The Ornamentation of Baroque Sonatas Exemplified by Johann Ernst
Galliard's Sonata V for Bassoon and Harpsichord
by
Kristine A. Kohler
Honors Thesis (Honors 499)
Advisor: Homer C. Pence
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana
April 12,1991
Expected Date of Graduation
May 4, 1991
1
The Baroque era (c.1600-17S0) was a time of great beauty in
all of the arts. The architecture of the period, strongly inluenced by
Chirstopher Wren, combined beautiful arched ceilings with sculpture
and paintings. The arts thrived on the paintings of Rubens and
Rembrandt, the literature of Moliere and Locke, and the music of
Monteverdi and Bach. It was "a grandiose exercise in theatrical
illusionism, an overwhelming visual and even spiritual experience.'"
There was a freedom of expression in music and a spirit of
experimentation that mirrored the evolving scientific practice of
-
Galileo and his contemporaries.
Some of the original freedom in music came in the practice of
figured-bass, or thorough-bass. This is a means of notating
harmonic intervals above a bass note. Clavecinists were required to
realize these bass lines into four part harmony. This practice
started in France and spread through the rest of Europe. 2
The
individual keyboard players began to incorporate other
embellishments or agrements into their performance, and these
eventually found their way into other instrumental genres.
During the Baroque it was common practice for musicians to
1 H. Vyverberg, The Living Tradition: Art. Music, and Ideas in the Western World(San Diego:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publisher, 1988), p.300
H. Pence, Ornamentation of the Six Sonatas for Bassoon and Harpsichord by Johann
Ernst Galliard (Muncie. 1959). p. 24.
2
2
spontaneously improvise or embellish music during a performance.
Frederick Neumann in his book, New Essays on Performance
Practice, observed that many composers, such as Vivaldi (16751741) and his contemporaries, wrote out only the skeletal notes of
their works, particularly in slow movements. 3
In general,
performers were required to add their own ideas to complete the
music. There are, of course, instances where a composer would
include some ornamental suggestions or even write out a complete
ornamentation. Dart, in his book The Interpretation of Music,
described the musician of the baroque as being considered "a more
intelligent member of the musical community than he is now."·
Baroque musicians had to think and react quickly not only to the
printed page, but also to the people with whom they performed. In
addition to enhancing the printed music, performers copied each
other as they played similar phrases. There was a constant
interaction between musicians.
Although Baroque musicians found embellishment to be second
nature, that performance practice has all but disappeared today. At
that time, students heard their teachers and other more experienced
3 F. Neumann, New Essays on Performance Practice (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press,
1983) p. 149.
• T. Dart, The Interpretation of Music (London: Hutchinson University Library, 1967), p. 14.
3
players ornament melodies. Students copied the style of their
teachers until they were able to ornament freely on their own. This
can be compared to the jazz musician of today. Hearing a specific
"lick" or progression that he likes, a jazz musician will remember
it. Later he can use it himself and incorporate it into the traditional
practices. In this way a musician of any period can develop his own
style.
Before embellishing a piece of music it is important to
determine the origin of the composer and the style in which he
composed. Johann Ernst Galliard (1687-17 49) composed in the
Italian style. His first teachers, Farineli, and Abbate Steffani were
great influences on him. In fact, some critics of the day considered
Galliard's music merely a replica of Steffani's style. 5
The influence
of the Italian style is also indicated by Galliard's use of the Italian
language in his titles and tempo markings. He uses siciliano,
allegro, and adagio as opposed to the comparable French markings. 8
The first movement of Sonata V is marked adagio, the second and
fourth movements include allegro in their titles, and the third
movement is entitled "Alia Siciliano," all of which come from the
5
J. Marx, ed, Six Sonatas for the Bassoon with Thorough Bass for the Harpsichord(New
York: McGinnis & Marx, 1946).
• T. Dart, op. cit., p.93.
4
There are some general areas where ornamentation was used in
Italian-style music of this time.
Dart lists four: "extemporized
embellishment of adagios; optional variation on repeated material;
additional ornamentation at cadences; and slight alteration of
written note-values."7 After determining the area to embellish, it
is important to understand the different possibilities in
ornamentation.
