CHAPTER IV

INSTRUCTION IN FUGUE

Bloch included in the collection of his didactic

writings three sections pertaining to the study of fugue.

The earliest of these--indeed perhaps the oldest of any

portions in the collection--is a group of fugal exercises

written by Bloch's students about 1920, among them Ses-

sions, Thompson, and Porter. Thus it may be considered the

collection's most significant part as well: the exercises

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of 1943, he entered several analytical st•1dies of fugues
from the Well-Tempered Clavier in this volume under the ti-

tle "Studies in Configuration." The third volume on fugue,

dating from 1950, was possibly Bloch's last addition to the

261
 262

entire collection. It is entitled Additional Fugue Ibis,

and it contains a number of fugue themes of Bloch's own

writing.

While all three volumes illustrate the view of

Bloch's instruction in fugue, it is the group of exercises

gathered from students that merits the greatest attention.

The autographs included are by students of varying stature.

The authorship of one manuscript is uncertain; but the

others are either signed, or the names are marked in

Bloch's hand. Isabel H. Swift, "Mr. Lewis," "Mr. Bohm,"

and "Miss Groschke" are musicians about whom apparently

nothing is known. Herbert Elwell and Theodore Chanler

achieved a measure of prominence as composers in their day,

and produced works which may be familiar to modern audi-

ences. The remaining names are those of composers whose

place in the history of American music is assured--Quincy

Porter, Roger Sessions, and Randall Thompson. Only the man-

uscript of the latter is dated, "Fall, 1920." This corres-

ponds to Bloch's annotation on the cover of the folder:

"(1920) New York ... (Cleveland?)." But like the dating of

many other of the early documents in the collection, this

was probably added at a much later time, and Bloch appar-

ently no longer recalled the precise circumstances under

which the contents of the folder were written.

In the early months of 1920, Bloch was living in

New York City and had been appointed to assume the

 263

directorship of the Cleveland Institute in the Fall. Dur-

ing most of his residency in New York, which began in 1916,

he served on the faculty of the newly-established Mannes

School, but he was also involved in various other activi-

ties, which included private instruction in composition.

Bloch received pupils in his Lexington Avenue apartment on

a regular basis until his departure for Cleveland, and con-

tinued to teach privately upon arriving at the Institute.

Even in the year following the new appointment he returned

to New York frequently enough to give periodic lessons to

pupils still in the area. For some of the students repre-

sented by manuscripts in the folder, the association with

Bloch beg~n at a relatively early time and was restricted

to New York; others started their studies in New York but

followed Bloch to Cleveland; for still others the first

meeting with Bloch may have been at the Institute. All of

them were members of Bloch's studio between 1919 and 1921,

and this period may be taken to represent a valid estimate

for the origin of all of the manuscripts.

The state in which they now appear reveals much
about Bloch's pedagogical method. Initially the student
was assigned to compose a number of fugue themes. Bloch
reviewed this work and handed it back, complete with writ-

ten commentary. The student was then expected to make cor-

rections and to return to Bloch a clean copy on which the

original themes, Bloch's criticism, and the subsequent

 264

revisions were all notated afresh. It is this fair copy

which is now part of the collection.

The copying and recopying of material in these

various stages may at first seem needlessly laborious; but

Bloch had a specific reason: he established a running re-

cord of the student's work. That the completed assignments

were not returned to the student may also seem unusual.

Yet here too, there is an explanation. Assuming the re-

vised themes were satisfactory, the manuscript needed to

change hands only three times and could remain in the

possession of the teacher since all information contained

in the final copy was also preserved in the drafts which

led up to it.

At a later date, possibly in anticipation of new

teaching responsibilities at the Institute, Bloch decided

on a plan of using these examples by students as the basis

for a systematic discussion of fugal technique that even-

tually resulted in the volume entitled Fugue I (see below,

pp. 316 ff.) He may have collected the manuscripts from

students specifically for this purpose; or he returned with
this idea in mind at some later date to manuscripts already

at hand. In either case, it is clear that Bloch regarded

the exercises as more than completed assignments; they were

documents in their own right, and his decision to preserve

them marks the beginning of the extended process that led

to the wealth of the total collection.

 265

Bloch made an annotation on the cover of the folder

in which the manuscripts are contained:

Fugue (Examples--from pupils)

I. Swift - Sessions - Porter - R. Thompson -
Th. Chanler - Elwell - etc .

In the course of collecting the material, he apparently

inserted another, smaller folder, among the exercises; this

second folder contains several pages of work by some of the

same students. Bloch wrote on its cover:

Fugue / /
divertimento modulation (structure generale)

He may have originally intended that papers contained in

the smaller folder, distinct from the other manuscripts,

would be devoted to the study of structural aspects of

fugal writing, including questions of episodes and harmonic

outline, but no such distinction is evident in the contents

of the folders as they are presently arranged.

Examples by Herbert Elwell

In discussing the exercises by the different

students, it is best to begin with the work of Herbert

Elwell as the one most clearly representing the typical

working process shown in the manuscripts. Elwell used a

double leaf of staff paper, measuring 13 1/4 by 10 1/4

inches. He began (fol. 1 v) by writing out, evidently from

 266

the manuscript on which he had first submitted the assigned

studies, six of his own fugue themes along with commentary

by Bloch. On fol. 2 r Elwell made revisions of the earlier

work ("Corrections.") based on Bloch's criticism. Elwell's

name is entered at the bottom of fol. 2 r in Bloch's hand.

Three marks added by Bloch on the second folio

require further explanation. Two of these appear in the

example on the second system: a vertical line in the third

measure between the first and second beats and a question

mark to the right of the example; the third is the horizon-

tal line in the fourth system above measures 4-6 of the

exercise. Bloch obviously entered these marks, which are

in orange pencil, after the student had completed the

assigned studies. Similar marks are found fairly often in

the manuscripts and clearly represent further comment by

Bloch. He may have taken the student through a brief study

of the revisions when the completed assignment was submit-

ted, or, more likely, they were made at some later date,

possibly when Bloch reviewed the manuscripts to select

examples for the contents of Fugue I.
The first of Elwell's original examples appears in
the uppermost system of fol. 1 v. Bloch comments on two

particular aspects of the fugal subject: he uses a mark

(X) to indicate that the downbeats in the first two meas-

ures of the subject need an "accent"; and he notes that the

c in the third measure of the theme is "too final." Elwell

 267

makes the corresponding corrections in the first system,

fol. 2 r. Bloch also remarks on the fugal answer Elwell

had introduced in the fifth measure of the original

exercise:

Wrong answer. Answer should be in G.

Initially, Elwell had written the answer in the subdominant

f; this is also corrected in the revision.

In the second of Elwell's exercises, Bloch points

out that the subject is not correctly written with regard

to metrical accent. He draws a vertical line in the first

measure between the third and fourth beats with the remark:

"Bar begins here." Elwell makes the correction by notating

the subject with the bar-lines moved ·accordingly. In doing

so, however, he also moves the trill which had appeared on

the upbeat to the third measure of the original version to

the downbeat of the third measure. This incongruous use of

ornamental accent, in turn, prompted Bloch's markings in

orange pencil in the second system, fol. 2 r.

In examining Elwell's third exercise (third system)

Bloch mentions that the beginning of the subject emphasizes

"V" of e " minor, and he again notes:

Wrong answer. Answer should be in bf instead of ap

Elwell corrects this on the adjoining page.

The fourth system on fol. 1 v is empty. Elwell

 268

only recorded Bloch's comment ("Swiss Music Box") and adds

"No corrections." This refers to the corresponding system

on fol. 2 r, containing Elwell's fourth exercise. But upon

examining this example a second time, Bloch apparently did

take exception to some aspect of Elwell's writing, as indi-

cated by the horizontal line (in orange pencil) above meas-

ures 4-6. As is explained in the comment on one of the

subsequent examples, it is best not to emphasize the domi-

nant prior to the entrance of the answer.

Bloch noticed a "Repetition" in the original ver-

sion of Elwell's fifth exercise. In the second measure,

g~ , suggesting "V," resolves to a, as it also does in the

fourth measure. Then, for a third time on this page, Bloch

turns his attention to the matter of the fugal answer. He

enters a "V I" in the fifth measure, pointing out the ton-

al function of the new key for the answer which, however,

is not appropriately introduced in the upper voice. Elwell

corrects the example on the adjoining page.

In the sixth example on fol. 1 v, Bloch uses "V" to

show that the entrance of the answer is again awkwardly

anticipated by the dominant harmony; he further notes that

when the answer does come in, both voices form an open

octave. Elwell's seventh example, ap~earing on fol. 2 r

without a corresponding draft on fol. 1 v, was apparently

newly-written when he submitted the completed assignment.

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Examples by Randall Thompson

In examining Elwell's exercises, Bloch directed his

greatest attention to the details of the fugal answer. But

this emphasis does not apply to all of the student manu-

scripts, for the type of exercise differed from student to

student. ~n all cases, we may be dealing with a choice

made from a larger amount of material.) The manuscript of

Randall Thompson, for example, is concerned primarily with

the fugal subject.

Thompson wrote out his exercises on a double leaf.

(Each page measures 14 5/8 by 10 5/8 inches.) For the most

part, the contents of the manuscript correspond to the pro-

cedure described: Thompson began by copying out his orig-

inal fugal subjects, along with Bloch's criticism, from an

earlier manuscript; in the process, he made revisions of

some of the subjects and finally gave the fair copy to

Bloch.

There is, however, a situation which requires

further comment. It seems that in entering his remarks in

the manuscript which Thompson had first submitted, Bloch

occasionally made (and remarked upon) his own revisions.

Thompson included these in compiling the fair copy. Thus,

in some cases one finds commentary by Bloch in Thompson's

hand for both the original and the corrected versions of a

subject. Furthermore, as he had done in Elwell's

 272

manuscript, Bloch entered a number of additional marks in

Thompson's fair copy (in this instance in pencil or red

ink) which served to expand upon the criticism formulated

earlier.

Thompson's first example is notated atop fol. 1 r.

(He numbered his examples at the left-hand margin; the

revised version of a given theme usually appears either

alongside the original, or in the staff directly below

it.) In this instance, Thompson apparently submitted two

versions of the fugal subject at the outset. Bloch evi-

dently stated his preference for the first: "has more

character."

He then commented on Thompson's second exercise:

ends on weak beat

Thompson made a revision to the right of the original

subject. At some point Bloch added a mark ( ~) in red ink

above the final note in both the first and the second

versions to stress the difference.

In commenting on the third exercise, Bloch was

quite specific about the necessary changes in the theme:

cut out 3rd measure and first note.

He also remarked "cf. Schubert C major!," referring to the

opening of Schubert's ninth symphony. Thompson entered the

revision in the staff directly below. The third example

 273

again contains additional markings in red ink. In the

original version, Bloch circled the first note, and used

brackets above the second and third measures to emphasize

the awkward melodic repetition in the subject. In review-

ing the revised version, Bloch must have questioned the

metric notation of the subject, as is shown by the differ-

ent barring; and at the end of the exercise are entered the

first three notes of the fugal answer.

Bloch comments on the fourth exercise that there is

"too much V." Added (in red ink) is the related comment

"delayed end." The criticism refers to the lack of harmo-

nic motion at the end of the example, which literally de-

lays the return to the tonic and prevents a concise ending.

Thompson makes the appropriate corrections in the staff

below.

Bloch's comment for the fifth exercise is directed

specifically to the third measure of the subject: "not

interesting." A revision of the theme, likely suggested by

Bloch, appears to the right of the original with renewed

reference to the orchestral literature:

but cf St. Saens piano concerto in G

He suggested a revision of Thompson's sixth fugal subject

("try this"). For examples 7 and 8, the last two entries

on fol 1 r, Bloch evidently required no corrections. He

did, however, add a later marking in pencil over the last

 274

two measures of the seventh example, showing the larger

harmonic structure of the theme.

Thompson's ninth example appears atop fol. 1 v,

with the remark:

too long more a fugato

Bloch criticized the tenth exercise on the same grounds:

"too long." In both cases, Thompson shortened the subject.

In the original version of the tenth exercise, Bloch added

to the fair copy a vertical line (in pencil) in the fourth

measure, to emphasize the excessive length of the original

theme.

For the eleventh example, the comment is directed

at the pointed recurring use of the tone a and the lack of

rhythmic variety. And Bloch added in pencil small notes be-

low each strong beat in the original subject to stress his

point. In the twelfth example, as he had done in exercise

4 on the preceding page, Bloch criticized the static domi-

nant harmony at the end of the theme: "V--." He later

added an annotation (in pencil) in the second measure of
the theme to show that, in fact, the anticipation of the
dominant begins even earlier than is indicated by the first

marking (in ink; the bracket at the margin is also in

pencil).

Acting on the remark for the thirteenth exercise,

Thompson writes out a shorter version on the staff. In the

 275

fourteenth exercise Bloch probably corrected the fugal sub-

ject himself. Initially, he criticized Thompson's theme

because the "ending is too harmonic." This apparently re-

fers to the fact that the final measures of the subject

imply a progression incongruent with the extremely chromat-

ic nature of the theme. Bloch revises the end to suggest a

greater degree of harmonic tension. The end of Thompson's

original subject occurs on the downbeat; Bloch replaces it

with an appoggiatura. Thus, the subject ends on a weak

beat, something which Bloch had dissuaded in the second

exercise (fol. 1 r). In this later example, however, the

melodic configuration at the end of the subject is merely

ornamental, and the tonic harmony arrives, in fact, on the

strong beat. Given this distinction, the melodic resolu-

tion on the weak beat becomes "allowable and good."

Bloch required no written corrections in the fif-

teenth example (fol. 2 r). But he took exception to the

ending which would not accommodate the answer of Thompson's

theme (in itself judged a "good subject").

The sixteenth example proved "too long and dia-

tonic." Thompson entered a revision in the next staff.

Bloch drew a vertical line (in pencil) in the fourth meas-

ure of the corrected version, perhaps to show that the re-

vision was also not concise enough. For the seventeenth

exercise the comment reads:

give more attack to the cV

 276

Thompson's correction again appears on the staff below the

original version.

Thompson completed these studies at the bottom of

fol. 2 r with six "Modulating Subjects." Bloch evidently

found fault with only two of these. He commented upon the

second example: "better in~ time." (Thompson did not

write out a second version of this theme, apparently be-

cause the revision was self-evident.) In the fifth exer-

cise, the problem of "ending weak" is pointed out with a

mark (X ) calling attention to the repetition of the note

b~ . It is not clear if the corrected version of this

subject, given at the end of the staff above, was written

by Thompson, or whether it represents a further instance

where Bloch revised an example himself.

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 280

Examples by Roger Sessions

The group of exercises by Roger Sessions is similar-

ly devoted to a concentrated study of the fugal subject.

Se$sions gathered these examples according to the same pro-

cedure as discussed above. His fair copy, however, differs

from those of Elwell and Thompson in that Sessions makes no

reference to Bloch's comments on the original subjects; nor

do any annotations from Bloch's hand appear in the manu-

script (with the exception of the entry of the name in the

upper left-hand corner of fol. 1 r).

Thus, in this case we have no explicit record of

the criticism on which the student based his revisions.

Yet the commentary in Thompson's manuscript, which suggests

very specific concerns on Bloch's part regarding the essen-

tials of a well-written fugal subject, can to some extent

explain the corrections in the manuscript by Sessions as

well. For example, Thompson was cautioned to avoid ending

the subject on a weak beat, and Sessions's revision of the

example atop fol. 1 r must have resulted from a similar

remark. In comparing the two versions of Sessions's second

exercise, one is reminded of the numerous instances where

Thompson, presumably prompted by a comment from Bloch,

revised a subject in order to make it more concise. But

there are a number of other, highly instructive changes in

the melodic lines that suggest Bloch's critique, such as

 281

the strong sense of articulation imparted to the beginning

of example 14 through the omission of one note.

Sessions's manuscript covers four pages of a double

leaf, measuring 13 1/2 by 10 1/4 inches. He included a

total of twenty-five examples, which are numbered in the

margin. For exercises that needed to be revised, the "cor-

rection" is added either to the right of the original, or

on the staff directly below it; where no revision had been

necessary, Sessions made the notation "no correction." But

this fair copy of fugal subjects is actually only the first

of two manuscripts by Sessions which are preserved among

the contents of the collection. The folder also contains a

single oblong sheet, measuring 10 1/8 by 8 1/8 inches, on

which Sessions wrote three further exercises in fugue. The

name, appearing in the lower left-hand corner of the sheet,

is again in Bloch's hand. In fact, Bloch penciled in a

number of annotations, and as in other manuscripts dating

from the years immediately following Bloch's arrival in

America, one finds remarks in both French and English.

Bloch's notation across the top of the right-hand
half of the page refers to the contents of the oblong
sheet: "subject and countersubject." For each of the

thr~e examples, Sessions used a fugal subject from the

first of his manuscripts. Thus, the two manuscripts may

have been part of a larger course of study. Bloch probably

had the student begin with exercises concerned solely with
 282

the subject. This could have been followed by an assign-

ment (such as we have in Elwell's manuscript) combining the

subject and the fugal answer. In still another stage of

study, the student would add to a preceding exercise a

newly-written countersubject.

In the first of the examples on the oblong sheet,

Sessions uses his twenty-first exercise from the previous

manuscript (fol. 2 ~). Bloch made a remark in the upper

left-hand corner:

good if Andante moderato

The example appearing in the center system of the oblong

sheet is based on a second theme from fol. 2 r, exercise

20. In reviewing this exercise, Bloch made some changes in

the lower voice. In the fifth measure he entered the quar-

ter notes e c. He changed the f¥· in the sixth measure to a

quarter so that the following g (circled in pencil) was to

be omitted. The seventh measure was then revised according

to the melodic and rhythmic pattern established in the sixth

measure (see notes between the two staves).

The third example is based on exercise 24 (fol. 2

v). Bloch evidently felt that the subject was too long, as

is indicated by the bracket in the third measure, and he

makes a comment to the effect that the length of the subject

causes particular problems in the countersubject.

un peu de verbiage! du~ 'a la longueur[?] du sujet

 283

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 288

Examples by Quincy Porter

The folder containing the student writings includes

two additional manuscripts devoted to the study of "subject

and countersubject," one of which is by Quincy Porter.

Porter gave his examples the heading "Fugue Subjects and

Answers." On fol. 1 r, Bloch made an annotation showing

that his own attention was drawn to another, and indeed,

very distinctive aspect of the texture~ "(surtout contre-

sujet . .
" , [the final word of the comment is illegi-

ble] ) . Probably made at a later time, it is Bloch's only

entry in the manuscript.

The manuscript--a double leaf measuring 13 3/4 by

10 5/8 inches--is a fair copy, compiled according to the

established procedure. With the possible exception of one

instance on fol. 1 v, Porter, like Sessions, did not in-

elude the teacher's criticism of the exercises. Yet, the

revision for virtually every example pertains to a single

point that Bloch doubtless stressed in his teaching: a

two-part fugal texture requires an especially careful coor-
dination of the voices; the momentum of the texture must
always be maintained, but at the same time, motion in one

voice should not obscure that in the other.

Porter's first exercise is a case in point. The

original version ("1.") is notated in the uppermost system

on fol. 1 E_; Porter wrote out the revision ("2") directly

 289

below it. The correction is in the third measure, where

the melodic activity in the lower voice is increased

against the slower motion in the upper voice.

For the following examples, Porter devised a more

economical means of notating the material; only the correct-

ed version is written out. The comment to the right refers

to the downbeat in the last measure of the second example

(in the original version evidently a quarter note ~1f).

In the third exercise the correction is concerned

with the fourth measure in the upper voice, and Porter

entered the corresponding measure from the original version

in the staff above ("Formerly"). He followed this method

in most of the subsequent exercises.

The revision for the exercise at the bottom of fol.

1 r is the converse of that in the first example on the

page. Here Porter improved the counterpoint in the penul-

timate measure by making the countersubject simpler.

Porter used all four pages of the manuscript in

copying his exercises. One occasionally finds examples,

such as that appearing on the third system of fol. 1 ~, for

which apparently no revisions were required. But in most

of the remaining exercises, he revised and rewrote material

as he had done on the fi~st page of the manuscript. The

example entered in the last two systems of fol. 1 v consti-

tutes the exception in which Porter seems to have made a

record of his teacher's criticism. The annotation above

 290

the seventh measure indicates that in the original version

the third note in the fugal answer was dq. The comment

that the note was changed to d~ because of the "effect on

the following c" probably came from Bloch.
 291 Po~e~--nof. 1 ~

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 295

Examples by Theodore Chanler

There remains the group of exercises by one more of

Bloch's prominent pupils, Theodore Chanler. Like the manu-

scripts submitted by the other students, Chanler's manu-

script is a fair copy. Particular evidence of this appears

at the bottom of fol. 2 r, where Chanler labels the final

exercises "nouveau"; one may conclude that Bloch had seen

all other examples in conjunction with a previous version.

In other respects, however, Chanler's manuscript represents

a departure from the established procedure. In compiling a

fair copy, he wrote each example only once and gave no

indication as to revisions that may have been made in the

course of completing the studies; nor did he include any

reference to commentary by Bloch. Possibly, as the appear-

ance of the handwriting occasionally suggests, Chanler was

working in haste. In fact, in two cases Bloch himself had

to correct rather obvious errors in notation: the time

signature for the sixth exercise, and the clef for the
twelfth. (These, along with the name in the upper right-

hand corner of fol. 1 r, are Bloch's only entries in the

manuscript.) It might be added that Chanler was the young-

est of the students represented so far--probably only

eighteen when the assignment was undertaken.

Chanler's exercises are also exceptional in another

respect: the remarkable individuality of his writing. His

 296

examples are often characterized by rather long phrases,

and by the use of large melodic skips and unusual rhythmic

configurations. He was also meticulous in providing

expressive indications at the beginning of each example.

Chanler wrote out a total of twenty-four exercises

over three pages of a double leaf measuring 13 5/8 by 10

1/2 inches. His examples generally contain, along with the

subject, all or part of the fugal answer, sometimes desig-

nated with the abbreviations "res." or "resp." For one of

the exercises on fol. 2 E' we are afforded somewhat more of

a substantial view of steps leading to the completion of

the examples. In exercise 23, Chanler, possibly with

Bloch's criticism of previous examples in mind, notes above

the third measure "est-ce de trop?" Apparently answering

his own question, he then crossed out the measure himself.

 297 Chanl~--6ol. 1~

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298 Chant~--6ot. 1~
299 Chanlen--fioi 2 ~
 300

Examples by other students

There is another group of exercises pertaining to

the study of the fugal countersubject in a manuscript by a

pupil whom Bloch identifies as Miss Groschke. It is one of

several manuscripts submitted by students who were not to

achieve notable prominence. We are dealing with three exer-

cises on an oblong double leaf under the heading:

Subject, Answer & Countersubject for Fugue of 2 voices.

The pages of the manuscript measure 10 1/2 by 6 3/4 inches.

The manuscript is again a fair copy, containing

original versions, revisions, and commentary. The melodic

writing is often awkward, as is much of the counterpoint.

The student was also oblivious to certain elementary mat-

ters, such as marking the appropriate accidentals in a modu-

lation. Judging from the recorded commentary, Bloch found

it impossible to address himself to all the flaws. The

question mark in the upper right-hand corner of fol. 1 r

may, in fact, represent his summary reaction to the stu-
dent's work.

Yet, while not an especially talented pupil, she

clearly pursued her studies very conscientiously. She was

quite thorough in noting Bloch's criticism of her examples,

and her manuscript offers an apparently complete record of

Bloch's remarks given verbally. In the first example she

 301

placed one bracket above the third measure, and another

above measures 5-6, designating them as "(a)" and ''(b),"

respectively, in reference to the remarks written out at

the bottom of the page.

(a) The three A flats are too prominent and give a

stiff stilted character. By shortening one of them
an agreeable, smooth change of rhythm is effected.

(b) In a fugue of but two voices there must be

considerable movement. This is lacking here. By
substituting four sixteeth [sic] notes for the
quarter, and removing the high A flat which has just
been heard in the previous measure a smoother and
more flowing motion is obtained.

Bloch added some annotations in pencil. A special

mark ( 1 ) appears variously below the upper voice of the

original version, measures 2-3. We have an explicit

indication as to the meaning of this mark in Fugue I (see

p. 319); there Bloch uses this fugal subject as an example,

and a series of such markings is associated with the corn-

rnent "too regular rhythm." This also seems to explain cer-

tain annotations in red ink on fol. 1 r. Bloch's comment

above the uppermost system ("sujet & contresujet") suggests
his intention to include this subject among the examples in

Fugue I. The word between the two staves in the second

measure may read "monotony," possibly another reference to

the rhythmic motion at that point in the exercise.

In her second exercise (fol. 1 v), the designations

in the original version "(a)" and "(b)" correspond again to

 302

remarks at the bottom of the page:

(a) Subject is longer than necessary.

(b) Dissonance on accented beat rarely used by Bach.

The corrected version of the exercise begins midway in the

second system and is concluded in the third system.

