Chapter IV: Appendix: A Succinct Biography of J.s. Bach 93 (3)

[Footnote 76: Johann Gottfried Walther was born in 1684, and from 1707 held the position of town organist in Weimar. Not only was he a good musician, but he was also a theoretician of merit; while he learned from his friend Bach the principles of the old school of Sweelinck, the traditions of which had descended through the teachings of Reinken and Buxtehude (see _J.G. Walther als Theoretiker_.--Study by Gehrmann in the _Vierteljahrschrift für Musikwissenschaft_, 1891), Bach, on the other hand, was able to obtain other advantages from this interchange; Walther was remarkably well-schooled in harmony, and from his thorough knowledge, of long standing, of Italian chamber music, he undoubtedly was not indirectly connected with these new studies of Bach's.]

Bach's temperament, so entirely different, was certain to draw its lesson from association with such works; the precise moment has now arrived when, by his own determination, he shall profit by it; he is master of his own virtuosity; and both his manual dexterity and his present position make it possible for him to choose what he will retain of the ideas which crowd upon his imagination in such profusion. To succeed in such a choice were already to produce a work of art; but to bring these ideas into their proper relative order, the selection once made, is the achievement of a great artist.

The Italians had for a long time possessed precisely this sense of correct succession; this architectural aspect of the art could not fail to attract, by its harmony of proportions, those who had always displayed so much taste in works of sculpture.

It is particularly to be noted that what the Germans were able to acquire from these composers, they derived from the concerted music for stringed instruments. In fact, it may be said without exaggeration that, while the Germans were well-informed, not only upon organ composition, but upon vocal writing as well, still they possessed no violinists,[77] in the sense that among them there was no one who wrote for that instrument with the clearness or sentiment which it demanded. The Italians brought them something more, if not something essentially different: the interesting and varied movements, the perfect balance between the musical phrases, the elaboration and refinement of design for which they always strove; for it was with them that monody first dawned, and was afterwards developed. It is easy to conceive that with instruments the conditions are varied; although that is not saying that a manner of writing suited to one instrument may not also be fitted to another; in writing for strings the same style recommended itself to the Italians as that which had enriched the school of organ composition. We refer particularly to the sonatas and concertos.

[Footnote 77: I am not speaking of virtuosos. We know with what astonishment Corelli, the great Italian violinist, listened to the playing of Nikolaus Strungk of Celle: "I call myself _arcangelo_," said he to the latter, "but you deserve the title of _arcidiavolo_." And we must not forget the old musician, J. Franz Biber, who was born in 1638 and died at Salzburg in 1698, and who exerted a perceptible influence upon the creation of the violin sonata.

But what the Germans sought was not, let me repeat, within the domain of that expressive instrument; they could not be content with simple melody, they must have complete harmony. And so we learn that Bruhns (the remarkable organ-pupil of Buxtehude, and an exceptionally talented violinist) would seat himself before the pedal of an organ, violin in hand, and would play in four parts--the bass with his feet, the other parts upon his violin.]

While the sonata still lacked that unity resulting from the development and ingenious combination of two themes of necessary co-relationship, which P.E. Bach was to impart to it later, it already possessed three well-defined divisions at least, as is indicated by the variety of the movements: the first one rapid in tempo, assertive; the second slow, full of sentiment; while the third finished gaily, often recalling the rhythms of popular dances.

As to the concerto, it was on the whole nothing more than a sonata for one, sometimes for more than one solo instrument, accompanied by the orchestra, whose interludes produced new effects through the contrast between the _soli_ and the _tutti_.

The facilities offered by the organ, with its several keyboards, for the delineation of these designs, rendered it particularly appropriate that they should be transcribed for that instrument. This Bach did. In addition to sixteen transcriptions for the harpsichord, he left us arrangements for the organ of three of Vivaldi's[78] concertos, and the first movement of a fourth.[79] They are arrangements, rather than integral reproductions; and if we take a certain interest in this transcription for the organ, by special methods, of works not originally intended for that instrument, it is an interest like that inspired by a well-made translation.

[Footnote 78: P. viii, 1-4. Vivaldi was born toward the end of the seventeenth century; in 1713 he was appointed _maestro di cappella_ at _l'Ospitale della Pietà_, at Venice; later he was for some time in the service of the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. He died in 1743.]

[Footnote 79: The title of this last transcription gives us a clue to its date; it reads as follows: "_Concerto dell'illustrissimo Principe Giovanni Ernesto Duca di Sassonia appropriato all'Organo a 2 clav. e pedale da Giovanni Sebastiano Bach_." So it must have been written before 1715, the date of the Duke's death. Bach was not the only one to make these transcriptions; Mattheson tells us (_Das beschützte Orchester_): "Compositions of this order (_concerti grossi_, _sinfonie in specie_, overtures) may also be played upon a polyphonic instrument, for instance upon the organ or harpsichord; a few years ago the celebrated S. de Graue, the blind organist of the new Dunes Church in Amsterdam, played from memory and with remarkable clearness in my presence, upon the excellent organ in his church, the latest Italian sonatas and concertos in three and four parts."]

Possibly Bach regarded it in another light; for him it may have been a means of penetrating to the core of such compositions, of analyzing their inherent qualities.

We now see him quite preoccupied with this three-movement form; take, for instance, the Toccata in _C_ major.[80]

[Footnote 80: P. iii, 8. B.-G. xv, p. 253.]

The Prelude itself is subdivided. First we find an introduction,[81] free in style; then an Allegro, built, as is very important to notice, upon two different and well-defined themes.[82]

[Footnote 81: This work, perhaps, dates from the journey which Bach made to Cassel in 1714 to examine a recently restored organ. At least the pedal passage in the prelude reminds us of that pedal solo executed during this tour before the Hereditary Prince of Hesse with such virtuosity that the latter drew from his finger a valuable ring and presented it to Bach. "One might have believed," says Adlung (_Anleitung an der Musikgelahrtheit_), "that his feet were winged, with such agility did they move over the keys which caused the powerful basses to resound. If the dexterity of his feet drew from the Prince so rich a present, what should he have given him in recognition of the genius of his hands?"]

