THE PRESENT TRANSCRIPTION FOR GUITAR

The process of transcription of a piece like Bach's Chaconne is a complex process. From understanding the historical and musicological background to having a secure grasp of analytical details, a transcription has to undergo revision after revision to satisfy the ultimate stage, the performance. Thus, the present transcription for guitar is far for being a final one. Indeed, it is just the seed for a satisfactory product.

Based mainly on the urtext and the manuscript, this transcription intends to keep close to Bach 's music without being far from the guitar idiom. Thus, by considering the Chaconne as abstract music this transcription becomes more than a simple translation: it becomes a truly piece of music in the guitar.

Further support for this idea comes from the words of Rosalyn Tureck: "In Bach's music, the form and structure is of so abstract a nature on every level that it is not dependent on its costume of sonorities. Insistence on the employment of instruments of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries reduces the work of so universal a genius to a period piece. [? In Bach everything that the music is comes first, the sonorities are and accessory." (*20)
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(*20) ; Rosalyn Tureck, An Introduction to the Performance of Bach. (London: Oxford University Press), 11.


The basic techniques pertain to the following areas:

Harmony and Counterpoint:
Fill-in notes in chords.
Implied harmony.
Octavation and counterpoint.
Introduced bass lines from tetrachord formul?

Rhythm:
Rhythmic pulse and the sarabande pattern.
The chaconne second beat.
Subsidiary rhythmic patterns and implied polyphony.
Odd rhythmic grouping.

Dynamics:
The Baroque music writing tradition.
The arch form.

Articulations:
The manuscript as a source.
Role of slurs.

Tempo:
The Baroque tradition.
Performance practice.


Harmony and Counterpoint

Changes from the original were made to fit the tessitura and idiom of the guitar while trying to be faithful to the music itself. Although the music was transposed an octave down, the lower and middle registers of the guitar would be virtually untouched by the original music alone. Thus, important harmonic points were filled considering elemental rules of voice leading. Such is the case in measures 197~198:

Ex. 11




In this example the three voice texture that is the maximum possible in the violin is expanded to six since this passage is part of the climatic section in Part II, thus adding more sound within the guitar dynamics.

Sometimes the voice leading does not allow for this type of fill-in notes. The simpler recourse is octavation from the original music. In measure 38 (Ex. 12), the original first note is c#, which is brought down to the lower voice in order to continue with the introduced bass line (see next paragraph). This procedure created a situation in which if the place of this note in the upper line is not filled, we encounter register problems. On the other hand, if the c# is doubled, we find an unsatisfactory counterpoint situation. The solution is, then, to fill the place with a note from the harmony, in this case a.

Ex. 12




Introduced bass line is that which is not present in the original but is nonetheless implied by the harmony. Its function is melodic and rhythmic. In general, the tetrachord formul?are the source for these bass lines, which follow a rhythmic pattern used by Bach in the Chaconne. The most used pattern is the sarabande rhythm. The following example, from variation 4 (mm. 33) shows this process.

Ex. 13




In the original, the type b tetrachord in the lower voice (see Ex. 5, page ) is presented by the last eighth note of the first three measures in this example. However, by anticipating the last eighth note of the measure over the second beat we have the sarabande rhythm. The fill-in notes on the tenor voice create resolutions of the tritone over the downbeat and connect the register 32 between the upper and lower voices. This tenor voice then connects with f in measure four, a note that is present in the original.

Another technique is that of extrapolation. This occurs between variation 6 (from measure 49 to measure 51) and variation 8 (from measure 65 to measure 68). In variation 6, the tetrachord in the lower voice in the original takes the tenor voice in the transcription, while notes taken from variation 8 fill the bass (within squares in the example). The purpose of this extrapolation is to solve a technical problem inherent to the guitar idiom. The thirds in the
original in variation 8 cannot 'speak?properly due to the small rhythmic values and the register in which they are presented in the guitar. Since variations 6 and 8 share the same harmonic progression, it is proper to extrapolate these notes.

Ex. 14





Rhythm

Although in the original the sarabande rhythm disappears from the foreground in measure 24, it is quite latent over the whole piece. This is a very important consideration for a transcription and subsequent performance. The inherent polyphonic texture and implied harmony of some of the passages gives enough support for this idea. One instance is the variation 6 again. If we divide the original line into independent voices, there is an upbeat eight-note which is characteristic of the sarabande rhythm.