The final example appears on fol. 2 r. The remarks

entered here for "(a)" and "(b)" are written out on the

following page, and they suggest that in this case Bloch

may have been commenting on revisions he had made himself:

(a) Although this ending is possible the one in the

corrected version has more motion and more of the
character of the rest of the subject.

(b) Changing this chord necessitated changing the

entire countersubject and improving it. The
counterpoint of the corrected version is simpler and
has more design than the first one.
 303

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 304 M~~ G~o~~hke--rioi. 1 v

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 305

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 306

Isabel H. Swift, another of Bloch's students not

otherwise known, submitted to Bloch a group of three

exercises on a double leaf, measuring 12 3/4 by 10 5/8

inches. The manuscript is a fair copy, on which are

written both the original and revised versions of the

examples. No annotations appear from Bloch's hand, nor are

there explicit references included to criticsm he might

have made.

This manuscript is notable, however, because its

contents reflect a more advanced stage of study. The

critical emphasis represented in the other manuscripts is

on details of melodic and contrapuntal writing. But in

these exercises there is a concern with larger musical

structure. The first exercise appears on fol. 1 r. The

student (using orange pencil here and in several other

spots) entered a horizontal line above the second full

measure of the "Original theme," presumably to indicate

that when Bloch first saw the theme, this measure had been

a point of criticism. (Indeed, in the revised version the

measure is omitted.) Directly below the original theme,

she wrote out a "Plan," the details of which in fact corres-

pond to the harmonic structure of the subsequent revision:

the revision begins in i minor; the fugal answer in the

third and fourth measures is in c minor, and this leads in

measures 6-7 to g minor, and the third fugal entrance.

Finally, there is a note pertaining to the countersubject:

 307

Countersubject changed when used as an upper voice.

The remark is particularly interesting since the countersub-

ject does not actually appear in the upper voice of the

exercise; it attests to how thoroughly the student had

explored her material prior to completing the assignment.

If the original form of the countersubject is stated above

the subject, there results an awkward minor ninth on the

second beat in the first full measure of each fugal entry,

which may explain why she found the alteration necessary.

An emphasis on structural considerations is even

more evident in the example on fol. 1 v. The original

subject was entered at the top of the page. A revision,

which extends the subject by three measures, appears in or-

ange pencil to the right, and the student's comment ("your

addition") shows that this was a revision made by Bloch.

Beneath the original theme, there are alternate versions

for the harmonic structure of the exercise, with a prefer-

ence noted for the first. The student then wrote out the
fugal subject (revised according to Bloch's suggestion) and

the corresponding answer, along with a diagram for each of

the three ''plans." She also indicated whatever changes in

melodic writing the respective harmonic schemes required.

In the original ver~ion of the third exercise

(fol. 2 r) the student again drew a horizontal line in

orange pencil (above measures 8-10) to mark a portion of

 308

the subject which needed to be revised. And as in the pre-

ceding example, she wrote out the corrected version of the

subject and the fugal answer, complete with markings that

refer to a specified harmonic design.

 309 ~~~ SW~6t--6ol. 1~

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 312

The scope of these exercises was limited to the

exposition of two fugal voices, so that the examples repre-

sent only the initial stages of inquiry into fugal struc-

ture. But it is clear that in a natural continuation of

this course of study, the student would tgke up assignments

in progressively larger structural contexts leading to the

writing of complete fugues. In fact, such a structural

range is documented in the four remaining student

manuscripts.

The first of these--written on an oblong sheet

measuring 10 1/8 by 8 1/8 inches--contains an exercise of

two voices entitled Fuga a moll. The fugue, written by an

anonymous pupil, covers both sides of the sheet and is

twenty-one measures in length. Bloch identified the writer

of the second manuscript as Mr. Bohm. This student's exer-

cise, on a single 13 1/4 by 10 1/2 inch sheet, is a fugue

of twenty-eight measures. He seems to have been a gifted

pupil, though inexperienced, as is suggested by the awkward-

ness of the handwriting, as well as by some obvious lapses

in melodic construction.

The final two manuscripts (both reproduced below

and originally appearing on single sheets measuring 13 1/8

by 10 1/2 inches) were written, according to Bloch's indi-

cation, by Herbert Elwell and a student identified as Mr.

Lewis. The two students used for their assignments the

 313

same fugal subject. No indication is given as to whether

either of them wrote the theme. Bloch used this subject

later as an example in Fugue I, but there he says only that

it is "from a pupil." Yet the subject also turns up in a

third manuscript: as is described in the chapter on

Bloch's contrapuntal writings, he included in the fourth of

his counterpoint notebooks a number of sketches, among

which appears this particular subject (see p. 172).

There is a close similarity between the exercises

from the two students with regard to harmonic structure.

Moreover, it appears as almost certain that these two

sheets were, at one time, joined as a double leaf. The

circumstances suggest that Bloch gave the students the same

assignment--based on the same fugal subject and the same

structural "plan." But each student chose his individual

way in completing the assignment. To Lewis, in particular,

goes the credit of a rather fine effort in fugal writing.

 314 v

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 315 M~. L~~--nol. 1v

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 316

Fugue I

At some point after gathering the student manu-

scripts, Bloch undertook the project of incorporating their

contents in a more formal presentatibn of fugal technique.

He copied a number of examples from the manuscripts--as

well as from other assignments that evidently did not

remain in his possession--into the volume entitled Fugue I,

supplementing this material with commentary.

Bloch did not actually provide a dating for Fugue

I. But there is evidence that it may have followed soon

upon the collecting of the student manuscripts--about 1921.

Bloch's writings from this time include three other major

pedagogical compilations, La Forme musicale, Applied Har-

mony, and Strict III Part-counterpoint. Many of the physi-

cal details of these three documents correspond to those of

Fugue I: the handwriting is much the same in the four

volumes; and in each case, the volume itself is a manu-

script book in which single sheets of music paper are bound

alternately with unlined leaves. Thus, it appears that in

1921-22, no doubt prompted by responsibilities involved in

his new position as Director of the Cleveland Institute,

Bloch compiled Lhe first formal record of his instruction.

It embraces all the disciplines with which his didactic

writings were to deal more comprehensively in later years.

 317

Bloch made an entry on the cover of Fugue I:

Fugue (Notes) (from pupils and myself)

Subject--Answer--Structure etc. Analysis

The manuscript book measures 10 3/8 by 6 3/4 inches.

Inside the front cover there is an index, in which the con-

tents of the volume are divided into four sections. The

first of these sections consists of pages 1-4, and deals

with the study of the fugal subject. (In Bloch's pagina-

tion, each sheet of music paper and the plain sheet adja-

cent to it are given a single page number.)

 318 Fugue_ I --p. 1

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 322

The considerable emphasis which Bloch placed on the

study of the fugal subject represents a fundamental aspect

of his teaching of fugue. Suzanne Bloch has written:

His students of fugue know how long he kept them

writing fugue themes and not allowing them to go
further until they had mastered the principles of
form, balance, life, and expression within a few
measures. Then they could apply the same principles
to larger forms.

In the first two pages of Fugue I, Bloch addresses himself

to a problem in fugal writing that had been a point of evi-

dent concern in the student manuscripts; he refers to it

here as "Lack of Concision." He observes that there are

two factors which contribute to this problem. The first of

these is illustrated in the initial two examples on page

1--designated as <D and~ , respectively. In both examples,

prior to the actual conclusion of the subject there is an

emphatic arrival on the tonic, and in his revisions Bloch

shortens the subject so as to make the melodic and harmonic

structure coincide. For the first exercise, by a student

identified as Miss Backlee, Bloch marks the arrival of the

tonic with an " " and the subject is revised accordingly.

No indication is given as to the author of the second

exercise, but it is quite similar to a theme appearing in

Sessions's manuscripts. Bloch again makes a mark ("(&)") to

indicate the arrival of the tonic, and he uses parentheses

showing which portion of the subject should be excised. He

evidently also took exception to the metrical placement of
 323

the subject, and he adds this comment to the revised

version:

It would be better too, to write it that way.

Bloch uses the third, fourth, and fifth exercises

to illustrate the second factor contributing to the exces-

sive length of the subject: "delayed conclusion." Here,

in contrast to the preceding examples, the arrival of the

tonic comes too late to permit concise ending to the melod-

ic line. Bloch revised the third example so that the harmo-

nies in measures 4-5 of the original theme were condensed

in a single measure. In the fourth example, which was evi-

dently written by Mark Brunswick, the brackets below the fi-

nal measures correspond to Bloch's comment "Too long con-

elusion!" (The horizontal lines above the staff emphasize

an awkward repetition in the melodic line.) A revision was

undertaken, in which the fourth measure was eliminated.

But Bloch then noted:

too short now, lack of balance.

In a second revision, at the bottom of page 1, the original

proportions of the theme are restored, though the melodic

repetition is removed. The fifth exercise (appearing at

the top of page 2) was taken from an assignment for Miss

Groschke. Bloch uses parentheses to indicate the "delayed

conclusion," and he further takes exception to the use of

 324

"two strong points (l) ." Both of these problems are cor-

rected in the revision.

Bloch judged the sixth and seventh examples (also

on page 2) "awkward." The first of these is by the same

student as the preceding one ("ibid."), and Bloch remarks

about the original version:

Rather awkward motif, on account of the A~ perhaps

or too regular rhythm .

On the next staff the subject is

corrected, with a very simple change of rhythm!

The seventh exercise is by Sessions, in whose manuscript

only the revised version of this example had appeared; yet

both this and what must have been the original version, are

represented here. About the latter one, Bloch remarks:

Great monotony (One harmony!)

The remaining examples on page 2 are grouped under the

comment "Wrong notations Rhythm."
The section of examples devoted to the study of the
fugal subject is concluded on pages 3-4 of Fugue I. Bloch

notes for the example atop page 3:

Write upbeat motifs.

He uses a mark (~) in the fourth measure to indicate the

arrival at the tonic, thus defining the structural ending
 325

of the theme. The melodic fragment written out in the sec-

ond staff represents the continuation of the fugal answer

from the top of the page. The remaining examples on page 3

are part of an exercise in which Bloch uses a theme from

the First Book of the Well-Tempered Clavier as a guide for

newly-composed fugal subjects. Bloch writes:

Study Bach subject in C~minor (I)

analyze it. ( . . . 4 notes (compass~)
the mode (e natural . . . (~)--and make a few
similar subjects:

On page 4 of Fugue I, Bloch undertakes a series of

revisions on a motif of a pupil. He comments on the

original theme (which appears in the first staff) :

too many Ds! no climax--prepare D

(same range too!)

A first revision, in the second staff, was found to be unsa-

tisfactory because of the ''delayed conclusion!" This prob-

lem was corrected in a second revision, prompting, in turn,

criticism on different grounds: "good, but unbalanced."

For the final version, however, Bloch remarks

excellent (gives harmonic opportunities)

The second of the four sections in Fugue I, com-

mences on page 6 of the volume (page 5 is blank), and it

consists of exercises devoted to the study of the fugal

answer. Bloch begins by establishing a few basic concepts

 326

that are, in his words, " . of first importance!"

Initially, he discusses the structure of the fugal answer

"practically," noting that the answer must be sufficiently

related to the subject as to clearly represent the

. same idea (same form)

They are equivalent, in our minds

But he also considers the answer "theoretically"--that is,

he focuses on the deviations in the fugal statement which

are dictated by a change in harmonic context. It follows

that the effectiveness of the answer depends on the recon-

ciliation of these two principles:

(Aesthetically: Thematics = Unity

Tonally= variety (in a very subtle way!)

To illustrate this, Bloch again draws examples from Book I

of the Well-Tempered Clavier to show how Bach preserves the

characteristic melodic features from one fugal statement to

the next, while also allowing for variety dictated by tonal

function. The initial examples are from the B~ minor

fugue.
327 Fugue. I--p. 6
 328 Fugue. I--p. 7

2f $* ..
3' 4k .r

... ,.._'- •--~- - - ' " ' - - - - ~--1-

 329 Fugue I--p. 8

"" _ill
--, - ,.-
I
-
~
'
vp
I
I -t-
--==-
+--:b. ~ .;-! qf1- ~~ ...~· . ' ' .....
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wrr
-~

- - \
)

' :1111

•
,

--=::. --
"'
. " I
.J

+ '-.J I

., ~ h ... -r
I
--

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w

J
Iqr .d ott . ~ J I a ij P hrn lf. 111 f
.
. . .... ...... . ~
.....
... b . . .
pl9fij fJ. D ) J •• ;y -:
 330

At the top of page 6, Bloch writes out the first

statement of both the subject and the answer, and he indi-

cates the particular intervallic structure of each. He

further notes that the answer is "Tonal" in the first two

melodic intervals, and "Real" in those that follow. He

then enters four versions of the fugal theme, all beginning

on the same note, in which the first two intervals of the

subject and countersubject are variously exchanged. As a

result, each version establishes a different tonal context.

Bloch remarks that these versions are "All used by Bach.''

The examples at the bottom of page 6 are from the EP

minor fugue. Again, Bloch shows how the characteristic

features of the main theme are subtly changed.

We, thus, get four possible forms for a similar idea

(leading to 4 diff. keys.[)]

He notes that the subject itself remains within the context

of the tonic, whereas the answer leads from "I to Domi-

nant." A third version, appearing to the left in the low-

est staff, goes from "I to II degree," and a fourth version
connects the tonic and the subdominant. Bloch may have
entered these examples from memory, for he later added a
notation in pencil indicating that actually the third ver-

sion is "not used by Bach."

On page 7 of Fugue I, Bloch selects an example

"from a pupil" to further illustrate the principles in-

volved in the fugal answer. He writes out the subject in

 331

the top staff, adding the real answer below it. He then

notes three different versions of a tonal answer to connect

with the conclusion (in ~ minor) of the subject. On the

bottom half of page 7 there appears a comparison of two

versions of a fugal answer for a subject in ~P minor by

Theodore Chanler.

As Bloch makes clear, the construction of a proper

tonal answer involves more than the question of harmonic

context; there is also the matter of identifying which as-

pects of the subject are most characteristic and therefore

to be preserved from one fugal statement to another. He is

emphatic about this point in his commentary to the first

example (identified as by Miss E. G. Hier) on page 8 of

Fugue I, where he remarks about the fugal exposition

entered in the first two systems:

Here is a wrong answer! See the distortion of motif

.Its loss of character--(loss of charact.
intervals)--Uniformity of subject & Answer. Then
(f)---- @ Loss of all possibilities. Furthermore,
poor countersubject

In the third system, Bloch writes out a correction. Then,

in the following staff, he notates the revised answer a

second time (along with the corresponding subject) and

comments:

This correct Answer (Practically Same idea!) gives

us . . all very charact. interv~ but different

At the bottom of the page, Bloch variously exchanges the

 332

intervals of the fugal subject and answer; he indicates

that each version implies a different harmonic motion.

The contents of Fugue I are continued on pages 9-12

of the volume, with a section of exercises devoted to the

fugal countersubject. Bloch first recommends:

A thorough study of all those of Bach!

He then gives various examples, indicating that some of

them are drawn from students' work.

 333 Fugue_ I--p. 9

1.1

I J
.. . .
.~~
.. . . ---. . I ~
.-T
.. l
'JI.•
....

I
I
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- - - ; '"'
. =-

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. "'
I

• ,
~ -.r ~-

• 'p ..-
-
.ll.
....-- .,
-,-
roo
·~
): ' lt-
c [)_Jj

.
. -+ "
.____ . . ,-
--, F / .____
 334 Fugue I --p. 10

~
.,
,.. ''f

f1m
JP'f/ . .,... • • • • . . . ... ..--
---r·-:::: ... . . . +- -
-
~
~c"'L
-- --rT-~""..,....,

-
l
--..

•
- -

( + "1 .... _. L...J.. I...._J

i r-... (
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 335 Fu.gu.e_ I--p. 11

- I /
.--;;;,
i
-'T

---
\
l '< i.
.
- L ,-*
- -- r::-, "T
•
X

\. .....__ ~

• ~t ~ +
~ ...
--- - ~ l.. .. -i-L.

~...-1_
-,
~ ...
-
-f I ~ ~t~ -t ~ L ., -tl..
I
J•
~IV .
I

!
'I'\
- ·-'1 n ,,1 _l""""-1
,
J
h,r ,
I
I
- .......
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. ~-4"
-

I (') I
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\J :-/ v/
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e t~+ r-T t- ~ ~

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 336 Fu.gu.e. I --p. 12

~~ r
( Ll ..-. ~
,. .....:: '
•.... :
7 +11"" l'
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...-.::= .;-.- 1,.

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,.,..-; ~· ... '! ;: :j: !. :,.

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. 11.. ._ .•
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 337

Bloch begins by selecting "a few . . simple"

fugal subjects, written out in the first three staves of

page 9. On the bottom half of the page, he uses the first

of these subjects as the basis for a two-voice fugal exposi-

tion with a countersubject. He then adds an alternate ver-

sion of the countersubject ("or x").

In the example in the first two systems of page 10

("Miss Hier") Bloch notes that the momentum of the exercise

stops in the third measure, and comments further, with

reference to the marks (X):

monotony (A~ ! ) same range

The series of vertical lines in the fourth measure is

explained by an additional remark: "too harmonic!" A

corrected version is entered in the third system, and Bloch

mentions in particular that the tied rhythm in the first

measure of the revised countersubject--also indicated with

a mark (X)--is "more living." The example on the bottom

half of page 10 is evidently by the same student. The sub-

ject appears in a single staff, and the answer and counter-

subject are sketched in the following system. Bloch had

previously referred to this (on page 8 of Fugue I) as a

"poor countersubject." Here, he uses marks to point out

the specific problems. The countersubject is revised in

the lowest system and Bloch remarks: "more individuality

and contrast."
 338

In the exercises appearing on the first two systems

of page 11, Bloch again uses marks to indicate particular

difficulties. Those in the fourth and fifth measures refer

to a melodic repetition, while the horizontal line above

measure 7 is presumably intended to point out awkward part

writing. A revision is entered in the third system. The

example on the lower half of the page received the comment

"Difficult subject!" In considering a first fugal exposi-

tion using the subject (next to last system), Bloch was

clearly ~othered by the conflict of g and g~ in the third

measure. His revision, involving an especially interesting

countersubject, appears in the final system. On page 12 of

Fugue I, Bloch introduces a modulating subject, and in con-

secutive staves, writes out five versions of a

countersubject.

Page 13 of the manuscript book is blank. On page

14 begins the last of the four constituent sections of

Fugue I, which is concerned with the study of "General

Structure." As he had done in preceding pages of the

volume, here Bloch uses excerpts from the Well-Tempered

Clavier as a point of departure for his discussion. In

this case, he illustrates a number of basic concepts by

mean3 of an analytical study of the B~ major fugue from

Bach's First Book.

 339 Fu.gu.e_ I--p. 14

__ -, .B
~b
/\.
• •
) J
\7.1.!..1 fH'If(llo,- """·. 11J l1
~T
I J .u. I
~· I
,........,_ ,....., I
r--........ If'..._

l I'"'!" ~· ..., "

-
0

11 ,, ~
..:=
I
..._, z-....
SJ..- C=- I I @ I

{f)· .-I
. r;;A,J... <W (f) <13 ..,.,
.~
.
,
.,
' G
-"
~ ."., ~

flo~ sl ~-
::.:-- p ~ijj;?!hl c.m~~)J}J ~1 +---

~ -,
m-T- .
-
• .
l"' I 4 c
0
-fr ~ T .
-± -
.......
r-tr;
(0 C0
., Qj)
c

A ...... _'I

(~I
.., t 111 ~J \,-: .,. •;--: ; . -
c-
dU.b(~c¥
,....
~
 340

Bloch commences his study of the ~P major fugue by

examining tonal possibilities inherent in various versions

of the main theme.

Observe first. structure of subject, notes and key

" " Answer " "
possibilities of mixed combinations
(keys where they lead)

In the upper staves of page 14, Bloch writes out three

forms of the fugal theme: the subject, he notes, remains

in the tonic (according to German usage, "B" standing for

B~); the answer, appearing in the second staff, leads from

tonic to dominant; a "mixed" version establishes a subdomi-

nant relationship between the beginning and the end of the

fugal statement.

On the unlined page adjacent to the musical

examples, Bloch enters a schematic diagram illustrating the

fugue's general structure.

 341

I' !I ,. -~ --
.-.--~
... ______
.--.--~-Zf
......... '._ -- -~:.
__ ---- ......... -·
•
(j) Fl1 Ei>

l i IJ
I

\
\
\
Jot
\
'.
\
E
',, , ..
-----=--
I

F .
,. ·~-
'1>1 - ·-· . . ,I ,,

The three strata of the diagram illustrate the entire

length of the fugue. The arabic numbers noted below each

of them refer to the measure numbers. The horizontal lines

represent the individual voices of the three-part fugal

texture. The vertical lines stand for bar-lines.

Bloch draws slurs connecting specific points of the

horizontal lines, and these indicate the various statements
of the principal subject. Appearing at the beginning of
every slur is a small, circled arabic number, corresponding

to a numbering given alongside the three versions of the

main theme on page 14. By this means Bloch shows which

version is then being stated in the fugal texture. He also

enters letters illustrating the harmonic motion involved in

each statement.
 342

One can see from the diagram that the fugue in-

eludes two sections that are episodic in nature--one in

measures 17-21, the other in measures 30-36. These two

passages, which Bloch refers to as "transitions," command

his most detailed attention. In the diagram, Bloch desig-

nates (in blue pencil) the two transitions with larger,

circled arabic numbers, which in turn are to be associated

with the analyses appearing on the bottom half of page 14.

He begins by examining

Transition (!) From F to g minor

The material written out on the system directly

below this remark is an analytical sketch for the first

transition, with a sequence of whole notes representing the

fundamental motion of the bass in measures 17-21--a descent

by sequence of fifths from i to g. Bloch indicates, how-

ever, that from a practical point of view, this scheme

would be "too short" in proportion to the rest of the

fugue; thus, he shows with a sketch to the right in this

system that, in actuality, Bach extends this bass motion by

"prolongation" in measures 17-19. Bloch's comment reads:

(Bach uses the end of motif [i.e. the sixteenth

notes concluding the fugal subject--£ minor, measure
17], repeats it one degree higher [g-minor, measure
18] and from there g, in a regular sequence down to
V of g [measure 20])

In the next two systems of page 14, Bloch presents

 343

a similar abstract of the second transition. The fundamen-

tal bass motion for measures 30-37--a descent, again by

sequence of fifths, from c to eb --appears to the left, and

Bloch again remarks "too short!" He then gives a sketch

illustrating the way in which this second transition is

also extended in the actual fugue. The sketch shows that

in measures 30-32 the end of the motif is stated sequen-

tially in the middle register. This melodic fragment is

then transferred to the upper register in measures 33-34,

followed by a truncated statement of the fugal theme in

measure 35 (in c minor), and leading finally to the fugal

entry in E ~ major, measure 37. Bloch summarizes this ex-

planation in the bottom staff of page 14, showing that the

second transition consists, in fact, of two portions, both

of which move through a circle of fifths: from c to g in

measures 30-33; from g to ebin measures 33-37.

Pages 15-16 of Fugue I are blank; Bloch may have

been reserving this space to include additional analytical

studies, for when the examination of general structure re-

sumes on page 17 of the volume, his concern is no longer
with analysis per se; rather, the principles gathered from

his analysis are applied to the outline of an original

fugue which is follcwed on page 18 and 19 by two similar

studies.
 344 Fugue I --p. 17

),..~iJ

' l d ·£1 1l Ji q l J
1/
·-· I I I I f

-
'I..
"
I
-e-- • t
... ~·

I I 1 I I
.Ll
1'1. I
.
I

tr
I - (
r....-
_,

/] ~
'
~~·
+ -e- 9' ~ ?
--,: '
.L
-"

,..._
/JJt
L~
_.....,_
-,.-
{tt
I
r I 1 IT I TFI I - .,
--
.,
:?
-6- - '

~~ d
- ""'
11'1--.-.-

r"'
. ( G,rh J
IL
7
_),

!off . . ...

(: ~ ... * ~ ...
7
~
... - [/L-
I
 345 Fugue. I--p. 18

,, -~
.... __..,. , ."+ ....

) 't!.l !.,; .-.- - ~

!
,. I...
L)1 e.,

~· )~ rrw l ~ ~~

( _1_

r 6 r (
/\Jo

~,
~~
J

~·
111:~4. J~J.!. "::
""'
-
-
I'\ !...
- ., '

( -- -.... b1 ~,
.....
,

;-
.,..
~~
I'
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.............

