Dale Carr | Why aske yee {7 variations} by John Bull, performed by Dale Carr in Zeerijp on 12 Sept., 1980 @dalecarr6361 | Uploaded August 2023 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
Why aske yee {7 variations} by John Bull, performed by Dale Carr on the organ in Zeerijp {prov. Groningen} on 12 Sept., 1980
Musical variations can be variations of a melody or of a harmonic progression - crudely distinguished. But many sets of variations are both, by turns or simultaneously, and there are more possibilities besides. Many of Bach's Chorale-preludes {e.g. Das alte Jahr, BWV 614} are good examples of melodic variations. Beethoven's "Diabelli" variations op. 120 and Bach's "Goldberg" variations BWV 988 are good examples of variation sets based on a harmonic progression. The Magnificat versets of Titelouze {e.g. on the 5th tone, youtube.com/watch?v=Zo_hD5Dzg8E &
youtube.com/watch?v=-myNYxhPoMY }
take a fragment of plainchant and use it as material for polyphonic textures, so they don't fall easily into either of my rough categories ; nor do many polyphonic choral works of the 16th century that "borrow" or parody {parts of} a previous work.
Bull's variations on Why aske yee are preserved in 3 versions. One, in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, may possibly be a sketch, containing only 2 variations. I chose the version in a MS in the Bibliothèque Nationale which is the source of the largest number of Bull’s keyboard works.
The work is most strikingly a set of variations based on a harmonic progression; but the tune is also varied. 1st, the harmonic scheme:
chords of ||: d, A, d, A :||: F, G, A, D :||
This harmonic progression is varied hardly at all : it's the upper parts that provide the variety. The harmonic progression is particularly striking because of the abrupt juxtaposition of the A-major chord, a-c#-e, at the end of the 1st ½, with the F-major chord, f-a-c{𝄮}, which opens the 2nd ½.
Variation 1 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=11} {Rugwerk: Quintadena 8}: The melody begins with a-f-e-d-c# in the 1st 2 measures, which is varied in shorter notes in m.3-4. The melody of m.5-6 is not so much varied in m.7-8 as replaced, in this case by descending scales in 8th notes, which then provide the basic material for the 2nd variation.
Variation 2 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=71} {Hoofdwerk: Holpype 8}: The 8th-notes scales of the previous variation begin in this variation on different parts of the measure. The c# of the 2nd chord is often logically contradicted by a melodic c𝄮 as in m.26-7 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=100}; these cross-relations are for the most part notated very specifically.
Variation 3 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=128} {Rugwerk: Quintadena 8, Fluite 4}: The scales in 8th notes are now doubled in 3rds, both ascending and descending. A particularly close encounter between f# {alto} and f𝄮 {bass} is heard @ {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=161}.
Variation 4 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=182} {Rugwerk: Fluite 4}: The doublings, now in 3rds or 6ths, are in this variation staggered between voices, /\/\/\/\.
Variation 5 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=239} {Hoofdwerk: Holpype 8, Octave 2}: The 1st of 2 variations in triple meter, with simple ascending and descending scales alternating between the hands.
Variation 6 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=275} {Hoofdwerk: Holpype 8, Quinte fl. 3, Octave 2}: The scales, again in triple meter, are reduced to 3 or 4 quarter notes, as foreshadowed in the 4th variation: d-e-f{-d} or a-g-f{-a}, following each other closely in different voices. The 1st ½ has the motive as quoted above, the 2nd ½ {4’53”} has it in inversion {a-g-f-a or f-e-d-f}.
Variation 7 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=314} {Rugwerk: Fluite 4}: Again placid, in quarter notes, with an ascending scale fragment {a-b-c#-d-e-c#-d} occurring throughout the 1st ½. The conclusion {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=359} uses a descending scale involving carefully indicated alternations between c & c# before a harmonically unusual cadence.
Why aske yee {7 variations} by John Bull, performed by Dale Carr on the organ in Zeerijp {prov. Groningen} on 12 Sept., 1980
Musical variations can be variations of a melody or of a harmonic progression - crudely distinguished. But many sets of variations are both, by turns or simultaneously, and there are more possibilities besides. Many of Bach's Chorale-preludes {e.g. Das alte Jahr, BWV 614} are good examples of melodic variations. Beethoven's "Diabelli" variations op. 120 and Bach's "Goldberg" variations BWV 988 are good examples of variation sets based on a harmonic progression. The Magnificat versets of Titelouze {e.g. on the 5th tone, youtube.com/watch?v=Zo_hD5Dzg8E &
youtube.com/watch?v=-myNYxhPoMY }
take a fragment of plainchant and use it as material for polyphonic textures, so they don't fall easily into either of my rough categories ; nor do many polyphonic choral works of the 16th century that "borrow" or parody {parts of} a previous work.
Bull's variations on Why aske yee are preserved in 3 versions. One, in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, may possibly be a sketch, containing only 2 variations. I chose the version in a MS in the Bibliothèque Nationale which is the source of the largest number of Bull’s keyboard works.
The work is most strikingly a set of variations based on a harmonic progression; but the tune is also varied. 1st, the harmonic scheme:
chords of ||: d, A, d, A :||: F, G, A, D :||
This harmonic progression is varied hardly at all : it's the upper parts that provide the variety. The harmonic progression is particularly striking because of the abrupt juxtaposition of the A-major chord, a-c#-e, at the end of the 1st ½, with the F-major chord, f-a-c{𝄮}, which opens the 2nd ½.
Variation 1 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=11} {Rugwerk: Quintadena 8}: The melody begins with a-f-e-d-c# in the 1st 2 measures, which is varied in shorter notes in m.3-4. The melody of m.5-6 is not so much varied in m.7-8 as replaced, in this case by descending scales in 8th notes, which then provide the basic material for the 2nd variation.
Variation 2 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=71} {Hoofdwerk: Holpype 8}: The 8th-notes scales of the previous variation begin in this variation on different parts of the measure. The c# of the 2nd chord is often logically contradicted by a melodic c𝄮 as in m.26-7 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=100}; these cross-relations are for the most part notated very specifically.
Variation 3 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=128} {Rugwerk: Quintadena 8, Fluite 4}: The scales in 8th notes are now doubled in 3rds, both ascending and descending. A particularly close encounter between f# {alto} and f𝄮 {bass} is heard @ {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=161}.
Variation 4 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=182} {Rugwerk: Fluite 4}: The doublings, now in 3rds or 6ths, are in this variation staggered between voices, /\/\/\/\.
Variation 5 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=239} {Hoofdwerk: Holpype 8, Octave 2}: The 1st of 2 variations in triple meter, with simple ascending and descending scales alternating between the hands.
Variation 6 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=275} {Hoofdwerk: Holpype 8, Quinte fl. 3, Octave 2}: The scales, again in triple meter, are reduced to 3 or 4 quarter notes, as foreshadowed in the 4th variation: d-e-f{-d} or a-g-f{-a}, following each other closely in different voices. The 1st ½ has the motive as quoted above, the 2nd ½ {4’53”} has it in inversion {a-g-f-a or f-e-d-f}.
Variation 7 {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=314} {Rugwerk: Fluite 4}: Again placid, in quarter notes, with an ascending scale fragment {a-b-c#-d-e-c#-d} occurring throughout the 1st ½. The conclusion {youtu.be/1RZEyPCH0HE?t=359} uses a descending scale involving carefully indicated alternations between c & c# before a harmonically unusual cadence.
