Rhythm, meter, and phrase: Temporal structures in Johann Sebastian Bach's concertos.

Abstract

Building upon the theories of rhythm and meter of Kramer, Lerdahl and Jackendoff, Rothstein, and Schachter, this dissertation examines different aspects of musical time, and especially the interaction of rhythmic grouping, tonal grouping, and meter, in three concerto movements by J. S. Bach: the first movements of the Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor, the Violin Concerto in E Major, and the Third Brandenburg Concerto. The first chapter presents an overview of eighteenth-century concepts of rhythm and meter, and lays out the methodology to be used in the dissertation. The study of the D-Minor Concerto centers around the metrical ambiguity of the initial ritornello--is the meter duple or triple? Ambiguity results from a musical surface that projects meter in a vague and unclear way. The analysis traces the gradual process of defining duple meter even as triple meter refuses to disappear completely. The E-Major Concerto also presents a metrical ambiguity, but one that results from the shifting of the downbeat from the beginning to the middle of the measure. A unique interaction between phrase expansion and the concerto-allegro principle is also discussed. Metrical ambiguity returns in the Third Brandenburg, but it is not a result of an unclear projection of meter, but from an overt conflict--a contest between clearly presented duple and triple meters. Phrase expansion is an important aspect of all three movements. Based on the results of this investigation, I suggest how current theories of phrase expansion can be slightly modified to better accommodate late-baroque phrase types. The final chapter summarizes the findings of the analytical study and suggests how high-level hypermeter can offer interesting insights into late-baroque music. Examining the interaction of tonal and rhythmic groupings is argued to be essential to any investigation of musical time. The chapter concludes by noting the close resemblance between Bach's musical-time compositional strategies and those of mid- and late-eighteenth-century composers.