.. ..
~

.
) .
~ + #-~ .2

~ &JJ;._
- j

,;.- 1-
"
0 JL """ L
 346 Fugue. I --p. 79

·~
.~

I
- ~

•• . ~~
, • +<~JI. " #='T
( '
/

_[

x
a .....
.
I I
'• r ;
3
 347

Bloch begins atop page 17 by writing out a fugal

subject and answer in C major. Below this appears a draft

for a fugue of twenty-seven measures. On the unlined sheet

adjacent to this material, Bloch entered a schematic dia-

gram that was probably made in preparation for the writing

of the fugue itself.

c-
,,..
-
,.,
---r~
' ~

The exercise proceeds as indicated by the diagram. The

exposition is followed by an episode in measures 7-9

("Tr.I"). Fugal entries return in measure 10, leading then

to a second episode ("Tr.II," measures 16-20). The draft

is concluded with a final statement of the fugal material,

beginning in measure 21, and a projected coda.
On page 18, Bloch presents a similar preliminary

diagram for a fugue in Q major:

I --
I y. r 1: Jt
]>~I I
G-,...-... ,~
I
 348

Here too, the structure of the exercise corresponds to de-

tails in the diagram. To the right in the fifth system,

Bloch offers an alternate version of the fifth and sixth

measures in the preceding system, where the final statement

of the main theme appears in the form of the subject rather

than that of the answer. The material entered in the last

system is essentially an elaboration of the second episode

("Tr.II").

In the exercises on pages 17 and 18, Bloch's con-

cern is primarily with general structure. Detailed melodic

writing is restricted, for the most part, to statements of

the fugal theme; episodes are sketched only in no more than

harmonic outline. Once the general plan was established,

however, it was obviously meant to be developed into a full

fugal texture. The example appearing on page 19 was there-

fore apparently intended to illustrate the final stage of

this course of study. It consists of an exposition and (in

measures 5-7) an episode, leading to a second section of

fugal entries in measure 8. The notation at the bottom of

the page is a "Scheme" for the episode. Bloch remarks

above its third measure that he ultimately found it to be

"too short" in context with the surrounding material. In-

terestingly, this particular fugal subject also appears in

two of the four complete fugues that are included among the

student manuscripts--those by Herbert Elwell and Mr. Lewis.

In addition, the pupils followed a structural plan

 349

identical with that illustrated by Bloch's exercise. Yet,

in spite of the their fundamental similarities, there re-

mains a vivid and striking distinction between student as-

signments on the one hand, and the work of an experienced

master on the other.

Studies in Configuration

The completion of the four constituent sections of

Fugue I in 1921-22 was followed after two decades by an-

other discussion of fugal technique. The intervening years

formed--for the most part--a hiatus in Bloch's teaching,

and it was only upon taking the appointment at Berkeley, in

1940, that he again turned to writings pertaining to the

study of fugue. Yet there is considerable continuity be-

tween the earlier and later manuscripts, resulting above

all from Bloch's veneration of Bach's works as the paragon

of fugal art. This became even more pronounced in Bloch's

later years: the fugal studies dating from after 1940

consist almost exclusively of analyses of fugues from the

Well-Tempered Clavier.

One group of analytical studies is especially perti-

nent to the present discussion--that entitled "Studies in

Configuration." The significance of these studies has been

examined in the chapter on Bloch's instruction in counter-

point. The "Studies in Configuration" were undertaken in

 350

conjunction with a course Bloch taught at Berkeley, and

they consist solely of analyses of works by the great mas-

ters. With his characteristic concern for creating a cen-

tral body of pedagogical documents, Bloch entered these new

analytical notes into the pages of certain volumes dating

from the 1920s. Thus, he appended to Strict III Part-

counterpoint an analysis of a Josquin motet; the contents

of La Forme musicale were supplemented with discussion of

works by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven; finally, to Fugue I

Bloch added analytical studies of fugal subjects from the

Well-Tempered Clavier. Bloch's examination of this diverse

repertory was based on a unique procedure which distin-

guishes "Studies in Configuration" from what would be

merely analytical notes. In every case, he copied out ex-

cerpts from the literature, deliberately altering certain

features of the writing. By discussing the altered version

of a given passage, he sought to reveal the musical logic

determining the actual form in which the composer had cast

his ideas.
The "Studies in Configuration" included in Fugue I

cover seven pages. They begin on page 20 of the volume,

and there Bloch provides a few introductory remarks:

New Notes (Agate Beach 1943) to be used in

Connection with my Courses in Berkeley--
Studies in Configuration--The essential
Principles--(as applied to "Themes of Fugues")
Motifs of the W.T. Clavichord, distorted
experimentally!
 351 Fugue 1--p. 20

~ /New /tlote.s) (A~ak !],.._,;._lt;m'l #:j¥3) lu t--

£VU.i- M.-
$/ucfk·e$ Lik LoTt.fo9u-r-~ _ 'r!u e_4;Je.·

Af.aafo 4- 1/u_ UJ. X Clao~J, wtf '. ~torted _ eA?~-:,;;_difaZJ; _ .'

(to z, "·u.d Col'l '4Q4...e&/A,.. ,m/A my Etai? :it.q 0,WJc$nz :__
I
II

9fie- flvFr fO I"Fr f .

 352

The initial analytical discussion on page 20 is concerned

with the theme of the C major fugue from Bach's First Book.

At the top of the page, Bloch writes out an example (" (l) ")

in which the final note of the subject (marked with an

" X ") has been altered. He comments:

C) This is bad - Why? Stops at x, after we are

accustomed to a motion and expect, logically, its
continuation . . .

It is corrected in a second version (" ® ") , and a series

of sixteenth notes is used to maintain the momentum of the

passage. Nevertheless, Bloch marks the example "Still

bad," and he mentions that one might find particular fault

with the ending of the subject on the tonic.

He goes on to condemn this reasoning as "false,"

and to prove his point, he refers to other fugal subjects

which do in fact end on the first degree, such as the f~

major fugue from Book I:

The C~ major does--Yes, but it starts with 5th!

and the range is such that the C~, as tonic,
appears at the end as a new note in place and range

Cf. the C~ minor! [from book I] Here it starts

with Tonic, ends with Tonic, however, excellent!
Explain ...

Bloch then turns his attentio1'1 (" Q) ") to the E b minor

fugue from Book I.

 353

CD Here we have three times the Tonic! Start,

middle, end! Excellent! Let us try to change
it, to understand the reasons:
a) Loses all Character! meas. 2 same range,
monotony!
b) . . . I change the end, gb (3d) instead of tonic
e ~ It does not go at all! . e~ is the
best! Thus, do not draw hasty and wrong con-
clusions making a "false rule'' about "End on
Tonic"! It all depends on the Structure, the
Plastic of the motif itself. What is good in one
case, may be bad in another!
 354 Fugue. I --p. 21

