A discourse of styles: contrasting gigue types in the A Minor Jig from the Purcell Partial Autograph, GB-Lbl, MS Mus. 1

Charlston, T. (2013) A discourse of styles: contrasting gigue types in the A Minor Jig from the Purcell Partial Autograph, GB-Lbl, MS Mus. 1. In: Interpreting Historical Keyboard Music: Sources, Contexts and Performance. Ashgate Historical Keyboard Series . Routledge, London. ISBN 9781409464266 (hardback) 9781138271944 (paperback) 9781315589596 (e-book)

Abstract

One salient feature of Czerny's writing for the left hand is that it encompasses figurations expected in a range of repertoire from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, which is broadly congruent with Classical and Romantic style. Czerny endeavored to develop the player's ability at executing leaps. The common figurations for the left hand from the Classical period are generally restricted to the range of an octave. In Czerny's exercises, both hands have to be fluent in these techniques across the same compass of four octaves. Furthermore, the techniques required of the left hand reveals the way in which Czerny's exercises mirrored the increased prominence of the left hand in virtuoso piano playing since Beethoven's time. Czerny also ranks as a pioneer in his compositions for left hand alone, thereby inaugurating a new genre in piano repertoire. Indeed, observations such as these allow us to look beyond the picture of Czerny as 'merely' a master of technical works.

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