MUSICAL COMPOSITION

MELODIES AND VARIATIONS 51Bach's Organ Chorales will supply the best lesson asto complex methods of accompanying a melody, someof them, in addition, showing how the chorale tuneitself can be modified and varied to suit the generalcharacter of the piece. Brahms' Chorale Preludes forOrgan are also most valuable examples for study. Itis unnecessary to specify any, when all this vasttreasure-house is within the reach of every student.He must not, however, be content with playing themthrough, but must study closely the texture of theindividual parts and the ways in which they interweaveand combine. This branch of composition leadsnaturally, and, indeed, dovetails into, the writing ofvariations.Variations are to free composition what counterpointis to technique - the master-key of the wholebuilding. Interesting in themselves to elaborate, theyare of still greater service in training the mind to dealeasily with the most difficult problems in works oflarger proportions.) Sections of sonata form, such asthe episodes between the statements of themes, thedevelopment (or free fantasia), and the coda, all dependupon the knowledge of writing variations; and therepetitions of the main themes themselves become farmore intrinsically interesting in the hands of a composerwho is well practised in variation writing. Itshould be clearly understood that we do not use theterm variation from the point of view of mere ornamentationor passage writing on the basis of a theme.It is easy even among the old masters to distinguishthose who knew every nook and corner of this branchof their craft from those who did not, by comparingtheir powers in this form..