.
@c~~ ~
I ; i ' Q l± I; T 17 "ij JIr 1J G I r
~~~
I

";(.. "---
~ B~.,t
Gl e;;-;d g::J "1-J;l !1
If•: 5 l 1 r& j- JJ. tJ J qt jl
e&J> I

@ cf Cjf~ ..r-~ c~~.(l

~ .. r cllli kJ In:u-1 tL5 I 1

. - ....
 355

The initial two examples on page 21 refer to the C

major fugue from Book II. For the first of these, Bloch

alters the third and fourth measures of the original sub-

ject, and he criticizes the consequent lack of variety in

the melodic and rhythmic writing. But he adds:

. . . compare excellent themes, having regular

patterns and similar rhythms!! c min, below--c~
(II) D (II) etc.

In the second example, only the penultimate measure differs

from the subject, but Bloch notes that precisely in this

measure the momentum of the example "stops!"

Examples 3-6 on page 21 are concerned with the C

minor fugue from Book I. Bloch makes these comments:

. very bad! Beckmesser! Why?

This is "almost" Bach! Only two notes differ!
However, very poor ... Why? (Observe lower line
of notes()]
(2) Now, only one note differs! and it is poor ...
~ Only the end is changed! Cf with Bach and find
the reasons! (rather subtle![)]

In the seventh example on page 21 Bloch examines an altered

version of the subject in C minor from Book II, in which
only the last note is changed (from eb to c). He remarks

that the altered version is weaker because of the repeti-

tion of the note c ("X ") , and becau.3e of the lack of con-

trast resulting from the octave interval between the end of

the altered subject and the beginning of the answer.

At the bottom of page 21 ( 11 ® 11
) , Bloch enters an
 356

altered version of the C~ major theme from Book I, and he

also copies out the actual subject.

~ very poor, flat! no character Why? Cf Bach .

and "latent" upper voice ...

He indicates the "upper voice" (the line descending from

~-tf with markings appearing above the system.

 357 Fugue. I--p. 22

r.;-1

I
. ,
;
~
: ITii . .
"hlcl,J.
r.J.,,..c 1 :.t J./
ILl ...
lol./_'1_

1 •

'
~
; J J J- l?J T ! t_J
~e~IV(JC ~

;~ %1 IJ3] J~ l,j

.A \)h Sch.t~lP,..Jh~! p~'"iJ~"?:.-. 1

.JI. I AI -.
l/1
. . .. - . .
f"
~
f3a. .."Z, .,. 27
h-./1 C&
t; ~e'k·
u-~- )
~ IX
{ h
. . .. . . , -
I / ~
ff•
 358

The "Studies in Configuration" are continued on

page 22 of the manuscript book with three examples dealing

with the D~minor fugue from Bach's second book--in particu-

lar with the second measure of its subject. In a first

exercise, Bloch makes a change in the second measure, but

points out a resulting "lack of contrast," due to the re-

curring tonic harmony. He writes out a second version in

which "only one note differs fr. Bach" (the fR marked with

"X"). But in this case, as is shown in the sketch direct-

ly below the example, the change led to an unsatisfactory

repetition of an ascending melodic pattern. The subsequent

Example (CD) is the actual fugue subject composed by Bach.

Bloch uses a schematic illustration to point out a pair of

fourth skips appearing in the second measure, and in his

commentary he remarks that the melodic fourth is prominent-

ly featured in the fugue as a whole. He further stresses

the variety that is imparted to the theme by means of the

ornamental pattern in measure 2, noting that this pattern

appears frequently throughout the fugal texture as well.

In summary, he remarks:

Every detail counts------for a master!!

The remaining material on page 22 relates to an

examination of the subject from the E minor fugue in Book

II. For the example numbered Q), Bloch's markings point

out a repetitive pattern in the writing, highlighting the
 359

rhythmic diversity of the actual subject. As Example 5,

Bloch enters a second altered version of the E minor sub-

ject, in which a melodic detail appearing at the beginning

of the third measure is presented three times in direct

sequence, rendering the example one measure longer than the

actual subject. (In the original, he notes, this figure is

stated "only twice." The annotation "vi de" designates

the added measure.) But Bloch then shows, by means of the

sketch drafted directly below Example 5, the presence

within the actual subject of a "latent line" descending

from c (second measure, fourth beat) to i~ (fifth measure,

fourth beat). He observes that, while his added measure

may follow a certain logic from the standpoint of melodic

sequence, it also creates a "stagnation" which disrupts the

larger structural motion of the subject. He adds that the

eighth notes concluding his altered version of the theme

are "scholastic! pedantic!" in comparison to the triplets

which "bring new life" to the actual subject.

360
 361

Atop page 23, Bloch writes out two altered versions

of the subject from the f major fugue in Book I, as well as

the subject itself. He comments that Bach's original is

better because of variety in the direction of melodic

lines. The subsequent exercises on page 23 are devoted to

a study of the F minor subject from Book I, with the follow-

ing remarks:

3 Only two notes difference with Bach! They do not

disturb the descending chromatic line of the
motif--but! ... compare them ... (Repeat of c-b~, c-b~)

4 Here, wthkept the characteristic interval of Bach--

upper 4 --change of range--like two voices--but
we changed again two notes X X
This is not absolutely "bad" but mediocre! No
character! out of style with the original
structure--charm--of motif.

5 Bach
Here, with a quite regular Rhythm of .Jall over, we
have enough Variety of line . . a really chromatic
descending structure , with a·contrast, breaking
the line--in a logical way!--in the middle.

Below example 5, Bloch writes out a schematic presentation

of the subject, in which the descending chromatic structure

and the contrasting "upper voice" (stems up) are clearly

illustrated. In a concluding entry, Bloch adds a "Note for

students" in which he expresses the essential purpose of

the "Studies in Configuration."

Naturally, you can do these "distortions"--please

try!--with all the motifs. This is the best way to
experiment, and learn appreciating the perfection.
Maybe Bach himself did not get immediately the form
of his Themes in their final, perfect form--(Cf
Beethoven's sketches!)
 362 Fu.gu.e_ I --p. 24

~ I I 1 .-!"""""1 _l ~
.ALKi
...!!
. . ..!!. -
I
lJ r·-~-=- r1t r p I - I i II I. "-) I I I

)
1\olll
( + l _n.J- J. .J.. - J. ~
(-:L
:J1(_J
.
,r +' J I T I
~

EJ Z'f.f) 4;#" --

''I T
hi

• 1
 363

Page 24 of the manuscript book contains a series of

examples pertaining to the subject from the F~ minor fugue

in Book I. In a first altered version of the subject,

Bloch notes a lack of momentum in the second measure. He

comments on the second version:

CD Moves--but ... Bach reaches the B sooner.

Let us try

In a third version, the b is, in fact, introduced a beat

earlier, but Bloch criticizes the example on account of the

repetitive melodic motion. He notes that in a fourth

version

QD We reach the cf at same place as Bach .

As his markings show, however, here too Bloch was dissatis-

fied with the lack of contrast in the melodic writing.

He then enters a fifth version and comments:

CD We reach Band C~as Bach ... we have a progressive

motion to reach B, but after this first condensed
progression . . [measure 2, beats 2-3] we want
continuation of motion

This criticism led to a sixth version of the subject in

which the melodic writing is described as being better.

Yet the comparison to Bach's actual subject (Example 7) is

made on the basis of harmonic considerations:

 364

But Bach introduces alterations (a~then a~b~) thus

creating a kind of artificial leading notes .
first to B, then to C1f, which affords possibilities
of modulations withing the theme itself .

Bloch then sketches measures 15-17 of the F~ minor fugue,

pointing out a particular context where Bach makes good use

of the harmonic possibi;ities inherent in the subject.

365 Fugue. I--p. 25
 366

On page 25, Bloch presents a similar series of exam-

ples concerned with the K* minor fugue from Book II. He

enters a pair of marks ( X ) , indicating that in the first

altered version only two notes differ from the actual sub-

ject. The example, however, is found to be unsatisfactory

because of the repeated interval of a descending third.

Corresponding revisions led to a second altered version,

but Bloch remarks that it "is not better!" He then enters

a third version:

Here only one note is changed! but it sounds

ridiculous-!--Why? (is it on acct of f~ high,
intensive note? and the "skip"--this time--is
out of place.[)]

In Examples 4 and 5 Bloch examines alternatives to the high

i* in question, substituting first a d, then a b. He

concludes:

Only the f~of Bach seems fit!

Finally, Bloch writes out an example showing that the

actual subject is essentially an elaboration of a simple

descending melodic line.

 36 7 Fugue. I --p. 26

3 Jt ("j

~~

~ ~~

K 1¥~ 4) ZJ j] J!D l! f.ll J lJ J u • t..__.!

IJ j )) J1 I j
1.--...r

II :- :. I
I

J! ;
.
}
,
1
I

•
l
-;
JL 'I \ '
*
·' ; I,I
loo----_ _ _ , . .L......
.__.,..,.
.J_

\
 368

The "Studies in Configuration" are concluded with

the material appearing on page 26 of the manuscript book.

Exercises 1-4 are concerned with an examination of the A

major fugal subject from Book I. The markings above the

first example refer to the repeated melodic interval of an

ascending third. Bloch remarks that the ending of this

first altered version is weak, and subsequently writes out

a second and a third version of the ending. But he finally

notes that the ending of the actual subject (Example 4) is

superior because of the "contrasting lines!~

He then turns his attention to the B~ major sub-

ject from Book I and implements the principle of melodic

repetition, so integral to this particular subject, in de-

vising three altered versions of the theme. None of these,

however, are found to be equal to the actual subject. The

remaining material on page 26 is concerned with the fugal

subject in Bb major from Book II. Bloch uses a mark (X)

to indicate that only two notes in the altered version dif-

fer from the original subject. But he enters a schematic

diagram showing that these particular changes, in fact, dis-

rupt a structural sequential pattern (e -£; f-d) to be

found in measures 3-4 of the theme. A second diagram at

the bottom of the page points out a certain variety created

by the note ~ (second measure, second eighth note).

 369

Fugue Ibis

In the years following his arrival at Berkeley,

Bloch also undertook numerous other studies of fugues from

the Well-Tempered Clavier, most of which involved a more

conventional analytical orientation. The writings of such

strictly analytical nature will be dealt with in the fol-

lowing chapter. There remains, however, one volume among

those pertaining to the presentation of fugal technique.

It is a manuscript book measuring 10 inches by 7 inches, on

which Bloch made an annotation connecting it with Fugue I:

Additional Fugue Ibis.
bis
The contents of Fugue I--- amount to five pages

of material, consisting largely of fugal subjects written

by Bloch with his daughter Suzanne. The subjects date from

the 1930s--the decade in which Bloch was in Europe, on ex-

tended leave from his American teaching duties, as is clear

from a remark entered in the volume's first page:

A few "Themes" I wrote with Suzanne in Roveredo

(1932) on the stairs of our house ...

Yet other annotations appearing in Fugue Ibis indicate

that the entire volume dates from a much later time. It

seems that the manuscript of the fugal subjects was saved

through both the 1930s and the 1940s; then in 1950, Bloch

copied this material into the volume now designated Fugue

Ibis.
 b.
370 Fugue. I -<...6 --p. 1
 b~
371 Fugue I-----p. 2

1. ( CqJ,;..)
7 -- - - -

' .
·--;.
;~
. o:;

·qf
~··.~
,.

.; .

"' .

. '"r
 b'
372 Fugue I ~--p. 3

lr-10-jYJrQ
, I ·, I !
 373

bis
The fugal subjects included in Fugue I--- are

remarkable in that here Bloch demonstrates towards his own

writing the critical attitude evident in his review of

student assignments. Pages 1-3 of the manuscript book

contain a series of nine examples, numbered in the margin.

For the first example (page 1), Bloch notated four versions

of a subject (a-d) , and these appear to represent progres-

sive stages. The first version begins and ends on the

tonic ("T"). The subject was then revised to begin on the

dominant ("D"). In two concluding versions, Bloch further

revises the theme, with particular attention to aspects of

rhythm. In drafting a second example on page 1, Bloch

wrote out a statement of the fugal answer both above and

below the subject. Example 4, at the bottom of the page,

is presented in two versions, the second being a more

concise form of the theme.

Bloch entered a special remark on the plain sheet

adjacent to page 2 of Fugue Ibis:

I used this motif, later, in my "Concertina" (1950)

see page 5

The reference to "page 5" involves a discussion where Bloch

examines this particular example in greater detail. There

bis
is another fugal subject in Fugue I--- that was used in a

work of Bloch's: he made a note indicating that the exer-

cise written out at the bottom of page 3 (example 9) recurs

in the final movement of his Suite Symphonique of 1944.
 374

Bloch included among the original fugal subjects

bis
contained in Fugue I--- a single page of notes devoted

again to the analysis of an excerpt from a work by Bach.

It is the Overture for orchestra in D major, BWV 1068, and

in his discussion he is concerned exclusively with the open-

ing nine measures of the fugal section. (Bloch numbers the

measures commencing with measure 48 of the work here as

1-9.)
 b'
375 Fugu~ I ~--p. 4

'

~
.-Y .

r
, " , +. """ ..
- - 'If
ill. "\ ~
n!'!
~

l ,,
I ,--
:i--n
~

- ,-.:1..!7J
. .. .
•ll
/If,
ll. ...
•
.
- z. • " "' -
' I -
.J

~ ,l.•

/."

,\.'
 376

Bloch's interest is directed in particular at the harmonic

structure of the subject. He writes out the first four

measures of the fugal section in piano reduction at the top

of page 4, and points out the motion from dominant to

tonic. The fugal answer, conversely, enters on the tonic;

but Bloch shows that in order to lead again to the dominant

for the entrance of the third fugal voice, the answer is

extended by one measure ("prolongation," measure 4). Then,

as Bloch's annotation notes, this third statement of the

theme, like the first, moves from dominant to tonic (in the

violas). Bloch summarizes his observations regarding the

corresponding harmonic structure of the subject and answer

in the schematic diagram appearing in the middle of the

page. Next, he writes out the fourth fugal voice (entering

in the lower strings, measures 6-9). He notes that, as in

the fugal answer in measures 2-4, the theme is extended so

as to control the tonal context. But in this case, the

prolongation of the subject is even longer than in measure

4, resulting in an actual modulation to the dominant.

In page 5 of Fugue Ibis, the last in the manu-

script book, Bloch returns to examining his own fugal sub-

jects. The discussion, which represents by far the most

interesting material in the volume, is concerned with the

theme initially presented on page 2 as Example 5. (In that

context, Bloch mentions his use of theme in his Concertina

of 1950.)
 377

It seems that in composing the Concertina, this

fugal subject, which Bloch had first written almost twenty

years earlier, carne again to his mind; and after under-

taking a series of revisions, he included it as the theme

for a fugue in the work's final movement. These circum-

stances apparently prompted Bloch to go back to the manu-

script of 1932 where the fugal subject had first been

sketched. At this point, however, he found that his recol-

lection of the subject was not exact; indeed, the theme had

undergone significant change, and he examines the various

bis
stages on page 5 of Fugue I---.
 b~
378 Fugue. I---p. 5

/.1.'~ 6)

-... ..
.( - /:
~

..J-J y L..l-
1
iJ.-1' i;J.-1 I
I

..... -+' 1

,: f" I
~ ·" f I,·.~

1•• ~·

.::::- .
. . - - .r:r1.
},',

I
"
-
~
.- ~ ~=- •~~ tt• ... ; .
I
~·

r 1-J.-.1
l
~

,.
l I
i
.' .

j;J-1 ...J

. .

.,

. . >
"..,:1.,-~.:)f~, !=1~ ~ ~ .. ~ ..,/
,.
-
.
j ., '
i. -.;"\ I
""
rf-:
~.,...~u1~
~.[.,,
l >...., > ......... 'lo

. ... ,
' ~
. \,I ~ )>

'
i
.. .
7.
' . ....
.:
~
hi' -; - v
~ ~· ::..fo'
 379

The original version of the subject (1932) is en-

tered at the top of page 5. Below it appears the subject

as Bloch remembered it in 1950. He discusses the differ-

ences between the two versions in a commentary on the page

adjacent to the musical examples.

. the 4 I 4 instead of 2 I 4 . . probably to make

it longer . . also, modulating to e min. (see
Bach, e min. fugue of II vol.!) The sequence part,
also, is better, instead of the de~gending line--it
breaks it, and puts the charact. 7 more
"organically" in sight.

Bloch goes on to comment on the revisions leading to the form

of the theme as it appears in the Concertina. He notes first

that he "had difficulty finding a good csubject . " The

"sketch" designated as example 3 on page 5 offers a "tenta-

tiVe" version of a countersubject, with the fugal answer

above it.

As the material appearing directly above this sketch

indicates, Bloch also had difficulties in establishing a suit-

able bowing for the fugal subject. He remarks that he felt

it necessary to start the triplet figure at the beginning of
the subject with a downbow, in view of the accented first

beat. But this resulted in a situation where the subsequent

strong beats (bV , b l:f , c) each came on upbows. Bloch tried

to rectify this problem by introducing a slur in the triplet

figure, only to find that the slur "disturbs the motif!" He

concluded:
 380

Thus ... I saw that the motif was badly written, the
triplet, at the start, being an upbeat:

This observation, in turn, led to a revised version of the

subject, designated as Example 4: Bloch moved the triplet

to an upbeat, and then provided an additional beat at the

end of the first measure (" ® ") so that the inception of

the sequential pattern that follows remained on the down-

beat of the second measure.

Example 4, however, turned out to be unsatisfactory

for another reason:

. . . in such a way, a new difficulty arose: I

needed . . a 5/4 to introduce the Answer at the
right place! That irregularity displeased me

And while drafting a second version of the countersubject

(Example 5), Bloch noticed a further problem with the main

theme:

I felt also that the sequences were too repetitious .

Thus, Bloch arrived at a final version of the subject (Exam-

ple 6) entered at the bottom of page 5. In this version

the number of sequential patterns is reduced, dispensing

with the unwanted 5/4 measure. Bloch also points out that

in the final version, the additional fourth beat(" X,"

measure 1) is put into a "more logical and organic form."

 381

Bloch's writings pertaining to the teaching of

fugue are representative of the different aspects of his

pedagogical activity: the student manuscripts afford us a

unique view of his private instruction; Fugue I reflects

Bloch's desire to undertake a more formal and systematic

presentation of fugal technique, in which the examination

of excerpts from the repertory was later integrated by

means of the "Studies in Configuration"; finally, in the

bis
contents of Fugue I---, one finds Bloch involving in the

pedagogical process studies of his own, some of which he

ultimately applied to his larger works.

In spite of their diversity, the manuscripts have a

particular feature in common--namely, the consistent refer-

ence to Bach. Yet it is fundamental to Bloch's didactic

orientation that Bach's works are not used as strict models

for the writing of fugue; nor do they form a general stylis-

tic basis for his instruction, as did the sixteenth-century

repertory in the teaching of counterpoint. Rather, the pri-

mary purpose in discussing the fugues from the Well-

Tempered Clavier is to emphasize the purely artistic judge-

ment that guided their design--an attitude that Bloch in-

tended to cultivate in the work of the student.

 382

Footnotes
1
Suzanne Bloch, "Ernest Bloch," Musical America
(February 15, 1956): 22.
 CHAPTER V

ANALYTICAL WRITINGS

In the collection of Bloch's didactic papers we can

recognize two basic categories of writings, each correspond-

ing to a distinct stage of pedagogical activity. On the

one hand, there are manuscripts dating from 1918-29, when

Bloch held faculty appointments in New York, Cleveland, and

San Francisco. This material consists of notes pertaining

to harmony, counterpoint, and fugue, and it reflects the

fact that one of Bloch's major occupations during these

years was the instruction in composition. A second body of

manuscripts dates from 1940-52--the period of Bloch's

tenure at Berkeley, and the final stage of his teaching

career. His duties at Berkeley involved to a considerably

lesser degree the instruction of the student composer and

thus there is a shift in the focus of his pedagogical writ-

ings: the later papers consist entirely of studies in mu-

sical analysis. Yet the difference between the two por-

tions of the collection is less fundamental than it might

at first appear. The emphasis which Bloch placed on analy-

sis in his later years is best understood as a logical

383
 384

continuation of earlier didactic activity: in his early

writings, he examined excerpts from the works of the mas-

ters together with his own examples and those from stu-

dents; but as his pedagogical vision deepened, he came to

focus increasingly on the master models themselves, and his

studies became exclusively analytical in nature.

Nowhere is the connection of analysis with the

teaching of composition more evident than in the "Studies

in Configuration"--Bloch's title for a large body of analy-

tical notes dating from 1943. As has been explained in

Chapters II and III, he incorporated notes so designated in-

to earlier volumes on counterpoint and fugue. Yet another,

much more extensive segment of "Studies in Configuration"

is included in a third manuscript book which Bloch marked

Fl. Like the other two, this was initially used to record

material during Bloch's time in Cleveland, and before we

turn to the principal contents of this volume, we must

discuss its first dozen pages which were written so much

earlier.

La Forme musicale

The notes in Fl dating from the Cleveland years

(1921, according to an annotation on the front cover) ap-

pear in the first half of the volume under the title La

Forme musicale. They have been mentioned previously in

 385

connection with another part of the collection, Applied

Harmony (see p. 35) The major portion of La Forme musi-

cale, however, consists of a series of examples which are

indeed concerned with the presentation of elementary prin-

ciples of musical form. The manuscript book measures 10

1/4 by 6 3/4 inches. Its opening pages are left blank for

the most part--some contain miscellaneous entries. But

beginning with page 5 follow twelve consecutive pages of

examples which constitute the essential text of La Forme

musicale.
 386
La. FoJtme. mU6ic.a1.e.--p. 5

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/1 l Q I p·-' lil f) !J J !IpA I #! i ! .1)

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 387

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tp
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f t t
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:1 -,
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I ' . . I I I • : • f
ec=-: :- 6-== ·

:&flit h~.!! aflw.Ll Pill [~·. (· f. !fi *u 1Q:];l '~

I , I :, ' ' , '

f $FF 'I rrr IF:t'!o r tq t: ' £ I:J 2' I f ' 1 :;/ fi

( f f ·11 :J I to i U 7 t§ )U 1 l;) jf1 7J b IJ >£_, i

--
Wtl r ie-:,1 FfF · l r r r, 11 -d r 1111 r-·A,
), ~

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!¥#frr+D;r;/r 1 E~d. >} • ·d !tt-;
ffif~~~~~~~g~~tL~~~~~
r" l.-:
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 La Fonm~ mU6ical~--p. 7
388

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t
.
I
'
' J J/. I J 1 1
.
I

,.. ... .- I " w

I I I I • I I I

It I~:
I i
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.
#
~ I
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i
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i:
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 389

The exercises given on pages 5-7 of Fl are repre-

sentative of the material gathered under the heading La

Forme musicale. Atop page 5, Bloch wrote out an eight-

measure melody consisting of two symmetrical phrases. It

serves as the basis for the three pages of examples that

follow. Bloch begins by making specific changes in the me-

lodic writing, first in order to vary the melodic relation-

ship between the antecedent and consequent phrases, and

then (commencing with Example 5) in order to demonstrate

the principles of modulation. On page 6, he adds a series

of ~xercises illustrating a procedure which he calls "rhyth-

mical transformation." "Rhythm" in this context has the

same connotation as in the writings pertaining to the in-

struction in harmony: it refers to motion of strong and

weak on larger levels of organization (c.f. pp. 37 ff.).

Here Bloch changes certain features in the writing so as to

create new phrase structures--first "3 & 3," then "5 & 5,"

and so on. Finally, on page 7, he drafts a series of exer-

cises in harmonization, emphasizing in particular that the

use of root position triads should correspond with "strong

points" in the melodic line.

It is suggested by certain features of this materi-

al that Bloch did not regard it as an integral part of what

he wished to preserve as a pedagogical record; in fact, the

annotation La Forme musicale is actually crossed out on the

volume's cover. (It was probably at a later date that

 390

Bloch added the label Fl--"F" as an abbreviation for

"form," just as "H" and "C" appear on the volumes pertain-

ing to harmony and counterpoint.) Nevertheless, it is

clear that La Forme musicale was originally intended as a

companion volume to the other principal compilations dating

from this time--Applied Harmony, Strict III Part-counter-

point, and Fugue I--representing a deliberate effort on

Bloch's part in the early years of his American career to

deal with each of the major didactic disciplines. And the

inclusion in 1943 of "Studies in Configuration'' into these

volumes was made according to that systematic pattern: to

Strict III Part-Counterpoint he added analytical studies of

works from the polyphonic repertory; analyses of fugues

from the Well-Tempered Clavier were entered into Fugue I;

and Bloch appended to La Forme musicale examples devoted to

excerpts from the Viennese Classical masters.

Studies in Configuration

As has been explained in the preceding chapters,

the "Studies in Configuration" are distinct from more con-

ventional analyses by virtue of the singular manner of in-

quiry from which they are derived: in examining a given

excerpt, Bloch's method was, in essence, to alter detailed

features of the writing, with the premise that a comparison

of the altered version with the original would yield unique

 391

insight into the logic determining the actual composition.

It is in F1 that one finds the most extensive segment of

such "Studies in Configuration." In applying his procedure

to the works of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, Bloch studied

excerpts representing the principal genres of instrumental

music from the Classical era--the symphony, the overture,

the concerto, the solo sonata, and the string quartet. The

excerpts are in themselves quite short, the majority being

less than twenty measures long, but they are accompanied by

lengthy commentary. Bloch's observations pertain to vari-

ous aspects of the texture. The thrust of his discussion,

however, is concerned with showing how the constituent fea-

tures of the musical idea (i.e. its "configuration'') con-

tribute to a prevailing and organic structural unity.

Where it was relevant to his examination, Bloch made copi-

ous reference to Beethoven sketches published by Nottebohm,

realizing that the sketch material provided a basis for the

kind of comparative analysis, characteristic of his "Stu-

dies in Configuration," which he had otherwise to create by

his own means.

The "Studies in Configuration" begin with two pages

of examples concerned mainly with Beethoven's Sonata op. 2,

no. 1.
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 394

In the upper staff on page 17 appears an altered

version of the main theme from the sonata's first movement

(Example 1). Bloch notes that there is "no Contrast

harmonically."

(This might go for a "development" perhaps--but not

as an "Exposition" of a Theme.) However do not
draw . . hasty conclusions! Do not make a "RULE"
of it! Consider the circumstances, and "configura-
tion" of a motif.

He then cites instances from two other works by Beethoven--

the first symphony (Example 2) and the second symphony

(Example 3)--in which Beethoven's own writing shows no

harmonic contrast.

Examples ru_ and Q) are also based on I--and satisfac-

tory! Why?

Because in Ex. 1, the real motif is made of 2 meas-

ures. Its ascending form goes to a top note (a~
using all the notes of the chord (I). It is com-
plete in itself. Ex. 2 and 3, in spite of their
divisionary structures are quite different and
complete only in 4 measures.

The last two examples on page 17, Examples 4 and 5,

are concerned with another aspect of the theme. Bloch

alters the writing so that the second of the two-measure

"motifs" begins, like the first, with an upbeat .

. . . the two upbeats make too much similarity.

no breathing space, it seems . . . Is it the upbeat?
Making a "Rule" again? Let us try! !Ex sl seems all
right! The second upbeat does not disturb us! But
the Idea has been completely changed, transformed.
It is no more a motif of 2 & 2 but a real 4 bar
motif.
 395

He then refers, at the top of page 18, to one of Beetho-

ven's sketches (Example 6, published by Nottebohm in the

1
Zweite Beethoveniana) , noting that at this early stage

of work there "was no upbeat at all!"

The beginning of Example 7, in the middle of page

18, is identical with that of the Sonata. But Bloch alters

the conclusion by repeating the sequential pattern appear-

ing in measures 1-2 and 3-4 a third time in measures 5-6.

He remarks:

This is decidedly too much! too "expected" . We

have three times the same pattern .

Compare now Beeth. [bottom of page 18] . Here we

have a perfect form! Unity, Variety, enough Con-
trasts, thematically, harmonically, rhythmically,
progression . . . All is integrated. Just enough--
not "too much" . . . . Observe the "top notes"
ab --bP . now down again, but if, melodically,
there is a regression (ab ) a new stimulus is
created. B. uses only second part of motif .
and a condensed rhythm of 1 & 1 to reach the apex on
C (ff ) Observe also the basses [sic] progression!

On pages 19-20 of F1, Bloch examines a passage from

the third movement of Mozart's g minor symphony, comparing

aspects of it with the preceding excerpt from Beethoven's
op. 1 no. 2.
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 398

The "starting motif" from the symphony's third

movement is written out atop page 19. Bloch remarks,

referring also to the previous exercise:

Both start with an upbeat and an upward progres-

sion. . . However, in Beethoven the harmony--tonal
contrast--had to change to be satisfactory,
here ... it does not change (I--I, I--I) and is
satisfactory! -
Let us try to change it--Ex. CD [second staff]
Not satisfactory at all! Why? Of course, the
configuration is quite different from Beethoven.
Not only the rhythm of 3 & 3 but the structure .
of the motif. In Beet. we had one chord (I) Here
we have already contrasting effect (I (V) I).

With Example 2, he turns his attention to certain

rhythmic features of the g minor theme.

I transform it--the end of motif--with a masculine

rhythm. . this is too final . . Mozart [Example
3] goes on--the d on----zri"d beat is a kind of "conjunc-
tion" . . connecting the two fragments of 3 & 3.
Observe the Bass and logical harmonization, aesthet-
ically . . . The 3 bar has a g tonic on the 1st
beat but it goes further--feminine rhythm--and bass
6
has 3 Thus, no finality! 6th bar has g in
melody, but on a weak beat--and the Bas~ g, tonic,
5
though a little more decisive (3) than 3 is
counterbalanced by the fern. rhythm.

Example 4 reflects Bloch's further consideration of

features of rhythm. He alters Mozart's actual melody so

that the last of three consecutive presentations of the

main motif leads again to a feminine rhythm. (The same

version appears at the top of page 20, as Example 5).

 399

Ex. 4 Is absurd! Why? and where? There is exactly

one note different from Mozart, the final d .
"''t'"'"is exactly at the d tha.t we resent the lack of
variety, of change, . . of "stimulus" . . in
spite of the melodic progression we have three sen-
tences ending . . on a feminine rhythm!

What does MOZART'S marvelous instinct do? Precisely

at that point--that is, a little before, just before
we get bored . . . he changes ~n a masculine
rhythm. The f becomes the start of a new pattern
(at the same time it is the end·of the previous
one!)

In Example 6, Bloch adds (in green ink) to Mozart's

melody an extra repetition of a descending sequential

pattern.

The green distortion shows how ridiculous this would

be--again "too mechanical" . . Instead, see what
Mozart does. Variety--Contrast--Melod. Rhythm.--
Harmonically--and Key.

The excerpt on page 21 of F1, from Haydn's symphony

No. 102, is introduced as "Example on 'Prolongation', (that

is: Element of surprise . . . ) ."

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 401

In the first staff, Bloch writes out the opening theme of

the third movement, and beneath it he proposes what would

be "a regular, quite symmetrical second . . period" to

the theme (Example 1).

Now Haydn [Example 2] is quite different! He starts

the second period (4 meas.) exactly like the first,
and it is so square and . . . regular that we are
enclined to expect it to continue as before .
But ... there comes the "unexpected" After the repeat
of the 1st period of 4 meas. the motif which
appeared upbeat of 4th meas. is taken P inverted,
but 1 & 1 . . then ,r another measure new pattern
(related, rhythmically to start of menuetto .
this makes a group of three measures . . leaving
us in suspense. It is repeated, one degree above;
new suspense and 2 conclusive measures--ending in F

Toward the bottom of page 21, Bloch draws a schematic

diagram of the entire passage, and remarks:

Everything is unexpected . . Of course, the

Element of change, novelty, surprise, is due to the
regularity pervading the 1st proposition--as a
contrast! (in rhythms, keys, nuances) CF the
"Moderns"! Constant changes in measures, or key,
does not create "contrast," but chaos--or at least
an inferior, more brutal reaction .

(At the bottom of page 21 there appears a comment that was

clearly added at a later time: "Cf Fabre Variete (too

much) fiche [?] ." The reference is to J.H. Fabre, whose

scientific studies influenced Bloch in his "Studies in

Configuration"--cf. p. 27, above.)

In the subsequent eighteen pages of F1 Bloch ex-

amined an additional fifteen excerpts. Three years later,

in 1946, he undertook further "Studies in Configuration":

 402

he first entered two more excerpts into Fl, then, having ex-

hausted the available space in that manuscript book, began

another, F2, which contains five excerpts, covering seven

pages. For both volumes, he provided a detailed table of

contents.

In addition to the "Studies in Configuration," in

which a highly specialized procedure was applied to the

chosen excerpts, Bloch undertook in his later years also a

number of extensive studies deriving from a more generic

approach to analysis, and these form a body of what may be

considered strictly analytical writings. They are among

the most extrordinary documents in the collection. Each

manuscript represents the culmination of an extended proj-

ect devoted to the examination of a work or series of

works. In most cases, Bloch began his study by making a

vast number of notes--consisting of sketches, schematic dia-

grams, and commentary--in preparation of a formal analyti-

cal presentation. He then created from his notes a fair

copy, using a variety of colored inks, and placed the com-
pleted manuscript in a carefully labeled folder. Occasion-

ally, he returned to the manuscript in later years and en-

tered additional observations. Al1 of the analyses are

meticulously notated and preserved. Where the preliminary

notes survived, they too were paginated and put in proper

order. Bloch devoted the overwhelming share of his

 403

attention in these projects to the study of two works in

particular: the Well-Tempered Clavier, and the Eroica

symphony. He also dealt with shorter analyses of addi-

tional works by Bach and Beethoven and of works by

Musorgsky and Debussy.

Analysis of Works by Bach

The largest portion of the analytical writings is

contained in four folders of collectively well over a hun-

dred pages of notes devoted to the analysis of fugues from

Bach's forty-eight. The compilation of these manuscripts,

as is evident from dates entered on various pages, extended

over more than a decade, 1940-51, but the study of fugues

from the Well-Tempered Clavier occupied Bloch at every

stage of his professional life. In a lecture which he

delivered in 1947 he briefly recounted his work on this

repertory:

I had first studied Bach fugues about 1900.

Seven or eight years later I gave a course on fugue
in Geneva and found I had to study them all again.
Later I gave similar courses at Cleveland and San
Francisco; each time I restudied the fugues .
. . I have studied them several times in several
different ways; in 1940-41 I memorized all the
2
countersubjects, the exposition of each one, etc.

Similar accounts appear in the manuscripts of the collec-

tion; for example, Bloch included the following comment in

prefacing his analysis of the F~ minor fugue from Book II.
 404

first scheme: Frankfurt a/M., 1900-1, probably.

Later Studies ... Diamond Lake, Ore. Summer 1940.
Berkeley Cal. (Exposition only-Febr. 1942) Finally:
Agate Beach, Ore. December 1947. Memorized the
whole Fugue, very slowly--mentally by writing, not
at the Piano! After 12 days, I could write it,---
correctly, in 30 minutes--Still discovering, till
Dec. 30 (!) details which had escaped my thorough
attention. I had copied it, with 6 diff.-inks--made
a coloured "Scheme"--and I am writing now these
Notes (Dec. 30 1947)

It should be mentioned that while Bloch refers several

times to certain analyses dating from the early 1900s, no

such manuscripts concerned with the Well-Tempered Clavier

seem to have survived. The earlier material was probably

incorporated into the fair copy and then discarded. Thus,

we are often actually dealing with a compendium of analy-

tical observations drawn up over a period of as much as

fifty years.

Bloch's remarks bring to light two further integral

features of his method of study. To begin with, Bloch

placed great emphasis on the act of memorizing the fugues,

and it indeed seems that m~ch of the material contained in

the respective manuscripts--entire fugues, in some cases--
was written out from memory. The following comments (which
are also from Bloch's lecture of 1947) convey some of the

benefits he derived from this rigorous process:

 405

My mediocre memory made this a difficult task. I took

lessons from Bach, very slowly. I had to learn what
Bach had no doubt written very rapidly. When I had
penetrated the secrets of integration, logic organi-
zation, only then could I copy them with different
colored inks identified with various elements in the
fugue .
After long study I reconstructed each fugue .
to understand just why Bach had done thus so and so.
After this I could write ou3 a fugue from memory as
easily as writing a letter.

Also prominently mentioned by Bloch is the use of

colored inks in transferring the analysis to fair copy. In

the notation of material with different colors, being a

feature common to many of Bloch's didactic writings, the

change of color hinges most often upon some matter of or-

ganization or emphasis, without involving a crucial peda-

gogical point. In the analyses of the forty-eight fugues,

however, the procedure of applying different inks is vital

to the didactic presentation as a means of tracing the

complex use of thematic material in Bach's fugal texture.

The contents of the four folders reflect progres-

sive stages in Bloch's analysis. On the front cover of the

two earliest folders, Bloch made the same annotation:
. . /' /
Clavecln blen Tempere ETUDE des EXPOSITIONS. The first of

the two folders is blue, the other is gray. The cover page
of the principal manuscript contained in the blue folder

bears an additional note:

Fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier

Subjects and Answers (csubject) in colours
 406

This manuscript, like most of those comprising these analy-

tical writings, consists of a series of loose double-leaves

of staff paper, each enclosed in the next in the manner of

a gathering. It runs to a total of twenty-two pages, and

measures 13 1/2 by 10 3/4 inches.

 407 Etude..o de..o Expo-6ilion6
(blue fiolde~)--p. 1

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 408

As is illustrated by the page here reproduced (which

is representative of the contents of the blue folder as a

whole), the manuscript constitutes, in essence, a catalogue

of the main thematic material for each of the forty-eight

fugues. Bloch dealt with the fugues in his own systematic

order, taking first from both books of the Well-Tempered

Clavier the fugues in C major, then those in ~minor, and so

on. The fugal subjects and answers are notated in black ink

and the countersubjects appear in red. Where the opening

measures include an additional prominent melodic line (such

as the inverted subject in the ~~ major fugue from Book II)

it is copied out in green ink. (Here, and elsewhere, I have

identified the ink colors in boxes with arrows.)

In contrast ~o the other analytical writings, these

excerpts appear without commentary. It seems that Bloch's

objective was merely to intensify his familiarity with the

fugal subjects and countersubjects in preparation of further

study. He wrote in the lecture from 1947:

The development of each fugue de~ends on elements

contained in the subject itself.

There is another manuscript enclosed in the blue

folder, representing what was evidently the next stage in

Bloch's analysis of the forty-eight fugues. This manu-

script, which numbers twenty pages, is in fact a prelimi-

nary draft for that contained in the second of the two

folders (gray) entitled ETUDES des EXPOSITIONS.

 409 E:tu.de.,5 de.,5 Expo-6ilion6
(G~y 6olde~)--p. 1

(-'1- '"' llu W.T.cf.,,,.;,_,._:)

C-IT G C -

7
 410

As is evident from the first page of the manuscript

in the gray folder, this project involved a considerably

more extensive study of the fugal expositions. The manu-

script itself numbers thirty-two pages, measuring 12 1/2 by

9 1/2 inches. In his presentation, Bloch again examined

the combined contents of both books of the Well-Tempered

Clavier in order of key. An annotation on the outside

cover of the manuscript reads:

E.B. Agate Beach Oregon Oct. Nov. 1941

Bloch devoted his principal attention to studying as-

pects of the melodic writing. Invariably, an analysis has

its point of departure in a detailed examination of the fugue

subject. In many cases, Bloch focused on the smaller melodic

elements of the subject; with other examples, he removed cer-

tain ornamental figures from the subject to emphasize its ba-

sic structure. Such inquiry was integral to Bloch's analy-

sis, for he considered it an important characteristic of

Bach's fugal style that the features of the subject often re-

curred in the construction of secondary themes and accompani-

mental lines. He used a special term for his examination of

such intensely motivic procedure: the study of "thematics."

In analyzing a particular p2ssage, he sometimes marked the

reappearance of a recurring melodic feature with a bracket or

similar symbol. To trace the return of the principal themes

in an excerpt, he again used colored inks--in some instances

 411

introducing as many as six different ones in order to dif-

ferentiate various layers of the melodic writing.

On page 1 of the manuscript, Bloch applies these

procedures to the opening measures of the C major fugue

from Bach's First Book. At the outset, he makes a diagram

in the upper left-hand corner of the page, illustrating the

entrance of the four fugal voices, and he remarks that this

pattern of entrances (featuring two consecutive statments

of the fugal answer) is "unique in the W.T. Clavichord!

C-G G C." In the upper right-hand corner, there appears a

table explaining the use of the colored inks:

Black - Th. Ans.

Braun - related to Th. Ans.
Red- Ctsubj.
Violet- relates to Csubj--also ... Th.
Blue - free Ctpt.

In this particular instance, it seems that Bloch's

use of brown and violet ink serves the same purpose, as both

indicate material related to the fugal theme ("th."). In

fact, he mentions in another context that especially in the

C major fugue he was at times undecided as to which of two

colors should be assigned to a given melodic line since he

found all the thematic material in the fugue generally inter-

related. This feature is ~tressed in his analysis of the ex-

cerpt. Initially, Bloch notes that the fugue subject begins

with the scale progression of a fourth (designated as ''a").

He then points out that the end of the subject and the
 412

beginning of the countersubject consist of an "inversion by

diminution of a", and he concludes:

(Thus, the Csubject is partly from the Theme)

There is the further observation that the soprano voice in

measure 4 presents an inverted statement of the countersub-

ject, and Bloch marks again the return of the pervasive pro-

gression of a fourth.

He indicates the start of a stretto in measure 7 and

continues his study through measure 14. In this respect the

excerpt is exceptional, for with most of the other fugues

the analysis is limited to the study of the exposition. But

in all other ways, the example on page 1 typifies the con-

tents of the manuscript in the gray folder. For no fugue

does the analysis cover more than a single page of manu-

script, and the systematic attention to features of melodic

writing is present in all the analyses, as are annotations

concerning basic harmonic structure (such as those appearing

below the staff on page 1). There are also frequent annota-
tions referring to related studies included in other por-

tions of Bloch's writings. On page 1, such a remark is en-

tered in the lower left-hand corner. In a few of the ex-

cerpts, Bloch also compares variants as published in the res-

pective editions of Czerny, Busoni, and Kroll. Busoni's edi-

torial licence is mentioned with evident disdain.

Of all the features Bloch admired in the fugues of

 413

the Well-Tempered Clavier, the individuality of the works

seems to have struck him as a particularly vital manifesta-

tion of Bach's genius. He remarked in a lecture from 1947

that he had analyzed all the fugues and "found that no two

are alike, furthermore not one corresponds to the 'fugue

d'~cole' as taught at the conservatories." 5 The next

stage of Bloch's analytical studies therefore involved the

examination of the entire structure. These studies are pre-

served in a folder entitled "Fugues of the W.T. Clavichord"--

the third of the four compilations devoted to excerpts from

Bach's forty-eight. Material contained in the gray folder,

it seems, was actually used in preparation of the more ex-

tended analyses, as many details of the former are dupli-

cated in the latter.

Beneath the title "Fugues of the W.T. Clavichord"

Bloch entered an additional note:

(Analyses -- Copies in Colors . . )

(for Courses in Berekeley -- 1941-1942)

The date on the cover, however, reflects only the earliest

stage of his work in compiling this material. Unlike the ana-

lytical writings discussed earlier, the third folder contains

a set of independent manuscripts--each devoted to the study

of a different fugue--which were undertaken over the course

of ten years. We have a general idea as to the origin of the

respective manuscripts from a loose sheet of paper measuring

11 by 8 1/2 inches inside the folder's front cover, on which

 414

Bloch wrote out a brief inventory of its contents. Here he

listed the manuscripts in the order in which they were

placed in the folder and he also gave the dates for each

individual analysis. In addition, he indicated which of the

analyses were prepared for an actual teaching situation.

According to the table, the contents of the third

folder represent four distinct stages of activity. A core

of seven manuscripts dates from 1940-41, Bloch's first year

on the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley.

Later in 1941, he added analyses of four more fugues to the

folder. The folder contains two additional manuscripts dat-

ing from 1947-48, and, finally, two more which are dated

1951--the last year of Bloch's teaching career. Yet this

general chronology does not adequately account for the fact

that often a manuscript is itself comprised of material rep-

resentative of different chronological layers. The dates

given above correspond in each case to the formation of what

might be considered the primary portion of a given manu-

script, consisting of a double leaf on which Bloch wrote out

(in colored ink and probably from memory) a fair copy of the
analysis for an entire fugue. In most instances, the fair

copy was then itself used as a folder for further notes per-

taining to the same fugue. In total, the third folder con-

tains fifteen such manuscripts. Bloch's own inventory shows

that roughly half of these were undertaken in conjunction

with a specific class or lecture. For the remaining half,
 415

there is no reference to a practical reason for the analy-

sis, nor are there indications as to why Bloch happened to

select the particular fugues for detailed study.

Among the contents of the third folder is a manu-

script pertaining to the C major fugue from Book I of the

Well-Tempered Clavier. Again, the manuscript consists of a

fair copy (reproduced below), written out on a double leaf,

which, in turn, encloses a second double leaf and three

loose sheets--all containing further analytical notes. On

the second double leaf, Bloch gave a brief account of his

work on this fugue. Referring to the second double leaf is

Bloch's note:

These notes were taken in Oswego--Fall 1940

He continues, commenting now on the compilation of the fair

copy and two of the loose sheets:

Since, in Agate Beach, Ore. Oct.--1941, I memo-

rized--at the table!--the whole Fugue. This is,
decidedly, the only way to understand fully all the
implications! In re-writing, fr. memory, several
times, the Fugue, one discovers gradually--and al-
most without end!--new vistas, and thematic details,
which had escaped at first. This leads me to new,
additional notes--

Finally, in a different ink (clearly representing a later

entry) , Bloch makes reference to the third loose sheet of

notes:

(I restudied it, again, March-April 1948!, with

clearer insight ... ).
 416 Fugae6 on the W. T. Clav~~hond

(IJ

~ ........,'1-
c,. . II, 191 t'r-

~ ..... '
 417 Fugu~ o6 the W. T. Clav~~hond

i 36 etta a a I c; '"''/' Zt.5 5 )

1
IY. 4 hUA- C a.<t 3.:/-.

Belwla lao.
f AKCR.IMT
BRAND K!! 11. 11 llaee
Prta&ed Ia U. B.A.
KIW Yorll, U.S.A.
 418

The colors of the fair copy essentially correspond

to those in the excerpt from the gray folder, though in

this case the procedure was applied to the entire fugue.

And as in the manuscript from the gray folder, Bloch en-

tered brief remarks in the fair copy concerning details of

harmonic structure. There is, however, more extensive

commentary given in the supplementary pages, where Bloch

devotes his attention to four aspects of the example. He

focuses again on the fourth-progression at the beginning of

the fugue subject, and its prevalence in the total texture.

In the colored transcription, I have noted, as

usual, the Countersubject in Red. But, in the
references, later, it was very difficult to chose
between the braun (referring to [material related
to] the Theme) and violet [material related] to
Csubject on account of the great similarity of
both--The one (csubject) merely continues the
descending end of the Theme . . which, itself, is
an inversion, by diminution, of the 4 ascending
notes, starting the theme! Thus, (meas. 4) the
Sopr. Voice could be considered . . . as a thematic
fragment . . of Theme (either the start, by
diminution ... or an inversion of the end!! (or the
inverted 1st part of Csubject!) The whole fugue is
permeated by these 4 notes!

He remarks that this fourth progression is also extremely

important from the point of view of contrapuntal texture,

referring in particular to its use in the upper voices,

measures 12-13.

Considerations of contrapuntal writing led Bloch to

comment on a second aspect of the fugue, illustrating what

he terms "the Principle of Continuity." In essence, these

 419

observations pertain to the direct exchange of a particular

melodic figure between voices. Bloch points out several

such instances of exchange in the concluding measures of

the fugue: from bass to soprano in measure 20; from tenor

to alto in measure 21; from soprano in measure 22 to bass

in measure 23. He also mentions the descending melodic

line (soprano to alto) in measures 25-26, and, juxtaposed,

the ascending line (tenor to soprano) in measures 25-27.

In the page of notes dating from 1948, Bloch re-

turns to the examination of the fugal subject. But here,

his concern is with harmonic rather than melodic details--

his main point being that in the course of the fugue, the

subject is given several different harmonic "interpreta-

tions." He writes:

This fugue is very interesting to be studied from

this viewpoint. The same melodic "pattern" (Theme
and Answer) assumes constantly different
"meanings"--the same notes having diff. tonal
functions.

He goes on to compare the context of two identical state-

ments of the fugal answer, appearing in measures 2-3 and

measures 4-5, respectively. He notes that the first state-

ment is presented in the context of a modulation from C

major to G major. The second statement is treated simi-

larly at the outset, but it returns to C major in prepara-

tion of the entrance of the fourth fugal voice.

 420

Bloch also points out differences in harmonic context for

three statements of the fugal subject: measure 1, begin-

ning in C major; measure 5, interpreted as the dominant of

F major; measure 14, following a modulation to A minor. He

remarks further:

The several "Stretti" afford ample studies in this

regard. . . Play the voices separately. Then,
each one with the Bass. meas. 7 & 8 . . Still
more interesting 10-11-12 . . . Naturally, in the
triple and quadruple Stretti (14-19) the implica-
tions are still more complex and subtle! And also
later (19-23) when the voices come on more distant
notes . . a,e, (19) but gradually, the key of the
dominant G prevails, to return to the original key
of C. (And, at the end, the usual and frequent
inflextion--as a balance--towards the underdominant
F.)

The final aspect of Bloch's analysis pertains to

the larger structure of the fugue:

The form of this fugue is unique. . . The 6 quoted

bars~e] from the Exposition (1st part) (C-G G C)
After that, begins the ''Stretto"--only in two voices
first (measure 7-13) (2nd part) A cadence, in A
minor (13-14) closes it. The 3rd part (14-23) pre-
sents the "Stretto" in 3 or 4 voices. Then (24-27)
the Coda.
No "transitions"--no "divertimenti"--no "inversion"
of Theme--neither "augmentation" nor "diminution"
The interest of the fugue thus resides (stands)
ch~efly ~n all the harmonic (and contrapuntal)
combinations evolved from the Stretto itself.

Bloch dealt more comprehensively with the question

of larger structure in the fourth and final folder in the

 421

series devoted to fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier.

The fourth folder (or rather, in this case, a spiral-bound

notebook measuring 11 7/8 by 9 7/8 inches) is not dated;

but it was clearly conceived as a companion to the collec-

tion of manuscripts just discussed: it contains schematic

diagrams of fifteen fugues--one for each of the analyses

included in the third folder.

 422 Sc.he.mu o6 Fuguu

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 423

There is a reference in another portion of Bloch's

writings indicating that he first applied this particular

analytical procedure in his studies with Iwan Knorr. On

the page reproduced above, Bloch wrote out a diagram illus-

trating the formal structure of the C major fugue from Book

I. The first four sections of the page represent the en-

tire length of the fugue, with horizontal lines constitut-

ing the four fugal voices. Vertical lines correspond with

numbered measures, and slurs indicate statements of the fu-

gal subject. Across the bottom of the page, Bloch entered

the same diagram in a more condensed version--a procedure

which he followed for all the analyses. The use of colors

in the diagram essentially corresponds with that estab-

lished in the manuscripts discussed previously. As is

evident from certain remarks quoted above, and from the

basic divisions expressed in the diagram, Bloch viewed the

structure of the C major fugue as consisting of four main

parts: exposition (measures 1-6); stretto in two voices

(measures 7-13); stretto in three and four voices (measures

14-23); coda (measures 24-27).

The four folders of fugue analyses form a distinct

group of manuscripts. This is most obvious in terms of rep-

ertory; but there are further grounds for recognizing the

fugal analyses as a separate entity. Bloch's treatment of

the fugues--the systematic and progressive stages reflected

 424

in the four folders, the continual refinement of individual

analyses, the rigorous procedure of writing from memory--

add up to an unique style of study.

The essential economy of writing expressed in the

forty-eight fugues afforded an opportunity for truly exhaus-

tive study that might have been impracticable with works of

larger size, and some of the remaining analytical writings

are indeed different in nature since they are concerned

with more extensive structures. Among these is a folder

containing analyses of the other works by Bach. This

folder is inscribed:

Analyses diverse:

Sinfonia fr. Cantata 29 "Wir danken dir Gott" Analyses

(=Preludio in E maj fr. Partita for Violin alone)
Brand. Concerto No I (F maj.)
1st movement (Analyses et Notes)
Sketches Overture in D

Actually, the Overture is not included in the contents of

the folder. Bloch did, however, place some notes concern-

ing the D major Overture, BWV 1068 in another compilation--

his
the manuscript book entitled Fugue I--- (see pp. 375

ff.). It seems probable that he was dealing with BWV 1068

in both cases, and that in the course of time he decided

that all pertinent notes should 0e consolidated in Fugue

Ibis.

The analysis of the Sinfonia appears on six sheets

of staff paper, measuring 12 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches, (on which

 425

are written out all of the work's 138 measures), a single

sheet of plain paper showing a schematic diagram of the

movement, and a single typewritten page of commentary. Sev-

eral pages of draft material for the analysis have also

been preserved. None of these--nor any other writings in-

eluded in the Analyses diverse--are dated, but the style of

Bloch's remarks suggests that the analysis may have been

presented as a formal lecture.

As the annotation on the cover of the folder indi-

cates, Bloch made in his study of the Sinfonia reference to

the violin Prelude on which it is based, and specific

points of relationship between the orchestral version and

its model form the subject for the major portion of the

typewritten notes:

The Violin part is transcribed for Organ, with only

very few modifications due to the difference of in-
struments and keys; see measures 17-28 and 67-78.
Also a few details, measures 109, 110, 112, 119.
(Bach adds Strings, 2 oboe, 3 Trombe, Timpani,
Continuo.)

The choice of . . . E major, for Violin Solo,

is evident, when one compares it with the Cantate
Version [in D major], as well as the modulations to
certain keys. (E and A Major are very prominent in
the Violin Version. Thus, D and G major in the or-
chestral Version.)
It is undoubtedly a question of "open strings",
(E and A strings) for the passages which make
use of the specific properties of these ~trings.
(Cf measures 13-28, and 63-78, especially.) Also,
109-112, 116, 130-133. The corresponding passages
in the Organ part had to be modified accordingly, to
make them suitable for the instrument.
(Orgelmaessig)
 426

It is . . . possible that the choice of keys, and

modulations . . . was motivated by these violinistic
reasons. (The predominance of E and A major, Tonic and
underdominant in the Violin Version)

The study and comparison of the two Versions is of im-

mense interest. I have devoted the transcription and
the scheme to the Cantate Version, in its key of D ma-
jor, because it underlines in a magnificent way .
all the potentialities afforded by the monodic version,
from the harmonic and "thematic" viewpoints.
 427 An¥y~v., cii.vvu.,e
Sin6o¥Ua--p. 1

-·
8/lclf

I·
I , ------7

i if tl f1 @i !)TID!ijfi fi.rtl~ ,I, I !(,r trrfi£tj

rl:-~ - ~ 'r
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 428 Avw.ly.6 u d.i veM e_
S..lrq) oVU:.a- -
(.to o-6 e_ .6 he.e..t)

SI.NFON/A. JS.BACH

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 429

The analysis of the Sinfonia is entitled "Etude

thematique," and Bloch's primary attention in these pages

indeed went to the study of thematic structure. In the

course of his analysis, he observed that the melodic writ-

ing in the movement was principally derived from the repe-

titian of short "motifs," and he designated each of them

with a specific mark in order to trace their various recur-

rences. This procedure corresponds to what Bloch referred

to as the study of "thematics," and at the bottom of the

first page, he gives the following account:

I started the Study of "Thematics"--very subtle .

Then the rhythmic division based on thematics, also
harmonic background. Then "the keys"!

In the upper right-hand corner-of the page, Bloch entered a

table explaining the symbols used in the analysis. The

markings pertaining to melodic structure generally appear

above the staff, and they are made in variety of colored

pencils. Below the staff, Bloch used brackets to delineate

the "rhythmic division" --i.e. the characteristic combina-

tion of individual measures or groups of measures into pat-
terns of strong and weak. He points out, for example, that

the passage notated in the lowest system on the first page

consists of a series of two-measure units. Green ink was

used for indications referring to general harmonic motion,

and Bloch occasionally drew in arrows as a means of empha-

sizing the "direction of lines."

 430

In the remaining pages of the manuscript, Bloch

applied the same analytical procedures to the rest of the

Sinfonia. This material is followed by a schematic diagram

of the entire movement (reproduced above), written out on

an 11 by 8 1/2 inch sheet. The markings in the diagram es-

sentially correspond to those in the previous manuscript.

Harmonic structure is indicated in green ink. The "rhyth-

mic divisions" are again shown below the staff, with brack-

ets in brown ink. To indicate the thematic structure,

Bloch used a variety of symbols, drawn in such as way as to

represent the actual shape of the melodic lines involved in

each measure.

Bloch clearly conceived the movement as consisting

of five main sections. About the first section, (measures

1-28) he noted:

These 28 measures are practically a Pedal on I of

D! (The last ten bars on a real Bass pedal.[)]
(All the [melodic] forms appearing during these 28
meas., I call "motifs a"

Similarly, he designated a second section of the movement

(measures 29-50) on the basis of a change in harmonic or-

ganization and on the presentation of new thematic materi-

al, referred to as "motifs b." The return of the opening

material in measures 51-78 constituted, in turn, the basis

for what he designated as the third section of the move-

ment, just as a second appearance of "motifs b" defined the

fourth section, measures 79-108. Measures 109-38
 431

constitute the concluding section. In the portion of the

diagram dealing with the melodic structure, Bloch observed

a strict distinction between "motifs a" and "motifs b" by

using colored inks: the symbols representing the former

appear in black, while those for the latter were drawn in

either violet or red.

Bloch's analysis of the opening movment of the

first Brandenburg Concerto proceeds in a fashion similar to

that of the Sinfonia. It covers a pair of double leaf

sheets, on which Bloch wrote out the entire movement in

short score. There are also included six pages of type-

written notes, again apparently for a formal lecture. A

series of drafts for the notes has also been preserved in

the folder.

Perhaps the most striking feature of Bloch's study

is that the analysis itself is so remarkably detailed--

indeed, every measure is taken into account. This is, in

fact, an attribute of most of Bloch's analytical writings,

indicating a vital interest on his part in examining the

more detailed aspects of the texture. In this respect,

t~ere is a certain dichotomy between his own work and that

represented by more conventional schools of thought. The

conventional element, in Bloch's view, was manifest in the

practice of giving analytical consideration only to the

 432

obvious features of larger musical construction--strictly

