A Moment of Bach

Here is, almost certainly, Bach's last composition for voices. "Et incarnatus est" is the short choral movement in the Mass in B minor which precedes and sets up the central "Crucifixus." Being not quite yet Christ's death, the "Et incarnatus est" depicts the sighing descent of Christ being made man. A mournful coincidence: this music also imminently preceded Bach's death. He likely finished it in 1750, the year of his death, to complete the compilation of the masterfully crafted and structured Mass in B Minor.  Christian focuses on one of the single most haunting and uncommon chords: the augmented sixth chord, which in Baroque music is found only in the most sorrowful moments. **Music theory note!** When we discuss the other augmented sixth chord example from "O Schmerz" in the St. Matthew Passion, this chord has that augmented sixth interval inverted, so while the effect is similar, this interval becomes a diminished 10th (from B in the bass to D flat in the tenor)!  "Et incarnatus est" choral movement from the Credo section of Bach's Mass in B minor BWV 232, as performed by the Netherlands Bach Society

Today: we talk about Nokia ringtones, how Bach is the best at bass; Bach's French wordplay, and "Bach can be played at any tempo". Performance of "Badinerie" by the Netherlands Bach Society

This week's moment of Bach is a blissful ascending sequence in the fast final fugue movement of this keyboard toccata, which reminds us of the audacious repeating steps up and up (and down and down) of Monteverdi's "Si ch'io vorei morire."  Does this fugue opening sound familiar? Its subject is ALMOST another much more famous one. The fugue's ending is no less spectacular. Fugue from Toccata in E minor BWV 917 as performed by Bart Jacobs for the Netherlands Bach Society Si ch'io vorrei morire (Claudio Monteverdi): translation  

"Complex" is Bach's default setting.  On this 300th anniversary of the Easter Oratorio, which was premiered in Leipzig on Easter Sunday 1725, we talk about duet recitatives, recorders and bassoons (shout out to Benny Aghassi), and Bach's marvelous trumpet writing.   See the performance of the Easter Oratorio here, by the Netherlands Bach Society, conducted by Jos van Veldhoven

After witnessing Christ's death, we experience a frozen scene -- an aria -- which is a space for reflection that Bach so often gives us in his cantatas and passions. But this time we also experience some harsh tonal whiplash as first we hear Christ's head falling in death, then a dancing, hopeful aria. This aria with interspersed chorale is filled with questions, and the positivity of one final answer.  Bach produces an innovative and complex "theological counterpoint" of the bass aria's poetry with the simultaneous chorale text. The answer is a confident affirmative; the bass holds a moment and then nods "ja." And so, our question "can I inherit the kingdom of heaven? Is this the redemption of the world?" is answered: as Christ lowered his head in death, he silently bowed his head "yes."   Aria "Mein teurer heiland" with chorale "Jesu, der du warest tot" as performed by Drew Santini and the Netherlands bach Society

"It is finished."  This falling melody, sung by Christ at the moment of His death, is followed by the pivotal alto aria "Es ist vollbracht".  We explore the musical texture, the dramatic contrasts, the foreshadowing of the "vivace" middle section, and the way that silence can speak louder than words or music.   We also uncover a truth about the word "finished" in this biblical passage.  "Es ist vollbracht" as performed by Marine Fribourg (alto), Meineke van der Velden (viola da gamba solo) for the Netherlands Bach Society Link to the devotional book Alex mentioned at the end of the episode.  Thank you to listener and friend Marcia Biang for this book recommendation!

Why, at number 25 of 30 variations mostly in sunny G major, is here one of the most profoundly sad things he ever wrote? This one gets at something deep. He certainly knew suffering; was it his personal experience? Bach's full range of expressions is at play in the Goldberg Variations, here including sorrow.  Dubbed the "Black Pearl" by keyboardist Wanda Landowska, the long and wandering variation retains its structure, yet takes us to such lonely and desolate places.  The Goldberg Variations (var. 25) as played by Jean Rondeau for the Netherlands Bach Society

"For me, Bach is the greatest of preachers. His cantatas and Passions tune the soul to a state in which we can grasp the truth and oneness of things, and rise above everything that is paltry, everything that divides us." -- Charles-Marie Widor, from the Preface to the biography J. S. Bach by Albert Schweitzer We all know that Bach is a technical wizard.  Counterpoint might be what he's best known for.  But if you want to convince someone of Bach's power as a spiritual storyteller, go to the chorales in the cantatas and Passions.   There you will find pieces like this, "O große Lieb" (O great love), where in four lines of text, Bach's harmonies perfectly paint the mood of each line of text, sometimes laser-targeted down to the very note.   "O große Lieb" from St John Passion, Netherlands Bach Society, Jos van Veldhoven, conductor

