MUSIC MT 115 ..B12 P- - --- ###################EE sº prop-ter mag-nam glo - - - ºn tº ri-am tu- am. In the Mass (No. 24): —d. Fºl ºn- ree ###===#EEEEE:#EEEEE º * - º fº pa - cem do - - - - e- gº na no-bis. The orchestral score of the two movements differs in the addition of Flutes and Fagotti to the ‘Gratias B 2 2. ~! 2 O The Marr in B minor agimus’. The former, with the First Violins, support the Sopranos. The Fagotti sustain the vocal Basses. It may be remarked that Bach omits the Fagotti altogether in No. 24 and divides the Flutes (col Oboes and Violins) between the Sopranos and Altos, a fact to which significance must be attached.1 The “Qui tollis’ (No. 8) is borrowed from Can- tata 46, ‘Schauet doch und sehet’, written for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity circa 1725. The fitness of the transformation is apparent. The Cantata movement is set to Lamentations i. 12 : ‘Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow’, a text naturally recalled by the “Qui tollis’. Discarding the short Sinfonia (sixteen bars) which opens the Cantata Chorus, and a fugue un poco allegro which concludes it, the “Qui tollis’ is structurally identical with its original. But intenser poignancy is obtained by transposing it from D minor to B minor, and by a necessary, but very moving, reconstruction of ſthe principal theme, which in the Cantata appears thus: ALTo. —n. º º Kºº TTI I Hº-Hº-EFEEE EE-F-H Enº-CE-Hº-2 HE-º-EFEE awTºy tº ----ga. Schau-et doch und se-het, ob ir-gend ein Schmerz sei, wie mein Schmerz In the Mass: ALTo. —£) ſº Tººlſ. JºJº Trºmſº º i T. I I -ag I Jº-º I-A I- |Tº k l ^-' Qui tol-lis pec - ca - - ta mun - di, mi-se-re-re no-bis S * Infra, p. 47. The Borrowed Movements 2. I In the Cantata the voices (S.A.T.) are reinforced, from the second entry of the Sopranos at bar 13, by a Tromba (or Corno) da tirarsi" and two Oboes da caccia.” These instruments are omitted from the “Qui tollis’, nor does Bach employ them elsewhere in the Mass.3 The ‘Patrem omnipotentem” (No. 13) is an ) adaptation of the opening Chorus of Cantata 171, written for the Feast of the Circumcision circa 1730 and set to Psalm xlviii. Io: “According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth.” In tonality (D major) the two movements are identical. But the original has been subjected to * Trumpets or Horns da tirarsi, i. e. with slide tubes, were used very occasionally by Bach, chiefly, but not exclusively, to support the vocal parts. In addition to Cantata 46, they occur in Cantatas 5, 20, 67, 77, 162, and elsewhere. * The ‘hunting’ Oboe was larger and coarser than the ordinary Oboe. Bach's use of it is familiar in the Matthäus Passion. Elsewhere it is found in Cantatas 1, 6, 13, 16, 27, 46, 65, 74, 8o, 87, IoI, IIo, I 19, 128, 147, 167, 176, 177,.179, 180, 183, 186, and in the Christmas Oratorio, Part II. The Corno da caccia, less frequently used, occurs in Cantatas 14, 16, 107, Io9, 143, 174, “Lasst uns sorgen', and “Was mir behagt’. See also No. 10 infra, p. 34. - ge e * Incidentally, Bach's revision of the Cantata movement revealed consecutive octaves between the Soprano and Tenor parts, which he corrected from (bar 55). (bar 38). sººf to • o tº tº- Hern T. de-pre-ca - ti - 22. The Marr in B minor ſconsiderable revision. It opens abruptly with the subject: TENOR, ..—Ch ºf zº-º-º: Gott, wie dein Na-me, so ist auch dein Ruhm bis an der gº-ºº: I | zºs TTT r Li TI -I #º-i-i Welt En - de, Gott, wie dein Na - me, so ist auch dein Ruhm. The Altos take it up at the fifth, the Sopranos at the eleventh, and the Basses at the fifteenth bar. In the “Patrem omnipotentem” it assumes this form : TENOR. #EEEEEEEEEEEE Bach gives the opening lead to the Basses; they are followed by the Tenors at bar 7, Altos at bar II, Sopranos at bar 17, and in these opening sixteen bars the voices not engaged in the fugue raise three shouts of “Credo in unum Deum ”, one for each Person of the Trinity. The