There are many different types of ornaments that can be used
when embellishing a piece of music. Notes which are a third or more
-
apart can be connected by means of a glissando, grace notes, or by
outlining a chord. When filling in between two notes the fillers or
grace notes may be diatonic or chromatic. Either may be used in the
case of unaccented passing tones because the dissonance created
will be barely noticeable. s
Another type of embellishment is the trill. The trill can be
primarily melodic, or it may have a more important harmonic
function such as in a cadential trill.
In the first case the trill may
be started on either the main note or the upper note. For cadential
trills it is customary to start on the u'pper note. 9
This tradition of
'T. Dart, op. cit., p. 88.
a R. Donington, A Performer's Guide to Baroque Music (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1973), p. 179.
'Ibid., p. 195.
5
trills it is customary to start on the upper note."
This tradition of
starting on the upper note has been passed down through many
generations of teachers; however, Frederick Neumann disputes this
idea. He contends that in Pier Tosi's Observations on a Florid Song,
translated by Galliard, Tosi implies that the trill should begin on the
lower note. The trill, Tosi says, is a rapid alternation of two notes,
II
one of which deserves the name master note because it occupies
with greater forcefulness the site of the note which is to be trilled;
the other sound, notwithstanding its higher location, plays no other
-
part than that of helper."'o
Regardless of Neumann's opinion on this
passage, Galliard wrote all of the trill examples beginning on the
upper note. Even if this was not Tosi's intention, this is obviously
what Galliard was accustomed to hearing.
Another very common ornament is the appoggiatura. This
ornament comes on the beat; it may be prepared or unprepared, but it
usually lasts half of the value of the note to which it resolves."
Galliard wrote that, when it is prepared, the preparation for this
ornament should be longer than the actual appoggiatura.'2
i
After
Ibid., p. 195.
10 F. Neumann, Ornamentation in Baroque and Post-Baroque Music (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1983), pp. 345-346.
11 Donington, op. cit., p. 180.
12 Dart, op. cit., p. 79.
6
gathering this more specific information, it is possible to begin
embellishing.
In his Performance Practice Neumann warns that, in general,
it is better to include too few ornaments rather than too many. If
the melody is a good one to begin with, it is able to stand alone, and
too many ornaments could clutter it. 13 Keeping this in mind, as well
as the general practices of ornamentation used in the Italian style,
one may begin to work with a specific piece such as Sonata V for
Bassoon and Harpsichord by Johann Ernst Galliard.
The first movement is marked "Adagio," (Appendix A), which
gives significant opportunities for embellishment as suggested by
Dart in his previously cited list. In examples *1, *4, and *5 notes
were included to fill in between thirds. The original version is on
the left and the embellished version is on the right.
*1
*4
F. Neumann, New Essays in Performance Practice (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press,
1989), p. 178.
13
7
*5
Example three also fills in between two notes on the third
beat, but it outlines a C major chord rather than by diatonic motion
as the previous examples do.
*3
*2 and *6 are examples of cadential trills.
*2
t>=~ I
frfEr; i' p I
f
*6
tl:~ I f
i'
P
mp
ro r I
Each of these trills, as will as the other trills in this piece
begin on the upper note. This decision was made in order to be
8
consistent with Galliard's examples in his translation of Tosi's
Observations on a Florid Song.
Example seven is only a slight variation on the already printed
music. The already existing trill is moved one eighth note early.
This is the fourth suggestion for ornamentation in Dart's list.
*7
.".
2:~ I t t rEt
,~ I
'Il"
r 1(1 r t
The only changes made in the "Allegro e Spiritoso" were the
addition of three cadential trills: *1, *2, and *3. These may be seen
in Appendix B and are self explanatory.
The "Alia Siciliano" (Appendix C) was originally written as
two repeated sections of eight bars each. In this copy the repeats
are written out in order to include the ornamentation which occurs
only in the second time through each section. Varying repeated
material was also suggested by Dart. Cadential trills, which have
already been discussed sufficiently, were added at *3, *5, and *7.
