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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 9 page research paper that examines counterpoint and Bach's contrapuntal technique. The writer discusses various contrapuntal techniques and offers examples of how these were used by Bach. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
9 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khconbac.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
"counterpoint" is taken from the Latin and means "note against note" (What is Counterpoint?). It is the art of combining individual melodic voices with each other to form a harmonious
whole (What is Counterpoint?). (FYI: The adjective form of the noun "counterpoint" is "contrapuntal"). The following examination of Bachs contrapuntal technique focuses on three works, BWV 10; BWV 733
and BWV 322. However, before examining these works, it is instructive to understand how counter-point was the culmination of a long musical evolution. All music up to roughly a thousand
years ago was monophonic (Machlis 241). Even today, the music of the Orient, i.e. China, Japan, India, Java, and the Arab nations is, for the most part, monophonic. A melody
line may be accompanied by percussion or rhythm instruments, but it does not have the depth that is provided by harmony. When two or more melodic liens are combined, the
result is polyphonic music (Machlis 241). Polyphonic music derives its expressive ability from the interplay between several lines of music. Polyphonic texture is created through the use of counterpoint (Machlis
242). Counterpoint has been described as the "art and science of combining in a single texture two or more simultaneous melodic lines, each with a rhythmic life of its own"
(Machlis 242). A form of counterpoint is music that has a homophonic texture. This is when a single melody line accompanied by chords. This form of texture is very
familiar as this is the form used by most popular music. In this form a "single voice takes over the melodic interest while the accompanying voices surrender their individuality and
become blocks of harmony" (Machlis 242). This is the form of texture that can be seen with the first Bach piece to be analyzed, BWV 322. In this piece,
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