Keyboard Sonata in A major, Wq. 56/6

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Musical Terms (6)

• Bebung German
  A vibrato-like effect unique to the clavichord, produced by varying the pressure on a held key. CPE Bach notated it with a slur and dots. On modern piano it cannot be reproduced, but a slight expressive weight on sustained notes evokes its spirit.
  Where Bebung is notated, sustain the key with slightly varying arm weight to convey the effect conceptually; on piano, consider a gentle dynamic swell on sustained pitches.
• con tenerezza Italian
  With tenderness — a characteristic expressive marking in CPE Bach's slow movements, calling for a singing, intimate tone quite different from the ornate surface of Baroque slow movements.
  A gentle, non-percussive touch is essential; avoid over-pedalling which blurs the clarity of the melodic line. The clavichord aesthetic — intimate and nuanced — underlies this marking even on modern piano.
• frei fantasieren German
  Free improvisation — the art of extemporising a keyboard fantasia without barlines or fixed metre. CPE Bach was celebrated as the finest improviser of his day; his notated fantasias (Wq. 67, Wq. 58/6-7, etc.) are attempts to capture this practice in written form.
  In the written fantasias, resist an overly strict pulse in unmeasured or cadenza-like passages. Treat them as structured improvisation: a clear harmonic journey with expressive freedom in the details.
• Manieren German
  CPE Bach's collective term for ornaments and embellishments (Manieren) as codified in the Versuch. These include the trill, mordent, turn, Schneller (inverted mordent), Doppelschlag, and various appoggiaturas — each with precise performance rules.
  Apply Manieren according to CPE Bach's own table in the Versuch rather than Baroque convention. Ornaments begin on the note, not the auxiliary, in most cases — the opposite of J.S. Bach's practice.
• Schneller German
  An inverted mordent — a quick oscillation beginning on the written note and touching the upper auxiliary: the note above, back to the main note. Notated by CPE Bach as a wavy line without a slash. Do not confuse with the standard (lower) mordent.
  Execute very quickly, closer to a snap than a leisurely ornament. In fast movements, keep the Schneller rhythmically tight so it does not blur the main melodic line.
• Versuch German
  Short title of CPE Bach's treatise Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen (Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments), published in two parts (1753, 1762). The definitive guide to ornament, fingering, and expression in 18th-century keyboard playing.
  Consult the Versuch directly when editing ornaments in CPE Bach's works — his own notation rules often differ from J.S. Bach's or Baroque convention. Trills, mordents, turns, and appogiaturas each have specific rules detailed in Part I.