[Footnote 82: It will be interesting to compare one of these themes with the following from the counterpoint of a fugue in A major by Albinoni:

[Music]

especially if we remember this first transformation which it underwent at the hands of Bach in a fugue for harpsichord:

[Music]]

An Adagio follows; a sort of instrumental solo sustained by a homophonic accompaniment, examples of which are comparatively rare in Bach; and accentuated by a _continuo_, like the _pizzicato_ of the orchestra. A short succession of chords _à la_ Buxtehude and _quasi-recitativo_[83] separates this Adagio from the fugue; the rapid tempo of this latter is still of the earlier period, and recalls, in its progressions in thirds, various subjects of Buxtehude.

[Footnote 83: Here are noticeable the pauses Bach contrives to introduce for one of the hands, that it might effect the changes in registration necessary to play the fugue _coll'organo pleno_.]

Bach was not content with writing in the Italian forms. In the fugue in _B_ minor[84] he borrowed themes from the Corelli[85] sonatas, and in the one in _C_ minor[86] he levied tribute upon works of Legrenzi; upon which one of the latter is not definitely known.

[Footnote 84: P. iv, 8.]

[Footnote 85: Corelli was born in 1653, and died in 1713. The theme mentioned is found in Joachim's edition of Corelli's works (_Denkmäler der Tonkunst_, vol. iii. Bergedorf, near Hamburg, 1871). It is the theme of a fugue, the second part of a "church sonata," opus 3; the fugue is marked _vivace_, and is but thirty-nine measures in length.]

[Footnote 86: The manuscript of this fugue, coming down from Andreas Bach, bears the following qualification: "_Thema Legrenzianum elaboratum cum subjecto pedaliter_."]

In this connection we see what further profit Bach derived from his study of Italian chamber music, not only in the _logic_ of composition in general, but in certain species of writing, particularly in that in three parts.

But all this did not satisfy him; he wished to know the organ works of Italian composers. We have seen that he copied with his own hand the _Fiori musicali_ of Frescobaldi.

This copy is dated 1714; it thus belongs to the Weimar period. The _canzona_ in _D_ minor[87] must have been written shortly after the completion of this task; at any rate, it is interesting to trace the characteristics of this piece to that source.

[Footnote 87: P. iv, 10.]

Notice first of all the theme; it is found in the _Canzon Dopo la Pistola_ (sic), on page 77 of the _Fiori musicali_ (edition of 1635), where it appears as the answer to the principal subject. Frescobaldi presents it in this form:

[Music]

The chromatic countersubject is also found in the _Fiori musicali_, in the fifth verse of the _Kyrie delli Apostoli_ (Christe, p. 38).

[Music]

Further, in comparing the sixth measure of this _Christe_ with the tenth part of the _Canzona_ of Bach, we see why these two themes, although quite in the style of Bach, still are obviously the result of his study of Frescobaldi; in fact, this measure contains a fragment of the theme just quoted, with the very alteration afterwards made by Bach.

In this present case of the employment of a chromatic countersubject Bach evidently had Frescobaldi in mind; considering, and rightly, the frequent use of motives of this kind to be characteristic of the latter. But while Bach believed himself in so far indebted to an Italian master, he was in reality only following the traditions of Sweelinck,[88] who had already furnished him noteworthy examples of this style.

[Footnote 88: Sweelinck, who was born at Deventer about 1560, studied with Zarlino at Venice, and upon his return home in 1580 occupied (until his death in 1620) the position of organist to the old Protestant Church in Amsterdam (see Max Seiffert: _J. Peter Sweelinck und seine directen deutschen Schüler_).]

In fact, Frescobaldi acquired these resources during his stay in Flanders; perhaps he obtained them from Sweelinck himself, whom he undoubtedly knew in Amsterdam. A Fantasie by Sweelinck, edited by R. Eitner,[89] is written wholly upon this form of the Ionic tetrachord:

[Music]

[Footnote 89: It is the third number in the volume entitled, _Drei Phantasien, drei Toccaten und vier Variationen, nach einem Manuscript des grauen Klosters zu Berlin aus der Orgeltabulatur übersetzt und herausgegeben von Rob. Eitner_ (Berlin, 1870).]

We may compare the counterpoint which accompanies it with those of Frescobaldi and of Bach:

[Music]

These characteristics of treatment found great favor with Flemish organists, by whom they were introduced. Peter Philipps, an organist of Soignies, makes use of them in a "_Gagliarda_," and in the "_Pavana dolorosa_"; composed in prison, according to an addition in a strange hand in the manuscript. S. Scheidt, a pupil of Sweelinck, avails himself of them in various instances (_Fantaisie super "Io son ferito casso_," "_Fuga quadruplici_," etc.).

This mannerism prevailed for some years; we again find it in the works of Froberger (_Toccata fatto a Bruxellis Anno 1650_) and in a fugue in _E_ flat by Christopher Bach, of which the following is the subject:

[Music]

Finally, to illustrate the employment of this sort of theme, we will quote the beginning of a "_Point d'orgue sur les Grands Jeux_," by Grigny.[90]

[Footnote 90: _Livre d'orgue_ (1701).]

[Music]

In secular music composers exhibited the same fondness for this chromatic style of progression, employed to express sorrow or dread (it is interesting to note that at every musical epoch this or that motive or chord, later certain instruments, express certain definite emotions).

Thus, in the following example from G. Andrea Bontempi, taken from the opera "_Paride_" produced at Dresden in 1662:

[Music: ERMILLO.

Già trafitto ha il mesto seno,
chi soccorso, o ciel, mi da?]

In the second _Sonate à Programme_ of Kuhnau this phrase must impress one with the depth of Saul's melancholy:[91]

[Music]

[Footnote 91: Let it be remembered that Bach, imitating these same Sonatas in composing the _Lamento_ of the "Capriccio upon the departure of his most beloved brother" (1704), employs this motif as a _basso quasi ostinato_, and that in the Easter Cantata written in the same year the viola sorrowfully gives expression to the same theme.]

