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WORKS FOR Trié LUTE a | JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Suite No. | in E minor (Prelude; Allemande; Courante;

Sarabande; Bourrée; Gigue})

Prelude and Fugue in E flat

Suite No. 3 in G minor (Prelude; Allemande; Courante; Sarabande;

Gavotte No. |, Gavotte No. 2, Gavotte No. 1; Gigue).

MICHEL PODOLSKI (Lutenist)

By the end of the seventeenth century, the lute, till then the favored solo instrument for

domestic music-making was in process of being supplanted by the violin and harpsichord with

their more resonant timbres and their wider possibilities for applying new techniques. Where

it was retained, it was on account of its traditional contrapuntal capabilities which made it

useful when a thorough bass was called for. Just before its final eclipse, however, the lute

underwent a revival sufficient to develop an important school in Germany, one of the by- products of which were the works for lute by J. S. Bach. This final upsurge of interest in

the lute was caused by the large influence exerted by the French upon Germany during the

seventeenth century—an influence not limited to the seeping of ideas through travellers from

France but strengthened by the presence in Germany of many French Huguenot musicians, exiled

as a result of the religious and political upheavals accompanying the revocation of the Edict

of Nantes in 1685 by Louis XIV. The effect of their presence was to make the post-1650

German lutenists forsake the old Renaissance tablature (a system of notation for keyboard

instruments and the lute in which tones were indicated not by notes on the staff but by letters,

numerals, etc.) in favor of the French tablature. Bach’s contemporaries also learned and adopted

the new French method of tuning the instrument, a new terminology, the French suite sequence:

allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue, and the brisé style (a French term for a “turn’—an

ornamental figure of 4—5 notes surrounding a principal note). From what may be called a

“preliminary school’ (Le Sage de Richée, Jacques de Saint-Luc, Logi, Esaias Reussner, etc.)

developed the culminating examples of German lute literature: Weichenberger, Radolt, Kihnell,

Guzinger, Baron, Weiss, Kropffganz, Kohault, and Falkanhagen. The work of these men,

interestingly enough, exists with rare exceptions in manuscript only and therefore in no more

than one copy. The explanation for this is that since the works in question were extremely

difficult and required highly expert virtuoso playing, the composers themselves were the only

ones capable of performing them, and no supplementary copies were thought necessary. This

state of affairs prompted Bach to write his lute pieces in stafft-notation rather than with tabla-

ture markings, thus rendering performance on other instruments possible. At the end of the

seventeenth century, the lute definitely gave way to the guitar and the Tyrolean lute (a popular

instrument, generally with ten single strings). The last of the German lutenists was Schneider

writing his variations on the “Champagne Aria” from Don Giovanni. To quote the musicologist,

Lionel de la Laurencie: ‘““‘The lute expired singing a melody of the divine Mozart.”

Aside from a few examples in isolated chamber works or pieces of sacred music, Bach's

entire output for the lute comprises four complete suites, two preludes, and two fugues: Prelude

in C minor, Suite No. 1 in E minor, Suite No. 2 in C minor, Prelude and Fugue in E flat

major, Suite No. 3 in G major, Suite No. 4 in E major, Fugue in G minor. Allusions to Bach

as a lutenist or composer for the lute are very rare. It is known, however, that during his stay

in Coethen between the years of 1717 and 1722, when he concentrated on writing instrumental

music, he possessed a lute on which he played. One other mention of the instrument with

reference to Bach can be fixed in 1735 when Bach himself declared that he gave lute lessons

to his pupil, J. L. Krebs. The two dates (1717 and 1735) may be assumed to be approximately

the outer limits of the period during which Bach wrote for the instrument. It was during this

same period that he used the lute briefly in his St. John Passion (1723) and the Trauer Ode

(1727). In the Preludes and Suites specifically written for the instrument, Bach presents a

combination of the French brisé style and Italian cantabile. Some brief additional data on the

music included on this disc may be helpful. . . . Although entitled Prelude, the first movement

of Suite No. 3 is in reality a French overture modeled on Lully—an overture in two parts—

the first, slow and characterized by dotted note rhythms, works up to the dominant; the second,

quick and in fugal style, returns to the tonic. It should also be noted that despite its name,

the Sarabande is close to an aria such as was sometimes found in the middle movement of early

eighteenth century works. Also of interest is the fact that there are two versions of this lute

suite—one, in modern musical notation is in Bach’s own hand; the other is in the older

tablature. A third version has been discovered in a manuscript belonging to Anna Magdalena,

Bach’s second wife, but it is an arrangement for cello,

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The music of the Gigue in Suite No. 1 may seem somewhat surprising in that it does

not seem quite appropriate to the title. It is an example of a double, the French word for a

piece treated in ‘division’ style with additional shortened note values functioning as embellish-

ments and a simple variation); the original theme has disappeared. This suite is conserved in

the collection which belonged to Bach’s pupil Krebs—a composer, by the way, of great talent,

unfortunately little known today.

As to the Prelude and Fugue in E flat, it appears only once in source materials bearing

the title Prelude (et fugue) pour la Lute ou Cembal. The ad libitum alternative for harpsichord

throws into a strong light the small measure of success that this work may have encountered

with lutenists; it may also reflect the trend of fashion to the newer instrument. Certainly, it

was no easy feat to perform fugues on the lute, and for that reason composers did not often

write them. They would require bringing out several parts simultaneously, each with its own

particular phrasing, on an instrument which calls for the use of both hands to produce a single

sound. A fugue, aside from working hardship on the performer, created difficulties for the

composer since it was impossible to write for the lute with the same freedom used in composing

for keyboard instruments or the orchestra. For the lutenist, Bach’s lute works are milestones

on the road to virtuoso mastery of the instrument just as the Well Tempered Clavier and the

Toccatas serve today as the ‘aspera ad astra” of young keyboard players.

MICHEL PODOLSKI

MICHEL PODOLSKI was born in Brussels in

1928. His many interests—science, agronomy,

and the plastic arts—all finally yielded before

music, and he specialized in the exhaustive

study of the lute and its literature. He has

spent a great part of his time cataloguing

and transcribing lute music in many public

libraries. In addition, he is a practising musi-

cian, holding first place in that small rare

circle that qualifies as masters of the complex

art of lute playing. The increasing interest

which has recently surrounded the lute is

due in large measure to the scholarly efforts

and technical excellence of Michel Poldolski

who has brought into shining evidence the

exquisite timbre of the instrument as well as

the charm of its literature. Also, he has

belonged for almost ten years to Pro Musica

Antiqua under the direction of Safford Cape.

One may almost say that he has been brought

up in this organization which is justly famous

on two continents for its authentic, vital, and

tasteful presentations of early music. Since

the lute, either alone or in consort, is of

prime importance in their performances, Mr.

Podolski has been an essential part of that

wonderful ensemble.

CHARLES VAN DEN BORREN

President, International Society of Musicology

A ee ln - ee

WORKS FOR THE LUTE by JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH