Probstück 13 · English translation

Thirteenth Probstück Annotations. §. 1. Everything in nature desires pleasant variation and never-ending diversion. But no other science embodies this to a greater extent than music. Now I cannot tell, whether for this reason the academies in Great Britain came up with giving a strangely colourful, ornamented and multicoloured robe like the one of Joseph to their doctors and professors of music but not to all the other graduates. But in this school it was necessary to do a little variation in the present piece after having covered quite a distance of troublesome keys. §. 2. Although one could have put everything neatly in a 9/8 signature and written an "Allegro" above, it cannot do harm to write a 9/16 signature in order to do a favour for those who have perhaps never seen it, or at least seldomly, and who are therefore slightly scared when encountering it. They say that one shall not unnecessarily augment or double what belongs to a science. That old, experienced musician did not say wrongly that it is a great folly to turn a melody that can be written in simple and plain notes dubious by using obscure signatures, as the Cantor of Schwaͤbisch Hall, mister Majer wisely says in his Hodego Musico, p. 28. Yet one has to use quick signatures and quick notes in order to correctly express quick music, so that signature and music do match. Secondly one must not reject the fashion in certain pieces, which otherwise is called to swim against the stream. And (3) no obscure signatures will occur here.The signatures 2/4, 2/8 and 2 are not obscure at all but very simple and natural and those who think one could use instead the common C alone, are wrong, they have no experience and they do not know how to differentiate the movements. The appearance of a musical piece is often seductive. Just as some thorough-bass appears to be simple while it is not, there are as well sometimes basses that appear colourful while indeed not being dangerous: this is one of them. §. 3. The eleventh measure has to mean something since the bass is resting. Meanwhile something can go on in the right hand, for example in this imitative way: Which one also should be told in the 13th measure. §. 4. From the nineteenth measure until the first repetition sign the bass indicates already that the right hand can make use of the bass' preceding progressions, about which to lose more words is not necessary. §. 5. Since in the eighth measure of the second section the bass suggests an alternation, one has to force the right hand to do a little syncopation once more. In order that it does not happen always in only one way, one can do it in one measure from below and in the other from above and alternate it measure-wise, just like in the bass itself, as you can clearly see from the following example: §. 6. The tenth and eleventh measure can be treated according to the previous instruction. But in the twelfth one has to take care with all the chords, firstly, that the interval does not make a third, which is too narrow for the arpeggiation, as already mentioned. Secondly one needs to take care that the three-part harmony is perfect in all regards since, when both these points are observed, it cannot follow otherwise than that the syncopation from below always starts with the chord's fifth, while the one from above starts with the third. Both those types are called Syzygiam remotam, meaning that the notes of a chord are somewhat more apart. But when two chords follow each other step-wise, up- or downwards, and both begin with fifths, it would be a mistake. For that reason the described alternation is the means of choice in order to avoid mistakes. Even though there are no consecutive chords in step-wise motion in this test piece, I will demonstrate this case and illustrate once more what it means to alternate in the fifth and the third. §. 7. When the bass has a clause like in the 13th and 14th measure that consists of two measures before being repeated, the alternation is not done measure-wise but in two measures or more depending on the length of the motive. On the two consecutively jumping chords in the 27th measure one has to alternate. §. 8. From measure 28 until the end both hands should do a simultaneous arpeggiation, which has a great effect, when beginning at the right place. It happens in the following way. The eight last bars are fully written out here: §. 9. Although this arpeggio appears to be in two voices, it is basically in four voices and in a quick tempo it sounds even more full than normally eight voices as straight-forward and plain chords. But one shall never play it except where the bass is alone or where the music is strong.