Purcell,[92] in the "_Orpheus brittanicus_" (London, 1706) gives us still further examples of this character. Among others, "O let me weep" (Book I, p. 171),

[Music]

and "Here the Deities approve" (Book I, p. 206):

[Music]

[Footnote 92: His compatriot, John Bull, who died in Antwerp in 1628, had already written a series of variations upon this subject. (See "A General History of Music," by Charles Burney. London, 1789, p. 115.)]

We repeat, it is undoubtedly in intentional recollection of the "_Fiori musicali_" that Bach here makes use of a mannerism which, moreover, was so familiar to him; it is through details of this sort that one is able to gain the mastery of a style which one desires to imitate. As for that, we must not forget that Bach wrote after nearly a century had elapsed. If you will, it is like an ancient painting copied by a modern master, who, although able to correct the perspective, would cause the picture to lose none of its archaic charm, while he would impart to it a certain quality of warmth. Thus, in the _canzona_, notice that progression of the soprano (beginning at the 48th measure) which ascends like the broad sweep of violins, then falls gracefully back upon a well-rounded line--a contrast expressing great tenderness, compared with the austere rigidity of the scholastic rhythm with which the countersubject at the same time pursues its heavy course, in an obsolete style of counterpoint.

Here is truly the _cantable_,[93] as Bach called it, never hesitating to coin French words; the second part of the _Canzona_ which follows this species of march is written in 3/2 time, after the established rule; it is more abstract, and not without prolixity.

[Footnote 93: This is the term which Bach employs in the preface to his _Inventionen und Sinfonien_ compiled in 1723, that his pupils might, through their study, acquire _un jeu cantable_.]

If all the grace, the melodic freedom of the _Canzone_ of Frescobaldi are surpassed in this work, an _Alla Breve_[94] in _D_ major reminds us more of the studied style, of the continuous movement of the _Ricercare_, with some reminiscence of a piece which Pachelbel wrote under the same title and in the same key.[95]

[Footnote 94: P. viii, 6.]

[Footnote 95: Commer. _Musica Sacra_ (Vol. I, No. 123, p. 137).]

The _Passacaglia_[96] again exemplifies the discreet cleverness which Bach henceforth displays in his imitations; he realizes that he has risen above his models, and he now chooses his colors with a critical eye. In this instance he takes us back to Buxtehude.

[Footnote 96: P. i, 2. B.-G. xv, p. 289. [M. Pirro writes me: "You may state that the theme of the Passacaglia was the composition of the French organist André Raison." To which M. Widor adds: "André Raison, organist of St.-Étienne du Mont in Paris at the time of Louis XIV, left a volume of organ works, now very rare, which I have presented to the library of the Conservatoire. Raison's collection is interesting, in that it gives indications of the registration of his time; the chorale is usually found in the pedal, treated as the tenor, the real bass being played by the left hand. The melody of the chorale is performed upon a reed stop in the pedal, while upon the manuals only mixtures are drawn." Tr.]]

Among the works of the latter are various pieces of this same order, Passacaglias or Chaconnes, written over an _ostinato_; which is not necessarily confined to the bass in its original form, but which modulates here and there into closely related keys, or appears in other parts.

The seriousness of the beginning of the Bach _Passacaglia_ cannot cause us to forget that calm entrance, in its very reserve so sad, of the Passacaglio (_sic_) of Buxtehude (ed. Spitta, No. I, p. 1):

[Music]

or the profound melancholy of the commencement of the _Ciacona_ (ibid., No. II, p. 6):

[Music]

The majority of the details of the Passacaglia, moreover, establish its relationship to the two works which we have just cited.

For example, the broken chords (beginning with the 113th measure), which remind us of the following (_Ciacona_, p. 10):

[Music]

Also the rapid progressions accompanied by solid chords (_Ciacona_, p. 11):

[Music]

finally the sixteenth-notes in triplets (_Passacaglio_, p. 4).

The idea of joining a fugue to the Passacaglias was also derived from Buxtehude, who united a _chaconne_ and a fugue (_ibid._, No. V).

All this is only incidental, it is true; and we recognize Bach in the length of the work (293 measures) and especially in the skilful counterpoint of the fugue.

From our point of view, the _Passacaglio_ and the _Canzone_ express the whole philosophy of this second period. Bach attains, in these two works, the highest point which it was then possible for him to reach; he comes into his first maturity in treating, it is true, established forms, through which he acquires the necessary mastership for the exploration of new fields.

From this moment progress is manifest. Take the prelude and fugue in _F_ minor;[97] no more superfluous ornaments in the prelude, and, what is especially noteworthy, it is founded entirely, not yet upon a clearly defined subject, but still upon a figure which affects the whole ensemble, imparting to it added coherency.

[Footnote 97: P. ii, 5. B.-G. xv, p. 104.]

Up to this time Bach had not achieved such unity, such directness of meaning; and the rapid, stormy passage at the end is more than a mere brilliant cadence: it bears the musical distinction of adding to the dignity of the peroration by emphasizing the tonality, the threads of which are thus united.

In the two preludes in _C_ minor which bear the title of _Fantaisies_[98] these characteristics are still more pronounced; it is from a veritable subject that they derive the somewhat elegiac character common to both, as well as certain details and even the general outlines; the one is, nevertheless, somewhat more individual because of the use of two themes. Less varied, the character of the other is more intimate, although more uniform.

[Footnote 98: P. iii, 6. B.-G. xv, p. 129, and P. iv, 12 (_a 5 voci_). Accompanying the latter Fantasia is a fugue of which, unfortunately, only the first twenty-seven measures are extant.]

