This paper presents an analysis of the two Chromatic Fantasy recordings composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, and produced in the 18 th century by Trevor Pinnock and Andrew Lawrence-King. Several similarities and differences characterize them. Johann Sebastian Bach worked on recording 1, while Trevor Pinnock and Andrew Lawrence-King worked on record 2. Evidently, recording 1 is performed on harpsichord, which is played on a keyboard type of instrument.
The strings of the harpsichord are set in vibration when plucked. The instrument has very elegant and produces a very powerful sound, which results in a very precise and accurate sounding (Moore, 2013). The harpsichord produces a more striking sound when compared to a piano. On the other hand, Recording 1 is conducted on the harp, a musical instrument with strings plucked using fingers. The instrument produces a gentle, mellow, and the sound is quite reverberating. However, the distinction between the two instruments creates a major variation in how the pieces sound. For instance, the keyboard instrument and the plucked string instrument are characterized by different timber, which is unique to each instrument.
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Recording 1 and Recording 2 have different and unique tempos. For instance, Recording 2 begins with a much slower and relaxed tempo, which is somehow closer to the adagio tempo. Contrarily, Recording 2 is very different and begins with a very fast and strong tempo. Besides, Recording 2 has a very strong tempo which is closer to allegro tempo in music. Consequently, the difference in speed of Recording 1 and Recording 2 depicts a variation to the entire impact of the sounds produced by the two instruments. Recording 1 has a very different mood compared to Recording 2. The mood is upbeat, lively, and energetic sound because the tempo is very fast. Recording 2 has a slower tempo, resulting in a more relaxed, gentle, and somber mood, which is not dismal—moreover, Recording 1 displays a lot of musical runs and fast notes. Also, Recording 1 has a faster tempo, which makes it very powerful and dramatic. Recording 2 has similar runs but is played much slower. It is also drawn out, which emphasizes the musical piece's attractiveness and creates a very attractive sound. The tempo and varying speeds of the two pieces coupled with the runs' varying speed have a drastic effect on the overall impact created by the sounds.
When creating the musical pieces, dynamics, articulation, and rhythms play a fundamental role in the production of the two sounds. The two recordings have strong and powerful dynamics which add a lot to the pieces. Recording 2 has a legato sounding, which causes a relaxed and calming mood of the musical piece with a smooth overall performance. Similarly, Recording 1 has a smooth sounding, but the notes sound much more accented and powerful. This is a characteristic of the musical piece that produces a prominent and drastic crescendo in the entire composition. This contributes to how to string and how powerful the musical version is, and how it appears dramatic. Recording 2 has several changes in volume that correspond to the changes in the tempo. As the musical piece gets softer, it gets slower, louder, then faster. These emphasize the mood created by each piece as lively and accentuated, as well as relaxing and smooth. Dynamics, articulation, and rhythms play a fundamental role in how musical compositions sound.
Ornamentation is an important factor that is prominent in both recordings since they play the same notes and rhythms. Recording 1 is characterized by a faster tempo with more accented articulation and powerful dynamics. However, less of this is written into the music since it is the composer's role to make a decision personally (Kerman, 2015). Recording 2 has a much slower tempo with more legato. It is smooth and features drawn-out dynamics. These features create different versions of ornamentation and created a major difference in both pieces' overall sound and how the audience perceives them.
Recording 1 and Recording 2 are similar in the sense that both of them are solo pieces. However, the instruments used in the two pieces have very different tones and timbers, which contribute to the pieces' overall mood (Clapper, 2018). Therefore, all the musical elements mentioned contribute to the mood of the pieces when used together. Recording 1 is characterized by a fiery and fierce mood, making it energetic because the tempo is faster, speed of the runs, volume manipulation, accented legato, and the harpsichord itself. This is produced by striking the instrument, which produces a very energetic and powerful sound. Recording 2 has several differences since the mood is more graceful, dreamy, and ethereal (McCoy,2009). The musical elements include a slower tempo and emphasized and drawn musical runs, crescendos, decrescendos, legato coupled with a very smooth sound (Medňanský, 2020). The harp produces a gentle, strong, and beautiful sound. Different musical elements cause differences in the moods between the two pieces. However, the musical elements are specific to each piece as a result of documentation (Labadorf, 2014). This emphasizes how the two pieces of music can be, due to the lack of direction in the music, leading the performer to have a lot of freedom.
Overall, I prefer Recoding 1 since it has an energetic melody and a lot of fun. But I like recording 1 because it is appealing, pretty and beautiful. I also loved the intense composition of the harpsichord; it was a very important musical instrument. The dynamics of recording 1 are very inspirational, quite interesting. Both recordings are very enjoyable and very interesting. I prefer my colleagues to listen to both pieces.
References
Clapper, L. M. (2018). Expressions of Integrity: Baroque Flute Players Reflect on Early Music. http://fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fsu%3A647208
Kerman, J. (2015). 7. Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903. In The Art of Fugue (pp. 47-59). University of California Press. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520962590-010.
Labadorf, T. A. (2014). A New Transcription and Performance Interpretation of JS Bach's Chromatic Fantasy BWV 903 for Unaccompanied Clarinet. Retrieved from https://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=6577&context=dissertations.
McCoy, D. (2009). Bach on the harpsichord. Early Music , 37 (3), 511-513. https://doi.org/10.1093/em/cap060.
Medňanský, K. (2020). 1. Period Influence on the Work of Johann Sebastian Bach. Review of Artistic Education , 19 (1), 1-9. Retrieved from https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/rae/19/1/article-p1.xml.
Moore, T. (2013). The Sonatas and Partitas; Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue. Early Music America , 19 (4), 20. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/d79c18b75943a9b388d5848c82985e86/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=28725.
