The Unity Of Counterpoint And Harmony Under The Hidden Voice

This paper studies J.S.Bach's Partita for Solo Violin No.1 in B minor(BWV.1002)in its counterpoint and harmony structures using Gestalt theories,in attempt to clarify the understanding and interpretational differences among theorists and performers over time.The body of this paper consists of four chapters.Chapter One begins with a statistical description of its texture,whose data is used in comparison with the texture of his contemporaries'works-those of Handel and Vivaldi,and those sharing the same style-Biber,Baltzar and Westhoff.Chapter Two generalizes the textural similarities into an analysis that visually intensifies "point" in"counterpoint".Chapter Three examines the principles of cognitive organization,i.e.,similarity,pragranz,proximity,figure-ground,continuity and closure in Gestalt theories,discovering and interpreting the hidden voices in this piece.Chapter Four reduces an 8-measure passage to a note-to-note counterpoint in 2 voices,reconstructing its compositional procedure.Finally,this paper concludes with a summary with regard to the relationships of counterpoint and harmony,Gestalt and hidden voices,and of composition practice and theory.