orchestral scheme is the same in both movements, and the brilliant Trumpet passages are practically unchanged. But the Continuo and inner parts, vocal and instrumental, of the “Qui tollis’ are considerably re-written. r The “Crucifixus est” (No. 16) is borrowed from the opening Chorus of Cantata 12, written for the Third Sunday after Easter (Jubilate) in 1724 or 1725, but The Borrowed Movements 23 founded, it may be, on an earlier Weimar composition. The words of the Cantata movement, probably by Salomo Franck, bear an obvious affinity to those of the “Crucifixus * : Sorrow, sighing, Trouble, crying, Dread and fear, Are the Christian's daily share, Jesu's tender love declaring. The Cantata Chorus is prefaced by a short Sinfonia of sixteen bars, for which in the “Crucifixus ' Bach substitutes an introductory statement of the chromatic ground-bass or basso ostinato on which the whole movement rests, and which is found, again in associa- tion with thoughts on the Passion, in the opening Chorus of Cantata 78: Jesu, by thy bitter dying, Didst deliverance bring to me. Now in Hell had I been lying Had'st thou not borne death for me. Thou who from the depth hast raised me, Through the strength thy Word doth yield, Be thou still my stay and shield. In Cantata 12 the basso ostinato appears, in F minor, in this form : CITTLº zº- 2- I —l- | - I I I I : Dºlfº EEEſº-Tº-f-EE-be-E Lºs A à- ? ºf IATZ'ſ º y r- |Tº º I T; I | TTIII TT cº r— — . g cº =f In the Mass, transposed into E minor, its reiteration is more pulsing: 24. The Marr in B minor y In Cantata 78: SoPRANo. From the entry of the voices at bar 5 of the * Crucifixus ' the structure of the two movements is the same and textual changes are infrequent. But the Oboe, Viola ii, and Fagotto are omitted from the Mass movement, whose accompaniment is recast \ throughout and improved. The last five bars are one of the greatest utterances in musical literature. In the Cantata the passage is orchestral and ends in the tonic F minor : - gº &###===#EEEE===E== s—H. ==#3 \ºy In the “Crucifixus' the passage is vocal, with Continuo accompaniment, and by an arresting modulation into the relative G major creates an overpowering sense of awe, relief, and triumph : The Borrowed Movementſ 25 se - pul - tus est, se - pul - tus est. a tº fºx EZº-º-;-E H T- — l | It E. ex-Hº- PH # 35 -C-EP H -e- r =cFr P = *** a pas se sus et se - pul tus est se - pul - - - tus, se - pul - tus est. Acy se - pul - tus est, et se - pul - tus est- The second part (Vivace ed Allegro) of the ‘ confi." teor’ (No. 19) is the most masterly and intricate of Bach's adaptations for the Mass. Its original is the first Chorus of Cantata 120, ‘Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille’, written for the inauguration of the Town Council circa 1730. The words - Joyful shout in mighty chorus, Let the heavens with praises sing 1 Praise our God who reigns above, Him exalt with thankful love 1 For his goodness And his gracious loving-kindness Through the ages ever ring. do not directly suggest the Resurrection triumph. The link is in the brilliant formula : which in the Cantata is developed as an orchestral Sinfonia before the voices enter. The first half of this Sinfonia is reproduced in bars 1–16 of the Vivace ed Allegro of No. 19. Bars 17–24, in which the voices 26 The Mars in B minor enter, are substituted for the second part of the Sinfonia, and at bar 25 the ground-plan of the Can- tata Chorus is resumed. From that point, though the voice parts are almost completely re-written, the Continuo foundation of the two movements is the same until bar 61, when the episode introduced at bars 17–24 is repeated. At bar 69 the Cantata scheme is again resumed, the parts, as before, being practically re-written, and so continues till the end. The con- clusion of the “Et expecto’, however, is not that of the Cantata Chorus, which, after repeating the opening Sinfonia, develops a middle section, followed by the usual Da Capo. The Flutes are an addition to the orchestral score, and in the Cantata the Oboes are d’amore. |ſ' The ‘Osanna’ (No. 21) appears elsewhere as the opening chorus of the ‘Cantata gratulatoria’, ‘Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen’, composed to celebrate, on 5 October 1734, the accession of Augustus III, who on the occasion paid an official visit to Leipzig, but whose preoccupation in the Polish Election War as yet prevented him from granting the petition preferred by Bach fifteen months earlier. The text of the Cantata expresses the fulsome banality that marked official utterances on these ceremonial occasions: Happy thy fortune, O Saxony blessèd, For God doth thy Prince's Throne firm sustain. Happy thy land Give thanks to heaven I Come, kiss now the hand By which thy welfare is daily increased, And all thy borders in surety remain. Bach clearly desired to impress his sovereign by The Borrowed Movementſ 27 a display of his fullest powers and of the musical resources he controlled. Nowhere else among the secular Cantatas is there a Chorus which approaches this in proportions or grandeur. The most insigni- ficant alterations in the voice parts alone distinguish it from the “Osanna ’. The orchestral score also remains the same. The movement brilliantly and sincerely voices the jubilation and welcome of the Benedictus; that it was borrowed from the secular Cantata is at least doubtful.1 - Both numbers of the Agnus Dei are founded upon borrowed material. The subject of the Alto Aria (No. 23) is taken from the Alto Aria in the Ascension Oratorio (Cantata II), written circa 1735: Ah, leave me not, my dearest treasure, O ne'er depart so soon from me ! This parting is such bitter anguish, Without thee must my sad soul languish. Let me, dear Lord, thy face still see, Else here to live I have no pleasure. Transposed from A minor to G minor, the borrowed theme is considerably improved and compacted by its adaptation to the Latin words. In the Cantata it appears thus: ^ --> ~~ Ach, blei - be doch, mein lieb - stes Le - ben. In the “Agnus Dei': Ér S——ºr- FEEERE N-> *- - - Qui tol-lis pec - ca - ta, pec-ca - ta mun- di * Cf. Bach: a Biography, p. 219. The middle section of the Cantata movement is not used in the “Osanna'. 28 The Marr in B minor To the voice Bach assigns an additional subject, whose association with the Cantata theme compelled a complete recasting of the original movement. As in the Cantata, the obbligato is played by the Violins Fia unison. The second movement of the Agnus Dei (No. 24), and concluding number of the Mass, is, apart from the words and minor details, identical with No. 6 (‘Gratias agimus'). From the orchestral score, \however, the Fagotti are omitted. Except in so far as it illuminates the ways of genius, it is of no aesthetic value to discover the proportion of original to borrowed material. The Mass is the design of a superb architect, perfect in proportion and balance. Even in their adaptation the borrowed movements reveal his creative genius, while a collation of them with their originals exposes the sensitiveness of his judgement and self-criticism." * *~ Bach’ſ Purpose in the Mars Discussing the impulses that moved Bach to compose the Mass, Spitta 4 detects them in his connexion with a Catholic Court at Dresden, and in confirmation points to three or four Masses by Italian composers copied out by Bach himself. The deduction is obvious but ill-founded. Bach’s interest in his art was eclectic and insatiable; his study of Caldara, Lotti, or Pales- trina was certainly not dictated by his allegiance to a Roman Catholic sovereign. Moreover, the B minor is the only Catholic Mass he wrote ; only its Missa * In round numbers there are 2,300 bars in the Mass. Rather less than one-third of them (638) are in the borrowed movements, including the ‘Benedictus’ (No. 22) among the latter. * Vol. iii. 28. * Bach’s