formal analysis. As is suggested by his study of the Sin-

fonia, for Bloch the true substance of a composition rested

on smaller levels of organization and the means by which

they contributed to formal structure. Referring to one of

his own analytical projects, he made the following comment

in the lecture of 1947:

This has nothing to do with the analysis of music as

it is usually taught. . One has only to look at
the stupid analysis on the first page of some minia-
ture score editions to realize the truth of this.
They attach stupid labels to music, but nobody seems
to be aware of log~cal, organic, aesthetic reasons
for a work of art.

Bloch's orientation had significant bearing on his

analyses in two respects. In purely practical terms, these

detailed studies obviously reflect a certain concrete, ob-

jective knowledge of the work in question. But more to the

point, it seems from the very nature of the analytical writ-

ings that in concentrating so intensively on the motion

from one measure to the next, Bloch was able, in a certain

way, to reconstruct, to experience the process by which the
piece had been composed. In other words, each analysis
represents once again an actual lesson in composition.

There is a separate manuscript to be mentioned, a

volume measuring 5 1/8 by 6 1/4 inches, entitled:

Methodic Study of BACH CHORALS (Dec. 1928)

 433

It assumes an unusual place among the analytical writings

because it dates from an early period, and its contents rep-

resent not an analytical study as such but rather a practi-

cal guide to writing four-part harmony, based on the exami-

nation of selected chorale settings by Bach. Dealing with

each setting, a passage at a time, Bloch often changed as-

pects of the writing, and for the purpose of instruction

compared his altered version with Bach's original--as he

had done in the "Studies in Configuration." In some cases

he harmonized a setting of melody and figured bass by Bach,

and again compared the result with one of Bach's own har-

monizations. The volume contains forty-two pages of ex-

amples. The first eight pages are devoted to the study of

the chorale "Ach Gott erhBr mein Seufzen"; in the remaining

pages, Bloch examined the chorale "Gelobet seist du, Jesu

Christ" in several settings by Bach.

Analysis of Works by Beethoven

The distinctive quality of Bloch's analytical writ-

ings is particularly evident in a series of studies devoted

to the examination of Beethoven's Third Symphony. Bloch

compiled a total of five individual folders of manuscripts

pertaining to the Eroica. Most of this material, however,

is either preliminary or supplementary to that in a folder

containing what clearly represents the project's central

 434

document. The cover of the folder in question bears this

annotation: BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIE III EROICA op. 55. The

folder contains a manuscript of sixty pages and measuring

13 1/2 by 10 3/4 inches, for which the following remarks

(again from Bloch's lecture of 1947) might serve as an

introduction:

In 1940 I spent eight months gathering all the

sketches in the Nottebohm book of Beethoven
sketches. He sometimes wrote 16 different drafts
for a few measures before it [be]came the perfect
thing that we know. I tried correlating the
sketches for the Third Symphony to the finished
work. I copied them on a page with the final form
as we know it underneath. I analysed them according
to form, harmony, rhythm, key etc. I wrote no ex-
planatory text; all this information remains in my
head. Beethoven's instinct led him to discard cer-
tain sketches and retain others. This s7udy offers
a true and unique lesson in composition.

Actually, the manuscript, which Bloch refers to as

his "general analysis," is concerned only with the opening

two movements of the Eroica: pages 1-38 are devoted to the

study of the first movement; the contents of pages 39-60

pertain to the second movement. (A considerably less exten-

sive examination of the third and fourth movements is pre-

served in a separate folder, to be discussed later.) The

general analysis is comprised of a series of double leaves

with sixteen staves per page. Bloch used the lower two

staves of each system in writing out (in reduced score) the

first two movements in their final form. In a varying

number of staves above the reduction he copied for a given

 435

passage the sketch material published in Nottebohm's Ein

8
Skizzenbuch von Beethoven aus dem Jahre 1803.

Yet a comparison of the various stages in the compo-

sition of the Eroica was only one of Bloch's objectives.

Equally essential to the project was the examination of the

movements from a strictly analytical perspective. Bloch's

analytical observations generally pertain to basic aspects

of the texture. For example, he was consistent in indicat-

ing the harmonic structure of each passage. And throughout

he marked the introduction and return of principal melodic

lines. (On a double leaf in one of the other folders,

Bloch compiled a catalogue of the thematic material of the

first movement, giving each prominent "motif" its own

alphabetical de~ignation. The same alphabetical system is

applied in the general analysis.) Also included in the

manuscript are annotations pointing out major formal divi-

sions of the movements and, less frequently, certain de-

tails of orchestration. Bloch's use of colored inks in

writing out this material is neither as elaborate nor as

integral to the presentation as in his analyses of works by
Bach. Generally speaking, the movements in their final
form, as well as the corresponding sketch material, are

written out in dark blue ink; red ink is used for annota-

tions dealing with harmonic, thematic, or formal structure;

more detailed remarks often appear in green ink.

The most significant feature of the general

 436

analysis, however, is concerned with an aspect of the tex-

ture which Bloch calls, here and elsewhere in his writings,

"rhythmic division." He applied this highly interpretative

concept in attempting to define the combination of indivi-

dual measures as larger patterns of strong and weak, pat-

terns from which musical material derived its character-

istic shape. Bloch's painstaking inquiry into this, the

fundamental element in the organization of the musical

idea, is at the very heart of his effort to account for

every detail of the texture as contributing to a larger

musical context. In the analysis of the Eroica, the rhyth-

mic divisions are indicated by means of brackets entered

below each system. Below each bracket, in turn, appears a

number pointing out how many measures made up a given di-

vision. Perhaps in suggestion of their importance to the

analysis, the brackets and corresponding numbers were drawn

in red ink.

Bloch's thorough study of the final form of the

Eroica provided him with a basis for his examination of the

corresponding sketches published by Nottebohm. It should

be noted, however, that Bloch faced a number of practical

limitations in dealing with the sketches. To begin with,

Nottebohm himself had included in his monograph only a por-

9
tion of the sketches that appear in the sketchbook. Fur-

thermore, the very nature of Bloch's comparative analysis

made it necessary that some sketches be omitted from

 437

detailed study because they were not sufficiently related

to the final form. Finally, Bloch was able to incorporate

only as many sketches of a given passage as there were

empty staves on that page of his manuscript.

As Bloch himself mentioned in his lecture from

1947, there is very little commentary included in the

general analysis. But for some cases where Beethoven's

sketching had been especially extensive, or where points of

correlation between sketches and final form were particu-

larly intriguing, Bloch undertook a more documented exami-

nation on a separate sheet, ultimately including it among

the writings preserved in the other folders pertaining to

the Eroica. Such studies are significant because they of-

fer the only instances where Bloch presented explicit dis-

cussion of the relationship between the various sketches

and the final form. The most substantial of these dis-

cussions is concerned with measures 109-31 of the sym-

phony's first movement, represented in the general analysis

on the pages reproduced below.

 438 Beethoven Symphonie III
gen~al analy~~--p. 6

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 440 Beethoven Symphonie III
gene~al analy~~--p. 7

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 441

Bloch designated the passage beginning in measure

109 (atop page 6 of the manuscript) as "Conclusive Groups":

the several sections that conclude the exposition. The num-

bers entered in the left-hand margin alongside those staves

containing sketch material indicate the page in Nottebohm's

text in which a given sketch appears. Measure numbers for

the final form are given beneath each system. All other

markings correspond to those of the analysis discussed

previously.

Bloch marked the thematic material beginning in

measure 109 "motif g." He indicated that the final form of

this passage is comprised of two four-measure sections

(measures 109-12 and 113-16), the second of which is es-

sentially an elaboration of the first. He further points

out, however, that in two earlier versions of the passage

(represented by sketches taken from page 24 and page 25 of

Nottebohm's monograph) the material corresponding with

measures 109-12 consisted of a pair of two-measure groups.

There are two aspects of Bloch's study of the

sketch from page 24 which require additional explanation.

First, Bloch noted at the outset that the sketch was itself

"similar" to another sketch included by Nottebohm, and ap-

pearing on page 16 of the book. Second, the portion of the

sketch from page 24 which corresponds to the four measures

113-16 is only two measures long. Thus, Bloch was com-

pelled to add two blank measures. As a final observation,

 442

he remarks that the rhythmic motion in measures 113-16 was

in its final form an improvement over earlier versions

because it presented a better contrast with the eighth-note

writing in the measures that followed than did any of the

sketches.

Bloch's markings suggest that he considered meas-

ures 117-18 to consitute something of a transition to

"motif h" which is distinguished in his analytical scheme

by the introduction (in measure 119) of "binary accents."

Bloch also observed how closely the sketch from pages 13

and 14 of Nottebohm's presentation (the so-called "vierte

grosse Skizze") resembled the final form. But his primary

focus in this portion of the discussion was on the relative

length between measures 117-22 of the final form and the

corresponding sketches. In the right-hand margin on page

6 bis h e 1n
· d 1ca
· t es t h at, compare d t o t h e s1x
· measures o f

the final form, one of Beethoven's sketches was "about 18

meas.," while a second sketch was nine measures long, and

so on. Bloch also points out that the sketch material

appearing in the third measure of the upper staff on page
6bis ("® ") anticipates "motif i," which is ultimately

introduced in measure 132 of the final form.

In examining measures 123-31, on page 7 of the manu-

script, Bloch identified two salient characteristics of the

writing: the first was the constituent rhythmic division

of the passage, consisting of a five-measure group followed

 443

by a four-measure group; the second was the presentation in

measures 128-31 of a series of reiterated, "static," first-

inversion seventh chords. The related sketches were

examined with these two particular points in mind, and

Bloch wrote out the following observations on one of the

separate sheets included in another folder. The numbers

associated with each comment correspond to those provided

in the left-hand margin on page 7 of the manuscript.

14. is incomplete (but the binary rhythm is already

present)
20. is groping! . . . too confuse[d] & long
24 up. vague. no binary chords! (but a group of ~
measures is there, as in Ex. 24 down and 26 also)
24 down. the 5 measure group is fixed. But not the
6
following chords! (neither the stagnant 5!)
25[26?] The group of 5 is present (but vague,
harmonically) but the binary group is o.k.
Final form . (5 measures of harmonic motion.
Then :;::;
4 of static! but rhythm!)
 444 Beethoven Symphonie III
gene~al analy~~--p. 8

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 445 Beethoven Sympho~e III
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 447

The three pages of manuscript reproduced above rep-

resent Bloch's examination of the concluding bars of the

exposition. In his analysis, Bloch divided this portion of

the movement into four sections. The first (page 8 of the

manuscript, measures 132-35) was defined by the introduc-

tion of "motif i," which was in itself similar, as Bloch

2
points out, to "a "--i.e. the fragment of the opening

theme of the movement that is presented intially in meas-

ures 5-6. The second section, which Bloch refers to as

"Prolongation," consists of a sequential passage that brief-

ly delays the culminating arrival of the new key of the dom-

inant (measures 136-43). He designated measures 144-47 (on

bis
page 8 of the manuscript) as the third of the four

sections, coinciding with the presentation of "motif j."

The fourth section, finally, (page 9, measures 148-53) con-

1
stitutes the "return bridge," and is based on "motif a

alone"--i.e. a fragment representing the first half of the

movement's opening theme (c.f. measures 3-4).

In his examination of the corresponding sketches,

Bloch made the following observation:

In none of them can be found the "Prolongation"

(measures 136-40 (144) as it appears in the final
form. Instead many show a figuration in .
[eighth notes] (again!)

He also notes that the chords in measures 144-47 (motif j)

are present in most of the sketches, and he further com-

1 2
ments on the various combinations of "a " and "a " that
 448

are found in the sketches for the "return bridge," measures

148-53.

The second half of the exposition--contained in the

pages of the manuscript reproduced above--is represented by

a large number of sketches. For the remaining portions of

the first movement, on the other hand, there is a much smal-

ler number: only in a few instances could Bloch incorpo-

rate more than a single sketch into his examination of the

development section, and he found in Nottebohm's work no

early versions for the material following the recapitula-

tion. The same may be said of the second movement--only

for particular passages were there sketches to be compared

with the final form.

In absence of a comparison of corresponding

sketches, it is the strictly analytical aspect of Bloch's

study that comes to the fore. The concept of "rhythmic

division" again emerges as the most vital feature of his

work. As a case in point, pages 47-48 of the analysis are

devoted to the study of the maggiore section (measures 69-

104) of the second movement, and they offer a particularly
clear illustration of Bloch's approach.
 449 Beethoven Symphonie III
gene~al analy~~--p. 47

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 450 Beethoven Symphonie III
gene~al analy~~--p. 48

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 451

Bloch designated the theme beginning in measure 69

as "motif f," and he interpreted the opening four measures

of the maggiore as consisting of a pair of two-measure

groups. The following four measures (measures 73-76), how-

ever, were regarded as something more complex: Bloch de-

scribed the constituent rhythmic division as ''3 & 1"; that

is, he viewed measure 76 as a point of structural elision--

representing at once the conclusion of the preceding four-

measure group and the inception of a new passage in Q

~ajor.

He refers to the material in measures 76-79 as

"motif g." Further, he observes that in measure 80 begins

a development of motif f, and that there follows a series

of modulating one- and two-measure groups, leading to the

return, in measure 90, of motif f and the tonic C major.

At that point, Bloch noted, the treatment of motif f is the

same as before--i.e. beginning with a two-measure group

(c.f. measures 69-70). But he interpreted the ensuing meas-

ures (92-97) as a single six-measure group, emphasizing the

function of these measures in preparing for the climactic

return of motif g in measure 98. Similarly, he observed

that the second presentation of motif g (measures 98-100)

is somewhat ~ifferent from that in measures 76-79: in the

earlier instance, the material consisted of a passage of

four measures; but in the later case, it covered only three

measures--the expected fourth measure actually forms the

 452

beginning of the "return bridge" (measures 101- 04), which

leads to the return of the minore section in measure 105.

As we have mentioned, Bloch occasionally supple-

mented his usual analytical methods by introducing a sche-

matic diagram for the purpose of examining a particular as-

pect of the texture. One such instance is concerned with

measures 248-83 of the first movement (pages 15-16 of the

manuscript, reproduced below). Here Bloch used a diagram,

which appears at the bottom of page 16, to illustrate in

condensed form the harmonic structure and the "rhythmic

division" of the passage.

 453 Beethoven Symphonie III
gene~al analy~~--p. 15

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 454 B~~hov~n Symphoni~ III
g~n~~al analy~~--p. 16

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 455

In analyzing the fugato from the second movement

(beginning on page 49 of the manuscript) , Bloch applied a

technique of diagramming that one also finds in his studies

of fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier. His analysis of

the fugato is preceded by the note:

See additional page for the SKETCHES, and more

detailed Analysis.

It refers to a double leaf in another folder, which con-

tains mainly sketches and related commentary that Bloch

copied out verbatim from Nottebohm.

On pages 49-50 of the analysis appears a portion of

the diagram which Bloch used in examining the fugato. The

diagram is made up of a series of four strata, correspond-

ing to the four-part fugal texture, and Bloch used a dif-

ferent kind of line to represent each of the three prin-

cipal fugal themes: a slur for the main subject; a jagged

line for the first countersubject; a broken line for the

second countersubject.
 456 Beethoven Symphonie III
gene~al analy~~--p. 49

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 457 Beethoven Symphonie III
genenal analy~~--p. 50

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 458

Completing his study of the second movement, on

page 60, Bloch dated the manuscript: "Diamond Lake Aug.

1940." There remain to be discussed, however, four folders

which contain additional manuscripts dealing with the

Eroica. Perhaps the most noteworthy of the four is a

manila folder that Bloch labeled "Eroica notes diverse

schemes etc." The principal portion of its contents is a

series of 11 by 8 1/2 inch sheets on which Bloch wrote out

schematic diagrams illustrating the formal structure of

each of the symphony's four movements. Actually, the dia-

grams are of two kinds. The first, which Bloch refers to

as "general scheme," was designed to give a structural over-

view of the entire movement; in the second kind, Bloch ex-

amined the main sections of a given movement one by one and

in much greater detail. Reproduced below are two diagrams

concerned with the Marcia funebre: one is the general

scheme, and the other is devoted solely to the study of the

maggiore section.
 459 EJtoic.a. . . • dJ...v eM e .6 c.hemv.,
Ma.Jtc.ia. 6unebJte--geneJta.l .6c.heme

1JE£THovcl'l

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 460
Eto_{_c_a. • • • cii_veMe .oc.hemu
M~c_j_a. 6uneb~e cii_a.g~am--p. 2

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 461

As is evident from the general scheme, Bloch viewed

the second movement as consisting of four main parts:

1
"A " (measures 1-68); "B," or maggiore (measures 69-104);
2
"A " (measures 105-208); coda (measures 209-47). He

similarly designated the various smaller sections compris-

ing each of the four main parts. The opening passage of

1 1
A (measures 1-16) is identified as "a ," consisting of

the presentation and immediate repetition of "motif a."

There follows, corresponding with measures 17-30 and a modu-

lation to E ~ major, a "b" section featuring motifs "b, c,

1
d." Bloch regarded a third constituent section of A as
2
a variation of the first, hence referring to it as "a "

and indicated further that measures 37-55 involved a repeti-

2
tion of b and a , leading to a coda (and "motif e") in

measures 56-68.

The general scheme shows that Bloch applied to the

second part of the movement, B, again a formal division of

a
1 b a 2 , as he also did to the third main part of the

movement, A 2 --though in this latter case the tri-partite

structure is somewhat more complex. The first of the three

2
constituent sections in A , extending from measures 105-

59, is identified as a presentation of the thematic materi-

al which had opened the movement, followed by a ~ugato and

a short extension based on motif a. In turn, the middle

2
portion of A (measures 160-72) involved an "Episode lead-

ing to the return of . . a 1 , 1n

. .
c m1nor, " t h e eventua 1
 462

1
return of a in measures 173-208, representing the third
2
and concluding section of A

Bloch also divided the coda into three sections:

the first coincides with the introduction of a new melodic

line ("motif h") in measures 209-22; the second is based on

motif c, in measures 223-37; the third consists of motif a

"transformed," in measures 238-47. Then, in a final obser-

vation (appearing in the lower right-hand corner of the

general scheme), Bloch proposed an alternate approach to

the structure of the movement, in which the fugato and the

"episode" that followed were together considered an indepen-

dent section ("C"), while the ensuing passage in measures

3
173-208 was designated as "A ." Bloch mentions that from

this perspective the form of the entire movement would in-

1 2 3
volve six main parts: A B A C A Coda.

On the page devoted to the maggiore section, Bloch

devised a more extensive representation for the formal

structure of that part of the second movement, and from

this one clearly senses his systematic purpose in undertak-

ing the detailed diagrams and general schemes in combina-

tion. The contents of the detailed diagram are generally

self-explanatory; in essence, it is a purely graphic expo-

sition of the same analytical observations that were made

in his previous examination of this portion of the movment

(general analysis, pages 47-48; see above, pp. 448 ff.).

With the commentary at the bottom of the page, Bloch brings

 463

a few points to particular attention. He first recommends

1
that section a be carefully compared against section
2
a . The next remark is concerned with the two structural

elisions appearing in the maggiore section, one in measures

75-76, another in measures 100-01. Bloch further stresses

that the keys of the section should be examined as they

relate to C major. He then points out that the ascending

eighth-note figure in the lower strings, leading to the

first measure of the maggiore section, is featured promi-

nently in the section as a whole. His concluding remarks

refer to certain details of harmonic writing.

Bloch's schematic analysis of the Eroica Finale is

equally interesting. Obviously, he noted the overall form

of theme and variations. But as the "general scheme" of

the movement shows (reproduced below), in Bloch's concep-

tion the variation structure was ultimately only a compo-

nent of a tighter formal plan, by which the movement was di-

1 1 2 2 3
vided into six main parts: A B A B A coda.
 464 EJtoica. • • • citv e.M e. -6 che.me.-6
Fina.le.--ge.ne.Jta.l -6che.me.

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 465

It is evident that Bloch conceived of the three "A"

sections as related because it is in those portions of the

movement that the actual variations on the main theme are

presented; in contrast, the two "B" sections have in common

the introduction of a fugal texture. Furthermore, he was

strict about considering as variations proper only the sec-

tions in which the basic proportions of the original bass

line remain essentially intact. Passages in which princi-

pal thematic material appears truncated or otherwise struc-

turally altered are consistently designated in his scheme

as transitional or developmental in nature.

The details of the diagram are again self-

explanatory. There are a few small points of Bloch's

analysis, however, that merit more careful consideration.

For example, Bloch defined one section of the movement (the

fifth variation) as extending from measure 211 to measure

255, even though measure 257 has been for many writers the

more obvious choice as a point of structu!al definition.

Bloch evidently based his interpretation on the sudden

change of dynamics in measure 256, and on a certain continu-

ity of line in the horn part in the measures that follow.

The ensuing passage, which constitutes a transition leading

to th~ fugato in measure 277, is interpreted as consisting

of two distinct parts: the first part (measures 256-65)

involves a relatively straightforward presentation of pri-

mary thematic material, and thus Bloch included it in

 466

2
section A ; the second part of the transition (measures

266-76) is more developmental in nature, and was according-

. . 2
1 y groupe d 1n sect1on B .

Finally, Bloch designated measure 396 as the begin-

ning of the coda. This detail of interpretation, though

again at odds with that of most other writers, is consis-

tent with Bloch's tendency elsewhere in the analysis to

make a strict distinction between the variation proper and

any surrounding material that does not correspond to the

structural proportions of the main theme. As is again evi-

dent from the general scheme, Bloch divided the coda into

several parts. In his view, the coda begins with a passage

in E I? , followed by an "episode of quietness" in ~ b , and a

G minor pedal--the return of the "motif of Introduction,"

which leads from G minor to E~ major, forming the conclud-

ing section of the coda.

In addition to the completed schematic diagrams of

the four movements, there are also included in this Eroica

folder a vast number of drafts for the completed diagrams.

None of them are dated. But their general appearance sug-

gests that they were undertaken, along with the majority of

the other analytical writings, while Bloch was at Berkeley.

Also included in the folder, however, is a small body of

schematic studies preserved in a gathering separate from

those mentioned above. This group of writings probably

dates from a much earlier time--most likely from the years

 467

prior to Bloch's arrival in America. While superseded en-

tirely by the later diagrams, the earlier studies show that

Bloch's examination of the Eroica, like that of the fugues

from the Well-Tempered Clavier, represents several decades

of analytical observation. In addition, this particular

folder contains various pages of handwritten notes, the

first of which is especially interesting because it consti-

tutes a brief and informal chronicle of the work Bloch did

on the Eroica manuscripts in 1940. The remaining pages con-

sist of notes which he gathered from a book of essays on

Schoenberg, edited by Merle Armitage, portions of which are

concerned with certain comments made by Schoenberg about

10
the Eroica.

Bloch kept an additional series of analytical

studies devoted to the Eroica in a second manila folder,

which is inscribed:

Symphony III Special Studies all 4 mvts.

The Special Studies consist of five distinct manuscripts;

one of these--a manuscript of twelve pages and measuring 13

1/2 by 10 3/4 inches--deals with sketches for the Scherzo

and the Finale.

Here, even more so than in the case of the other

movements, Bloch was limited in his analysis by the compara-

tively small number of sketches published by Nottebohm.
 468

Thus he chose not to write out the entire final form of the

two movements but to concern himself only with those por-

tions of the Scherzo and Finale for which Nottebohm had

provided sketches: in pages 1-8 of the manuscript, Bloch

correlated sketches with measures 1-14, 61-80, and 167-231

of the Scherzo; in pages 9-12, he examined sketches related

to measures 1-11, 211-18, 227-34, and 242-58 of the Finale.

The most arresting discussion refers to measures

1-14 of the Scherzo. Bloch's primary attention in this

portion of the analysis was focused on the matter of

determining the appropriate "rhythmic division" of the

passage.
 469 Symphony III Spe.c.ial. S:tu.die.-6
Sche.nzo; Finale.--p. 1

''l
SCHERZo. I

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- -----------
 470 Symphony III Special Studi~

Schenzo; F~nale--p. 2

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 471

Bloch begins by pointing out that it is not

feasible to interpret this passage as consisting of a

strict succession of two-measure groups, because "one would

arrive . [at] a weak beat in measure 10--which is un-

doubtedly strong--and the final beat, measure 14, would be

weak!" As an alternative interpretation, he proposed that

the first full measure be considered an anacrusis, followed

by a strict two-measure grouping. But he found this ap-

proach to be equally problemmatic: it placed ". . meas.

seven on a weak beat. That Beethoven intended it strong is

proved by meas. 93,ff, Tutti!" Bloch concluded:

Thus . . one is compelled to consider irregular

rhythmic groups

Accordingly, in the actual analysis he designates measures

7-9 (page 1 of the manuscript) as a three-measure group, in

contrast to the surrounding two-measure divisions.

Bloch evidently found the matter of establishing

the correct rhythmic division a particularly challenging

aspect of his examination of the Scherzo, for it was again
a topic of discussion on page 7 of the manuscript.
 472 Symphony I II Spe.c.ia£ Stu.cite.J.>
Sche.~zo; Final.e.--p. 7

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 473

Bloch entered a remark to indicate that measure 198

(the first full measure in the upper system) was an anacru-

sis. He also pointed out, however, that this constituted

something of a reversal from two earlier versions of the

passage, where the material corresponding with measure 198

seemed rather to represent the beginning of a rhythmic

grouping. At the bottom of page 7 of the manuscript, Bloch

expressed some uncertainty as to the correct interpretation

of measures 207-08 of the Scherzo (lower system, second and

third measures), On the one hand, he marked measure 207 as

the last constituent in a group of three measures (205-07),

and thus as an anacrusis to measure 208; on the other hand,

he also indicated that measure 207 might be considered as

beginning a four-measure group (measures 207-11). His ulti-

mate decision in favor of designating measure 208 as a

strong point of arrival, was made on account of the intro-

duction of the tonic b ~ on the first beat of the measure.

But Bloch then found that such an interpretation was in

fact confirmed by one of Beethoven's sketches: in the

sketch, the material corresponding with measure 208 is
notated in such a way as to clearly represent the inception

of a musical idea.

In the remaining manuscripts of Special Studies,

Bloch turned his attention again to the opening two move-

ments of the Eroica. Among the contents of the folder is a

 474

double leaf entitled "Nomenclature des MOTIFS." It con-

stitutes, in essence, a catalogue of the principal thematic

material of the first movement. Bloch marked the themes

with letters--a system he then used in all studies of the

first movement. A second manuscript pertaining to the

first movement consists of eight pages, and here Bloch

copied out selected excerpts for the purpose of examining

the various harmonic contexts associated with two of the

primary themes. In pages 1-4 he made a "STUDY of FIRST

THEME . . its several presentations"; pages 5-6 are de-

voted to the "STUDY of motif 1-its modulations." ("Motif

1" was Bloch's designation for the theme which is first

introduced in the development, measure 284.)

The second movement is represented in the folder by

a manuscript consisting of a double leaf, the front cover

of which is inscribed:

Marcia Funebrae Sketches and add. Studies

pertaining to the FUGATO

One page of the double leaf contains sketches and ex-

planatory text copied out verbatim from pages 40-41 of

Nottebohm's book. On a second page, Bloch notated the main

theme of the fugato in the form of both subject and answer,

adding in both cases the corresponding versions of the two

countersubjects. The final manuscript among the Special

Studies is a double leaf which served as a preliminary

