Cont r a l t o( gui t a rI I I )
PREFACE ■
This arrangement of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, arose out of my work as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. While considering what repertoire I would use for the sight-reading lab, I realized that the ultimate pedagogical tool for developing fluency in all major and minor keys existed, but was in a way, inaccessible to guitarists. So, in an effort to move away from repertoire grounded in common guitar keys, I proposed to the faculty that I arrange Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier for use in the class. The result is what follows: the complete 24 preludes and fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, arranged for multiple guitars. The first issue that arose when arranging this work is that the range Bach uses exceeds that of the guitar: the highest pitch used is the “C” two ledger lines above the treble clef (just one half-step above our highest fret). The lowest pitch is the “C” two ledger lines below the bass clef staff (a major third below our open 6th string “E”). One solution is to transpose the entire work down by a small interval to accommodate the high “C”. The consequence is that greater numbers of bass notes would be cut off at the bottom, forcing even more octave transposition in the lowest voice. While guitarists are often required by circumstance to displace bass notes up an octave, doing so betrays the often unexamined assumption of octave equivalence. That is to say, arrangers tend to over-value the relationship between tones whose frequencies are related by powers of 2, and will therefore ascribe the quality of “sameness” to notes of the same pitch class in different octaves. As a consequence, arrangers routinely change the voicing of chords by compressing intervals of two octaves to one, a 10th to a 3rd, and so on. Unfortunately, this practice can seriously degrade the structure of Bach’s compositions as he expertly uses register as an irreducible component of his musical architecture. For an example, look at measure 73 of the C-sharp Minor fugue. This is the moment when the subject has its lowest-yet statement at the very bottom of the keyboard. Not only does this give a sensation of profound depth as that slow-moving subject weaves its way through the deepest notes of the fugue, but also, the wide range between the subject and the ever rising countersubject in the middle voice creates a more loudly perceived dynamic than if the subject were and octave higher. Unfortunately, the low C-sharp and B-sharp are below a standard guitar’s range, and if the Bass voice is transposed up an octave (as well as the Tenor to avoid voice crossing) the effect is pale and ineffective:
■ My solution to this problem of range was to make some adjustments to the guitars themselves.
By expanding the range of the ensemble, I was able to retain all of the pitches in the score without adjustment to the key or octave. In fact, the only change to the score I was forced to make was the repetition of certain notes in the B-flat Major Prelude. They were added to make this toccataesque work executable by a duo and are clearly marked by parenthesis. The number of guitars used in each piece varies from a minimum of two for the two-part works to a maximum of five for the pair of five-part fugues. For the Alto (guitar II), Contralto (guitar III), and Tenor parts (guitar IV), standard classical guitars are used without scordatura. These parts use the guitar’s conventional transposing treble clef in which all pitches sound one octave lower than written. For the Bass part (guitar V), several possibilities exist for the realization of the lowest pitches. Since the lowest note Bach uses in the Well-Tempered Clavier is the “C” two ledger lines below the bass clef staff, we must expand the range of the low end of the guitar by at least a major third. Here are my suggestions for achieving this: Option 1: Use a 7-string or 8-string guitar which has an added bass string tuned to a “B” a perfect fourth lower than the low E string. Option 2: Use a scordatura which brings the 5th string down a whole step to “G” and the 6th string down a major third to “C”. This will result in the three lowest strings having the same tuning as the lowest three strings of the ‘cello, and while scale fingerings will be awkward at first, it is technically feasible. Option 3: Use a baritone guitar (tuned a perfect 4th lower than a standard guitar). This will probably be the most difficult solution as guitarists who play baritone guitar rarely make the mental adjustment to the new tuning. The Soprano part (guitar I) requires a higher range than a standard guitar. For this, I have a somewhat complicated, yet highly effective solution. It can be achieved in four steps: Step 1: Remove the 6th (“E”) string from a standard classical guitar. Next, remove the 5th (“A”) string and place it in the 6ths string’s position, tuning it back up to “A”. Repeat this process for each of the remaining strings, moving it over one position and restringing it the place just vacated by the previous. You should end up with: 6th = “A” 5th = “D” 4th = “G” 3rd = “B” 2nd = “E”
Step 2: For the missing 1st string, use a length of “30 LB test” monofilament fishing line. It is materially identical to classical treble strings, though available in smaller diameters. The diameter of this “30 LB test” monofilament line follows the trajectory of dimensions from hard tension G, B, to E strings, and will thus make an appropriate new 1st string. Tune this string up to an “A” two octaves higher than your 6th string. At this point you should have:
6th = “A” 5th = “D” 4th = “G” 3rd = “B” 2nd = “E” 1st = “A”
Step 3: Tune your third string up a half-step so that the intervals between strings match that of a standard guitar. The result should be a guitar on which each string sounds exactly a perfect fourth higher than a normally strung guitar: 6th = “A” 5th = “D” 4th = “G” 3rd = “C” 2nd = “E” 1st = “A”
Step 4: Finally, place a high quality capo on the seventh fret. The result will be a guitar that sounds one octave higher than a standard guitar. For the Soprano part, I use an ordinary treble clef, not the guitarist’s transposing treble clef (note the lack of an “8” at the bottom of the clef). Because of this the Soprano part can be read “as usual”. The guitar sounding an octave higher compensates for the removal of the “8” from the bottom of the treble clef. The final tuning is: 6th = “E” 5th = “A” 4th = “D” 3rd = “G” 2nd = “B” 1st = “E”
■
As stated earlier, the number of guitars used in each piece varies according to how many voices are present in the contrapuntal texture. In the fugues, Bach specifies exactly how many voices are involved (a 2, a 3, a 4, a 5). The preludes, however, required that I use my own judgment to decide how many parts to use. Even so, Bach is usually quite consistent about how many voices each prelude has. The two following tables explain the distribution of parts.