Purpoſe in the Marr 29 was ever sent to Dresden; its proportions forbade ritual use ; an Its construction and text, as has been shown, closed Catholic doors against it. Bach’s purpose in writing the Missa is not in doubt. What impulse moved him to complete it? There are two answers, which in fact are comple- mentary. In the first place, the Mass is the expression of Bach's Christian idealism, neither Roman Catholic, O In OT # Some movements, e.g. the ‘Credo' (Nö. (2) and “Confiteor’ (No. 19), exhale a Roman atmosphere. Others, and in particular the Arias, are conceived in the subjective, intimate mood of the Lutheran Cantatas. But invariably s inspiration "IS from with tri-himself. It is not as the servant of a Creed but as a Christian that he illustrates the Unity of Father and Son in No. 7, subtly differentiates | the Persons of the Trinity in No. 14, bends before the mystery of the Incarnation in No. 15, raises a cry for pardon in No. 1, and declares the impregnable foundation of his faith in No. 12. 4 - But devotional impulse was reinforced by another equally individual. Bach’s genius was Teutonic in its inclination to create a clearly pictured design. As a young man he wrote the ‘ Orgelbüchlein’, a work of minor practical use, but complete and comprehensive in plan." Towards the close of his life, in the third part of the ‘Clavierübung’, he assembled certain of his compositions in order to provide a musical exposition of Lutheran dogma, and prefaced it characteristically, with a threefold musical invocation of the Trinity.” It detracts nothing from the grandeur of Bach’s achievement to discover in the Mass evidence of a similar impulse to complete a design. A desire to * Cf. Terry, Bach's Chorals, iii. 18 f. * Ibid., iii. 66. J'ſ \!. | 3 O The Marr in B minor express himself in an art-form which he had studied in others may also be conjectured. But the absence of a practical motive for the construction of the Mass as a whole does not attach to its individual movements. It has already been pointed out that the le. Glori ctuſ were sung in the Lutheran ritual. The length of the B minor Kyrie and Gloria must have precluded their performance on ordinary occasions. But the Kyrie may have been heard on Trinity Sundays, though the * ‘Kirchen-Andachten’ of 1694 do not prescribe it.” As to the Gloria, Bach, as we learn from a separate Score, used Nos. 4, 7, and II as a Cantata on Christmas Day in 1740, replacing the words of Nos. 7 and II by those of the Doxology (‘Gloria Patri’, &c.). The rubric “Post Orationem? above No. 7 shows that the performance was divided by the Sermon. It may be observed that Bach introduces two of the Latin Intonations into the Mass—that of the “Credo' in Nö. 12, and of the ‘Confiteor’ in No. 19. The ordinary practice was for the Creed to be intoned at the altar by the minister, except on the principal feast days, when ‘Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott’ only was sung. But it is not improbable that the B minor Credo was heard in St. Thomas’s at festal seasons.” Of the Sanctus Vopelius prints three ver- sions, the last of which,” like the B minor movement, * Spitta, iii. 26, finds “certain evidence’ of concerted perform- ances of the Kyrie on the first Sunday in Advent and the Reformation Festival. The ‘Kirchen-Andachten’, however, and also the ‘Leipziger Kirchen-Staat’ of 1710, show that the Kyrie was “musicirt’ on ordinary Sundays. The chief concerted music for the Reformation Festival was thespecial Cantata and the TeBeum. * Spitta, iii. 27, shows that a Credo by Haydn was sung on Trinity Sunday 1780. * p. 1092. Bach’s Purpoſe in the Marr 3 I is in six vocal parts, a fact which may have suggested Bach’s choice of that number of voices, though it is usual to attribute it to his vision of the six-winged seraphim. The existence of a separate Score and parts of the Sanctus in itself infers a performance under Bach’s direction. In regard