Bach J. S. - 15 Three-part Inventions, Vol. 1 - 3 Saxophones (atb)

SKU: PR.110418390

ISBN 9781491134603. UPC: 680160685158.

Eric Ewazen’s THREE INVENTIONS were inspired by Bach’s Two-part Inventions, yet they sound thoroughly like Ewazen. Composed for harpsichord (with a piano adaptation following later), Ewazen’s inventions maintain a pure “one note per hand” texture until their final chord, with strong-but-free imitative counterpoint between the two voices. While Ewazen may be best known for his wind music, he is a pianist himself, and composers’ works for their own instrument are a direct insight into how they write for their own performances. The piano adaptation of THREE INVENTIONS is also available as a separate publication.
THREE INVENTIONS was written for my dear friend Maria Rojas, who premiered the work on a faculty recital at Juilliard. Maria is both a pianist and a harpsichordist, and I first met her when she gave a demonstration of the harpsichord for the students in my theory classes.I’ve always been captivated by Bach’s series of Two-Part and Three-Part Inventions. With the Two-Part Inventions, I’m amazed how Bach could create such wonderful intricacy and counterpoint with only two voices. I consequently modeled my inventions after the counterpoint of Bach, involving the traditional contrapuntal devices he used: imitation, development, harmonic and modal shifts, fragmentation, and sequence, essentially creating a dialog between two completely equal voices conversing with each other!Bach wrote 15 Two-Part Inventions (as well as 15 Three-Part Inventions, not to mention the 48 preludes and fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier!), and that’s just the start of his voluminous repertoire for the keyboard! I was happy just to write three!!!Each of my inventions has a distinctive mood. The first is in a relaxed, yet cheerful C Major tonality (as a nod to Bach’s Invention No. 1 in C Major); the second is heartfelt and lyrical; and the third invention (involving a Gigue rhythm in the compound meter of 12/8) is energetic, and full of life and spontaneity. The third is primarily in a minor tonality, resulting in a feeling of drama, bringing the THREE INVENTIONS to an exciting finale.

SKU: BR.EB-6774

ISBN 9790004169735. 9 x 12 inches.

The pieces contained in this volume prepare the student for the playing in three and four parts that is required for the perfomance of the three-part inventions and the French suites. They are most appropriately incorporated into the teaching material after the two-part inventions have been studied. New technical problems, such as the passing under and over of fingers without using the thumb and the rapid substitution of fingers on one key, must here be solved. In order to make the fonn clear, the notation has been simplified as much as possible; the indications of fingering remain quite complicated enough, even though they cannot by far show all the possibilities. lt is necessary to adapt the fingerings to the mobility and span of the particular player's hands, whilst retaining the chosen phrasings to the best of his ability. Isolated notes which require a span exceeding the octave have been placed in brackets; the performance of the ornaments is shown in footnotes. As in the first volume, the missing dynamic and tempo indications must be supplied by the performer himself in accordance with the character of each piece. Especial attention must be paid in polyphonic music to the problem of phrasing and articulation. The editor's suggestions can be replaced by other solutions that make musical sense; these should then be written into the parts. An intensive preoccupation with polyphone structures can even at an early age increase the understanding and love of the musical work of art. Heinz Walter, Salzburg, Summer 1977.