Another trill was added at *1, but it is a basically melodic trill.
2:~ a
crf F g I
9
*4 and *6 could also have been written as grace notes.
*4
3
*6
3
-
It is important to note that the rhythms indicated above are
approximated. Rosalyn Turneck, in her introduction to Putnam
Aldrich book Ornamentation in J. S. Bach's Organ Works, correctly
recognizes that ornaments were not precisely notated. She adds, it
is of prime significance to understanding the psychology
underlying the usage of embellishment symbols. To see
embellishment notation as an exact orthography is to impose
rigidity upon this florid art. The very essence of musical
psychology from which embellishment emerged and developed
is non-arithmetical and non-precise, unlike the mechanistic
frame of reference of the nineteenth century and the
tyrannical categorization-processes of the twentieth.14
*2 could be considered an upper neighbor or an appoggiatura.
-
Up. Aldrich, Ornamentation inJ.S. Bach's Organ Works (New York: Da Capo Press, 1978),
p. iii.
10
The fourth movement "Allegro Assai" can be found as Appendix
D. After considering the tempo and the lack of opportunity for
ornamentation, there were no alterations made to this movement.
Considerable thought was given to this project, and the results
of the ornamented version may be heard on the included tape. This
performance took place as part of the writer's Senior Honors Recital
on January 28, 1991.
Many musicians do not know where to start preparing for an
authentic performance of a Baroque work. They do not understand
that "ornamentation is not a luxury in baroque music, but a
necessity.,,15
It has now been made clear to this writer what some
of the preliminary steps in this process of ornamentation should
include. First, it is obligatory to determine in what style the
ornamentation should take place, either French or Italian. After
gathering some background information on the work, it is important
to understand the appropriate places to include ornaments. Dart
supplied a good general list to work from in his book The
Interpretation of Music. 1 !
There are also many traditional ornaments that were used in
the Baroque. Some of the most common are grace notes, trills, and
IS
Donington, op. cit., p. 160.
11
see p. 3.
11
appoggiaturas. Some ornaments occur more regularly at certain
times in music, but the most critical judge of what ornament to use,
and where, should come from the musician's ear. Musicians of the
Baroque needed very little time to plan their ornamentation if they
had time at all. They merely played what sounded right. With the
information found in this paper and a good ear, any musician may
make a satisfactory embellishment of a Baroque work.
Bibliography
Aldrich, Putnam. Ornamentation of J. S. Bach's Organ Works. New
York: Da Capo Press, 1978.
Dart, Thurston. The Interpretation of Music. London: Hutchinson
University Library, 1967.
Donington, Robert. A Performer's Guide to Baroque Music. New York:
Carles Scribner's Sons, 1973.
Marx, Josef, ed. (keyboard realization by Edith Weiss-Mann) Six
Sonatas for the Bassoon with a Thorough Bass for the
Harpsichord. New York: McGinnis & Marx, 1946.
Neumann, Frederick. New Essays on Performance Practice. Ann
Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1989.
Ornamentation in Baroque and Post-Baroque Music. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1983.
Pence, Homer. Ornamentation of the Six Sonatas for Bassoon and
Harpsichord bu Johann Ernst Ga Ilia rd. Muncie: Ball State
University (unpublished thesis), 1959.
Vyverberg, Henry. The Living Tradition: Art, Music, and Ideas in the
Western World. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
Publishers, 1988.
Appendix A
Sonata V
Johann Ernst Galliard
ed. Kristine A. Kohler
1687-1749
Adagio
~.
··
;t
B: _
•
-..
~
;.
-
p
~
~
.
f'!L
1L
l!rr
p
I'
-
...
I
A
··
I
i
-
....
t
I
I
Dr
~~
...
~
.-
1
I
*1
f
~~-rF~~~~~~
l~~~~~~
*3
.fC-~ ~
~.
.z.
.~~
•
L1.
~
-
3:,t.
""1
~
-.!':
IIiiIIIIIIL
"-liliiii
~
-
r
I' p r·
:1.
