BAIN MUSC 726C
The Counterpoint of J.S. Bach
Topics (At a Glance)
Below you will find a listing of the main
topics covered in this course along with links to articles in Britannica
Academic {BA},
the Harvard Dictionary of Music {HD},
and Grove Music Online {Grove}.
In addition to the assigned course readings
(available in Blackboard), I have designed this brief summer course around
the following three contemporary tonal counterpoint textbooks (available
on reserve in the Music Library):
1. Benjamin, The Craft of Tonal
Counterpoint (Benjamin 2003)
-*
2. Gauldin, A Practical Approach to Eighteenth-Century Counterpoint
(Gauldin 2013)
3. Kennan, Counterpoint, 4th ed. (Kennan
1999)
* - Primary reference text
Britannica Academic is available to
all South Carolinians via Discus.
The USC Music Library provides students with free electronic access to the
Harvard Dictionary of Music and Grove Music Online. The
USC Music Library provides e-access to Benjamin 2003 via EBSCOhost {EH}
and ProQuest Ebook
Central. As such, we will use Benjamin 2003 as our primary
reference. Direct links to relevant chapters in Benjamin 2003 are provided
via the EH links below.
- Counterpoint & Harmony
- Counterpoint {BA}
- Reading:
- Species Counterpoint {HD;
Grove}
(Gauldin 2004)
- Thoroughbass {BA;
HD;
Grove}
- Harmony {BA;
HD;
Grove}
- Reading:
- Appendix 1: Harmony {EH}
(Benjamin 2003: Appendix 1)
- Chorale {BA;
HD;
Grove}
- For study:
- Dahn, The Four-Part Chorales of J.S. Bach {Dahn
2021}
- Canon {BA;
HD;
Grove}
- Reading:
- Imitation; Canon {EBSCOhost}
(Benjamin 2003: Ch. 6)
- See also: Gauldin
2013, Ch. 10 & 16; Kennan
1999, Ch. 8;
Historical clefs {WP}
- For study:
- Canons: BWV 1072-1078; BWV 1086; BWV 1079; BWV 988; BWV 1087
- Invention {HD;
Grove}
- Reading:
- The Two-Voice Invention {EBSCOhost}
(Benjamin 2003: Ch. 7)
- See also: Gauldin 2013, Ch. 10
and Kennan 1999, Ch. 10
- For study:
- Terms:
- Countertheme (CT), or countermotive
- Motivic manipulation (see Gauldin
2013, p. 26)
- Restatement in a different key
- Invertible counterpoint {HD;
Grove}
- Double counterpoint
- Triple counterpoint
- Reading:
- Double (Invertible) Counterpoint {EH}
(Benjamin 2003: Ch. 5)
See also: Gauldin 2013: Ch. 9
& 15 and Kennan
1999: Ch. 9
- Fugue {BA;
HD;
Grove}
- Reading:
- Fugue I {EH}
(Benjamin 2003: Ch. 10)
- Fugue II {EH}
(Benjamin 2003: Ch. 11}
- See also: Gauldin 2013: Ch. 17
& 20 and Kennan 1999:
Ch. 15-17
- Terms:
- The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (1722)
- EXPOSITION
- Subject (S)
- Head motive, tail motive, and link
- Order of entries, e.g., SAS; 213
- Countersubject (CS), or free counterpoint
- Modified entry, incomplete entry, and false entry
- Final entry
- See also: Contrapuntal Devices (above)
- Stretto, overlapped theme entries
- Coda/codetta, or concluding section
- Advanced Topics:
- Counter-exposition
- Multiple subjects
- Double fugue
- Triple fugue
- Multiple countersubjects
- For study:
- The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (1722)
- The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II (c1742)
- The Musical Offering, BWV 1079 (1747)
- The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (1751)
Technical note
The Chrome
browser is recommended for accessing USC electronic resources.
Please note that in addition to a USC network ID and password, VPN
is required to access some resources from off-campus.
Links
Smith,
The Fugues of the Well-Tempered
Clavier (1996), at the
Digital Bach archive {
YouTube
Channel}
References
Benjamin, Thomas. 2003.
The Craft of
Tonal Counterpoint, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge {
GB;
Full text:
Ebook
Central;
EBSCOhost}
Gauldin, Robert. 2004. "An Introduction to
Species Counterpoint," in Harmonic Practice in Tonal Music, 2nd
ed. New York: Norton, pp. A14-25. {GBd}
Gauldin,
Robert. A
Practical Approach to 18th Century Counterpoint. Long Grove, IL:
Waveland Press, 2013/1995). {GB1;
Table of Contents;
GB2}
Kennan, Kent. 1999. Counterpoint,
4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. {GBd;
3rd ed.: Archive.org}
Updated: November 22, 2023
Reginald
Bain | University of South Carolina
| School of Music
https://reginaldbain/vc/musc726c/