to the Benedictus, it has already been pointed out that the words survived in Leipzig use in association with the Sanctus when the latter was sung choraliter. On the Feast of the Epiphany 1780 it was sung to a setting by Haydn,” and there can be no doubt that Bach’s also was heard in St. Thomas’s. In 178o the Agnus Dei also was sung,” and a rubric in the “Agenda” of 1564 * probably reveals its position in the Service: ‘Auff die Festa, und so die Communicanten viel sind, mag man auch singen das Lateinisch Agnus Dei? (“Upon Feast-days, and whenever the communicants are numerous, the Latin Agnus Dei may also be sung’, i. e. while the communicants were receiving the Bread and Wine). Thus in regard to none of the movements of the Mass is it necessary to postulate a non-Lutheran purpose in order to explain their composition. { The Movements of the Maſs The popular conception of Bach as cold and academic draws a veil between those who hold it and a sympathetic understanding of his art. He was, / in fact, an incorrigible romanticist, extraordinarily sensitive to lite suggestion, easily inspired to ;:######. moved to give it musical expression, not infrequently irrelevantly to his libretto as a whole. In his use of the orchestra, * Spitta, iii. 27. * Ibid. * p. lvia. 32 The Mass in B minor Sir Hubert Parry declares,” Bach, like Handel, hardly crossed the threshold of that art, and did little to ex- ploit or contrast the qualities of orchestral tone. In fact, he is none the less a colourist, though he etched in line. The Mass will not be intelligible to the hearer unless these facts are admitted, and upon them as postulates the analysis that follows is based. KYRIE No. 1. Coro. SSATB. Flauti traversi i. ii; Oboes d'amore i. ii; Fagotti; Violini i. ii; Viola; figured bass (Continuo).” (126 bars.) The Adagio (bar 1) and Largo ed unpoco piano (bar 5) are in the Dresden parts. In the complete Score Largo at bar 5 is the only direction. The piano at bar 30 and forte at bars 48 and 50 are in the parts. There are no other expression marks. Fl. and Ob. are in unison in the Score and the Fag. is lacking. No. 2. Duetto. SS. Vn. i. ii (unison); figured Continuo. (85 bars.) The fat F in Novello's edition is not in the Score. No. 3. Coro. SS(unis.)ATB. Vn. i col Fl. trav. i. ii e Ob. d'am. i ; Vn. ii col Ob. d’am. ii; Viola; Fagotti; figured Continuo. (59 bars.) The direction Alla breve (bar 1) is supplemented in the complete Score by Stromenti in unisuono. In the parts the quartet of instruments is in unison with the voices, except at bars 48–50, where the Fagotti are with the Continuo. There are no expression marks. The Kyrie contains six words. Bach develops them in three movements—270 bars. In No. 1, with hands upstretched to heaven, Ecclesia chriſtiana makes confession of sin and begs forgiveness in a fugal * Style in Musical Art, p. 77. * The B. G. edition prints the figured Continuo of the Kyrie and Gloria from the Dresden parts. In the Score the Continuo of those movements is unfigured. The Kyrie 33 subject which, shorn of embellishments, reveals itself in its chromatic structure as typical, in Bach’s idiom, of mental º º º : : - v- Sº...! First the Tenors, then the Altos, then the Sopranos, and lastly the Basses raise the threnody, which swells with increasing urgency until it reaches its tremendous climax, eight bars from the end, upon the entry of the vocal Basses. The second clause, ‘Christe eleison’ (No. 2), set as a Duet for two Sopranos, breathes an atmosphere of serenity, as though the preceding urgency of self-accusation had brought confidence in the divine forgiveness. The third clause, “Kyrie eleison' (No. 3), resumes the mood of No. 1. But the utterance is no longer passionate, the structure is simpler, and the five voice parts are reduced to four. Throughout, the Kyrie paints a picture very vivid in the composer’s mind. Its stupendous opening cry is as dramatic as the despairing ‘Help, Lord l’ of Mendelssohn’s “Elijah', and identical in its signifi- C3IlCC. GLORIA (The borrowed movements are starred) No. 4. Coro. SSATB. Tromba i. ii. iii; Timpani; Fl. trav. i. ii; Ob. i. ii; Fagotti; Vn. i. ii; Va.; figured Continuo. (176 bars.) The direction Vivace (bar 1) is found only in some of the parts. At bar Ioq the complete Score alters the Tenor part thus: alſº * - L-1 Pº- º pax - - et in There are no expression marks, Fl., or Fag., in the Score. C 34. The Marr in B minor No. 5. Aria. SII. Vn. Solo ; Vn. i. ii; Va.; figured Continuo. (62 bars.) The Violin obbligato is marked Solo by Bach himself in the Dresden parts. In the complete Score it is marked Violino Concertante. The Score marks the voice part Soprano 2ndo. Bach's piano and forte markings are as printed in the Novello edition. But a piano should be added at the last quaver of bar 3. *No. 6. Coro. SS(unis.)ATB. Tr. i. ii. iii; Timp. ; Ob. i. ii; Vn. i (col Fl. trav. i. ii), Vn. ii; Va.; Fagotti; figured Con- tinuo. (46 bars.) The direction Alla breve in the parts is supplemented by Stromenti in unisuono in the complete Score. Excepting a few very minor differences, Vn. i (with Oboe i and Fl. i. ii), Vn. ii, Va., and Fagotti are in unison respectively with SATB. Trombe and Timp. have independent parts. There are no expression marks, Fl., or Fag., in the Score. No. 7. Duetto. SIT. Fl. trav.; Vn. i. ii; Va.; figured Con- tinuo. (95 bars.) In Bach's autograph of the Flute obbligato the first bar reads - ~ This form is not repeated and is not found in the complete Score. The Continuo is marked pizzicato, the Viola Sourdini. The p and f marks (parts) are correctly stated in the Novello score. *No. 8. Coro. SIIATB. Fl. trav. i. ii; Vn. i. ii; Va.; Vncello; figured Continuo. (50 bars.) Some of the parts are marked Lento, others Adagio. The Strings are marked senza sourdini, the 'Cello col' arco. There are no expression marks in the Score. No. 9. Aria. A. Ob. d’am.; Vn. i. ii; Va.; figured Continuo. (86 bars.) The direction Adagio (bar 74) is in the complete Score and most of the parts. The obviously intended a tempo on the sixth quaver of that bar is nowhere indicated. The p, pp, and f marks in Novello's vocal score are Bach's, except the p at bar 73. A pp should be substituted for p at bar 19. No. io. Aria. B. Corno da caccia; Fag. i.ii; figured Continuo. (127 bars.) The MS. vocal part is marked Solo. The piano and forte marks (parts) are correctly entered in the Novello score. The Gloria 35 No. 11. Coro. SSATB. Tr. i. ii. iii; Timp.; Fl. trav. i. ii; Ob. i. ii; Bagotti; Vn. i. ii; Va.; figured Continuo. (128 bars.) ſº The Oboes are in unison with the Flutes until bar III. A brilliant accompaniment to the fugue at bar 37 will be found in the Christmas version of the Gloria (Cantata 191, B. and H. edition, p. 32). The Fagotto part, marked unisono, is not with the continuo in the middle (fugue) section. There are no Fag. or expression marks in the Score. The Gloria stands in brilliant apposition to the Kyrie, or Praecatio ecclesiae, the Church’s petition to the Trinity. The Gloria expresses its exultant homage to Christ the Priest-King, throned in glory with the Father and the Holy Ghost. The eight movements in which Bach treats it begin and end in a blaze of jubilation, set in the swinging triple measure he delighted in, especially the 3 tempo, of which there are three examples in the Mass—the first Chorus of the Gloria (No. 4), the “Pleni sunt coeli’ section of the Sanctus (No. 20), and the ‘Osanna' (No. 21). In the ‘Christmas Oratorio' there are four à Choruses (Nos. 1, 24, 36, 54), all jubilant in mood, and all of them except one (No. 36), it is worth remarking, in Y the same key (D major) as the three in the Mass. The three-quaver bar for choral writing is charac- teristic of Bach. Handel hardly ever employed it; a rare instance of his use of it is the Chorus-Trio “Disdainful of danger’ in ‘Judas