Daniel Gottlob Turk, photo in Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons, photo provided by Naxos.com. {{PD-US}}
Daniel Gottlob Turk was a German composer, organist, music theorist and pedagogue of the Classical Period. He was born in Saxony, and he first studied the organ under his father who was an instrumentalist in the service of Count Schonburg. He also studied with Ferdinand Shiller. He studied at Leipzig University in the early 1770s and in 1774, he settled in Halle. In 1779 Turk became the Director of Music at Halle University and in 1787 he was appointed the organist and music director of the Marktkirche, the main church in the city.
In 1789 Turk wrote a 400-page teaching guide for the keyboard, the Klavierschule. He also wrote the set of pieces, 120 Handstucke fur angehende Klavierspieler, Books 1 and 2, published in 1792 and 1795 respectively. These pieces accompany the Klavierschule and they were written to advance the technical and musical skills of students. The Klavierschule was written at a time when the pianoforte was replacing the clavichord as the principal domestic instrument. According to Cornell University the Klavierschule ‘deals with the aesthetic questions and subtleties of touch and expression in more depth than earlier tutors’. Turk added titles to the pieces to guide the student’s imagination or to indicate the technical purpose. One well-known piece is called “Carefree Johnny” and another “Scales”. Even though this book was aimed for those players of the clavichord it did however meet the needs of any keyboard player.
Many of his dances and minuets are still played today. He also wrote 48 sonatas, and these contain symphonic touches, beautiful polyphony and extreme contrasts of colour and register. Turk was a violinist too.
Jane Magrath in her excellent book “The Pianist’s Teaching and Performance Literature” devotes just over two pages to Turk. She states that Turk was one of the first composers to write instructional piano pieces for children. Also, she says that few of his sonatas are readily available today. Magrath goes on to state ‘the pieces in each volume progress from easy to advanced, and each volume is divided into four parts. Part I consists of “Short and easy pieces in two parts”, Part II of “Somewhat longer pieces but still only in two parts”, Part III of “Pieces in three or more parts” and Part IV of “Miscellaneous Pieces” including one with the amusing title, “Dedicated most humbly to the right-hand little finger”. Some of the pieces are highly ornamented, and this she feels shows C. P. E. Bach’s influence. Magrath singles out the following pieces for special mention – Horn with Echo, The Actor, Gavotte, Sad and Beautiful, Joke, The Dancing Master and Carefree.
What is the story the player wishes to convey to the listener?
The listener could imagine when playing this piece that there is a group of people going on some kind of walk or adventure. Or, another suggestion could be for the player to think of a person telling a story and the climax occurs in bar 11. This story would be based on the climax of the story occurring in the third phrase, at the start of bar 11. This music when played should communicate a sense of refinement, elegance and poise. There is a dance-like quality to the piece.
What is the structure of the music?
The book from which this piece is taken helpfully outlines the structure of the music by inserting A and B sections on the music. The piece is in binary form with each section being 8 bars long. There are four phrases in total with the each phrase being four bars long. The first, second and last phrases commence on the first beat of the bar however the third phrase starts with an upbeat. This helps to contribute to the character of this particular phrase considering that it contains the main part of the piece.
Main part of the music
As already discussed, the main part of this music occurs in the third phrase at the beginning of bar 11. At this point the dynamics should be at f level although the player will need to keep in mind that this music is from the Classical period and therefore the dynamics should not be too loud.
Phrasing
Again, as already discussed, there are four phrases in this piece, each containing four bars. Three of these phrases commence with the same material, so the player must be aware of how the second part of the first phrase differs from the second and last phrases.
Metronome mark, time signature and rhythm
This music has the tempo marking of moderato however it would be best if it were played a little faster than this suggested tempo. A tempo of q = 116 is appropriate, as this will provide the music with the momentum that it requires. If played slower than this, the music loses its hopeful and cheerful character. However, if played too fast, the music will become too light-hearted in character.
Some of the patterns in this piece commence on the last beat of the bar, so the player should ensure that these patterns are not unduly emphasised and lead into the following bars.
The rhythmic patterns in this piece should not provide any difficulty for the player. There is a danger that the quaver patterns may be played unevenly, so the player should ensure that they play with equally curved fingers and say the time names in their heads. All of the rest should be carefully observed, as it is possible that the player may hold some dotted minims for too long.
Halle University, photo from UnSplash taken by Wim Van ‘t Einde.
Beginning and ending
Even though the piece starts at mp level, it should commence with purpose and clarity. The player should start with a definite gesture and ensure that the first semibreve is player with enough resonance to last the entire first bar.
Although the player will want the last bar to be reasonably quiet, the music will need to sound positive and conclusive. The semibreves in the last bar should be played with sufficient resonance so that their sound continues for about six beats at the slightly slowing speed.
Details and considerations
Musical period and composer
From the Naxos website ‘Türk is best known for his extensive and extremely detailed musical treatise, Klavierschule (1789), one of the most important sources for keyboard performance practice of the late 18th century. He is also well-known among piano teachers as the composer of a collection of useful keyboard miniatures, the Kleine Handstücke für angehende Klavierspieler, which systematically prepare beginning students for the many challenges of more advanced repertoire.’
From the ABRSM Teaching notes ‘This piece is typical of the Classical era, and has a clearly demarcated structure which students should be encourgaed to recognise – particularly the B section with its change of material and dynamic.