To the three fugues which we have mentioned must undoubtedly be added two others, from a chronological point of view, belonging to preludes of a later date; they are the fugues of the Toccata in _F_ major,[99] and of a prelude in _C_ minor.[100] There is truly a remarkable analogy between these five fugues, both in the character of their themes--no longer agitated in movement, but approaching in a slight degree the melodious seriousness of the chorale--and in their treatment. In each of them the interest increases with the development, and the introduction of an accessory subject toward the middle portion (afterwards related to the principal theme), either as a countersubject or for the purpose of preparing the reëntrance of the principal theme, is common to them all.

[Footnote 99: P. iii, 2. B.-G. xv, p. 155.]

[Footnote 100: P. ii, 6. B.-G. xv, p. 218.]

The Toccata[101] in the Dorian mode and the accompanying fugue are perhaps contemporary; this imposing composition still partakes of that character of studied virtuosity which Bach was destined completely to abandon in his later years.

[Footnote 101: P. iii, 3. B.-G. xv, p. 136.

[At the time of Bach it was a frequent usage to omit an accidental from the signature; in the above case the omission of the only flat undoubtedly suggested the appellation frequently given "_in modo dorico_," although otherwise the composition bears hardly a trace of the Dorian mode. Tr.]]

III

After resigning his post at the palace in Weimar, Bach never again occupied an official position as organist. Not that he renounced the instrument which he so loved to play, but he was no longer obliged to fulfil the requirements of regular service; his earlier compositions he could gather together and correct at his ease, and finally bring out no new ones that were not thoroughly in accordance with his ideals.

The number of these new organ compositions also diminished in an extraordinary degree; for from all the thirty-three years embraced in this last period, but about twenty works exist for our study.

Although Bach no longer bore the title of organist while at Cöthen, it must not be inferred that access to the organs of the town was denied him; for instance, to the instrument in the _St. Agnuskirche_, the pedal of which was unusually extended in compass. We learn, in fact, from a work of C.F. Hartmann's,[102] published at the beginning of this century, that the pedal of this organ was two and a half octaves in range, extending up to _f'_[sharp][103] inclusive, while the organs of that period usually possessed but two octaves in the pedal, from _C_ to _c'_, with sometimes _c'_[sharp] and _d'_ in addition.

[Footnote 102: _Geschichte der evangelisch-lutherischen St. Agnuskirche in Köthen. Herausgegeben von C.F. Hartmann, Köthen, in der Commission der Huschen Buchhandlung_ (1802). The organ is described on pages 19 and 20.]

[Footnote 103: [The pedal, even of modern organs, extends upwards only to _f'_. Since the middle of the last decade, the house of Cavaillé-Coll in Paris, has applied to the larger instruments constructed by it the compass of _C_ to _g'_. This range was recommended by the translator and adopted for an organ now in process of construction in Boston; it is also a feature of the large organ for Yale University, recently contracted for.]]

This instrument, although of modest dimensions, responded to the touch with remarkable precision and promptness. And we have good reason for believing that Bach had it in mind when he wrote the Toccata in _F_ major;[104] this piece has always been played, traditionally, at a very rapid tempo; and one encounters at various points high _f's_ and _e's_ in the pedal part. If Bach, who was continually seeking new instruments or improvements hitherto ignored, had not had at his disposition a _pedalier_ upon which he could play this pedal part, he undoubtedly would have so written it as to make it generally practicable for performance. It seems evident, on the contrary, that he composed this work only in order to take advantage of a resource which he had not encountered before; thus the date of this Toccata appears to be between the years 1717 and 1723, the period of Bach's residence in Cöthen.

[Footnote 104: P. iii, 2. B.-G. xv, p. 155.]

While remarkably brilliant, this work bears the stamp of a certain dryness; it is somewhat too much of a "show-piece,"[105] perhaps the best one of this type which Bach wrote; quite different, in so far, from the fugue in _A_ major joined to the prelude in the same key.[106]

[Footnote 105: The beginning, at least; while the conclusion is characterized by repetitions, this part of the work is not its least imposing portion.]

[Footnote 106: P. ii, 3. B.-G. xv, p. 120.]

This fugue (also from the Cöthen period, as well as the prelude, to judge them by the pedal, which extends to _e'_) occupies an entirely individual position among the works of Bach--one which is shared by no other work. One would say that in writing this fugue he had relaxed from the severity which the grandeur of the instrument inspired in him, lending to the work the intimate charm of a somewhat effeminate grace of movement.

The elusive rhythm of the subject, and even the theme in its entirety (though a different way), bear a strange resemblance to this fugue subject:

[Music]

given out by the oboe, repeated first by the flute, then by the _viola d'amore_, and finally by the _viola da gamba_, above the _continuo_ in the cantata "_Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn_."[107]

[Footnote 107: This cantata, written for soloists, was first performed December 29, 1715. B.-G. xxx, 2.]

Certain portions of the fugue in _A_ major, further, produce the effect of concerted music, conceived for different tone-colors, rather than that of a polyphony of like sounds, especially where broken chords occur in the counterpoint. At other times, when the pedal is silent, a trio-sonata is suggested. This does not surprise us; Bach was still preoccupied with the forms of Italian chamber music. We have noted the transformation which his preludes underwent under this influence, they now being constructed upon distinct subjects; and we have seen in the Toccata in _C_ how Bach sought to write a work in three movements, each one of a different character and tempo, in imitation of the concertos and sonatas. Here and there again, as in this instance, we find attempts at three-part writing clearly defined;[108] not merely because the pedal remains silent, but by reason of a plainly indicated design.

[Footnote 108: For example, in the fugue in _G_ minor (P. iv, 7).]

Bach aligned these endeavors in definite order, classified their essentials, and embodied them in the sonatas, or rather trios, for two manuals and pedal.[109]

[Footnote 109: P. i, 1. B.-G. xv.]

Play these trios upon the organ, and you will divert them from their original destination. Bach composed them for the clavecin with two manuals and pedal, between the years 1722 and 1727,[110] for the purpose, Forkel tells us, of instructing his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, in organ-playing, through their use in home practice.

