Tonal Counterpoint in the Style of the 18th Century Prepared by Vaclav Nelhybel
Vaclav Nelhybel
In the early 1960s, Czech composer and conductor Vaclav Nelhybel prepared a series of lectures, produced by Folkways for Scholastic Records. The theme of this recorded lecture is tonal counterpoint, a musical style popular in the 18th century and beyond. Described as “the art of combining two or more melodic lines,” tonal counterpoint is not an easy compositional tool to master, but this lecture, narrated by William Geib, explains many of the concepts fledgling composers need to get started. Geib begins with such basics as rhythm and meter and continues to more technical concepts like diminution and retrograde musical canons. An unidentified chamber orchestra performs musical excerpts, and the detailed liner notes provide musical scores and written explanations of each musical concept.
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