Solfeggietto (H 220, Wq. 117: 2) is a short solo keyboard piece in C minor composed in 1766 by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.[1] According to Powers (2002:232) the work is correctly called Solfeggio, although the Solfeggietto title is widely used today. Owens refers to the work as a toccata.[2]
The work is unusual for a keyboard piece in that the main theme and some other passages are fully monophonic, i.e. only one note is played at a time. The piece is commonly assigned to piano students and appears in many anthologies; pedagogically it fosters the playing of an even sixteenth note rhythm by alternating hands.
This piece is easily Bach's best-known, to the point that Paul Corneilson's introduction to The Essential C.P.E. Bach is subtitled "Beyond the Solfeggio in C Minor".[3] Owens also describes it as C. P. E. Bach's most famous work.[4]
The work is often performed by left-hand alone.[5]
The Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin has arranged the piece with additional voices as Solfeggietto a cinque for player piano.[6]
The piece was used as a main theme in the 1990 educational computer game Treasure Mountain!.
Notes
- ^ Negri (2004:2)
- ^ Owens (1995:235)
- ^ "Contents of The Essential C.P.E. Bach". Via archive.org.
- ^ Owens (1995:235)
- ^ http://www.piano-lessons.net/news_item.php?id=59
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzFOkGfqaeE
References
- Negri, Paul (2004) Baroque Keyboard Masterpieces: 39 Works by Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Couperin and Others. Courier Dover Publications.
- Owens, Thomas (1995) Bebop: The music and its players. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Powers, Doris Bosworth (2002) Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: A Guide to Research. Psychology Press.
External links
- Solfeggietto: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- P. Sear (13 November 2008). "CPE Bach: Solfeggietto in C minor (H 220, Wq 117:2)". YouTube. Retrieved August 2013.