Ex. 15



It is worth to point out that the sarabande rhythm is not always in the same rhythmic level than the beginning. Different levels are implied in the original music as well as in introduced bass line (such is the case in the first arpeggio passage, mm. 89~91):

Original sarabande rhythm:



Diminution (variations 1 and 2, mm.9~24):



Transformed augmentation (variation 11, mm. 89~91):



The augmentation of the sarabande rhythm would not be exact given the meter of the piece. However, the quarter note in the upbeat provides a similar momentum to the following beat. It is also worth noting that the present pattern inverts the one given by the second beat pattern in the Chaconne.

Although the second beat pattern that begins the Chaconne is not always present, it is a concern where to locate the places in which it is implied. In the first arpeggio passage, it is very easy to overlook the beginning of a new variation due to the static rhythmic pattern. However, a closer study will show the right places.

In analyzing the implied polyphony, we can find subsidiary rhythmic patterns that are carried along the piece. In identifying these patterns, the performer is able to discriminate rhythmic postings that help to maintain the flow of the music. The most important is a four-note pattern that consists of three upbeat sixteenth notes resolving in the following downbeat. One of the clearest examples is variation 10 (m. 77): Here, this subsidiary pattern becomes an essential part of the variation as one follows the other delineating the descending tetrachord.

Ex. 16



Another rhythmic device used by Bach is that of odd grouping, which is extremely important to take into account during the process of fingering. Patterns like that of variation 10, mm. 81~83 are excellent examples. The line of continuous sixteenth notes is broken in small cells like thus: 1+2+2+2+2+3. By doing this, Bach avoids repetition and predictability.

Even more, this same variation is one of the most interesting harmonic passages in the whole piece: the upper voice over the descending tetrachord delineates a series of diminished chords, a brilliant way to present all twelve notes.

Ex. 17




Dynamics

Baroque composers, who where in general the performers of their own works, relied on performance practice for interpretation of their work. Thus, indications like tempo, dynamics, and ornaments were left to the performer for realization, following the few indications by the composer, and what the experience of music has taught. (*21)
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(*21) ; Robert Donington. A Performer's Guide to Baroque Music. (New York: Scribner, 1973).


In this sense and unlike music of later periods, the score was just the blueprint of the final product. In our case as modern musicians, however, we have lost these traditions, although musicologists have brought to light a fair number of them. In consequence, the main source of interpretation is the manuscript itself or the earliest printed editions.

Regarding dynamics fluctuation, Robert Donington writes: "It is desirable, on the whole, to preconcert the overall scheme, but to feel one's way through the finer nuances. It is most often the harmony, which is the best guide to the finer nuances whereas the melodic line is most often indicative on a rather larger scale. Rising dynamically to the peak of an ascending phrase, and falling away from it again as the melody descends, is one of the most natural of musical responses. This can often happen intuitively, within the yet larger planning (best preconcerted) of loud and soft passages." (*22) The Chaconne is an open book in this regard. In order to arrange a preconcerted performance of the piece, the inherent arch form of the overall architecture should be taken into account (see page 25). However, smaller architectural levels are the ones that insure the momentum of the performance and provide evident dynamic flow.

Baroque composers regarded phrases as being "strong?(S) or "weak?(W), usually pairing them.(*23) Considering this concept is extremely helpful to set the different strata of dynamics. Per example, the statement of the theme can be divided into strong and weak cells in many different levels. In the first architectural level, the antecedent is strong and the consequent is weak. Within each sub-phrase, the first seven beats are strong and the rest weak, and so on.
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22 Ibid., 293.
23 Ibid.


Ex. 18





Articulations

Bach provides very few types of articulation in his work. Long and short slurs are, however, the most frequently found. In the Chaconne, Bach provides long slurs to underline a given melodic line, thus indicating a specific phrase. On the other hand, short slurs are more related to violin technique as they indicate bowing and grouping of small melodic cells. Both indicate how the given line has to be articulated and grouped by indicating the accented note.

Long slurs help to understand the direction of specific runs, like those of measures 72~73. They do not appear in the present transcription in order to avoid confusion. However, the manuscript or the urtext should be studied in order to realize the proper phrasing. By accenting the first note of every group the basic quarter-note pulse can be supported, thus obtaining a parallel effect in the guitar to that of the violin.

Ex. 19






Note that in measure 73 Bach does not write a slur. It indicates a change of affekt since it is a new variation. The change is signed by the low d in the bass and change of dynamics.

It is not always possible to translate literally small slurs written for the violin into the guitar. However, they serve as an important guide for articulation in the guitar. A similar directionality should be attained.