At the beginning of our podcast seasons, we always look at a new part of BWV 61. This week Christian chooses what may be the most pure, unassuming aria of total soul transcendence. The aria "Öffne dich" is the 'heart' of this regal Advent cantata, and offers an opposite effect of the other parts while we hear a plead (from us) to our own heart: "Open yourself, my whole heart; Jesus comes and enters." A simple cello bass line and organ accompaniment frame a floating, unpinned rhythm and subtle, elegant soprano ornamentation. But the music opens and shines from the heavens in transcendent peace at "O wie selig werd ich sein!" -- the cello enters a blissful flow as "O how blessed will I be!" This episode's featured aria as performed by the Netherlands Bach Society Zsuzsi Tóth, soprano BachCantataTexts.org annotated translation of BWV 61 BWV 106 Gottes Zeit in concert THIS SUNDAY in Orange, California - free concert directed by Alex - info here

Welcome to season 5 of A Moment of Bach! We kick off the season with a suggestion from Charles Raasch -- the Great Fantasia and Fugue.  Does Bach know where he's going with this one?  Of course he does, but, it's still fun to get lost in the music.  Come with us as we wander into the complex harmonies, built mostly on fully-diminished dissonances, until Bach finally leads us home to a supremely sonorous G major ending. Great Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 542) performed by Leo Van Doeselaar for the Netherlands Bach Society Give to the Netherlands Bach Society -- help them finish All of Bach! PATREON -- a new opportunity to donate to A Moment of Bach -- always optional, always appreciated!   

Our fourth season was the best year yet for our downloads. Thank you for your listenership! And we still welcome your listener "moments" of Bach as ideas for future episodes.  For this season closer, we invite Reverend Eric Clausen, a Lutheran pastor, to help us unpack the background of BWV 80 (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God). The bold and powerful text of the source hymn comes directly from Martin Luther. Bach's cantata incorporates the four hymn stanzas plus poetry by Salomon Franck. Two aMoB listeners suggested moments from BWV 80; we discuss the specific moment requested for the second movement.  PATREON for A Moment of Bach - always optional, always appreciated. Huge thanks as always to the Netherlands Bach Society for allowing us to use their audio examples on our podcast. BWV 80 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, as performed by Netherlands Bach Society under the leadership of Shunske Sato, Artistic Director

Martin Luther, J.S. Bach, and Reformation Sunday -- this most Lutheran of all cantatas is our subject for today.  "Ein feste Burg" was the battle-cry of the Reformation: "A mighty fortress is our God!"  Bach's cantata weaves in all 4 stanzas of Luther's strong hymn. We marvel at movement 1 with its "dizzyingly complex counterpoint" (as Richard Atkinson puts it in his video).  This is one of the maybe 2 or 3 most complex opening chorale fantasias in all of Bach's cantata ouevre, and that's a high bar to clear!  But then we zoom in on a more tender moment, the end of the alto/tenor duet in movement 7: "[the heart] will finally be crowned, when it slays death". Here, the bass line drags down in twisting chromatic motion, the tempo slows, and Bach resists the urge to return to an "A" section of text, instead closing the movement with a short instrumental coda. BWV 80 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, as performed by Netherlands Bach Society under the leadership of Shunske Sato, Artistic Director Come see this very cantata, BWV 80, in Orange, California at a free concert put on by Alex's church music program!  October 20, 4pm, more details at this link.  Also on the program: a new arrangement of A Mighty Fortress, orchestral liturgical music, BWV 29 sinfonia, and "Dona nobis pacem" from Mass in B minor. Translation of the text of BWV 80 from bachcantatatexts.org, which we mentioned in this episode A great article about BWV 80 featured on the Bach Choir of Bethlehem's website Dizzyingly Complex Counterpoint in BWV 80: video by Richard Atkinson which we mentioned in this episode "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel, a song that was referenced in this episode.  The last minute or so of the song features the dense instrumentation that Alex mentioned: 2 bassists, 2 drummers, etc. Also, here is a great episode of the podcast Strong Songs which breaks down "In Your Eyes".