[Footnote 110: The first part of the sonata in _D_ minor undoubtedly dates from the year 1722; the _adagio_ and _vivace_ of the sonata in _E_ minor are transcribed from the cantata _Die Himmel erzählen_ (1723), B.-G. xviii. The last movement of this sonata was originally intended to serve as an interlude between the prelude and the fugue in _G_ major (P. ii, 2. B.-G. xv, p. 169. The theme of the fugue is, in major, that of the first chorus in the cantata _Ich hatte viel Bekümmerniss_, performed in 1714), composed, according to the water-mark of the autograph, in 1724 or 1725.]

The structure of these sonatas is analogous to that of the six violin sonatas of Bach with clavecin accompaniment; they still lack the definite form of the modern sonata;[111] they are more, as has been said, "lyric pieces."

[Footnote 111: See S. Bagge: _Die geschichtliche Entwickelung der Sonate_.]

If Bach wrote these trios to accustom his son to the technical difficulties of the organ, perchance considering them only a set of studies, and for himself an interesting occupation by which he might profit, his motives in writing the Fantasie and Fugue in _G_ minor[112] were, apparently, very different, and may be definitely connected with the journey which he made to Hamburg in 1720. This is an hypothesis which is sustained by a whole chain of circumstances.

[Footnote 112: P. ii, 4. B.-G. xv, p. 177.]

First of all, Mattheson, in his treatise upon thorough-bass,[113] furnishes the ground for our premise; he cites the following fugue subject as having been given to a candidate who was undergoing an examination for an organ position:

[Music]

with this countersubject:

[Music]

[Footnote 113: _Grosse General-Bass-Schule, oder Exemplarische Organistenprobe_ (Hamburg, 1731), p. 34. "The subject of this fugue was produced by a facile pen, and, in 1725, presented to a candidate for the position of organist."]

He adds that this theme was well known, and that it had been chosen to assist the candidate in his task, since he would already have had an opportunity of hearing it treated; he says, further, that its origin was not unknown, and that it was well known who had been the first to make use of it with success.

Mattheson, who wrote this about 1725, seems to be speaking of a theme unusually familiar. Was it not from Bach himself--the examination took place at Hamburg--that the candidate, who was from that city or a neighboring locality, would probably have heard a fugue composed upon this same subject?

Moreover, an examination of the prelude will confirm this opinion. Through his study of the works of Buxtehude and of Reinken, the venerable organist, Bach had possessed himself of all their secrets. The opportunity had come for him to demonstrate to the organists of Hamburg how, in imitating them, he could surpass them on their own ground.

For the characteristics of the prelude resemble those of the works of these men; recitatives, rapid passages which cover the entire compass of the manuals; chord progressions with bold, unforeseen modulations; subjects treated in imitation. But the recitatives are of an expressive, declamatory character which was then unheard of; the rapid passages are the forerunners of "those scales, those tremendous ascending and descending scales which rise and fall like the waves of the sea in a storm,"[114] which Mozart wrote in the overture to _Don Giovanni_; the chord progressions, with a daring which had never been exceeded, leading to that gigantic passage (measures 31 to 40), a veritable orchestral crescendo, where all resources of sonority deploy themselves in radiation, taking on new force with each strong beat; it serves also as an example of the crescendo which may be obtained upon the organ without recourse to modern appliances. Finally, the motive treated in imitation (measures 9 to 13) vouchsafes us a period of repose, corresponding to a point of temporary rest in the midst of chaotic agitation; it is the calm supplication of prayer which alternates with the power of the elements freed from their fetters.

[Footnote 114: Charles Gounod: _Le Don Juan de Mozart_, p. 5.]

The opposition of these varied means of expression imparts to this piece a value which the works of Buxtehude, despite their valuable qualities, will never possess. I refer to those designs, in the absence of which music stifles, giving the impression of a drawing without perspective; such qualities are essential, especially in music composed for the organ, whose manuals, of different intensity, so easily accomplish the display of the various phases, emphasizing one subject while leaving another in the background.

Pölchau, in the 18th century, declared that the fugue accompanying this prelude was the "best work with pedal ever written by Bach." It is rarely allowable to pronounce such absolute judgments, or even to subscribe to them; that it is one of the best, however, there can be no doubt; still greater through that unity of opposition, through the effect of continuity which it produces, like the uninterrupted course of a great river, contrasted with the boiling torrent which terrifies our imagination.

It now remains for us to speak only of the prelude and fugue in _E_ flat major, and of the six preludes and fugues which have been surnamed "the great." These latter, which are found together in the manuscript, were, perhaps, assembled by Bach for publication; that was not, however, accomplished.

Of all the compositions which we have cited thus far, only the prelude and fugue in _E_ flat were published during the composer's life.

The prelude stands at the head of the third part of the _Clavierübung_[115] and the fugue ends that volume. In any case, there is no doubt that these two pieces belong together. Griepenkerl, who in his edition[116] united them for the first time, declares that he did not do so arbitrarily, but that he was justified by Forkel, who in turn derived his authority from Bach's sons.

[Footnote 115: _Clavierübung.--Dritter Theil der Clavierübung bestehend in verschiedenen Vorspielen über den Catechismus und andere Gesänge vor die Orgel: denen Liebhabern und besonders denen Kennern von dergleichen Arbeit, zur Gemüths-Ergötzung verfertiget von J.S. Bach, königl. Pohlnischen, und Churfürstlich Sächsischen Hof-Compositeur, Capellmeister, und Directore Chori Musici in Leipzig. In Verlegung des Authoris._]

[Footnote 116: P. iii, 1. B.-G. iii, pp. 173 and 254.]

Moreover, a comparison of these two pieces will show their similarity; while the prelude is more grandiose, the character of the fugued portions is quite the same in the one as in the other; moreover, the polyphony, in each case in five parts, indicates an evident unity of composition.[117]

[Footnote 117: It is worthy of note that the fugue, a last reminiscence of Buxtehude, is in three movements of different rhythms.]

