5.1 Harpsichord music: suites, toccatas, and variations

Baroque harpsichord music showcased composers' creativity through suites, toccatas, and variations. These forms allowed musicians to display technical prowess and artistic expression on the instrument. Suites combined stylized dances, while toccatas and variations demonstrated virtuosity and inventive transformations.

Composers like Froberger, Couperin, Handel, and Scarlatti pushed the boundaries of harpsichord composition. They employed diverse techniques such as ornamentation, contrasting sections, and innovative figurations to create engaging and technically demanding works that still captivate listeners today.

Harpsichord Suites, Toccatas, and Variations

Structure of Baroque harpsichord suites

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• Collections of stylized dance movements typically including:
  • Allemande: moderate tempo in duple meter with continuous rhythmic flow
  • Courante: fast tempo in triple meter with rhythmic vitality
  • Sarabande: slow tempo in triple meter emphasizing the second beat
  • Gigue: fast tempo in compound duple meter, lively and energetic
• Optional movements such as minuet, gavotte, or bourrée could be added to provide variety
• Movements usually in the same key to create a sense of unity throughout the suite
• Contrasting tempos, meters, and rhythmic patterns between movements showcase diverse musical characters
• Composers employed ornamentation and embellishments (trills, mordents) to highlight the harpsichord's capabilities and add expressive depth

Features of harpsichord toccatas

• Virtuosic, improvisatory pieces designed to showcase the performer's technical skill and dexterity
• Free-form structure allowing for artistic expression and exploration of the instrument's capabilities
• Alternation between improvisatory passages and imitative, contrapuntal sections creates dramatic contrasts
• Rapid runs, arpeggios, and figurations demonstrate finger dexterity and agility
• Dramatic contrasts in texture, tempo, and dynamics add excitement and unpredictability
• Served as preludes to larger works or standalone pieces to introduce the performer's abilities and engage the audience

Role of variations in harpsichord music

• Allowed composers to demonstrate inventiveness and creativity by transforming a simple theme
• A theme, often a melody or harmonic progression, served as the basis for a series of variations
• Each variation explored different aspects of the theme through techniques such as:
  1. Ornamentation and embellishment of the melody
  2. Changes in tempo, meter, or mode
  3. Contrapuntal treatments like imitation or canon
  4. Virtuosic displays of technical skill
• Showcased the composer's ability to manipulate and transform musical material in imaginative ways
• Popular variation forms included the passacaglia and chaconne, which used a repeating bass line or harmonic pattern as the foundation for elaborate variations

Techniques in notable harpsichord works

• Johann Jakob Froberger's toccatas:
  • Improvisatory style with contrasting sections
  • Use of rhetorical devices and expressive figurations (sighing motifs)
  • Influence of Italian keyboard music evident in virtuosic passages
• François Couperin's "Pièces de clavecin":
  • Refined and elegant style reflecting French Baroque aesthetics
  • Descriptive titles and programmatic elements evoke extra-musical ideas
  • Extensive use of ornamentation (trills, mordents, turns) for expressive nuance
• George Frideric Handel's "The Harmonious Blacksmith" variations:
  • Theme and variations based on a simple aria
  • Increasing complexity and technical demands with each successive variation
  • Showcase of the composer's inventiveness and virtuosity through diverse musical transformations
• Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas:
  • Blend of Italian and Spanish influences creates a unique compositional style
  • Exploration of the harpsichord's technical possibilities through innovative figurations
  • Use of hand-crossing, rapid repetitions, and wide leaps challenges the performer
  • Innovative harmonic progressions and modulations add richness and surprise