L.Z.":
r-
1
i
•
~
~
-j
r_r r r
Tl
I
p
~
•
-
-
-
t r
r~
IIIJ
I
-
-
*5
dim.
~~~~~~~~
~~~~~dtm.~~~
*6
··
,..
~
,.
-fI-
I~·
-fI-
~
,.
t:
-
,
I
I
r
It)
tJ~1
··
I
r
1
I
I
r
I
t\
1
D
r
mp
--
•
'in'
I
mp
-
"'
*7
~~~~~~
- ~~~~~~
,......,
I
Appendix 8
Allegro e Spiritoso
h.. 1*" _
··
I
I
~
4111
I
.
4!
4!
••
,~
I
··
.
I
··
~~~kl1 ..
.
I
Iv
~
.
.
-
b~
.
.
1nf
.
.-
-
illI
I
I
I
~
It}
I
r
I
---.
~
I
··
~
.
I
I
~
~
I
~
~J:
-t
I
•
I
I
*1
··
~
~1*"
.p-
~~~f:ft~t
_fl-_
-
b.
:A:
1*"!- ~
p
,
It)
11if
I
r
.IlL
·· -
.u...
r
I
4!
-
.
.
fl-
~
p
I
.
b~
""
. .
. 11if
-
111
··
~-F-~~
b.
- - . - . . . -,J-
~
.--
I
..
•
I~
··
··
q c-i
-" -
·· ··
--::e:
I
~~
r
"
··
_ h.
·· ··
·· ··
-d
··
r
~
-j
1
j
It}
~
-f'-
~.
.
JJo
-
-=
-
..,..
-
iiff
.
.J
.
··
-
ql
..
1
cresco
.
-,J-
!II- _
~
-
cresco
~
~
1lff
.
-.
r
•
'1
~
.
I
.
.
q -j
...
f
~
It>
,
,.
-
::-.....
l'" ....... ,...-
~
f
_
I
I
I
...
~
h. _
~ ~
JJo
"
-
I
t=
··
I
f:.
~
I
I
,
ItJ
··
'.
~
1'- ~ "' ..
.
lrt
k.
~
1
~
~
~...
~
JIo
I
I
I
.....
I
.
_.1*-
JIo
~ ~
I
1
~
*2
··
b.
1*-
~
".
~ f:. 1: f:.
f:.
pp
P
I
1_
I
.J
ie)
...
q"i
...
pp
p
..
··
...
t
··
~~ f:. ~~
I
I'l
~
i tJ
p
··
-(I-
I
I
I
I
. .
.
1*-
-f'-
-
~1*-~~
~
•
-
I'
.....
I
~
.
,.
.
f'-1*-
I
~
.
.
-
I
•
0:.
"It
:v
•
~
-
T
-
a
.....
...l.
~
/'
I
I
.
I
\L
I'
::1.
'J.
LL
P
0
•
..~
i
==t
==-'
=-
k
~
~
~
--r
I
-...
1
~
....
-
t-
*3
I
~
Appendix C
AHa Siciliano
-
··
~
~~
fL
k.
_
b~
)~
-1""=1
........,
I
=1
•
'"
...
I
r
It
Jt
I
,.
...
1
" "[ r
"
p
r'lr
...
I
"..
':;r
~~
r -p
·
~.
-1
If"
'p
1m)
*1
*2
··
f:-.
~
1:1'
~ fl-.
~~
.-
)b.-
=t1
""l
I
1'\
I
It
~r:
··
_.
r
'p
I
a..
-"'-
~~
,.
I
r
~
I
[
.
r r
~r
..
~
~.
*3
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~
it~ 0..
~
t-
.fI- 0~ .fI-
"
,..
~
0
~
.fI-0~~ ~
~
Lo
~Z
.
t\ I
~
I
[jII!
rlflii.
LZ:
ItJ
~
I
T
--....-
~
r
~
~f:
_0
D
r
r r
o
o
~
,.0
'Io
1
,..
T
::10
~o7' ~
r
II'-
I-
~
•
T
to
~
m~ ~
.-
~
:..Lo
...l1
I
I
0
r
Ie.