Bach does not indicate slurring in some instances. However, slurs were included in the transcription in order to give rhythmic momentum to certain motivic cells.

Ex. 20




Tempo

Bach does not provide a tempo markings for the Chaconne. Nevertheless, sufficient historical data provides enough information to make decisions regarding tempo. Quantz assigns T=160 for the chaconne and T=80 for the sarabande. Quantz refers to the human pulse (80/min.) for his calculations.24 The chaconne tempo given by Quantz might be based in early chaconnes, however unrealistic, at least for Bach's Chaconne. A more proper tempo is one closer to the French sarabande.

Quantz himself points out in Essay (Berlin, 1752, XI, 15): "There are indeed various degrees of liveliness and sadness?[XII, 2] It is necessary [to take tempo] more from the content of the piece than from the [time] word?[XI, 13] The performance should be easy and flexible 꿾ithout stiffness and constraint.?5 C. P. E. Bach in Essay (1753, III, 10) writes: "The tempo of a piece?is derived from its general mood together with the fastest notes and passages which it includes. Proper attention to these considerations will prevent an allegro from being hurried and an adagio from being dragged." (*26)

Scholars suggest those multisectional pieces like chaconnes, toccatas, passacailles, etc. "may require different tempos to suit the different characters of successive sections.?7 However, a multiplicity of tempos might sound unclear and restless. In the case of Bach's Chaconne, an overall steady tempo is more suitable to the structure of the piece and rhythmic proportions
among the variations. The fastest passages from variations such as 8, 9, 10, and the arpeggio passage from measure 89 set the limits of how fast the Chaconne can be performed. On the other hand, the two main affekts of the piece (Part II contrasting Parts I and III) determine the average tempo: If too fast, Part II will lack the proper calmness inherent in the music; if too slow, the proportions between phrases and their corresponding diminution can be lost. Thus, a band of tempos ranging from T=60 to T=80 could be suitable for Bach's Chaconne.
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24 Robert Donington. Baroque Music: Style and Performance: A Handbook. (New York: Norton, 1982), 19.
25 Robert Donington, Op. cited, 248.
26 Ibid., 249.
27 Ibid., 250.



THE SCORE

This score of the transcription for guitar of Bach's Chaconne is the product of the studies above. Some changes to the original music, however, where made according to personal taste, and they do not mean to be definite. The fingerings proposed here are the ones that best fit my own current technique. They are also expected to evolve into more sophisticated fingerings that
would help to convey the content in a deeper musical way.

There are some features worth mention:

Unlike the original autograph, most of the notes within harmonies do not have individual stems. This is due to laying-out reasons, since it would be cumbersome to read. For a guide to the polyphonic texture and direction of the voices, see the manuscript after this section.

The arpeggio passage in variations 11 to 14 shows only one pattern, similar to the Segovia version. The extension over the dominant of variation 27 features the same technique used by Narciso Yepes as it anticipates the sixteenth-note triplets by four measures (see page 17).

In this transcription, there are some indications that are not standard in guitar music:

           IV5    Bar on the fourth fret up to the fifth string.
           III0    Hinge-bar on the third fret.



Ex. - Chaconne 전체 악보




THE MANUSCRIPT

Following there is a copy of J. S. Bach autograph of the Chaconne, taken from the manuscript of the works for solo violin.

Several features are worth noting: Bach uses a separate stem for each note, rather than writing simultaneous notes on a single stem thus reflecting the polyphonic nature of the music.

His choices of stem directions might be influenced by an overriding extra-musical consideration: the closeness of the staves, which Bach himself ruled with a five-prong pen. (*1)

At the bottom of each right-hand page are the instructions V[olti] S[?ito]: volti presto ( "turn immediately; turn quickly").

In Part II, Bach follows the custom of his day in writing the key signature of D major with two f#, one for each location on the staff where the altered note occurs. Other baroque conventions of notation include: connected, rather than separate, ledger lines in series of notes above or below the staff; use of the so-called French violin clef (a G clef centered on the bottom line of the staff, instead of the second line) for passages lying in the extreme upper register of the instrument; an enforcement of accidentals only for the notes next to which they are written, or for immediate repetitions of such notes, rather than for an entire measure. (*2)

Note on the PDF file: The manuscript is not included in this file for obvious reasons of space in the server. Carlevaro's transcription of the Chaconne has this manuscript included.
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(*1) ; Jon F Eiche, "History of the Arrangements of Bach's Chaconne,?in The Bach Chaconne for Solo Violin,
A Collection of Views.

(*2) ; Ibid.