dominated by Appoggiaturas or Mordents at will. Or, they may take all the notes of a given Chord, in succession, in the form of an Arpeggio, either with or without Appoggiaturas or Mordents between them, as in the following examples: all that is necessary being the ultimate Resolution of every Dissonance into a Consonant Harmony:
In the Fourth Order, it is not necessary that the Syncopation should invariably be prepared in a Concord. On the contrary, it may, in certain cases, be even struck, suspended, and resolved, in combination with two or more successive Discords, as in the following example—
In the Fifth Order, as in the Fifth Order of Strict Counterpoint, the Rules and Licences prescribed in connection with the first four Orders are combined; while much additional freedom is derived from the rhythmical involutions resulting from the intermixture of notes of different length.
The highest aim of Strict Counterpoint was, the perfect development of Unlimited and Limited Real Fugue—i.e. Imitation, with all its most complicated devices, and Canon. The highest aim of Free Part-writing is the perfect development of Tonal Fugue. And as the Real Fugue of the 16th century could only be developed, in its most complex forms, by the aid of Double, Triple, and Quadruple Counterpoint, so, for the development of the more modern Art-form, it was necessary to invent corresponding Orders of Double, Triple, and Quadruple Free Part-writing—that is to say, combinations of two, three, four, or even a greater number of parts, which could be placed in any required order, above, below, or between each other, without injury to the harmony; in the absence of which provision, the successful manipulation of a Subject with two, three, or more CounterSubjects, would have been impossible. The rules for these devices were, mutatis mutandis, very nearly analogous to those observed in Strict Counterpoint: the chief points insisted on being, that the Parts could not be permitted to cross each other—since this would have nullified the effect of the desired inversion; and, that two consecutive Fourths could not be permitted, since these, when inverted, would become consecutive Fifths.
The Polyodic School,[1] which was gradually developed in connection with this species of Part-writing, reached its culminating point of perfection under Handel and Bach, in the earlier half of the 18th century. Both these Composers observed exactly the same laws; but the student can scarcely fail to notice the strongly-marked individuality with which they applied them. Though constantly using the most dissonant intervals, both in harmony and melody, Handel delighted in consonant points of repose; and to these his Music owes much of the massive grandeur which is generally regarded as its most prominent characteristic. Sebastian Bach delighted in keeping the ear in suspense; in constantly recurring collisions of discord with discord, which allowed the ear no repose. And this fearless determination to give the ear no rest, enabled him to interweave the Subjects of his Fugues with a freedom which has rarely, if ever, been rivalled. Both masters made free use of every resource provided by the progress of Art: but, while Bach dwelt lovingly upon the discords, Handel used them only as a means of making the concords more delightful, and thus attained a sweetness of expression which Bach never attempted to cultivate.
But, the influence of the new School of Part-writing was not confined, like that of Strict Counterpoint, to the development of one single form of Composition alone. It made itself felt in Instrumental Music of every kind; and, in no case more prominently than in the Sonata-Form of the classical period.
Passages such as those we have described, in speaking of Part-writing of the Third Order—Arpeggios, with or without Appoggiaturas or Mordents between their principal notes; Scale passages, and the like, when written in notes of very brief duration, and executed with rapidity, form an essential element in Instrumental Music. When accompanied simply, with long-drawn harmonies, they are purely Monodic—Instrumental Melodies, supported upon a harmonized Bass. But they are not always confined to a single Part; and, in that case, they form a connecting link between the Monodic and Polyodic Styles—between the 'vertical' and the 'horizontal' methods of modern criticism. In Strict Counterpoint, the 'vertical' method, characterized by the formation of long passages upon the harmony of a single Chord, was impossible. Its passages were formed by horizontally interweaving together a number of independent Melodies. In Free Part-Writing, 'vertical' and 'horizontal' passages succeed each other frequently. In Bach's Fantasia and Suite in G Major, the opening Arpeggios of the Prelude are distinctly Monodic, and vertically constructed; while the massive harmonies which succeed them are distinctly Polyodic, and constructed on the 'horizontal' method. Vertical passages, interspersed with Free Part-writing, are constantly found in Handel's finest Choruses—e.g. 'Worthy is the Lamb,' and 'The horse and his rider.' The contrast is less frequently found in the Choruses of Bach;
- ↑ So called, in contradistinction to the Monodic School, by which it was immediately preceded.