Voice Distribution Table I # of voices
number of pieces
2
14 Preludes, 1 Fugue
3
6 Preludes, 11 Fugues
4
4 Preludes, 10 Fugues
5
0 Preludes, 2 Fugues
voices/parts used Soprano (guitar I) Soprano (guitar I) Soprano (guitar I) Soprano (guitar I)
Alto (guitar II) Alto (guitar II) Alto (guitar II)
Contralto (guitar III)
Tenor (guitar IV) Tenor (guitar IV)
Bass (guitar V) Bass (guitar V) Bass (guitar V) Bass (guitar V)
Voice Distribution Table II movement title Prelude 1, C Major Fugue 1, C Major Prelude 2, C Minor Fugue 2, C Minor Prelude 3, C-sharp Major Fugue 3, C-Sharp Major Prelude 4, C-sharp Minor Fugue 4, C-sharp Minor Prelude 5, D Major Fugue 5, D Major Prelude 6, D Minor Fugue 6, D Minor Prelude 7, E-flat Major Fugue 7, E-flat Major Prelude 8, E-flat Minor Fugue 8, D-sharp Minor Prelude 9, E Major Fugue 9, E Major Prelude 10, E Minor Fugue 10, E Minor Prelude 11, F Major Fugue 11, F Major Prelude 12, F Minor Fugue 12, F Minor Prelude 13, F-sharp Major Fugue 13, F-sharp Major Prelude 14, F-sharp Minor Fugue 14, F-sharp Minor Prelude 15, G Major Fugue 15, G Major Prelude 16, G Minor Fugue 16, G Minor Prelude 17, A-flat Major Fugue 17, A-flat Major Prelude 18, G-sharp Minor Fugue 18, G-sharp Minor Prelude 19, A Major Fugue 19, A Major Prelude 20, A Minor Fugue 20, A Minor Prelude 21, B-flat Major Fugue 21, B-flat Major Prelude 22, B-flat Minor Fugue 22, B-flat Minor Prelude 23, B Major Fugue 23, B Major Prelude 24, B Minor Fugue 24, B Minor
number of voices/parts 2 4 2 3 2 3 4 5 2 4 2 3 4 3 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 3 4 4 2 3 2 4 2 3 3 4 2 4 3 4 3 3 2 4 2 3 4 5 3 4 3 4
■Through this arrangement, I hope to provide a resource for fellow “learn-lusty� guitarists who
want to develop fluency in all Major and Minor keys. At the same time, these are magnificent pieces of music and can give profound satisfaction to both performers and their listeners. Finally, I hope that the wider tessitura of the ensemble will excite guitarists and perhaps open up the notion of expanding the traditional guitar ensemble from a group of identically pitched instruments to something more akin to the great chamber music configurations of other instrumental families.
Michael Kudirka
08.08.2008
„Das Wohltemperirte Clavier. oder Præludia, und Fugen durch alle Tone und Semitonia, So wohl tertiam majorem oder Ut Re Mi anlangend, als auch tertiam minorem oder Re Mi Fa betreffend. Zum Nutzen und Gebrauch der Lehr-begierigen Musicalischen Jugend, als auch derer in diesem studio schon habil seyenden besonderem ZeitVertreib auffgesetzet und verfertiget von Johann Sebastian Bach. p. t: HochFürstlich AnhaltCöthenischen CapelMeistern und Directore derer CammerMusiquen. Anno 1722.“
“The Well-Tempered Clavier or Preludes and Fugues through all the tones and semitones, including those with a major third or Ut Re Mi as well as those with a minor third or Re Mi Fa. For the profit and use of learn-lusty musical youth and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study composed and prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach. at present: Serene Highness, the Prince of Anhalt-Cöthen’s Capellmeister and director of His Chamber Music. Anno 1722.”
Fugue 4, C-sharp Minor
a 5.
13
20
31
40
46
53
57
61
69
74
82
89
100
106
111
Fugue 22, B-flat Minor
a 5.
15
22
29
37
43
48
60
54
66
71