Prelude
Violin Partita No. 3 is one of my favorite Bach pieces, but I know this is just an ambitious piece to study. But then again, most of my recital pieces were baroque (two each by Bach and Vivaldi). And after years of music lessons, I guess it's just reasonable now to check if I'm mature enough to give an interpretation of this piece.
Nobody knows when recitals will be a thing on Earth again. So as a substitute, I'll just log my developments here, if there are any.
The Prelude
The sheet used can be downloaded from imslp.org.
Bar 1
Measure 1: Take note of the preparatory beat at the first downbeat; this should set the tempo of the music. I find 80 BPM to be my optimal practice tempo, but I am optimistic I can crank it up to 90 BPM in the end.
The opening of the Prelude is really a bit of a challenge. It starts at the E string's 4th position. To shotgun this first note, secure the 1st finger and listen to the tiny B5 ring as the finger lands on the string. From this, locate the opening E6 note. It may help to note that the open string E5-B5-E6 should sound like the opening of Also sprach Zarathustra.
This is an unaccompanied piece wherein the violin tries to play both the melodic and harmonic elements. The solo violin should sound like a duo, at the very least. With short continuous rapid notes, one must always make sure that the violin is played with maximum resonance. The bow must also not press the string too hard so that the notes may ring freely. Here, I start the bow flat on the string and a little below the midpoint. The anchor on the 1st finger must also be steady in order to start Measure 2 reliably. Do not prematurely lift the 1st finger at the end of this measure.
Measure 2: This measure commences with a tricky shifting from 4th to 1st position with an intermediate open string note. My workaround here is to imagine sliding the first finger from B5 of the last measure to F#5 before playing the open E string. The first open E5 should be played below the midpoint with a generous amount of bow length so that it does not ring awkwardly like open strings do. Also, I find it easier to just play all the E5s on the open E string.
I take Measures 1 and 2 belonging to a single phrase with last three notes of this measure cueing the beginning of the next. I interpret the tenutos to mean that these notes should be played broad and strong enough to tell the listener that what will follow next is the main bulk of the piece.
Measure 3: For me, the first two measures are introductory and the piece really starts at this point. The overall character of this piece is a continuous steady paced march of notes where both the melodic and harmonic elements are subtly integrated—a classic Bach. Of course, one does not simply play the piece as it is written where it is doomed to sound robotic. Technical-wise, the piece must be carried by a secure and steady rhythm. But, it is good phrasing that will give life to this homogenous train of notes.
The passage in Measure 3 is a signature of this prelude. Ornamental repeating notes alternate the main melody of this passage, in this case B4s inserted in between the melodic line of E4-F#4-G#4-A4-G#4-F#4-(E4). For example, it repeats in Measure 5, 9, 11, etc.
The first thing to remember when starting this kind of passage is that the first note must be securely placed on the downbeat occupying its full time value. This will function as a good foundation for a reliable and steady beat. The melodic notes on the downbeat should stand out from the ornamental notes but not in the way that they will sound accented. The trick here is to angle the bow so that the natural rundown of its stroke is on the string that houses the melodic notes and the bow will just slightly tilt to pull the ornamental string into motion when it needs to. No part of the wrist and elbow must lock. I think the elbow pull helps in emphasizing the melodic part of the passage.
For this measure, I find it most comfortable to use the 3rd 1/4 of the bow starting from the frog. Make sure that the notes occupy their full time values, and that the string crossings are smooth and do not sound jumpy like in a staccato. A sufficient bow pressure removes this tendency of springing action.
Initially, in trying to learn the melody by heart, one may exaggerately group the notes into four with the first note of each beat accented.
Measure 4: I again take this whole measure as a separate phrase. It begins with an interrupted fall of notes, recaps, and proceeds to completely descend into resolution. The phrasing should emphasize this fact. The B4s guard the strong beats.
Bar 2
Measure 5: Softly.
Measure 8: The tricky part of this measure is the shift from 1st to 4th position on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th note (B5-E5-F#5). What I do hear is to listen carefully on these three notes: F#5 (last note of Measure 8)-G#5-B5. Also, I do not lift my fingers for these notes up until the open string E5. (The spacing of the fingers here kind of anticipates what's coming next on the 4th position.) I use these three notes as reference notes that I must make sure to pass through again as I scale up from F#5 to B5 on the 4th position.
Bar 3
Measure 9: I use a small fermata on the first note E6 to signal the start of another phrase. Structurally, I look at the first three notes E6-B5-A5 as a "teasing" chord from what should have been an E6-B5-G#5 chord, which is actually the opening chord of the prelude. (At this time of writing, I still do not know the nomenclature for chords.) But then, the piece kind of compensates from this frustration by immediately putting an alternating A5-G#5 line. Thus, there are two important harmony that must dominate this phrase: E6-B5-A5 and E6-B5-G#5.
Measure 11:
8 July 2020
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