The publication of the _Clavierübung_ may be fixed at about the year 1739. The prelude and fugue in _E_ minor[118] are probably anterior to this work; a minute study of the autographs has given Ph. Spitta reason to place the composition between 1727 and 1736.

[Footnote 118: P. ii, 9. B.-G. xv, p. 236.]

In the strict succession broadly established by a prelude developed at length (137 measures), follows the fugue, of still greater dimensions (231). It is the longest of all the Bach fugues, but, despite its proportions, the interest does not flag for a moment. Here again Bach constructed his subject upon that same chromatic progression to which he already owed so many expressive combinations; but the theme soon retires into the background of this fugue; it is but the excuse for a counter-theme of singular pathos, which assumes the importance of a symphonic subject, freely treated.

We should place by the side of this masterpiece the prelude and fugue in _B_ minor.[119] The beauties of this composition are of a character quite as lofty, to which no analysis can do justice. It is a sort of soul-language, of which Hegel says, in his _Aesthetik_: "If we consider all intercourse of the soul with the beautiful as a deliverance, as a release from all trouble, it is in music that we must seek the completeness of that liberation."

[Footnote 119: P. ii, 10. B.-G. xv, p. 199.]

Undoubtedly it is also "that internal harmony which lifts us for an instant out of the infinite depths of longing, which delivers the soul from the oppression of the will, which diverts our attention from all that is importunate, showing us things divested of all the influences of anticipation, of every personal interest, becoming objects of disinterested contemplation, and not of covetousness; thus this repose, vainly sought along the open paths of desire, but which has always eluded us, appears to us, as it were, of its own volition, and vouchsafes the realization of peace in plenty. This free condition of sadness Epicurus pronounced the chief of all good, the happiness of the gods."[120]

[Footnote 120: Schopenhauer. _Lichtstrahlen aus seinen Werken._ J. Frauenstädt, Leipzig, 1874.]

To the six greater preludes and fugues also belong the prelude in _C_ major[121]--which, reproduced in an altered form by Bach himself upon another occasion, recalls in both its forms the beginning of the Concerto in _C_ major for two clavecins--and the prelude in _C_ minor,[122] the fugue of which (as we have already seen) must be earlier in date. Otherwise the great fugue in _A_ minor,[123] the prelude of which, included with the fugue in this series, is still replete with souvenirs of Buxtehude, and would thus revert to the Weimar period.

[Footnote 121: P. ii, 1.]

[Footnote 122: P. ii, 6. B.-G. xv, p. 218. Here are noticeable reminiscences from the _Recordare_ in the _Dies Irae_ of Legrenzi, for eight-part chorus, three _violes_ and organ.]

[Footnote 123: P. ii, 8. B.-G. xv.]

Finally, we would mention the prelude in _C_ major in 9-8 time[124]; it recalls in its movement a fantasia by Froberger.

[Footnote 124: P. ii, 7. B.-G. xv, p. 228.]

It is curious to observe that the fugue which follows it played a part in the inspiration of _Die Meistersinger_, in its analogous figures, and in resuming the subject at the close, this time in augmentation, like a chorale melody.

Is it not of some interest to see brought together, in a work of Bach's, these extremes in music? Froberger, with all his inheritance of past centuries; Wagner, proclaiming the dawn of a new art?

THE CHORALE

PRELUDES (_VORSPIELE_)--TRIOS--FANTASIAS--FUGUES

We have seen to what an early period of Bach's life his first free compositions revert; perhaps of still earlier origin are the works which the Chorales inspired in him.

Liturgical in character, and thus all the more closely identified with the popular sources from which he sometimes drew his own inspirations in order to idealize them mystically in a sort of "_procession en Dieu_," the chorale is the soul of Lutheran religious music. Far more; this universal prayer, the spiritualized communion of the faithful (their sole participation, really, in a dogma freely interpreted), passed from the inner temple to the outer court, like the reading of Holy Writ; the Bible was the book of the family, the volume of chorales its musical breviary.

The very first arrangements of chorales made by Bach convey a little of that intimate charm, of that impression of "home" and its domestic circle, where in the evening the hymns are sung between the reading of two chapters from the Evangelists; it would seem as though the young man, an orphan, in imparting to them their expression of quiet sympathy, desired that they should take the place of those same intimate pleasures which had been denied him.

In fact, the "_Partite_," these two sets of variations upon "_Christ, der Du bist der helle Tag_" and "_Gott, Du frommer Gott_,"[125] lend themselves but poorly to the somewhat formal solemnity of a public service.

[Footnote 125: These variations are contained in the fifth volume of the Peters edition (Part ii, 1 and 2).]

The influence of the style of G. Böhm, which betrays itself from one end to the other of these compositions, and their resemblance to clavecin pieces, would seem to indicate that they belong to the Lüneburg period, when Bach had but rarely, at best, an organ at his disposal. Here we find heavy, solid chords, undoubtedly intended to augment the tone of the weak instrument, as the profuse ornaments were to prolong it. They are written without pedal, or, at most, in one variation, for the pedal of a clavecin; for the pedal part of this last variation of _Christ, der Du bist der helle Tag_ cannot be played upon the organ as it is written; the whole design of the sixteenth-notes in the left hand would be covered up. On the contrary, entrusted to the basses of the clavecin, which do not prolong the tone, they merely serve to accentuate the rhythm.

The chorale _Christ lag in Todesbanden_[126] is analogous in character, and doubtless belongs to the same period.[127]

[Footnote 126: P. vi, 15.]

[Footnote 127: This also must have been written for the clavecin; the right hand passing over the left in order to strike the bass note _e_, held meanwhile by the pedal, clearly indicates the intention of thereby prolonging the sound.]

Among the chorales of the earlier years should be included a prelude in _G_ major upon _Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern_.[128] This work dates, perhaps, from Arnstadt; three other chorales, published by Commer,[129] and similar to those of Christopher Bach, are of still earlier origin.

[Footnote 128: Published by Ritter: _Geschichte des Orgelspiels_, part ii, p. 181.]

