A Moment of Bach

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,

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

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

A hidden gem, a fully-formed masterpiece from a young Bach, a cantata unburdened by his later fascination with Italian-style recitative and da capo arias: it is the incomparable Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit.

We look at this cantata for a third time (see season 1 episode 8 for the sonatina, and season 3 episode 15 for the soprano solo ending moment).  Near the end of the cantata, we are placed in the viewpoint of the criminal on the cross, who receives forgiveness by Christ and is told "today, you will be with me in Paradise".  Bach weaves in a Luther hymn about departing this earth peacefully... and at a critical moment, the Christ solo ends and the hymn is all that's left, with the words "gentle and quiet".  The Netherlands Bach Society interpretation of this moment is unique and powerful -- they let the moment breathe.

Performance of BWV 106 "Gottes Zeit" by the Netherlands Bach Society, led by Jos van Veldhoven

or, skip ahead to "Heute wirst du mit mir im Paradies sein"