Barnett, Gregory2020-12-042021-06-012020-122020-12-04December 2Herd, Geoffrey. "The Pedagogical Relevance of the Historical Precedents to Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas." (2020) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/109613">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/109613</a>.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/109613This paper demonstrates the pedagogical relevance of technical and stylistic precedents that influenced Bach in his composition of the Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin. By preemptively studying these musical precursors, students develop the needed technical foundation and stylistic awareness to successfully learn and perform the Sonatas and Partitas. This paper identifies three primary influences that impact the technical demands of the Sonatas and Partitas and that have continued pedagogical relevance today: (1) Works by Marin Marais for the viola da gamba. The work of Marais, which exemplifies the chordal-melodic style outlined in Jean Rousseau’s Traité de la viole, offered a precedent and model to Bach in his conception of the violin as a polyphonic instrument. Rousseau argued for the need to maintain a melodious quality even when composing with multiple-stops. Similarly to Marais, Bach incorporated Rousseau’s ideals in composing polyphonically for the violin. The resulting chordal-melodic texture of the Sonatas and Partitas represents an innovation in violin music of the early 18th century. Understanding Bach’s stylistic aims highlights the technical skills necessary to compellingly perform Bach’s chordal-melodic texture on the violin. (2) The work of 17th- and early 18th-century German composers for the violin. The violin music of 17th-century German composers incorporated an array of virtuosic techniques including agile, rapid passagework, dexterous string crossings, and dense passages of multiple-stops. The work of Heinrich von Biber (1644-1704), Johann Jakob Walther (c.1650-1717), and Johann Paul Westhoff (1656-1705) exemplifies the violin techniques used by German-speaking composers of that era. Today, the music of these German violinist-composers is glaringly omitted from pedagogical methods despite its broad applicability to the teaching of the Sonatas and Partitas (3) Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) and Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) were the reigning violinist-composers in Italy in the late 17th- and early 18th-centuries. The music of both of these composers deeply impacted Bach’s writing in the Sonatas and Partitas. In modern violin pedagogy, Corelli’s and Vivaldi’s music is primarily studied by beginner- and intermediate-level violinists. However, the work of both these Italian violinist-composers offers important training opportunities for the technical challenges of the Sonatas and Partitas.application/pdfengCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.BachSonatas and PartitasPrecursorsPedagogyViolinMarin MaraisViola da GambaThesis2020-12-04