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The original orchestral suite was generally believed to have been written by Bach for his patron Prince Leopold of Anhalt some time between the years 1717 and 1723. However, the oldest surviving score is later, dating from Bach’s time in Leipzig. Current thinking is that the suite may well have been written in that city for performance by the collegium musicum.[1]
The title comes from violinist August Wilhelmj’s late 19th century arrangement of the piece for violin and piano. By transposing the key of the piece from its original D major to C major and transposing the melody down an octave, Wilhelmj was able to play the piece on only one string of his violin, the G string.
Later, a spurious story was put about that the melody was always intended to be played on the G string alone.
Follow the theme – Hint: It is the ‘eggs’ :)
Listening to music is awesome. Listening to music and understanding what makes it amazing is ‘double-plus’ awesome. :)
Gotta catch them all, can you distinguish all 20 variations? :)
BWV 582/1: Passacaglia
The passacaglia is in 3/4 time typical of the form. Bach’s ostinato comprises eight bars, which is unusual but not unheard of: an ostinato of the same length is used, for example, in Johann Krieger‘s organ passacaglia. The opening of the piece, which consists of the ostinato stated in the pedal with no accompaniment from the manuals, is slightly more unusual, although this idea also occurs elsewhere, and may even have been used by Buxtehude.[8]
There are 20 variations in BWV 582/1. The first begins with a typical C minor affekt, “a painful longing” according to Spitta, similar to the beginning of Buxtehude’s Chaconne in C minor (BuxWV 159).[9] Numerous attempts have been made to figure out an overarching symmetrical structure of the work, but scholars have yet to agree on a single interpretation.[10] Particularly important attempts were made by Christoph Wolff and Siegfried Vogelsänder.[11] Some scholars have speculated that there is a symbolic component to the structure of the work: for instance, Martin Radulescu argues that BWV 582/1 is “in the form of a cross”.[12]
There is agreement among most scholars that the Passacaglia builds up until its climax in variation twelve.[citation needed] This is followed by three quiet variations, forming a short intermezzo, and then the remaining five variations end the work.
Bach performer and scholar Marie-Claire Alain suggested that the 21 variations are broken down into 7 groups of 3 similar variations, each opening with a quotation from a Lutheran chorale, treated similarly to the Orgel-Buchlein written at a similar time:[13]
- Bars 8-12, the top part spells out the opening notes of “Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland”
- Bars 24-48, a cantilena spells out “Von Gott will ich nicht lassen”
- Bars 49-72, the scales are a reference to “Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schar”
- Bars 72-96, recalling the “star” motif from “Herr Christ, der Ein’ge Gottes-Sohn”
- Bars 96-120, ornamented figure similar to that in “Christ lag in Todesbanden” accompanies theme in the soprano then moving successively to alto and bass
- Bars 144-168 “Ascending intervals in bass recall the Easter chorale “Erstanden ist der heil’ge Christ”.
Alain also points out that the numbers (21 repetitions of the Passacaglia ground and 12 statements of the fugue subjects) are inversions.
Fugue in G minor, BWV 578, “Little” (popularly known as the “Little Fugue”), is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach during his years at Arnstadt (1703–1707). It is one of Bach’s best known fugues and has been arranged for other voices, including in an orchestral version made by Leopold Stokowski.[1]
Early editors of Bach’s work attached this title to distinguish it from the later Great Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542, which is longer in duration.
Many thanks to Stephen Malinowski for performing and translating the work into the visual medium presented above.
Jesu, meine Freude is a motet composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. The work, which takes its title from the chorale by Johann Franck on which it is based, is also known as Motet No. 3 in E minor, BWV 227. The stanzas of the chorale are interspersed with passages from the Epistle to the Romans.
Bach’s organ piece, chorale prelude BWV 610, bears the same title. This work, which is earlier and shorter than the motet, is based on the same chorale melody by Johann Crüger.
There are six authenticated funeral motets (BWV 225–230) written for St Thomas’s Church, Leipzig, between 1723 and 1727. A seventh has only recently been subjected to some scholarly doubt as to its authorship. This third is the earliest, longest, most musically complex and justifiably the most popular of the six, and was written in Leipzig in 1723 for the funeral (on 18 July 1723) of Johanna Maria Käsin, the wife of that city’s postmaster. The 5th voice of the chorus is a second soprano part of harmonic richness, adding considerably to the tonal palette of the work as a whole.
The chorale melody on which it is based was by Johann Crüger (1653), and it first appeared in his Praxis pietatis melica. The German text is by Johann Franck, and dates from c. 1650. The words of the movement nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are based on the Epistle to the Romans 8:1–2, 9–11. The scriptures here speak of Jesus Christ freeing man from sin and death. The chorale text is from the believer’s point of view and praises the gifts of Jesus Christ as well as longing for his comforting spirit. It also abounds with stark contrasts between images of heaven and hell, often within a single section. Bach’s vivid setting of the words heightens these dramatic contrasts resulting in a motet with an uncommonly wide dramatic range.
Movements
- Jesu, meine Freude (1st stanza)
- Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches (based on Romans 8:1,4)
- Unter deinem Schirmen (2nd stanza)
- Denn das Gesetz (à 3, based on Romans 8:2)
- Trotz dem alten Drachen (3rd stanza)
- Ihr aber seid nicht fleischlich (fugue, based on Romans 8:9)
- Weg mit allen Schätzen (4th stanza)
- So aber Christus in euch ist (à 3, based on Romans 8:10)
- Gute Nacht, o Wesen (à 4, 5th stanza)
- So nun der Geist (based on Romans 8:11)
- Weicht, ihr Trauergeister (6th stanza)
A brief guide to the eleven movements follows:
- Chorale setting, four-part
- Five-part dramatic chorus, florid variations on the chorale, in the manner of an instrumental ripieno
- Chorale, with flourishes
- Setting in the manner of a trio sonata (soprano, soprano, alto).
- Five-part dramatic chorus, florid variations on the chorale, in the manner of an instrumental ripieno.
- Five-part double fugue
- Chorale, with florid variations.
- Setting in the manner of a trio sonata (alto, tenor, bass)
- Chorale prelude (soprano, soprano, alto, tenor. The cantus firmus is in the alto).
- Five-part dramatic chorus (repeats much of #2 with different text)
- Chorale setting (repeats #1 with different text)
An analysis would reveal a balanced musical symmetry around the 6th movement double fugue, with both #3–5 and #7–9 containing a chorale, a trio and a quasi-aria movement, and the work beginning and ending with the identical chorale, albeit to different words.
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