The organ, a sacred sound, gets an unusual role in this cantata for solo voice. We hear the organ leaping all over with a virtuoso part against violins and oboes and the alto soloist. There is no better way to convey the rich concept of the "confused joy" of the believer who witnesses miracles.  In this cantata, which took place during the Sunday where the story is read of Jesus healing the deaf and mute, Bach sets his poet's words:  Spirit and soul become confused, when they gaze on Thee, my God. For the miracles they know, And which the people tell with joy, have made them deaf and mute.   Geist und Seele... from BWV 35, as performed by the Netherlands Bach Society

Organist Katrina Liao joins us to talk about one of her favorites, this chorale prelude that is crackling with spiritual fire.  The off-beat bass at the beginning is a neat touch -- could Bach have meant to signify the Holy Spirit by focusing on the 3rd division of the beat? -- but, Katrina's favorite moment comes in the second verse, when the bass gets to carry the melody with a strong, reedy pedal sound.  Christian also points out a hidden "B-A-C-H" motif. "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" organ chorale prelude (BWV 667) performed by Reitze Smits for the Netherlands Bach Society

Why do we play games?  Because they're fun?  Or is it because they give us a sense of structure and a clear goal, a refreshing contrast to our real lives, which are messy, unpredictable, and complicated? In the same way, we listen to Bach to give a much-needed feeling of structure and clarity to our hectic, messy lives.   But sometimes, he doesn't quite give us what we expect.  He breaks the patterns. And it's at those moments when we can catch a glimpse of the angels in the architecture. Italian Concerto, BWV 971, second movement, as performed by Christine Schornsheim for the Netherlands Bach Society "Wandering Flame", from the soundtrack to Final Fantasy X; this track is by the composer Masashi Hamauzu Link to chapter 1 of "Travels in Hyperreality" by Umberto Eco; the discussion on Disneyland mainly takes place on pages 43-48 of this document

An austere fugue subject here begins with a strange leap. To play this four-note opening on a keyboard is to outline a symmetrical structure, reminding us of the bare pillar that holds up the structure. Adorned on the structure are two faster, florid themes which enter later in this long piece.  But our moment today is its ending -- a deceptive ending leads to a brief coda, but when it happens, its harmony strikes us with a surprising dissonance, feeling almost like the resolute major tonic triad that it wants to become. But a pesky A natural, the sixth scale degree, dashes this to pieces.    Bertrand Cuiller plays the C# minor fugue (with prelude) for the Netherlands Bach Society

Today we bring you 24 repeated notes on the same pitch.  Can you think of any other Bach piece which features this special effect?  Certainly this is unique in the orchestrational context here: a high-pitched recorder, beeping out a digital-sounding alarm clock noise.  Or is it a bell ringing?  We explore what this all means -- because, of course, with Bach, it MEANS something.   Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben (BWV 8) performed by the Netherlands Bach Society. Shunske Sato, conductor; Benny Aghassi, recorder solo

In his early twenties Bach produced this compact, delightful cantata, likely for a wedding. The text of the duet is still applicable in a religious school community: The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children. Bach saves a special effect for the last two measures, where a modern technique is used: from highest of highs to the lowest note of the cello, a single line is passed across the string instruments.  We discuss Christian's recent programming of this cantata on Aug. 25, 2024 for a service honoring school faculty and beginning a school year. "Der Herr segne euch" duet by Netherlands Bach Society

Bach proves his mastery of the Baroque concerto here, as in the Brandenburgs -- except this time, we don't have the original music!  We do have a harpsichord concerto as well as an organ concerto version of the first movement (which is actually from a cantata)... but we do not have the violin concerto version, which scholars assume must exist.  The reason for this assumption is that this music is suited exceptionally well for the violin, and so, this reconstruction was made.   The first six bars of this piece are some of the most dynamic in Baroque music -- if you ever hear someone complain that classical music is "boring", hand them some good headphones and turn this one on!   Violin Concerto in D minor - the main recording we talk about on this episode: Netherlands Bach Society, led by Shunske Sato Another recording of the same piece by Netherlands Bach Society, led by Shunske Sato Cantata "Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal" (BWV 146) (featuring the source music for this concerto)

"I shall sing of the wonders of Jesus." The trumpet reflects the text purely before the singer begins. The oboes and violins join in and play off the trumpet, each finishing each other's musical lines.  You probably know this cantata for its most famous movement -- two verses of what we would call in English "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."  But there is much more brilliance to be explored in this cantata.  Bass aria "Ich will von Jesu Wundern singen" as performed by the Netherlands Bach Society Cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (BWV 147), entire