upper part an octave lower, being the
opening theme the basis of invention. Inventions no. 5, 6 and 7 make both parties
begin simultaneously. The number 5, in B flat major, is based on the opening figure in the
upper part, and the number 6, in my major, each half repeated, makes use of the syncopation between the
upper and lower parts, the second section opens with a transposed. inversion of the opening. In
No. 7, in A minor, the lower part continues to imitate the upper one, while in No. 9, in F.
both parts begin at the same time, the lower one then imitating the upper one. The theme of
composite rhythm of number 10, in G major, has imitation at an interval of a fourth
composed at the bottom. The rest of the inventions have both parts starting
simultaneously, with No. 14 in B-flat major, offering more elaborate rhythms, sometimes
in consonant intervals between the upper and lower parts, moving together.

The fifteen sinfonias, BWV 787-BWV 801, which use the same keys as the two-part inventions.
parts, and are often known as three-part inventions, have a fleeting texture, although
In each of them, two parts begin together, followed by the third voice.

Once the symphonies open in a standard fugal form, a theme accompanied is followed by a
response in another part and a later entry on the topic in a third part. Symphony No. 2, in
Memory No. 15 in B-flat major has only two entries, and these are in the octave, while No.
5, in E flat major, uses two upper parts in imitative counterpoint over a bass figure.
repeated. The Symphonies, despite their apparent clarity of texture and simplicity, hide devices
counterpoint technicians often of considerable ingenuity.

In early summer of 1720, Bach accompanied his patron, Prince Leopold, to the city
bohemian spa of Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary). Upon returning to Cöthen, he found that his wife Maria
Barbara, mother of her four surviving children, had died. Nine months later she married
Anna Magdalena Wilcke, daughter of the court trumpeter of Weissenfels and, like her predecessor,
singer. In 1722, Bach provided his new wife with a little book of pieces for keyboards, a
collection that included five of the so-called French Suites. Three years later, began a
second collection, a larger musical family album that included compositions by others, including
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, third surviving son of Bach's first marriage.

The three Minuets, BWV Anh. 114-116, form a unity in themselves. The first, the best known
of all these small pieces, it leads to a related Minuet in G minor, followed by a
third Minuet which is a variant of the first. The Polish dance, the polonaise in G minor, BWV Anh.
119 is followed here by a march in E major, BWV Anh. 122 and a second polonaise in G.
minor, BWV Anh. 125, by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. La Musette, BWV Anh. 126, a dance that takes its
name of the French shepherd's bagpipe, preserves an imitation of the buzzing of the bagpipe. Those present
excerpts end with a minuet in D minor, transparent and simple.

John Sebestyén

János Sebestyén was born in Budapest in 1931 and studied at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music.
In 1971, he founded the harpsichord department of the Academy, which he has been directing since that date. His career as
interpreter and teacher has taken him as far as Japan, his reputation grew thanks to his very
successful recordings for various record companies, both in Hungary and abroad.
Several important awards in Hungary have added distinctions, including the title of Cavalière in 1984.
of the Italian Republic for services to music.