~
r
0
t
O
r
~
~
I
0
0
~)
...
••
r
~
or
.
t\
-V- •
I
I
-
..
D
~~
..
~
0
"
I,. ~ ~ ~
*4
-(1-"
~
~
"
--£-. ~
-fL1tf. ,.
)
3
~
A
~r
tJ
~[li
."
f:
~
~
r Dr'
r" r
~~
y
~
-
,.
I
*6
*5
."
I
I..
~~
~
~"
~
t'ff-
~ C". ~~
~-
~~
3
,
f
;tJ
~
r
t
r'
I
""
:Jl
*7
,..
-,
I
~
r
~
pr
~
.-
1\
~
•
I
I
""
D
.
I
...
P
Appendix D
3
3
f
~
j
I':
-
~,.~ ~~
j
-
~.~
3
P3
"
..
f!:.71 ~-• ~ -".....--.
~
~
-
3
3
3
1
3
3
m r-T-, _
I
I
··
~
•
T
T
»
·· ··
-*
I
»
it)
r I
··
r
"3-
[-r i
-
~
. "i
J:
It>
-"
3
--
-
3
j
»
l~
-i
f
!'-
.
!'-
I
I
4!
4!
.
I
I
I'-
I
-l
··
~
-
.
.-
I
.
·· ··
-*
........
I
.
f
3
3
~
-·
·· ··
-:J
·
-l
I
I
"»
I
f
-
I
I'
1'1
-
orr
•
ItJ
•
T
.t!'
.
,,,
,
»
I
~~.~
I.J
3
»
II
I.J
I
3
I
I
u
•
..
•
I
»
»
»
t>
I
I
,
dim.
.
3
-
3
3
r I r lfP
• 3
.
f'-
~f'-1:
p
It
··
.---•
3
3
!It
_
3
~
r_r T I r '[I- r
-.
I
I
~
7T~
r
I
:
»
'\ »
--.
~
I
-
3
........
I
I I I
t
Iv
3
1$
I
3
··
•
"f'-~~_
It>
II
3 dim.
3
3
.p..
··
~
.1;-fit~ ~
~
3
I
I
r
r
r rJ !III!!!::
_
L
3
3
3
~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~
JJ.~
-('-
-('-
-(t-
.fi~.
-
~
~
'I"Ito.
lL
It)
l'Ii
:.I
3
f
I
I
I
l'
~
,
~
t.>
f
L
-
-
-
3
3
3
3
I
3
I
•
v
f-_
I
J
~
I
-
it.>
,
3
3
.........
-3 -
~
--
---
-
3
3
~
~
•
it.>
3-L-
.
P
L
I
"--'-J
3
3
3
.........
-
BALL STATE UNIVERSI1Y
COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
KRISTINE A KOHLER
bassoon
in a
SENIOR HONORS RECITAL
assisted by
Kuniko Fukushima, piano and harpsichord
Don Rentfrow, cello
Sonata V
Adagio
Allegro e Spiritoso
Alia Siciliano
Allegro assai
Johann Ernst Galliard
Concerto in F Major, Op. 75
Aliegro rna non troppo
Adagio
Allegro
Carl Maria von Weber
(16S7- 1749)
( 1786-1826)
. . . Intermission . . .
Willson Osborne
(b. 1906)
Rhapsody for Bassoon
Sonatine pour Bassoon et Piano
I. Allegro con motto
n. Aria, Largll cantabile
Ill. Scherzo, Presto
Alexandre Tansman
(b.l897)
Kristine Kohler is a student of Homer Pence.
She performs with the Muncie Symphony Student Woodwind Quintet
and is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Nlltional Honor Society in Music.
This recilal is presented in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the Honors Program at Ball State University.
PRUIS HALL
Monday, January 28. 1991
8:00 p.m.
Series XLV
Number 91
In keeping with cllpyr;ght and crlist agrecml.:nls, U~I.: of recording and
photographiL: devires is not ~rl'litled by other than approved university
personnel. 'Ne request your cooperation.