Silvia Careddu, Bach, Flute Sonata in E minor

Sequence published on 2/17/21

Composer : Johann Sebastian Bach

Year of composition : 1724

Artistic period : Baroque

Musical category : Sonata

Academy : Academy Feb. 14 - Feb. 21, 2021

Master(s) : Silvia Careddu

Student : Yunmo Zhang

Date of recording : 10/22/21

Instrument(s) played :

Flute

"I think the most important key is to study the score and especially the bass line. This can give you somehow the phrasing, the fluent phrasing that we need, and the moments where we need a little bit of cadenza." Silvia Careddu

About the Flute class of Silvia Careddu on the Sonate en Mi mineur

Master class de Flûte en ligne, Silvia Careddu | Bach, Sonate

This master class is devoted to considering the problems of the flute technique and the peculiarities
of baroque music. A great emphasis in the work on the piece of Johann Sebastian Bach is placed on
the study of the full score, and not just the part of the solo instrument. Basso continuo is the starting
point in the building of the solo instrument phrasing, determining the harmonic sequence in which
the melodic line of the flute is built. Attention is drawn to the use of articulation that is characteristic
of baroque music only. The need for a rational approach to the distribution of the tempos along the
performance is indicated. The master emphasizes the importance of understanding what is necessary
for the music, and not what the performer wants to bring into it “from himself”.

What we learn in this Flute Master class

- To analyze the whole score, not only the solo part
- To study the styles of certain musical epoch for correct interpretation of its music
- To keep the horizontal and vertical content of score for the balance and form
- To depend on the articulation on musical phrasing and melodic tendency
- To distribute the tempos within hard and easy fragments of the piece
- To depend every performance action on music but not on personal feeling.

About Johann Sebastian Bach's work

Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites and Brandenburg Concertos; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival, he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music.

Sonata in E minor for flute and basso continuo by J. S. Bach (BWV 1034) is a sonata in four movements: Adagio ma non tanto, Allegro, Andante. Allegro. The basso continuo can be provided by a variety of instruments. For example, incomplete Bach recordings, Stephen Preston on Brilliant Classics (originally recorded by CRD UK) is accompanied by harpsichord and viola da gamba while on Hänssler Classic Jean-Claude Gérard is accompanied by piano and bassoon. The piece is largely believed to have been written during Bach's Cöthen period (1717–23) when he was employed as Capellmeister for Prince Leopold of Cöthen. However, there is some evidence that this may have been written slightly later, after Bach's move to Leipzig.