Touch
The RH requires a bright, slightly intense touch with well-curved fingertips played with energy into the keys. The RH should be well supported by the shoulder, the elbow and arm and the shoulder should provide a little weight whenever the dynamics demand it. Nevertheless, the player must be fully aware of the sound that they wish to create, so that the result is poised, balanced and elegant. The LH should sound a little more resonant in comparison with the RH. To achieve this, the player should use some energy from the fingertips into the keys however the shoulder should provide a little weight especially when playing the longer notes.
Balance between the hands
The balance between the hands in this piece should primarily be to the RH. However, there are some instances where the LH provides melodic material that helps the end of one phrase move to the following. This occurs at the end of the first phrase and at the end of the third phrase. The hands should blend together at the end of the second and last phrases and also in bar 13.
Tone-matching
Throughout this piece the player will need to be aware of where each phrase is moving dynamically so they ensure that no particular notes are excessively louder than those around them. There are a number of repeated notes in this piece and the player will need to decide whether the second and third notes are quieter than the first note or louder than the first note. The player will need to listen very carefully to how loud each note sounds of each of these sets of repeated notes.
Phrasing
As discussed before, the LH melodic pattern in bars 4 and 12 provides the momentum towards the following phrase. Considering that three of the phrases in this piece commence with the same melodic material it will be important for the player to be looking and thinking ahead so they are aware of which melodic material completes the phrase.
Articulation
The articulation is very important in this piece for conveying the character of the music. The portato notes help to lighten the mood of the music and also provides a bridge between the two melodic parts of the phrase. The legato articulation helps to communicate the elegance and poise that this piece requires. At the end of the first and third phrases the LH must continue into the following phrase with no break in the legato.
Dynamics
Firstly the player should consider the Musical period from which this piece belongs to. The player must use dynamics that are a little restrained because of this. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the music cannot have depth and resonance to the dynamics. There needs to be a difference between the dynamics at the start of the first and second phrases considering these phrases commence with the same melodic material. By beginning the second phrase at a quieter dynamic level than the first, will engage the listener even more. At the end of the second phrase and the final phrase the two hands should blend together dynamically. Since the third phrase begins with an anacrusis, there should be no emphasis placed on the first note of it in bar 8. This should apply to the quaver patterns in bars 9 and 10 as well.
Use of the LH
Here the player will need to be able to change the manner in which the play the LH quite frequently. At the beginning, the LH will need to be played with weight from their shoulder so that the semibreves sound for the entire bar. Then, in bar 4 the LH will need to employ a bright, slightly intense touch with well-curved fingertips played with energy into the keys before reverting to the original manner. The detached notes in bars 7 and 15 should be playing with lightness and delicacy. There is danger in this piece that the rests are not observed in the LH. In bar 12 the player will need to be thinking ahead so that the thumb tuck into bar 13 is executed with ease and with no emphasis. At the end of the first and third phrases the LH must continue into the following phrase with no break in the legato.
Use of the RH
Much of the use of the RH has already been covered in this document. The repeated notes in the RH in bars 2, 6, 9, 10 and 14 should be played with a portato touch. The last one of each set should be played a little lighter than the previous two. The player will need to be aware of the rests in the RH in bars 4 and 12 as these help to distinguish the phrase end for the listener.
Bars 1 – 4
· Start the piece at mp level.
· Let the peak of the phrase occur at the beginning of bar 4 at mf level.
· Commence playing with energy and purpose but do ensure that the elegant character is shown from the beginning.
· Consider the overall dynamics of the phrase when playing the repeated notes in bar 2.
· The player may become confused at the end of this phrase in regards to what finger will need to be played in the following phrase. This is because at the beginning of the last phrase a different finger number is used in the LH.
Bars 5 – 8
· Start this phrase at p level, so a little quieter than the beginning of the piece.
· Let the peak of this phrase occur at the start of bar 6 at mp level.
· This phrase ends one beat earlier because the following phrase commences with an anacrusis.
· As with the first phrase, the player will need to consider the dynamics of the phrase overall when playing the repeated notes in the RH in bar 6.
· The player must be thinking ahead all of the time, because the LH’s melodic material changes at the start of bar 7.
· The notes at the end of the phrase should blend together dynamically.
Bars 9 – 12
· Start this phrase at pp level, so the quietest for all of the phrase beginnings. This will provide a greater range of dynamics in this phrase.
· Let the peak for this phrase occur at the start of bar 11 at f level.
· Again, the player should consider how the repeated notes are played in regards to the overall dynamics of the phrase.
· In bar 11 the hands should sound in unison dynamically and in bar 12, the LH should be a little louder than the RH.
· And again, the player must be thinking ahead in regards to the thumb turn at the start of bar 13.
· A very slight rallentando at the end of the phrase is appropriate and elegant.
· The dotted minims must be held for their correct length.
Bars 13 – 16
· Start this phrase at mp level.
· Let the peak for this phrase occur halfway through bar 14 at mf level.
· As above, there are repeated RH notes in bar 14 which must be considered in relation to the overall dynamics of the phrase.
· There should be a slight rallentando at the end of the piece, and this should be a little longer than the one at the end of the third phrase.
· The player should hold the final semibreves for their exact length but at the slowing speed before gently rolling the hands off and placing them back in the lap.
· As this phrase has virtually the same material melodically as the second phrase the player must ensure that they play with different dynamics so that the listener is kept engaged.