Neo-classical Etude for Flute Solo: Evaluation of Karg Elert “op.107 no.30 Chaconne” in Terms of Technique and Pedagogy

Abstract

Sigfrid Karg-Elert, one of the German organ composers of the 20th century, introduced the etudes titled 30 Caprices for Flute Solo Op. 107 into the flute education repertoire to meet the technical demands of the period’s orchestral music and flute repertoire. Among these etudes, no.30 Chaconne is a concert etude combining elements that require advanced technique with musical expression and style. This research, which aims to examine Karg-Elert’s op.107 no.30 Chaconne etude in terms of form, technique, and pedagogy, is a descriptive case study. A general form analysis of Chaconne was made in the first dimension of the research. Chaconne was examined from a technical perspective in the second dimension of the study. The techniques included in the etude are categorized as articulation technique, finger technique, sonority/embouchure technique, and ornaments. The techniques’ usage rates in the etude are determined by frequency and percentages. Among the various articulation techniques included in the etude, the legato technique has the highest usage rate, with 42.10%, and among the fingering techniques, chromatic scales had the highest at 30.26%. In sonority techniques, the usage rate of wide intervals of octave and above is very high at 39.47%. In this context, it has been determined that the most decisive difficulty in the etude comes from the use of wide intervals, and it has been concluded that a significant level of flexibility and embouchure control must be provided in the performance of the etude. The technical difficulties included in the etude were determined on a variation basis in the last dimension of the study, and a study guide consisting of original exercise suggestions was presented. This study is novel in the literature as it presents a study guide on Chaconne. Also, this study is thought to contribute to musical literacy by enabling performers to comprehend Karg Elert Chaconne multi-dimensionally.