[Footnote 129: _Musica Sacra_, vol. i, p. 5.]

Aside from these chorales, which are separate, and a few others equally isolated, of which we shall speak in their proper place, the greater part of the Bach chorales have been brought together in various collections, although some have been published separately.

I

In chronological order, the first of these collections is the _Orgelbüchlein_.[130]

[Footnote 130: _Orgelbüchlein Worinne einem anfahenden Organisten Anleitung gegeben wird, auff allerhand Arth einen Choral durchzuführen, anbey auch sich im Pedal Studio zu habilitiren, indem in solchen darinne befindlichen Choralen das Pedal gantz obligat tractiret wird. Dem Höchsten Gott allein zu ehren, Dem Nechsten, draus sich zu belehren. Autore Joanne Sebast. Bach p.t. Capellae Magistro S.P.R. Anhaltini-Cotheniensis._

The chorales of the _Orgelbüchlein_ are published in the fifth volume of the Peters, and in the twenty-fifth year of the _Bach-Gesellschaft_ edition. W. Rust, in the latter volume, has preserved the order adopted by Bach in the succession of these chorales, which is according to the church year.]

Because this collection was made at Cöthen, it must not be supposed that the chorales which it comprises were composed only during the period of Bach's service to Prince Leopold of Anhalt; Bach rather made a practical arrangement of them, whereby they might serve as a useful work for his pupils.

It comprises forty-five chorales, of which a goodly portion undoubtedly belong to the years in Weimar--perhaps to a still earlier period.

These chorales are generally written after the models furnished by Pachelbel; but where Pachelbel is merely calmly devout, or placidly harmonious, Bach, with a more exalted piety and distinctly more poetic, lends to them whatever of mystic character he could derive from the text of the hymns; in addition, he imbues them with all the picturesqueness suggested by the sense of the words.

And what variety in the choice of means to be employed! Sometimes there are progressions which fairly chill us, simply the result of a note purposely prolonged, or a succession of chords strikingly disjointed, which seem to clash with incompatible harmonies, as at the close of _Alle Menschen müssen sterben_; or a false relation seems fraught with fatality, as well as with complete desolation, as in _O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde gross_. At other times will be found motives whose symbolic character is not the result of chance; for example, all the irreparability of the primeval fall of man[131] is symbolized by diminished sevenths, pitching obliquely downwards, as if in a veritable vertigo; or the gliding of scales in opposite directions depicts the balancing of a flying object hovering in space--skimming over the earth, and already out of range, while, in the repetitions, the flapping of wings emphasizes the rhythm.

[Footnote 131: _Durch Adam's Fall ist ganz verderbt._ Buxtehude employed fifths to symbolize this descent.]

Certain rhythms also assist Bach in his task; to express the fulness of joy in the chorale _In Dir ist Freude_, Bach constructed his prelude upon a _chaconne_ movement, a _carillon_ theme, repeated unceasingly by the bass; the sole subject perceptible, of which the other parts are but an indistinct reflection; even the melody of the chorale is lost sight of in the vibrations of the bass, but, nevertheless, it presents itself in the voices, which repeat it in fragments, sometimes with elaboration, like the hum of a great people celebrating a festival, who emerge in vast throngs from the church whence the final reverberations of the organ still voice its rhythm,[132] and who betake themselves, thenceforth busy with their pleasures, to the sunny square now invaded by the sound of the bells ringing their full peals.

[Footnote 132: Organists often played the _sortie_ (postlude) in the form of a _chaconne_, with full organ (see Mattheson: "_Der vollkommene Capellmeister_," and Becker, "_Rathgeber für Organisten_"). The prelude to the chorale "_Heut' triumphiret Gottes Sohn_" is conceived in the same manner.]

Certain chorales are expressive enough to pass as paraphrases; Bach did not err in judgment, and reserved for them a discreet accompaniment, which is sustained very softly, asserting itself only to provide for the melody a "breathing space," as it were, after which it may reappear with increased breadth.

This is exemplified in _Herzlich thut mich verlangen_, a favorite chorale with Bach, with its gloomily suspensive ending, expressive of desire or of doubt in its employment of the Phrygian mode, which supports the harmonies, delicately ambiguous in the irresolution of a petition.

This mystical fervor, intensified by Bach, was foreign to the conception of the composer of this melody; Hans Leo Hassler, as he wrote it, saw in it nothing of a chorale, still less of a hymn, but designed it simply for the words of a five-part madrigal:[133] _Mein G'müth ist mir verwirret_, a poem dedicated to a certain "Maria," the initial letters of the five verses forming the acrostic of her name.

[Footnote 133: In the collection _Lustgarten neuer teutscher Gesänge, Balletti, Galliarden und Intraden mit 4, 5, 6, 7, und 8 Stimmen. 1601, Nürnberg, bei Kaufmann_.]

Meanwhile, the producers of religious songs soon laid hold of this one; to this secular music was adapted, in 1613, the translation made by Paul Gerhardt of the _Salve caput cruentatum_,[134] written by St. Bernard; it thus became the hymn of Holy Week. During the century, certain publishers (Rhamba-Görlitz) still further distorted its meaning; it was henceforth heard at funerals, expressing the longing to leave the earth, whereas formerly it had served to salute the bloodstained face of the Saviour, while, in the by-ways, amorous lute-players languished to its tones in "courtly diminutions."

[Footnote 134: _O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden._--_Cf._ chorale in St. Matthew Passion.]

But had not Luther said, "Why should the Devil have all the best tunes?"

The canon form inspired Bach to compose some curious arrangements of chorales. He commanded so many artifices, could devise such ingenious counterpoints with which to create interest, to overcome the rigidity of scholastic practices, and in addition could clothe the composition in so rich an "orchestration," that it becomes a pleasure to play something so erudite, so natural does it sound to the ear. This double interest offered to the mind and to the ear is exemplified in a canon upon _Hilf Gott, dass mir gelinge_, where, interlacing itself amid the imitations in the fifth, a sustained movement in triplets runs through the entire compass of the keyboard. In _In Dulci Jubilo_, similar triplets, liquidly intangible, imperceptibly disintegrate the rhythm, soften its somewhat harsh character. This chorale recalls Bach's stay in Cöthen by the unusual compass of its pedal part, which extends upward to _F_ sharp; so, for the same reason, does the chorale _Gottes Sohn ist kommen_, also written in canon.

