All this Invention's basic materials are set out in the
first couple of measures; as the bottom part trots up
and down a stair-step figure, the top part plays a tiny
motif consisting of a trill and an unornamented note,
repeated once and creating a skipping rhythm. The top
then follows this with a more extended trill before
taking up the stair-step material, whereupon the bottom
has a go at what the top has accomplished so far. Soon
that third trill is shed, and the full melody, which
passes bac...(+)
All this Invention's basic materials are set out in the
first couple of measures; as the bottom part trots up
and down a stair-step figure, the top part plays a tiny
motif consisting of a trill and an unornamented note,
repeated once and creating a skipping rhythm. The top
then follows this with a more extended trill before
taking up the stair-step material, whereupon the bottom
has a go at what the top has accomplished so far. Soon
that third trill is shed, and the full melody, which
passes back and forth between the parts, is assembled
by joining the stair-step pattern to the initial pair
of skipping trills. And so it continues, the two lines
imitating one another but not with absolute strictness.
The material of greatest melodic interest finally
settles into the top part, with the bottom part
ultimately relegated to accompaniment mode for the
final measures.
Although originally composed for Harpsichord, I created
this arrangement for Viola Duet.
PARTITION