Reflecting on the work of his father, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote, If ever a composer has shown polyphony in all its strength, it was surely Bach…. Nobody has shown as much as he, in works which normally seem so dry, as much imagination and originality of thought…. His melodies were indeed unusual, but they were always varied, rich in invention, and they are not at all like those of other composers. …
The young J.S. Bach was employed as court organist in Weimar when he composed the tender and intimate chorale prelude, Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV 641 (“When we are in utmost need”). The brief liturgical interlude is part of Bach’s Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book) BWV 599−644, a compilation of 46 chorale preludes, written between 1712 and 1717. Albert Schweitzer commented that the soprano line, heard below as a pastorale reed voice, flows “like a …
The Prelude and Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV 880 comes from the second book of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. These sublime etudes traverse all twenty four major and minor keys, and in Bach’s words, were conceived “for the use and profit of musical youth desirous of learning, as well as for the pastime of those already skilled in this study.” They are pieces characterized by a divine sense of order. The …
In an 1806 treatise, Christian Schubart described D-sharp minor as a key which expresses “feelings of the anxiety of the soul’s deepest distress, of brooding despair, of blackest depression, of the most gloomy condition of the soul.” Schubart concluded with the chilling statement, “If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key.” In the early twentieth century, expressive variations between keys became blurred following the adoption of equal temperament in tuning. …
In the autumn of 1705, the 20-year-old Johann Sebastian Bach took a four month leave from his position as organist in the German town of Arnstadt and set out on foot for Lübeck, nearly 300 miles to the north. The purpose of the arduous journey was to visit the famous organist and composer, Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707). Buxtehude’s musical influence can be heard in Bach’s Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C Major, BWV 564. …
The traditional Baroque trio sonata, developed by composers such as Arcangelo Corelli, typically consisted of two violins and continuo. The continuo involved a partially improvised accompaniment in which the keyboard player would be given the bass line and the harmonic “short hand” of figured bass notation. It was an arrangement which was not unlike the harmonic changes in a jazz chart. With the Six Sonatas for violin and harpsichord (BWV 1014-1019), J.S. …
J.S. Bach’s Six Partitas, BWV 825-830 were conceived as exercises for the body, mind, and spirit. Composed between 1725 and 1731, these were the last of Bach’s keyboard suites. Yet, they were published by the Leipzig-employed composer as “opus 1,” and offered “to music lovers in order to refresh their spirits.” This collection of Partitas (richly contrasting Baroque dances) fuses technical advancement with spiritual delight. They influenced later composers, from Brahms to Bartók. Bach’s earliest biographer, …