Cecilian Music Club Presents Music Hour

On June 7th, 2019, Alan Wasserman presented another lecture/demonstration in his
series of Music Hours for the Cecilian Music Club, at the Piano
Division of Freehold Music Center. The topic for this session was
Baroque Music, and it was led by Therese Whelan, a piano teacher and
the conductor of the Club's Monster Concert.

Ms. Whelan began byexplaining the concept of counterpoint, a method Baroque composers
used to compose their music. As opposed to pieces that use melody and
harmony, counterpoint juxtaposes two melodies against each other. She
performed Telemann's Fantasia in f minor, and pointed out how the
melody enters several times, and how melodies can echo each other.

The next topic was thedefinition of a fugue, another form beloved of Baroque composers. A
short melody, called a subject, is played. There is also a
countersubject, a second melody contrasting with the first. In
between these statements of subject and countersubject are episodes,
fill-in music that takes us from one subject or countersubject to the
next. She performed Bach's Fugue No. 2 as an example of this form.

Lisa Frost-Goodall, AlanWasserman, and Therese Whelan used a Spoken Fugue for Three Voices tofurther demonstrate how a fugue works. The audience listened to their
voices taking turns with three sets of words, and weaving their
voices together. Ms. Whelan performed Bach's Fugue No. 21, and Mr.
Wasserman played Bach's Prelude and Fugue No. 11. The finale was a
duet by Giovanni Dettori that paired Lady Gaga's “Bad Romance”
with a Bach Invention. The Music Hour ended with audience questions
and observations.

The Cecilian Music Club,founded in 1883, is an organization of teachers, performers, and
music lovers dedicated to the study and performance of classical
music. For more information, or to become a member, visit our website
at www.cecilianclub.org. If you'd like to attend the next Music Hour, contact Alan Wasserman
at Alanwass@aol.com.