 475

draft for the portion of the general analysis devoted to

measures 23-45 of the first movement.

There remain to be discussed two final folders of

Eroica studies, though the contents of these are of lesser

importance. One of the two is a gray folder, the cover of

which reads:

Premiers Feuillets d'Analyse de l'EROICA

Most of the writings contained in this folder are drafts

which Bloch made in preparation of his general analysis. A

few additional pages resulted from a more detailed examina-

tion of Beethoven's sketches for the exposition of the

first movement. In addition, there are two pages that date

from the early 1900s, on which Bloch wrote out the main

thematic material from the first movement. This "Etude

Thematique," as Bloch entitled it, eventually served as a

preliminary draft for one of his later manuscripts--the

"Nomenclature des Motifs."
Bloch labeled the last of the folders "Beethoven's

Sketches--Misell. Notes (Berkeley 1940) ." It contains two

pages of sketches corresponding with measures 338-97 of the

first movement of the Eroica. These sketches were pub-

lished by Nottebohm, but were not close enough in concep-

tion to the final form to be included in Bloch's analysis.

A third page shows sketches for the first movment of the

 476

string quartet op. 18, no. 1. Bloch copied these out from
11
Nottebohm's Zweite Beethoveniana.

The several folders of material pertaining to the

Eroica are accompanied in the collection of Bloch's analy-

tical writings by a manuscript of eighteen pages, measuring

13 3/8 by 11 3/4 inches, in a folder inscribed:

Leonore Overtures No. 2 and No. 3

Comparative Studies (till "DurchfiThrung")
Agate Beach March 1946 EB

Viewing Leonore No. 2 essentially as a draft for Leonore

No. 3, Bloch undertook a comparison of the two much like

his comparison of the sketches and final form of the

Eroica: in both cases, once again, the thrust of the dis-

cussion extends beyond the parameters of conventional

analytical inquiry, addressing instead the very process of

composition.

As the title on the folder indicates, Bloch's com-

parison of the two Leonore overtures is actually limited to

a study of the respective expositions. On pages 5-6 of the

manuscript, he examined from each overture the passage con-

eluding the adagio section.

 477 Leo vw ne. 0v vc..t:Wte.-6
CompaJt~ve_ Studie.-6--p. 5

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fAAC:RIIINT ...
 479

The excerpt from the second Leonore overture is writ-

ten out on page 5 of the manuscript; on page 6 appears the

parallel passage from the later version. Bloch identified

two points of close correspondence: the first measure on the

respective pages, and the arrival at a dominant seventh har-

mony (page 5, measure 8; page 6, measure 5). His observa-

tions about the passage from the earlier overture are primar-

ily concerned with what seems to him a lack of economy in the

writing. Specifically, he indicated that measure 3 on page 5

is an "exact repeat" of measure 1, and similarly, that the

harmony in measure 4 is duplicated in measure 5. Mention is

also made of the repetition in measures 12-15 of material

initially presented in measures 8-11. Bloch concluded his

discussion by pointing out that while the excerpt from the

earlier version runs to twenty-one measures, the parallel

passage in the later version amounts to only ten measures:

. . . The essential "material" is kept! But what a

Condensation! Now, it is impossible to change a
single note! . -.--. It has all become organic--no
useless "stretch." 21 measures--in 10!

At the bottom of page 6 Bloch places a diagram of the respec-

tive passages for a more direct comparison of the material.

While Bloch particularly stressed the greater econ-

omy of writing in the revised Leonore overture, he noticed

various other improvements as well. His examination of the

beginning of the allegro, on pages 7-8 of the manuscript, is

a case in point.
 480 Leono~e Ove~~~

Compa~ve Studi~--p. 7

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CompaJtative. Studie--6--p. 8

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A&CHIIIINT
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 482

The close correspondence between measures 1-32 in

the two versions is reflected in Bloch's presentation of

the material: in this case he wrote out the excerpt from

the Leonore overture no. 3 directly below the corresponding

passage from Leonore overture no. 2. He placed measure num-

bers beneath each system, beginning with the first measure

of the allegro as measure 1. Interestingly enough, Bloch

had made a comparative analysis of these measures in an

slightly earlier manuscript--the volume entitled F1--where

he added the following remarks:

Both have exactly the same number of measures and

use identical thematic material. However the im-
pression is quite different! No. 3 seems perfect.
No. 2 seems too long, especially around measures
22-25 . . the end [i.e. measures 29-32] has stag-
nation and unbalance! All this is due to the
"organization" of the material.

Bloch's analysis of this material is extremely

subtle, and hinges, as do many of his analytical designs,

on the concept of "rhythmic division." From an overall per-

spective, he interpreted measures 1-32 of both Leonore over-

tures as consisting of a strict succession of four-measure

groups. But he also pointed out that each group was at the

same time comprised of smaller groups of measures, and it

was on this smaller level of organization that he found the

two versions to differ so dramatically. He determined the

internal structure of four-measure groups through features

of the melodic writing. For example, the internal rhythmic

 483

division of measures 13-16 of the second Leonore overture

was designated as "1 + 2 + 1," based on a melodic repeti-

tion in measures 14-15, and the contrast it forms with

melodic patterns in measure 13 and measure 16.

The melodic writing in the initial measures of the

two versions is essentially the same. Bloch noticed, how-

ever, that this ends in measure 12; in fact, he singled out

the first beat in measure 13 as the exact point in which

the two versions significantly diverge. In both versions,

the melodic writing in measures 13-32 consists mainly of an

arpeggiated diminished triad on b. But while the series of

arpeggios in the second overture actually begins on b

(measure 13), the melodic pattern in the third overture

starts a third higher with a first inversion triad. Bloch

regarded this as a decisive difference, because as the

arpeggiated patterns differ so, too, do the characteristic

rhythmic divisions.

In essence, Bloch seems to have felt there was not

sufficient variety of rhythmic divisions in measures 13-32

of the earlier version. Beginning with measure 13, he in-

terpreted the four-measure groups leading to measure 32 as

follows: "1 + 2 + 1; 1 + 2 + 1; 1 + 2 + 1; 1 + 3; 1 + 3."

Bloch based his critique of the passage in measures 22-25

("too long") on the threefold repetition of the pattern

"1 + 2 + 1."

As for the corresponding section of Leonore

 484

overture no. 3, Bloch shows that the groupings are indeed

more varied: "1 + 2 + 1; 1 + 2 + 1; 1 + 3; 4; 4." He

points out that further variety is given to the final group

of 4 by the introduction of brass instruments in measures

29-32, and he makes an additional comment regarding these

final measures in performance:

Brass ought to start p or ~y and make a cresc.

during the 4 measures. And no! accelerando, as too
many conductors do!!

In concluding his comparative analysis, Bloch

remarks:

From now on, (Development--Recapitulation--Coda) the

two versions are so completely different in concep-
tion and realization that a strict "comparison" is
impossible. The thematic structures, keys, modula-
tions, form in general differ entirely. Only careful
study and analysis . . . of both can show the enor-
mous differences. . . On the whole No. 3 is infi-
nitely better constructed and shows greater mastery
in all respects.

The folder containing the Leonore manuscript also includes

six loose pages on which Bloch made schematic diagrams of

the third Leonore overture. Like some of the diagrams con-

nected with Bloch's Erocia analysis, these diagrams seem by

their general appearance to date from a much earlier time--

possibly again from before Bloch's arrival in America.

 485

Analysis of Works by Musorgsky and Debussy

In addition to the studies dealing with Bach's and

Beethoven's works, Bloch included in the collection a pair

of manuscripts devoted to works by more recent composers.

They are preserved in a folder inscribed:

Etudes de FORME
Moussorgsky fr. Sans Soleil No. I No. II
Debussy fr. Pell€as D~but
Acte I Sc. II La lettre (fragments)
Nocturnes (Nuages)

This project was conceived in an entirely different spirit,

most evident in that Bloch was concerned exclusively with

brief portions of the composers' work; the manuscript num-

bers only fourteen pages. Furthermore, while the title

Etudes de Forme suggests a certain systematic purpose to

the project, in fact Bloch dealt here with the concept of

form very freely. He refers not to specific formal design,

but to structural continuity of any kind. The following

comment, entered on one of the pages of the manuscript,

conveys his general approach in examining this material:

. . attempting to "analyze" . . with no

reference to so called "tradition" or short siqhted,
superficial melodic or harmonic theories, but in re-
lation to more general and broader aesthetic
principles of configuration .

It was his conviction that the "aesthetic principles" were

universal, timeless: "Gregorian chant . . Mozart or

 486

Beethoven . . Preludes of 'Tristan' 'L'apres-midi

12
d'un Faune' . the principles have not changed."

Bloch mentions three principles in particular in

discussing the first of two songs from Musorgsky's song

cycle Bez solntsa (Sunless); they are "Unity--Variety

(change)--Progression," regarded by him as the trinity of

"perfection of form." The song is copied out on a double

leaf measuring 12 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches. Preserved with it,

and representing the essential portion of the analysis, is

a loose sheet on which Bloch wrote out only the vocal line

of the song, adding his commentary.

 487
Etude..o de. FoJune.
MU6oJtg-6ky--p. 1

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V' I
----·---------- -----
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 488
E.tu.de-6 de. Fo.tune.
MI.U>oJr.g.6ky--p. 2

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--------~-------- - ·------~---- --------- -.- - .. ·-- .. ·- ---- ---·- ··-

fh!t.nn 't~"'­
Sew tork, L'. S. J.
489 E.tude.J.J de.J.J FoJtme.
MCUJ oJtg.o k!f--
too.o e. .o he.e..-t

:.
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--"~ ~!:'"~..i·.;._.....__, _1,._
 490

Bloch begins by designating the recurring rhythmic fig-

ures in the melody with letters a-e, and he points out that a

different melodic interval is introduced every half measure.

The brackets above the staves indicate the "rhythmic division"

of each melodic fragment, and to the right appear annotations

referring to the "melodic progression." Thus, Bloch associ-

ated with "unity" the recurrence of basic rhythmic figures in

the melody; with "variety," the introduction of new interval-

lie patterns into the melodic writing; and with "progression,"

the motion of melodic contour from one phrase to the next. He

remarks at the bottom of the loose sheet:

One sees it: In spite of the similarity and unity of

the groups--and their subordination to the whole--
each group is different--in form and direction of
line like the inflexions of voice in a speech.

The portion of the manuscript devoted to the music

of Debussy consists of a series of double leaves which are

numbered independently from those reproduced above. Pages

1-7 contain excerpts from Pelleas et M~lisande, including

the beginning of the orchestral introduction to Act One,

and the opening portion of the second scene. On pages 8-

10, Bloch examined passages from "Nuages"--the first move-

ment of the Nocturnes. As in the analysis of the Musorgsky

songs, Bloch's principal interest w~s directed at various

points of structural continuity. Reproduced below is his

study of the initial measures of the second scene from

,.
Pelleas (pages 3-4 of the manuscript) .
 491 EtudeA deA FoJune.
Ve.btv.J~y--p. 3

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 492 E.tudeJ.J deJ.J Fo.tune
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 493

Bloch noticed a certain symmetry in the instrumen-

tal parts between measures 1-2 and measures 3-4 on page 4.

Similarly, he observed that the motion from e to d in an

inner orchestral voice in measures 4 and 5 on page 4 was a

repetition of that in measure 6 on page 3. He further

identified the rhythm of tpe vocal line in measure 6 on

page 4 as closely related to that in measure 4 on the same

page. At the bottom of page 3, he remarked:

Again, the whole Scene II ought to be studied. It

is entirely "constructed" and all essential true
principles of CONFIGURATION may be found--like in a
"symphonic work"--though subordinated to the drama

The manuscripts representing Bloch's work in musi-

cal analysis form an uncommon pedagogical bequest; there

are few composers who left such extensive analytical stu-

dies. It is also remarkable that these analyses were large-

ly undertaken independent of a specific need, but rather in

a personal quest of continuing study in the composer's
art. One is reminded of parallel cases in which the work

of other eminent composers--Bach, Beethoven, Verdi,

Stravinsky--was in later years marked by an increasing fas-

cination with the musical heritage. Some of the manu-

scripts in the collection date from Bloch's student days,

and it is evident that many of the projects completed in

the 1940s represent a culmination of several decades of

 494

study. Analysis was a matter of life long interest and con-

cern for Bloch--a testimony to the vital role which works

by the great masters of the past played in every stage of

the didactic scheme.

As singular as the manuscripts themselves are the

means of inquiry applied to them. Particularly noteworthy

is Bloch's method of using sketch material, an early ver-

sion, or (as in the Studies in Configuration) his own re-

visions to establish an objective basis for comparison.

Above all, he demanded of himself an astounding familiarity

with the piece in question, often achieved only by commit-

ting it enitrely to memory. His concern was not to estab-

lish a descriptive understanding of a work; he sought to

come to terms with the very process by which it had been

written. In short, he was guided here, as in all his

didactic writings, by the perspective of the creative

artist.
 495

Footnotes
1
Gustav Nottebohm, Zweite Beethoveniana (Leipzig und
Winterthur: J. Bieter-Biedermann, 1887).
2
Suzanne Bloch, "Ernest Bloch Pedagogue," Ernest Bloch
Society Bulletin 9 (1976): 254.
3
rbid.
4
Ibid.
5
rbid.
6
rbid.
7
Ibid.
8
Gustav Nottebohm, Ein Skizzenbuch von Beethoven aus dem
Jahre 1803 (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1880).
9
For a complete listing of the contents of the sketch-
book, see Rachel W. Wade, "Beethoven's Eroica Sketchbook,"
Fontes Artis Musicae 24 (1977): 254-89.
10
Merle Armitage, ed., Schoenberg (Freeport, NY: Books
for Libraries Press, 1937).
11
Notte b o h m, Zwe1te
. Beet h oven1ana.
.

12
New York Times, 24 July 1955.
 CHAPTER VI

DISSEMINATION OF BLOCH'S TEACHING

The manuscripts discussed in the preceding chapters

form what we have described as a core of writings within

the total collection. Also included as part of the record

of Bloch's teaching, however, is a large body of papers

which pertain to other aspects of his didactic activity.

They are classroom notes.

As he did with other material, Bloch compiled the

classroom notes in a series of notebooks and folders. The

major part was in fact gathered in conjunction with specif-

ic classes and lectures: one finds, for example, notes for

introductory courses in music given at the University of

California, detailed accounts of instruction provided to

school children (including Bloch's own son and daughters)
in the early 1920s, and drafts for community education
courses. Often these notes consist not only of material

compiled in preparation of a given lecture, but also of

observations made afterwards as to the effectiveness of

certain concepts or methods. Also related to classroom

instruction are copies of various tests and assignments

496
 497

that document the methodical basis of Bloch's teaching.

His work as an administrator is represented by another

series of papers; included here are discussions pertaining

to curricular matters and notes for committee meetings.

Bloch also kept placement exams and class rosters. They

are of particular interest because Bloch often added to

them his own impressions as to the aptitude of individual

pupils, some of whom were eventually to become prominent

figures on the musical scene.

In short, the classroom notes attest to the remark-

able diversity of Bloch's pedagogical activity, and they

will remain of significance for future research concerned

with these phases of his teaching. They are also valuable,

however, as a supplement to the core of writings. For

instance, some of the concepts integral to the discussion

of the teaching of composition are given their clearest and

most extensive formulation in the text of formal lectures,

where Bloch was obviously concerned with presenting his

ideas to a larger audience. The classroom notes also show

how portions of the "core" writings were occasionally in-
corporated in a teaching situation involving a wide variety

of students. Furthermore, one finds in the drafts prepared

for various lectures a uniquely vivid indication as to

Bloch's personality as a teacher: no doubt the sense of hu-

mor and the astounding intellectual energy evident in these

pages were equally manifest in his private instruction.

 498

There are seven separate compilations of classroom notes in

the collection under consideration, but a much larger body

of this material is still in private possession at this

time.

As one examines the total collection of Bloch's

didactic writings, there emerges from its contents a

uniformity of pedagogical purpose that belies the variety

of material included: in essence, Bloch sought to culti-

vate in students at every stage of development a deeper

understanding of their own creative faculties and an abil-

ity to apply to each musical experience the utmost degree

of critical insight. The true measure of his commitment to

this ideal is documented in his deliberate compiling of a

record through which the substance of his teaching would be

passed on. But the legacy of Bloch's pedagogical activity

has also been preserved in another form--namely, in the

thoughts and writings of those who experienced his teaching

first hand. A few of his most prominent students have left

particularly detailed accounts, and I have had the good

fortune to be able to supplement these through personal

encounters.

One tribute to Bloch's teaching, in fact, is

included in the collection: a pair of volumes by Quincy

Porter, entitled Notes Taken in Classes of Ernest Bloch,

Summer 1922. In that season, the twenty-five year old

 499

Porter (then in his second year of private study with

Bloch) attended a series of classes given by his mentor in

Ashland, New Hampshire. Classes met daily over a period of

several weeks, during which time Porter amassed a large

body of notes. At some point in his studies, he made a sec-

ond copy of this material by typing out the notes on sepa-

rate sheets. He paginated the sheets and gathered them in

two hand-bound volumes, adding to these a detailed index

and table of contents. Finally, it appears that he pre-

sented the volumes--consisting of nearly two-hundred pages

of text--to Bloch, who decided to preserve them with his

own didactic writings.

The two volumes are organized according to five

aspects of instruction, corresponding to the overall or-

ganization of the classes themselves: pedagogy, form,

counterpoint, harmony, and fugue. Porter was less exact,

however, in recording certain details of the class meet-

ings; Bloch himself noted on the cover of the first volume

that Porter's account was "not entirely accurate." Yet for

the most part, the principles and methods recorded by
Porter seem to correspond to those discussed in Bloch's own
writings, and to this extent the Notes provide a valuable

supplement as well as a testimony to the devotion and

industry which Bloch's teaching inspired. In a letter to a

colleague, dating from 1932, Porter wrote: "I learned more

from him than probably from any other teacher." 1
 500

Interestingly enough, Porter was referred to Bloch

for private study in composition by another Bloch pupil,

one who had also been a fellow student at Yale: Roger

2
Sessions. Sessions began his work with Bloch in Novem-

ber of 1919. But this actually represents only the first

stage of an association which spanned several decades, in-

volving simultaneous faculty appointments at the Cleveland

Institute (where Sessions was Bloch's assistant) from 1921-

25, and at Berkeley from 1945-52.

_Commensurate with his prominence in the scene of

twentieth-century music, considerable scholarly attention

has been given to Sessions's musical training, and a few

writers have dealt specifically with his studies under

3
Bloch. Sessions himself recalled, in an article from

1965, that "the lessons [with Bloch] were very, very

4
important to me." Nevertheless, these published ac-

counts of Bloch's instruction are generally less explicit

than one might wish in the case of this, his most cele-

brated pupil. Many of them date from later years when ties
of the work of teacher and student had patently loosened,

and thus, Sessions's studies with Bloch are often discussed

with restraint. Nevertheless, that their association was

anything but restrained i~ evident from an examination of

earlier writings; for example, Sessions made the following

comment in a letter to Bloch in 1921 after hearing a per-

formance of one of Bloch's string quartets:

 501

I can never tell you what an overwhelming effect

your music had on me. I am one of the millions
who will always ge grateful without measure for your
wonderful music.

Suzanne Bloch mentioned in a recent conversation that her

father, in turn, had great respect for Sessions, "his most

6
gifted pupil."

Sessions was responsible for referring at least one

other prominent young composer to Bloch. Randall Thompson,

with whom I met in 1983, explained to me that he learned of

7
Bloch's teaching while on vacation in Amherst. It was

the summer of 1920, and Thompson mentioned to Sessions

that, having just graduated from Harvard, he was looking

for a teacher--preferably one interested in the instruction

in counterpoint--with whom to continue his studies in

composition. Sessions then spoke of his experience with

Bloch, and by the fall of that year, Thompson had joined

him as a member of Bloch's studio.

Of course, as Thompson was to find out, the study
of sixteenth-century counterpoint was an integral part of

Bloch's teaching, and in Thompson's own mastery of the

discipline, both as a composer and a pedagogue, his debt to

8
Bloch is perhaps most evident. But Thompson related

another aspect of his association with Bloch which was

decisive. Unlike some of his fellow students (such as

Porter and Sessions), Thompson did not follow Bloch to the

 502

Cleveland Institute, and as a result his studies with Bloch

were curtailed. In the beginning of 1922, shortly after

the lessons with Bloch had come to an end, Thompson decided

to apply for a fellowship awarded annually by the American

Academy in Rome--one of the most prestigious prizes avail-

able to a young composer--which provided for a lengthy term

of study abroad. In preparing the application, he wrote to

his former teacher, inquiring whether Bloch would be wil-

ling to recommend him to the Academy. Thompson received

the following letter in reply: 9

 WILL\BD 'i. CL\I'P. PHf-~IOE:'iT
£R:-;EST BLOCil
MRS. 0.\ VIO Z. :'iOt:TU:"i, YrCE-PHE!;IDE:"iT
MUSICAL DmECTOR
H. C. 0.\LTO:"i. \"ICF.-PTI~IDE:'o"T
HOWARD ~I.IIA:"i:"'.\, JR .• \"'CF.-rRESIOE!'n· MRS. FR..\:>"li:LY:-1 B. 5.\~DERS
~lCTOR W. 51:\CI::ilE. TRF-\:;t;r.ER E.~ECUTI\'E DiR£C.10R
MRS. GEORGE :i. SIIFR\\"1:'1, SF.CRET.\RY TELEPIIO:'iE PilO:iPI::CT-I~:Jo

February 10 1922

Mr Randall Tho~pson
3 Akron Street
Roxbury, ;;ass

My dear ~.'irf ThoG~son:

I just received your letter of the 8th

inst a'~1 do not ;:;,ui te i..T.ow nhat to say. As much
as I i'iou:d like to halp you. I do not feel, after the
feu lessons we had together last year, that you are
ripe for entering the competi t:ion of t..'le Au:erican
--- AceLeiliy at Roffie. They state in their requirements
that the award "will be made only to a musician of
exceptional promise alre~dy thcroughly trained in
technic." I could net ·sincerely attest to rour finished
training. The only thing I could say i_~ that ycu
were a. very serious student and that ycu studied with
me the primary for:us in music. iie never went through
the higher forms, fugue, sopata for~, or the great fot~
of ch<;:.<Jer or orchestral !.'1U3i0. Do you wish me to .
write t..long these lines? I ~'l'ould gladly do it but ~I
do not kno\'t whether it :ro u2 ·1 ilelp you.

The-best reco~~endution ~ill be for you to

send ~arks that wiJl ~eak for the~sclvas. It is
possible that the progress you may have m~de in t~e
intervttl since you ':'forkt:d Rl tli rue has be..::n so r!:lp.!d
as to fit you for the ccndi tions required by the Fellox-
ship cc;;;;:;i !:.tee. If you are in doubt, j·cu ca.n send me
a specil:len of .'.'hat you hE;.ve done t:~nd I wi1l tell you
fran!<ly what I thin..< ~:Lbout it.

~ith kinde3t reg~res,

Sincerely ycurs,

E3-b
 504

In the end, Thompson made his application without

Bloch's assistance, and was in fact awarded first prize by

thr~ Academy. He spoke to me of his dismay at Bloch's judge-

mcnt, and of his subsequent resolution to prove himself

deserving, at any cost, of a higher estimation. There

fo~lowed an extended period of concentrated study during

which, Thompson recalled, he realized for the first time

the degree of industry necessary for the training of an

accomplished composer. Thus, in his later years he camE to

regard this exchange with Bloch as a turning point in his

10
career; it was, he said, "basically the making of me.••

In addition to Thompson (and, later, Sessions as

well) ther · was among Bl ~h's pupils in t~e early 1920s

another young composer w.:o was awarded the Rome prize:

Herbert Elwell. In fact, the Rome fellowship was only one

of several distinctions accorded to Elwell in those years

which marked him as a figure who would one day achieve

great prominence with his works. It is clear from a series

of letters between Bloch and Elwell dating from 1921-24

(presently housed in the Library of Congress) that Bloch

11
thought very highly of this particular student. After

studying with Bloch, Elwell was accepted into Boulanger's

studio as well, and no less an astute observer tha· Aaron

Copland, in an article surveying the contemporary s;ene in

 505

1926, named Elwell among sixteen other composers as

12
"America's young men of promise."

Elwell was eventually to become well-estabished in

the musical community, serving for many years as head of

the composition department of the Cleveland Institute and

as music critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. But he nev-

er gained the stature as a composer that had been predicted

for him; today even those works which earned him his early

recognition have been forgotten. Yet he remains of special

interest in the context of the present study because of a

collection of papers, reflecting his renewed contact with

Bloch in the 1950s, to which we will return at the end of

this chapter.

It would be impossible to account for every promis-

ing young composer who came to Bloch for instruction during

his first decade of residence in this country, for within

that period of time he established himself--first in New

York (1916-20), then at the Cleveland Institute (1920-25)--
as a major figure on the American scene. One has an indi-

cation of the extent of Bloch's influence from the situa-

tion at Cleveland, where, by dint of his very presence, a

newly-founded midwestern conservatory became temporary home

to some of the best minds of an entire generation of

American composers: Porter, Sessions, Theodore Chanler,

Mark Brunswick, Douglas Moore, Bernard Rogers, and others.
 506

In those years Bloch often referr2d to the Institute as a

"colony," in recognition of this extrordinary gathering of

g1' f te d mus1c1ans.
. . 13

Bloch's next faculty appointment--at the San Fran-

cisco Conservatory, where he was director from 1925-30--

was similar to that in Cleveland, though it was not blessed

with such a wealth of talented pupils. One respected

American composer who was enrolled at the Conservatory

during Bloch's tenure was Ernst Bacon. In a recent letter,

Bacon--now 87 years of age--recalled Bloch's teaching:

He loved praise, but it had to be unqualified.

As a teacher he was ruthlessly exacting to talent,
but tolerant to ordinariness.
I was not officially a student of his, but I
attended counterpoint classes briefly. These were
devoted entirely to 2 part writing in the manner of
Lassus. He himself wrote hundreds of studies along
this line. One day he beamed, "Last night I did as
well as Lassus might have--that is with a
bellyache."
I had one private lesson only--to which I
brought a fugue. He stopped at the theme and spent
the next 1 1/2 hours discoursing on it It was a
14
great lesson, a study in thoroughness.

A second letter contained an even more revealing tribute:

Bloch was one of music's greatest radicals,

scorning not alone the indecencies of music but of
politics, the media, the whole vulgarian shebang
that mouths democracy when meaning mediocrity,
patriotism when meaning greed, technology devoid of
humanity. He was a Jeremiah, lacking only the
resonance of deserved fame and time. ±
5
know of no
contemporary more passionately honest.
 507

In 1930, as has been mentioned, Bloch became the

beneficiary of a trust fund from a private donor which

allowed him for a specified period of ten years to devote

himself solely to composing. He gave up the directorship

of the San Francisco Conservatory, deciding to spend the

ten-year term in Europe. And with the departure from his

adopted homeland, the most illustrious stage of Bloch's

teaching career came to a close. For the circumstances

which marked his return to the classroom in 1940--when he

assumed a chair on the faculty of the University of

California--were altogether different from those he had

known in his previous appointments.

For one thing, at Berkeley (in contrast to the

positions he held in the 1920s) Bloch's duties consisted

almost exclusively of classroom instruction, involving

relatively little contact with advanced students in com-

position. Furthermore, it seems that Bloch, who in many

ways embodied the spirit and traditions of the nineteenth

century, had a certain difficulty relating to a younger

generation of pupils. But what surely weighed most heavily

upon him in these years was the realization that he and his

works had fallen victim to a pronounced change in musical

fashion. Bloch had left America in 1930 as one of this

country's reigning masters; he returned a decade later to

find other composers (including some of his European col-

leagues) and other styles of composition at the fore.

 508

Bloch was never fully able to make peace with these de-

velopments, and this had a profound effect on his attitude

towards the situation at Berkeley.

I had an opportunity to discuss Bloch's time at

Berkeley with two composers who attended the University

during his tenure there, Earl Kim and Leon Kirchner (both
16
presently on the faculty at Harvard). Kim stressed at

the outset that he did not know Bloch well. Apparently

their most extensive contact came in a semester-long semi-

nar taught by Bloch to a se+ect group of student composers,

to which Kim brought, on one occasion, a recent piece he

had written using the twelve-tone method. Bloch, Kim re-

calls, immediately spoke quite critically of dodecaphonic

procedures, and dismissed the piece out of hand. Kim told

me that in general he believes Bloch was not very influen-

tial in the 1940s, since at that time a far greater amount

of influence emanated from Schoenberg, with whom he studied

at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Kirchner (who was a member of the same seminar, and

studied with Schoenberg as well) explained that he, unlike

many of his fellow students at Berkeley, came to know Bloch

fairly well, working for a time as Bloch's assistant. And

he referred to Bloch as "one of the great teachers I've had

