J.S.Bach’s Invention 10 BWV 781 in an arrangement for violin & viola in the original key of G is a challenging invention to play simply from how the players decide to articulate the notes. The realisation plays back at 96 dotted quarter (crotchet) note beats to the minute. A number of musical shapes based on chords feature strongly in this movement. Score detail is generally not in place on Bach scores although it is necessary for instrumentalists to have a clear intention of how the music is to be played. Many play the invention articulating the eighth note or quavers staccato while others play the movement with a legato touch. The former approach requires a lightness of touch and can be a challenging to play because of the tension it created in the hands and wrist. The music editor’s view is that a combination of articulations should feature in a performance with eighth or quaver notes played with a staccato touch and longer notes legato. Certainly a lightness in the playing needs to prevail. Players should listen to performances of this invention on streaming media to understand the different approaches that players have when performing this movement. Remember also that movements cannot be played quickly until they be played slowly! In the video score, ornaments are indicated by symbols but do not sound in the playback. For instrumentalists wishing to incorporate ornamentation into their performances refer to the piano realisation featured on our YouTube channel which has the ornamentation written out exactly as the music editor suggests they should be played. https://youtu.be/xuQK5i2lf44 Ornamentation is an aspect of performance that invites different and frequently contrasting interpretations. Bach’s music belongs to the baroque era and whilst the composer himself was quite clear about the ornaments he used and how they should be played later editors of his music have often added to original intentions. The inventions are also probably best studied in the first instance without ornaments in place. An additional factor is that the intended instrument on which the inventions were played, the harpsichord, is one that does not feature sustained sounds. Long notes as such require some sort of addition, hence the need for ornamentation. Another view or approach to ornamentation is that apart from adding to the music they should have a sense of being improvised. The music editor has chosen not to double ornaments where they occur in both voices simply because it lessens the contrast in the parts. Accompaniments are in place allowing string players to participate in ensemble activities as part of practice routines. The violin sounds on one side of the stereo channel and the viola on the other. The accompaniment tracks play back at 72, 76, 80, 84, 88, 92, 96 100 104 and 108 dotted quarter note (crotchet) beats per minute. There is two bar count in /click track at the beginning of the accompaniment tracks. There are three dotted quarter or crotchet beats to the bar indicated by the 9/8 time signature. Should more accompaniments be required at either slower or faster tempi please advise the PlentyMusic office. Whilst the ornaments are indicated in the sheet music score they do not sound in the accompaniment scores. For those intending to play the ornaments refer to the piano sheet music video on our YouTube channel. In this score the ornaments have been written out as they should be played. https://youtu.be/xuQK5i2lf44 The Bach Inventions are generally considered to be intermediate level movements when played on a keyboard instrument. The principle behind J. S. Bach’s two part inventions is to take a musical idea or motive and then process it following the rules of good contrapuntal writing using the compositional processes of the baroque and at the same time referencing the closely related keys in the key system. Inversion, repetition, sequence, transposition, rhythmic augmentation and diminution amongst processes are evident in Bach’s inventions as most other music of the baroque period. J. S. Bach composed 15 Inventions in a collection dating from 1723 intended to introduce keyboard players to composition techniques of the baroque. They are excellent pieces for developing a sound and secure technique.
