by Patricia George
The following was a response to a question about the Karg-Elert Caprices on the FLUTE listserv. Posted here with permission.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 19 May 2008 17:27:41 +0000
From: Patricia George <georgeflute@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Karg Elert question/puzzle
The first note is an Ab and the second is an A natural. (No. 7)
Before you do any more work on the Karg Elert, you should download the errata page of George Morey (former flute professor at North Texas). You can find this on Larry Krantz's website. Once you have downloaded these pages, then go through your book and mark all mistakes with a red pencil above the note. As you do more analysis on these gems, you will find several other questionable notes.
I think that this work is one of the masterworks in the flute repertoire. For too many years we looked at these works as 30 individual "etudes" that happened to be caprices. However, many flutists are beginning to view these 30 gems as one large masterwork rather like Bach's Musical Offering. Amy Porter's CD (Passacaglia) and DVD of the 30 Caprices illustrate how effectively these movements can be when played as a set.
When you consider that these caprices were written as a "gift" for colleague and friend Bartuzat (principal flutist of the Gewandhaus Orchestra) by Karg Elert who himself was a gifted composer, organist and oboist, you come to realize that there is more here than what initially meets the eye.
This work is really one giant puzzle. And the puzzle question is: where is the ground?
Karg Elert states in the preface that he wrote these to bridge form a connecting link from the "existing educational literature" to the modern orchestral works. He starts at the Baroque and Classic and goes through the compositional style of Strauss, Bruckner, Mahler etc. One of the questions that always haunted me was why did he end with the Chaconne (a baroque compositional device) if you were going forward through the compositional styles of the late 19th and early 20th century composers. Then one day I realized that the Chaconne ground---F, Eb, Db, C is the common compositional basis of ALL the caprices. And, that this set of caprices is really just one big puzzle. My initial thought was---of course, K-E is an organist and he would do as organ composers before him like writing fugues on BACH's name---B, A, C, B natural.
Since my discovery, I have spent many enjoyable hours finding the ground in these works. Once you realize that it is there, it just pops out to you at every turn. My students have enjoyed "finding the ground" in their study of these works.
As a "hint"---the inversion of the ground is F, G, Ab, Bb. In a major key, it would be four notes up or down. In chromaticism, four notes up or down and in whole tone, four notes up or down. Sometimes he uses enharmonic spellings. He does use the "interupted" figure idea that he explains in detail in the endnotes of the music (Carl Fischer edition).
Check out No. 22 which begins with 4 chromatic notes down---8 times! Then in measure 5, presents the four chromatic notes in fourths, then fifths, sixths and sevenths. What compositional technique! This idea continues throughout the entire caprice. Playing is so much more fun when you know which notes are the important ones!
I am hoping (in my spare time) to do an edition that highlights all the ground notes. It is rather like doing a crossword or sudoku puzzle but so much more enjoyable.
I would also like to eventually name the composer whom K-E is imitating in each Caprice. Unfortunately, I don't know enough works by Pfitzner, Schillings or Schreker to do them justice but my husband has offered to help me one day (when he has time?).
Or, this might be a good project for the flute list to contribute to. For example: K-E says about No. 3 - Alla Handel. But, does No. 5 make you recall the Mozart D Major Flute Concerto?
Sorry this has gone on too long. I would love to read your ideas about which composer/composition matches which caprice. Send me your ideas. I will keep a tally and present them when all are done.
Best, Patricia George, Pocatello, Idaho