in any field." Asked if there had been a specific techni-

cal or methodical aspect of Bloch's instruction that was

particularly influential, Kirchner pointed out--and this

 509

might be taken as the essential thrust of our

conversation--that our notion of influence should not be

limited ''only to the didactic things"; what made the great-

est impression on him at the time was Bloch's presence and

stature as an artist, his intellectual breadth and energy.

Talking with Bloch, Kirchner said, "was really to be in

competition with a master." Kirchner referred to this as

"influence of the deepest kind." One can easily imagine

that Bloch had a similar impact on students in every stage

of his teaching.

There is another factor to consider in assessing

the nature and extent of Bloch's influence in later years:

by 1940 many of those who had studied with him in New York

and Cleveland had themselves assumed prominent positions in

American institutions of higher learning, and this led to a

wider dissemination of his ideas. Bernard Rogers, for in-

stance, served on the faculty of the Eastman School of

Music for nearly forty years. David Diamond, one of

Roger's students, recalled during a recent conversation

that in virtually every lesson with Rogers there was some
17
mention of Bloch or Bloch's teaching.

Diamond has similar recollections of his lessons

with Roger Sessions, with whom he took up studies in 1934.

They are confirmed by what we know of Sessions's teaching

from other sources--particularly Sessions's own didactic

writings. For example, in the introduction to his

 510

Harmonic Practice, Sessions is explicit in acknowledging

Bloch's influence on his method of instruction:

I owe the greatest personal debt, of course, to the

latter [Bloch], who in fact--and from quite liter-
ally the first ten minutes of my study with him--
showed me the path along which my thoughts and
impulses with respect to harmony were to 5ravel in
1
the thirty-one years that have followed.

But even in writings where Bloch is not explicitly men-

tioned, Sessions reveals an orientation that in its prin-

ciples is strikingly reminiscent of that of his former

teacher. One might point in particular to Sessions's con-

viction that a teacher must "respect the personalities of

his pupils, and . . . seek to develop those personalities

19
and not to mold them"; or to his regard for knowledge

of the musical literature as "an essential part of the

20
equipment of every composer." His association with

Bloch is reflected as he speaks about the conditions of

study that are most beneficial to the composition student:

. . . a young composer who is in the early stages of

his development is almost certain to derive more
benefit from association with an older colleague who
takes a real interest in him, and with whom he can
talk freely and informally about his own problems,
about music and musical questions in general, and
about many other matters not so obviously connected
With muz±C, than from almost any other single
source.

Andrea Olmstead, who devotes a special section to the sub-

ject of Sessions's teaching in her recent biography of the

 511

composer, stresses how closely this corresponds to the ac-

22
tual circumstances of his work with Bloch.

Quincy Porter, whose distinguished teaching career

involved faculty appointments at the New England Conserva-

tory and Yale, issued writings the very titles of which re-

veal the close connection between his didactic methods and

those of Bloch: A Study of Sixteenth-Century Counterpoint

Based on the Works of Orlando di Lasso, and A Study of

23
Fugue Writing Based on Bach's Well-Tempered Clavichord.

Descriptions of Porter's teaching provide similar evidence

24
of Bloch's influence. Yet Rogers, Sessions, and Porter

are but a few of those who handed down the tradition of

Bloch's teaching. If one considers the many fine composers

who learned their craft from this first generation of Bloch

pupils and eventually assumed positions in which they

passed on aspects of Bloch's instruction to another genera-

tion--that, in turn, has made its own mark in the teaching

ranks--one senses the magnitude of Bloch's contribution to

the American musical scene.

In 1952, at the age of seventy-two, Bloch retired

from his position at Berkeley; his affiliation with the

University is commemorated by a faculty chair in his name.

He spent his retirement in relative seclusion at his horne

in Agate Beach, Oregon, and it is in connection with this

final stage of his career that we must turn our attention

 512

again to the collection of papers gathered by Herbert

Elwell.

This material was left by Elwell to the library of

the Cleveland Institute, and has been recently transferred

to the Sibley Music Library of the Eastman School of

Music. It may be divided into three parts. The first

consists of programs from miscellaneous concerts featuring

Bloch's music and of several published articles on Bloch

written by Elwell and other authors. A second portion is

comprised of notes and writings which Elwell made in

preparation of various journalistic projects pertaining to

Bloch--work done largely in conjunction with his position

as music critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The ·final

and most valuable portion of the collection consists of

papers resulting from a correspondence between Bloch and

Elwell from 1953-55; included are six letters from Bloch,

and drafts of the letters which Elwell wrote in return.

Judging from the tone of their letters, it seems unlikely

that these constitute the only contact Elwell had with his

former teacher in the decades following the completion of

his studies; indeed, it is evident from reference to dates

that not even the correspondence of 1953-55 is preserved in

its entirety. But Elwell obviously regarded this particu-

lar series of letters--evidently the most important part of

his correspondence with Bloch--as especially significant.

It was apparently Elwell who initiated the exchange

 513

of letters. In the later months of 1953 he had heard a new

work of Bloch's performed by the Cleveland Orchestra under

George Szell, and the event prompted him to write to his

former teacher. It is worth quoting from the draft of

Elwell's letter at length because its contents reveal much

about the nature of the correspondence that was to follow;

moreover, the draft--written some thirty years after

Elwell's actual term of study--is in itself a striking

testimony to the lasting impact Bloch had on his students.

A
Mon cher maitre,
Quel grand plaisir d'entendre votre Sinfonia
Breve! And what a magnificent work--not only in its
conciseness but in the breadth and depth of its im-
plications! This is indeed an inspiring example for
us, your former students, who have long believed in
you and looked to you for guidance. I, for one, was
profoundly impressed and extremely happy over your
triumph. By this I mean not only the performance
and the reception here . . . . But by triumph I mean
above all the creative triumph of penetrating new
stratas of thought and feeling, of reaching out and
coming to grips with new problems, and best of all,
finding their solution not by renouncing the methods
and ideals of the past but by extending them to meet
and overcome the difficulties of the present. It
was this sense of continuity and natural evolution
in your new work that gave me such a strong feeling
of orientation and hope . .
My 25 years in Cleveland has given me what one
might call "a sense of history," and I suspect I am
now one of the very few persons here who realize
that Cleveland music really began with Ernest
Bloch. To you, Cleveland may seem far in the past
and not important. But where one has sown seeds one
can expect fruit. Often I have felt that the soil
here is not very fertile. In fact as far as I per-
sonally am concerned, there have been long periods
of complete sterility, where I have felt defeated by
the environment. But as Nadia Boulanger once said,
"everybody belongs somewhere," and now I suppose I
belong here and must be content with the fact that
my work is not much recognized elsewhere.
 514

It makes me happy to feel that perhaps I also

belong to a tradition which was inaugurated here by
you. I like to feel that there is some connection
and continuity of ideals between what was once
projected by you and what now transpires .
I am often in touch with other former pupils of
yours like Bernard Rogers and George Antheil. We
often speak of you, and believe me it is with rever-
ence and affection. If there is such thing as the
American school, it is you who have founded it.
Words are so inadequate and please forgive my
inadequacy in trying to talk about your work. I
have tried to live up to the privilege of being one
of your pupils, and I think perhaps I have made some
progress in the last thing I did, which Szell was
kind enough to perform earlier this season. I
thought ¥gu might be interested, so I am enclosing a
program.

Bloch was moved by Elwell's letter. But passages

of his reply to Elwell (dated 10 December 1953) also show

that he had begun to consider this renewed exchange as part

of a larger design.

Mon cher ami:

You cannot realize what your splendid letter--
as well as your remarkable article in the Pl.
Dealer--mean to me! . . . I could and ought to write
you a 20 page letter because I have so much to tell
you. . We ought to meet. If there were a chance
of your coming out here, we have room for you, you
could be our guest for as long as you care. I would
show you the tremendous pedagogic work I did in
Berkeley--when no one understood, nor cared!--in
analysis of Beethoven, sketches, Eroica, etc. on
Bach fugues--12 years of qrduous work of which you
have no idea. This work is as important as all my
creative work. I tried to understand the psycho-
logical principles--or laws?--at the back of our
musical language. Some day it must be published.
But, at my age, I fear that, after me, it will be
totally distorted by those in the hands of whom it
may fall ... And now, after your letter, I feel that
you may be the onl¥ one able to understand what I
"have been after." 6
 515

Having thus planted the seeds for a project in-

volving his pedagogical writings, Bloch must have been

delighted to receive Elwell's reply. The draft of this

subsequent letter shows that Elwell accepted Bloch's

invitation for a visit to Oregon, and proposed that they

might meet in the late spring of 1954. But even more

important, he responded readily to the idea of working on

the didactic material:

There is much I would like to discuss with you about

yourself and your work, and I will be frank. Being
on a newspaper, I would like some of your thoughts
for publication. But I am not coming merely for an
"interview" or as a reporter. Whatever you wish to
hold in confidence I will respect, please believe
me.
I will come more as a student and a disciple,
and, above all, an ardent admirer of your music. I
look forward eagerly to the privilege of exploring
with you the possibilities of doing whatever you
wish to be done with your pedagogical material,
which I know must be of inestimable value. I
sincerely hope I may be of some service to you in
this matter, and whatever time it may ta~7' I will
gladly arrange at your convenience . . .

Elwell met with Bloch in Agate Beach in May of

1954, when he saw the astounding collection of manuscripts
for the first time. In the draft of a letter to Bloch
thanking him for the visit in Oregon, Elwell writes:

What will not pass away is the sense of received

friendship and of renewed creative energy through
contact with your ideas and principles. It is with
the consciousness of their importance that I welcome
the privilege of writing about them and collaborating
with you in an effort to preserve an2 interpret them
without falsification for posterity. 8
 516

When in preparing for a second visit to Agate Beach, Elwell

wrote again to Bloch (the draft of the letter is dated 16

July 1954), the project was in fact underway.

I am now making as many notes as I have time

for in preparation for starting the book, and I am
jott~~g down questions which I shall want to ask
you.

It is difficult to determine the events that fol-

lowed, for Elwell's record does not give us a full account.

We know, however, that a book on Bloch's pedagogical writ-

ings was never completed. There is an undated draft of a

letter in the collection, in which it is evident that

Elwell was--at a relatively early stage in his work--

beginning to have doubts about the project:

Dear Ernest,
The more I contemplate the task of writing a
book about you, the more I begin to feel my
inadequacies. As I read the many articles on you
and your music, I am a little dismayed, because
others seem to ~eve said much better than I can what
should be said.

Suzanne Bloch recalls having met with Elwell during these

years, and that he was overwhelmed by the number of manu-

31
scripts included in her father's collected writings.

In the later months of 1955 the correspondence between

Bloch and Elwell evidently carne to an end--and with it, the

plans for publication. But among the Elwell papers is a

manuscript of three pages entitled "preface." There is

little question that it represents the opening of Elwell's
 517

projected work, and in the portions quoted below, his point

of departure is formulated:

Preface

. One of the first questions a pupil would

ask of Bloch, as pupils continue to ask of other
teachers today, was "What textbook do you use?"
Bloch's brusque reply was this: "I use no text-
book. Throw all of your textbooks out the window.
They are useless." There is reason to suspect that
this sacrificial summons was not acted upon fully
and literally by all of his pupils. Some of them
may have dumped a load of books in the street and
gone unarmed and uncontaminated to their next lesson
with the bright hope of acquiring a new and better
set of rules if not a complete spiritual rebirth.
But some of them undoubtedly retained on their
shelves one or two old harmony books, just in case
the going with Bloch should become a bit too rough.
And rough it was for those who sought forumlas
instead of liberating principles .
It is not to be wondered at that there are few
pupils of Bloch who could be called his disciples in
the best sense, composers who assimilated his ideas
cbmpletely enough to be able to carry them on, to
extend and expand them in an unbroken continuity of
tradition. This is certainly not because his teach-
ing lacked conciseness and clarity. It is rather
because its profundity prevented one from seeing the
bottom, from grasping the full import of its dimen-
sion and implications. It was teaching character-
ized more by the quality of inspiration than of
methodic organization, and in an era which clamored
for mechanistic crutches and short-cuts in music, as
in all branches of education, much of what he had to
offer fell on deaf ears.
If the soil has been infertile and unready for
the seed of Bloch's pedagogy, this is all the more
reason why ~t should be preserved in some permanent
form . 3

Elwell then raises the question whether he, as

Bloch's spokesman, might be embarked upon the very thing

Bloch "reviled and rejected"--a textbook. The answer he

gives is equivocal:
 518

. the present volume has not been written by

Bloch. It is merely a compilation of his observa-
tions, his experiments, and his exercises accumu-
lated throughout a lif3 time of the most selfless
and diligent research. 3

Thus it may not only have been the mass of material to be

covered but the conflict arising from the need of combining

the original text with paraphrase or commentary that may

have deterred Elwell in the end.

But while Bloch's writings remained unpublished,

the many tributes by those who knew his teaching first

hand, the accounts of his instruction from secondary

sources, and pedagogical writings which are rooted in his

methods show that Bloch's didactic legacy extends beyond

the contents of this remarkable collection; it is in fact

an indelible part of this country's musical life. Still,

Bloch's teaching has not received a degree of recognition

entirely commensurate with his contribution. Ironically,

this lack may be due precisely to those factors which made

his teaching so valuable to the young American composer:

he sought to establish no readily discernible "school" of

composing; he neither prescribed nor advocated a specific

technical approach to composition. The "school" he estab-

lished was of a different kind. From the vantage point of

an age in which the role of the teacher-composer is no

longer an exception, it is difficult to appreciate Bloch's

innovation. The art of composition had been thriving for

centuries on the direct exchange between master and pupil,

 519

but this tradition had become obscured by the rise of

textbook theory. Bloch was among those who restored it.

Moreover, it was he who brought it to the New World.

In trying to describe Bloch's particular mission,

we might refer to a passage from Emerson's essay The

American Scholar (Collected Essays, 1934):

Our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to

the learning of other lands draws to a close. The
millions that around us are rushing into life cannot
always be fed on the sere remains of foreign har-
vests. Events, actions arise, that must be sung,
that will sing themselves. Who can doubt that
poetry will revive and lead in a new age, as the
star in the constellation Harp, which now flames in
our zenith, astronomers announce, shall one day be
the pole-star for a thousand years.

The simplicity of the evolutionary process was here some-

what overstated: we are concerned with a merging of cul-

tures, rather than a straight departure, and the influence

proved reciprocal.

As an adopted citizen of this country Bloch not

only contributed to the development of the American musical

scene but the American musical scene had a great impact on

his development as well: though Bloch had been active as a

pedagogue in Europe, it was only in response to the rich-

ness of his experience in the United States that he began

the systematic gathering of his didactic writings. The

body of fugal studies collected from private students in

New York formed a striking first chapter; even more re-

vealing of his manner of instruction is the series of

 520

manuscript books compiled in conjunction with duties at the

Cleveland Institute, representing his formulation of the

disciplines of harmony, counterpoint, and fugue. Yet his

later writings--specifically, the contrapuntal studies done

in San Francisco and the analyses dating from the 1940s and

1950s (the major part of the collection)--are less directly

related to actual teaching situations, and one concludes

that these projects have their origins in some deeper, more

personal initiative on Bloch's part. For in a manner equal

to the merging of European and American impulses, the merg-

ing of the roles of teacher and student distinguishes

Bloch's work. In this respect, his "school" restored an-

other tradition of fundamental importance. Knud Jeppesen

had pointed out that, with the text of his famous Gradus ad

Parnassum, Johann_Joseph Fux was the first to adopt a his-

torical perspective in the teaching of composition by de-

claring himself a student--symbolically casting himself in

the role of Josephus, "the pupil [of Aloysius, i.e. Pale-

.
s t r1na ] wh o w1s
. h es to 1 earn t h e art o f compos1t1on.
. . " 34

The tradition of instruction initiated by Fux is charac-

terized by a historical awareness wherein the craft of the
masters of the past is recognized not only for its artistic

valLe, but also for what it can offer to the training of

the contemporary composer.

Bloch's work represents an emphatic continuation of

the historical orientation in the didactic process. Like

 521

Fux, he based his instruction on the style of the Renais-

sance masters. But similarly he used the works of Bach, as

well as those by composers ranging from Josquin to Wagner,

Musorgsky, and Debussy. The historical perspective is ap-

plied in service of all aspects of instruction, and the mu-

sic of both the distant and the recent past are examined in

the approach to a pedagogy of composition formulated for

the present time, an approach that turns pedagogy to

learning.

Bloch disarmingly epitomizes his didatic creed in a

passage from a lecture he delivered at the University of

California in 1947:

I have no desire to impose any one of my ideas upon

you. I will tell you what they are and how I have
arrived at them, but it is for you to discover for
yourself what ~s true.
student . . .
3 I am like you a
 522

Footnotes
1
willard Kent Hall, "Quincy Porter: His Life and
Contribution as a Composer and Educator (1897-1966) ,"
(D.M.A. Thesis, University of Missouri, 1970), p. 4.
2
see Roger Session to Ernest Bloch, 3 March 1921, Bloch
Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. In the
letter, Sessions recommends Porter to Bloch as a prospec-
tive student.
3
For discussion Sessions's studies with Bloch, see Edward
T. Cone, "Conversation with Roger Sessions," in Perspec-
tives on American Composers, ed. Benjamin Boretz and Edward
T. Cone (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1971); Andrea
Olmstead, Roger Sessions and His Music (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI
Research Press, 1985).
4
Cone, "Conversation with Roger Sessions," p. 95.
5
Roger Sessions to Ernest Bloch, 3 March 1921, Bloch
Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
6
Interview with Suzanne Bloch, June 1985.
7
Interview with Randall Thompson, October 1983.
8 see the essays included in Randall Thompson: A Choral
Legacy, ed. Alfred Mann (Boston: E.C. Schirmer Music
Company, 1983), particularly Randall Thompson, "Writing for
the Amateur Chorus," Idem, "On Contrapuntal Technique", and
James Haar, "Randall Thompson and the Music of the Past."
9
Ernest Bloch to Randall Thompson, 10 February 1922.
Personal Files of Randall Thompson.
10 rnterview with Randall Thompson, October 1983.
11
The Bloch Collection, Library of Congress, Washington,
D.C.
12
Aaron Copland, "America's Young Men of Promise," Modern
Music 3 (1926): 13.
13
See Ernest Bloch to Herbert Elwell, undated, Bloch
Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
14
Ernst Bacon, personal letter, 17 February 1985.
15
Idem, personal letter, 6 April 1985.
 523

16
Interview with Earl Kim, April 1985; interview with
Leon Kirchner, June 1985.
17
Interview with David Diamond, July 1985.
18
Roger Sessions, Harmonic Practice (New York: Harcourt,
Brace, and Company, 1951), p. xiii.
19
Roger Sessions, "The Composer in the University," in
Roger Sessions on Music, ed. Edward T. Cone (Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979), p. 202.
20
Idem, "What Can Be Taught?," in Roger Sessions on
Music, p. 225.
21 b'd
I 1 . , p. 223 .
22
Olmstead, Roger Sessions and His Music, p. 94.
23
Quincy Porter, A study of Sixteenth-Century Counter-
point Based on the Works of Orlando di Lasso (Boston:
Loomis & Co., 1940); A Study of Fugue Writing Based on
Bach's Well-Tempered Clavichord (Boston: Loomis & Co.,
1951); see also "The Functions of a Progressive Department
of Theory," The Musician 32 (October 1927): 14.
24
see Hall, "Quincy Porter: His Life and Contribution";
Garry E. Clarke, "Quincy Porter: Composer-Educator," in
Essays on American Music (Westport, CN: Greenwood Press,
Inc., 1977)
25
Herbert Elwell to Ernest Bloch, undated draft, Sibley
Library, Rochester, NY.
26
Ernest Bloch to Herbert Elwell, 10 December 1953,
Sibley Music Library, Rochester, NY.
27
Elwell to Bloch, undated draft, Sibley Music Library,
Rochester, NY.
28
Idem, undated draft, Sibley Music Library Rochester,
NY.
29
Idem, draft 16 July 1954, Sibley Music Library,
Rochester, NY.
30
Idem, undated draft, Sibley Music Library Rochester,
NY.
31
Interview with Suzanne Bloch, June 1985.
 524

32
Herbert Elwell, "Preface," Elwell Collection, Sibley
Music Library, Rochester, NY.
33
rbid.
34
Johann Joseph Fux, The Study of Counterpoint, trans.
Alfred Mann (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1971),
p. 18.
35
Suzanne Bloch, "Ernest Bloch Pedagogue," Ernest Bloch
Society Bulletin 9 (1976): 253.
 525

APPENDIX
Inventory of the Collection

Applied Harmony

Counterpoint 2 Parts
Strict III Part-counterpoint
{including "Studies in Configuration")
Books I - VII, IX {studies in two-part counterpoint)
Books I - II {studies in three-part counterpoint)

Fugue {Examples--from pupils)

Fugue I
{incJuding "Studies in Configuration")
DlS
Fugue I - -

F1 {"La Forme musicale"; "Studies in Configuration")

F2 {"Studies in Configuration")
Ciavecin bien Tempere Etudes des Expositions {blue folder)
Clavecin bien Temp~r~ Etudes des Expositions {gray folder)
Fugues of the W.T. Clavichord
Schemes of Fugues {spiral-bound notebook)
Analyses diverse
Methodic Study of Bach Chorales
Beethoven Symphonie III Eroica op. 55
Eroica notes diverse schemes etc.
Symphony III Special Studies all 4 mvts.
Premiers Feuillets d'Analyse de l'Eroica
Beethoven's Sketches--Misell. Notes
Leonore Overtures No. 2 and No. 3 Comparative Studies
Etudes de Forme

Notes to the Teachers of Theory, Cleveland 1920

Notes taken in classes of Ernest Bloch {Quincy Porter)
The Esthetics of the Musical Language
Music--1920 Teacher's R€ports
Material Course, 1950, 1951
Tests, U. of Cal.--1944, 1946, 1947
Miscellaneous Notes {Berkeley Courses 1943)
Berkeley Course 1947 - 48
U. of Cal. 1942--Seminar in Composition
{This listing does not include several portions housed at the
Library of Congress or still in possession of the family.)
 526

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Biography

Bloch, Ernest. Biography and Comment. San Francisco:

Mary Morgan, Co., 1925.

Bloch, Suzanne. "Ernest Bloch." Musical America 76

(February 1956): 22-23, 192.

Boatwright, Howard. "Quincy Porter." ACA Bulletin 6 (#3

1957): 2-5.

Cahn, Peter. "Hindemith's Lehrjarhe in Frankfukrt."

Hindemith Jahrbuch 2 (1972): 23-47.

Chiesa, Mary Tibaldi. Ernest Bloch. Torino: G. B.

Paravia, 1933.

Diamond, David. "Bernard Rogers." Musical Quarterly 33

(1947): 207-27.

Elwell, Herbert. "Quincy Porter." Modern Music 23

(Winter 1946): 20-26.

Goldman, Richard Franko. "Leon Kirchner." Musical

Quarterly 35 (1949): 616-19.

Hall, Willard Kent. "Quincy Porter: His Life and

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D.M.A. thesis. University of Missouri, 1970.

Hanson, Howard. "Bernard Rogers." Modern Music 22 (March-

April 1945): 170-75.
Kushner, David Z. "Ernest Bloch: A Retrospective on the
Centenary of his Birth." College Music Symposium 20
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Olmstead, Andrea. Roger Sessions and His Music. Ann
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Porter, Quincy. "Randall Thompson." Modern Music 19 (May-
June 1942): 237-42.
Ringer, Alexander L. "Leon Kirchner." Musical Quarterly
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Schwager, Myron. ~A Contribution to the Biography of
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Strassburg, Robert. Ernest Bloch: Voice in the

Wilderness. Los Angeles: The Trident Shop, 1977.

Zenck-Mauer, Claudia. Ernst Krenek; ein Komponist im Exil.

Elisabeth Lafitte Verlag, 1980.

II. Historical Studies

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the Arnold Schoenberg Institute 5 (1981): 203-10.

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Bloch, Suzanne. "Ernest Bloch--Student of Choral Music."

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Bochet, Henri. Le Conservatoire de Musique de Geneva.

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Clarke, Garry E. "Quincy Porter: Composer-Educator." In

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Chapman, Ernest. "Ernest Bloch at 75." Tempo 35 (1955):

6.

Copland, Aaron. "America's Young Men of Promise." Modern

Music 3 (1926): 13.
Elwell, Herbert. "Ernest Bloch: Composer in Exile."
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Engel, Carl. "Bloch and the Library of Congress." Musical
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Hamm, Charles. Music in the New World. New York: W. W.

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Ives, Charles E. M.emos. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.,

Inc., 1972.

Krenek, Ernst. "America's Influence on its Emigre

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 528

Krenek, Ernst. "Tradition in Perspective." Perspectives

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Sessions, Roger. "Schoenberg in the United States." Tempo

103 (1972): 8.

Skelton, Geoffrey. "The Teacher and his American

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Bialas, Gunther. "Ist Komponieren Lehrbar?" Musica 35
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"Man and Music." Musical Quarterly 14 (1933):

374-81.

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 529

Forbes, Elliott. "The Music of Randall Thompson." In

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Goehr, Alexander. "The Theoretical Writings of Arnold

Schoenberg." Proceedings of the Royal Musical
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Haar, James. "Randall Thompson and the MuSic of the

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Hindemith, Paul. A Composer's World: Horizons and

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Krenek, Ernst. "Ist Komponieren lehrbar-lernbar?" Musica

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"New Methods in Teaching Counterpoint."

Hirichsen's Musical Yearbook 7 (1952): 116-28.

"Teaching as a Composer's Craft." Composer's

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"Teachin~r Music Composition in America:

Reminiscences." American Music Teacher 24 (March
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"What We Learn from·Modern Music." American

Music Teacher 21 (June 1972): 16-18 .
.
Kushner, David Z. "Ernest Bloch: Teacher-Thinker."
American Music Teacher 18 (January 1968): 29-30.
Langlie, Warren M. "Arnold Schoenberg as Teacher." Ph.D.
dissertation, University of California at Los Angeles,
1960.
"Arnold Schoenberg as Music Educator." In Arnold
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Lowens, Irving R. Foreward to Critical and Historical

Essays by Edward MacDowell, by W. J. Baltzell. (New
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Mann, Alfred. The Study of Fugue. New York: W. W. Norton

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 530

Musgrave, Michael. "Schoenberg and Theory." Journal of

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Newlin, Dika. "Schoenberg in America 1933-48: Retrospect

and Prospect." Music Survey I (1949): 128-31.

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Piston, Walter. "Teaching as a Composer's Craft."

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Porter, Quincy. "The Functions of a Progressive Department

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IV.· Pedagogy

Bellermann, Heinrich. Der Contrapunkt. 4th ed.

Berlin: Verlag von Julius Springer, 1901.

Fux, Johann Joseph. The Study of Counterpoint. Translated

by Alfred Mann. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., Inc.,
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Hindemith, Paul. A Concertrated Course in Traditional

Harmony. 2 vols. New York: Associated Music
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Elementary Training for Musicians. New York:
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Unterweisung im Tonsatz. 3 vols. Mainz:
Schott's Sohne, 1937-70.

Knorr, Iwan. Aufgaben f~r den Unterrich in der Harmonie-

lehre. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1903.

Krenek, Ernst. Modal Counterpoint in the Style of the

Sixteenth Centu1~. New York: Boosey and Hawkes, 1959.
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 532

Krenek, Ernst. Tonal Counterpoint in the Style of the

Eighteenth Centu~. New York: Boosey and Hawkes, 1958.

Lussy, Mathias. Musical Expression, Accents, Nuances, and

Tempo in Vocal and Instrumental Music. Translated by
M.E. von Glehn. London: Novello and Company, Limited,
n.d.

Porter, Quincy. A Study of Sixteenth-Century Counterpoint

Based on the Works of Orland di Lasso. Boston: Loomis
& Co. , 19 4 0.

A Study of Fugue Writing Based on Bach's

Well-Tempered Clavichord. Boston: Loomis & Co., 1951.

Schoenberg, Arnold. Fundamentals of Musical Composition.

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Harmonielehere. Vienna: Verlageinigentum der

Universal-Edition A-G, 1911.

Models for Beginners in Composition. New York:

G. Schirmer, 1942.

Preliminary Exercises in Counterpoint. London:

Faber and Faber Limited, 1963.

Structural Functions of Harmony. New York: W.

W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1954.

Sessions, Roger. Harmonic Practice. New York: Harcourt,

Brace, and Company, 1951.

V. Bibliography
Edmunds, John., and Boelzner, Gordon. Some
Twentieth-Century Composers: A Selective Bibliography.
2 vols. New York: New York Public Library, 1959-60.
Griffel, M. "Bibliography of Writings on Ernest Bloch."
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