Invention is an invention. Latin, Russian, English, Italian, French and many other languages give an absolutely unambiguous translation of this word - "invention". But this can be said of any work of art born of the imagination of its author.
What does an investment in music mean?
With regard to the musical work, it emphasizes the special ingenuity, sparkling insight of the composer in finding a variety of development options and interweaving of themes and voices.
According to tradition, an inventory is a play with completely defined characteristics. First of all, we are talking about a polyphonic work, that is, polyphony. In addition, it is usually a piano piece. But on the piano, one-voice melodies are usually not played, so everything that is written for the piano can be called polyphony?
No. In most polyphonic works, textured voices are unequal. There is a clearly recognizable melody, and there are voices that accompany it. They are of secondary importance and are usually called “accompaniment,” or “accompaniment.”
The main feature of polyphonic writing
The peculiarity of polyphony is primarily in the fact that there are no accompanying textured lines in it. All voices are a melody, all main and equivalent. Tracking the expressive intonation and articulation of each of them is a difficult task for the performer.
That is why the polyphony genre at all stages of music education (and almost at all competitions) is an obligatory component of a musician’s program.
The same can be said about the composer's task - to create a polyphonic work is difficult, it requires a lot of ingenuity.
Depending on the method of presentation of the material, such plays may have different names: fugue, canon, imitation, two- or three-voice inventory, and so on.
Among the works of this genre, the classic version is the fugue, and the inventory can be considered as educational material for preparing for its competent performance.
30 inventions of Johann Sebastian Bach
For this purpose, the greatest German composer of the 17th century, Johann Sebastian Bach created his immortal two-voice inventions in the amount of 15 and the same for three voices, calling the latter symphonies.
In the preface to his inventions, Bach wrote that in this manual he showed how to manage not only two, but, in the process of improvement, and with three obligate (independent) voices, while learning “good inventions and their proper development”. Two main tasks were identified: “to achieve a singing style of play and at the same time acquire a taste for composition”.
The incomprehensible greatness of Bach lies in the fact that, wanting to write simple exercises for students, he created creations that survived centuries and did not lose the power of spiritual influence on man today.
The importance of polyphonic plays for the development of taste
Bach's incentives were written for the clavichord, since only on this instrument was it really possible to “achieve the singing style” of a game rich in shades of sound. However, a modern piano allows you to more fully realize this goal.
Perhaps the composer did not even suspect to what extent his desire to instill a taste for composition would be fulfilled.
A modern musician, often having less knowledge of compositional technique than it was in the time of Bach, has a much greater understanding of the difference between true and false in musical art.
Anyone who has studied (even mechanically) at least 1-2 Bach inventions in his childhood will never be able to erase the concept of correct voice recognition from memory. In each piece of music, he will intuitively search for independently developing melodic lines and perceive their absence as a flaw.
Invention is a piece of music that has set the stage for authenticity in art.
Outstanding Inventor Interpreter
Speaking of inventions, it would be unfair not to mention the name of the legendary Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. It so happened that it was Bach’s inventions that played a major role in his birth as a performer, and this happened in Russia.
In May 1957, the then-unknown young pianist from Canada arrived in Moscow. This was his first tour. Two- and three-voiced Bach inventions are all that was included in the concert program. A ticket to the conservatory hall cost 1 ruble, 30 people gathered in public.
After the concert began, only a few minutes passed - and it became clear to the audience that they were present at the birth of a miracle. People took turns leaving the hall in order to inform friends about what was happening.
The second branch began 40 minutes late - the audience filled the hall. After Moscow there was a concert in Leningrad, where part of the Moscow audience went for Gould.
After these concerts, the Canadian pianist continued his tour in Europe, where he was already waiting as a new star, the halls were crowded. To this day, the Gould interpretation of inventions is considered an unsurpassed model.
Invention is not an exceptional feature of Bach's work; such a polyphonic form was used before him. Among those who write inventions today, we can name the names of famous composers: S. A. Gubaidulina, R. K. Shchedrin, B. I. Tishchenko. With all the talent of their music, she still can not stand the competition with the "source". These are phenomena of various scales.