Of the other chorales in the _Orgelbüchlein_, a small number, it is true, recall chorales by the organists of the North German school; as examples of this style we would cite _Wenn wir in höchsten Nöthen sein_ and _Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten_, both, in the ornamentation of their melodies, characteristic of the Reinkens and Buxtehudes.

Finally, we would call attention, in _Ich ruf' zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ_, to a form of writing truly instrumental, at the same time as analogous to the style of the _Adagio_ (in _A_ minor) of the Toccata in _C_ major, as the repetitions of notes are characteristic of G. Böhm.[135]

[Footnote 135: Compare that chorale with this fragment of a chorale by Böhm, _Vater unser im Himmelreich_:

[Music]]

II

The chorales of the Orgelbüchlein were compiled by Bach for purposes of instruction, as we have seen. It is not known whether it was his intention to publish them, or the eighteen _Choralvorspiele_[136]--sixteen autographs and two copies in Altnikol's hand--the MSS. of which are preserved in Berlin. In any case, these latter would have been rather for personal use than to serve as exercises for his pupils.

[Footnote 136: P. vi, and vii. B.-G. xxv, vol. ii, 3rd part.]

In this collection a form of chorale arrangement is found which we did not encounter in the _Orgelbüchlein_, the _trio_.[137] From a subject taken from a chorale melody, Bach forms a figure, which he develops in three parts in the style of the sonatas for two manuals and pedal; fragments of the _cantus firmus_ recur in these arabesques, sometimes repeated upon one after another of the manual keyboards, as an echo; or perhaps the pedal finally lays hold of them, entirely reconstructing the chorale--a stately cadence. What Bach calls a "Fantasia"[138] is of analogous character; the difference being, that the parts are more numerous, and no longer confined to a strictly continuous design.

[Footnote 137: For example, upon the melodies "_Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'_" (several versions), "_Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland_" and "_Herr Jesus Christ, dich zu uns wend_."]

[Footnote 138: _Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland._]

A fusion of Pachelbel's style with that of the organists of the North, although modified, furnishes a new type: the melody is figured, it is true, but very discreetly; and the phrases of which it is composed are treated separately, each being preceded by a counterpoint derived from itself. The chorale _An Wasserflüssen Babylons_[139] (_super flumina Babylonis_), for example, is thus written. The _cantus firmus_ is sustained by the tenor, almost without elaboration, supported by rich polyphonic imitations of these various motives.

[Footnote 139: Various arrangements by Bach of this chorale are in existence; we would cite in particular the one which he made with double pedal, upon the same harmonic bass as the one already referred to. It was probably composed for the journey to Hamburg (in 1720), when Bach drew from old Reinken the avowal of an admiration which the latter was not wont to lavish, for his improvisations upon this theme. Reinken had also composed a prelude upon it. It is interesting to compare the profusion of ornaments by which he renders the melody almost unrecognizable, with the elegant design in which Bach clothes it. Reinken thus distorts the beginning:

[Music]

With a Toccata and another _Choralvorspiel_, this arrangement is all that remains to us of Reinken's works.]

In the same style of composition, born of a poetic imagination, is the chorale-prelude _Schmücke dich, O liebe Seele_.

"_Schmücke dich, O liebe Seele!_" Adorn thyself, O dear soul; be full of virtue, to please God; yet, however pure, may thy virtue be natural and effortless! Be full of grace, and may thy virtue be a very beautiful thing; doubtless thou hast never sinned, and thus there is no question of repentance ... that would evoke some feeling of sadness, and no sadness whatsoever can exist here; thou art already very noble, and thou must become still more noble; already very limpid, thou must become still more limpid; although far from the earth, arise now towards the heavens.... Sublime as thou art, thou must become divine. Let thy virtue be a very beautiful thing!

"_Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele!_" Adorn thyself, O dear soul! And Johann Sebastian treats a single line of the very calm and too austere chorale. Its robes of sackcloth being somewhat too severe, he bedecks it with simple and suave ornaments, like lilies which would live on a plain and naked altar. So might a learned and holy priest speak those words which at once charm and sanctify; and his hands do not remain crossed upon his breast, but his gesture mounts upwards towards God, scarcely saddened by a separation which soon will cease ... virtue is a joyful thing!

"_Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele!_" Adorn thyself, O dear soul. And now, suddenly, upon a distant manual, the calm and less severe chorale is heard. Do those voices mount towards God, or do they call from heaven? Is it a prayer which rises, or the dew of a grace which softly falls like the rain? And the suave ornaments of a simple melody thus live like lilies, and breathe no sadness. For virtue is beautiful and joyous.... "Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele!" Adorn thyself, O dear soul!

* * * * *

Bach wrote this chorale on a Sunday, as a pious man conceives in his heart a beautiful and childlike prayer, for the heavens are very pure on that day, and one's soul is wholly sincere.[140]

[Footnote 140: Schumann said of this prelude, by which he himself was influenced in certain compositions (Cologne): "Thou didst play, Felix Meritis (Mendelssohn), a prelude upon one of those figured chorales: '_Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele_,' was the text; the melody seemed interlaced with garlands of gold, and the work breathed forth such happiness that you inspired in me this avowal: 'Were life deprived of all trust, of all faith, this simple chorale would restore all to me.' I fell into a revery; then, almost unconsciously, I found myself in the cemetery, and I felt poignant grief at not being able to cover with flowers the grave of the great Bach."--Letters, vol. i. Mendelssohn had played this chorale at a concert given, in St. Thomas' Church, to further the erection of a monument to the memory of J.S. Bach.

The melody of this chorale is found in choral-books since 1649.]