Maccabaeus’. The fact, already remarked,” that Bach used the * Gloria’ (No. 4) in a Christmas Cantata explains his treatment of it. It is frankly Christmas music, and breathes the freshness, as it expresses the joy, of the hymnus angelicus. The mood is prolonged into the Soprano Aria, ‘Laudamus te’ (No. 5), with the delicious embroidery of the Violin obbligato, a charac- * Supra, p. 30. - C 2 36 The Marr in B minor teristic Bach “Joy” rhythm, one of the purest and freshest imaginable. The Chorus that follows, ‘ Gratias agimus’ (No. 6), brilliantly as the soaring trumpets light it at the close, is built on an austere theme that suggests a modal phrase of ancient use. First of the adapted movements of the Mass,” it has the formality of a Latin grace, and transports the listener to the aisles of some Gothic fane. The following Duet, “Domine Deus’ (No. 7), illustrates Bach’s inability to resist an opportunity for pictorial illustration. Since the clause apostrophizes the First and Second Persons of the Godhead, he is at pains to illustrate their essential and doctrinal unity. The medium or motif of illustration is the descending sequence of four notes first heard in the opening bar of the Flute obbligato : #EE The voices enter upon it, the words being so phrased as to permit ‘Deus’ and ‘Fili’ to be heard together. Simultaneously the illuminating motif is heard on the First Violins and Flute (bars 18 and 19), as it were announcing the Unity of the Persons. Later (p. 58, line 4, bar 3), the abrupt descent of the Strings through two sequences (a complete octave) of the motif clearly signifies the descent of the Godhead into Man and the resultant Unity of Substance.” Yet another illustra- tion of Bach’s realism may be observed. Until the last twenty-one bars (beginning at p. 61, line 2, bar 2) the two voices separately address, the one the Father, the * Supra, p. 18. * By the same device Bach illustrates “descendit de coelis' in No. 14. The Gloria 37 other the Son. But the Unity of Persons being established, Bach unites the voices in adoration of the God-Man, whose dual Personalities they so far had addressed separately." The liturgical significance of the Gloria lies in Nos. 8, 9, and Io of the Mass, which in turn apostrophize Christ’s atoning Sacrifice, his mediatorial office, and his Kingship. The first of these movements, the Chorus ‘Qui tollis’ (No. 8), the second of the adapted choruses of the Mass,” is extraordinarily poignant, ‘one of Bach’s most concentrated and deeply felt movements', Parry justly calls it.” Equally plaintive is the Alto Aria, “Qui sedes” (No. 9), which pictures the pleading Saviour. The Bass Aria, ‘Quoniam tu solus' (No. 10), is not less effective in suggesting the Saviour's kingly office because the typical sport of German Courts is incongruously associated with it by the hunting Horn obbligato. The final Chorus, ‘Cºm sancto Spiritu' (No. 11), hymns the Saviour enthroned upon the sapphire-coloured throne, Where the bright Seraphim in burning row Their loud uplifted angel-trumpets blow. The Trumpets, adding glittering brilliance to the picture, bring the movement to an end in the high ether where morning stars and angels together sing in glory. Professor Tovey questions its originality. * These glosses may appear fantastic. But whether they do or do not interpret Bach correctly here, they are entirely in accordance with his methods of musical illustration. * Supra, p. 20. * j, S. Bach, p. 314. 38 The Marr in B minor CREDO No. 12. Coro. SSATB. Vn. i. ii; Continuo. (45 bars.) In the complete Score only a few bars of the Continuo are figured by Bach. The rest are ‘figured by C. P. E. Bach. Julius Rietz does not print the figuring in the Bachgesellschaft edition. . As it stands, the movement is a fugue in seven parts, with a free Bass. There are no expression marks in the Score. *No. 13. Coro. SS(unis.)ATB. Tr. i. ii. iii; Timp. ; Ob. i. ii; Wn. i. ii; Va.; Continuo figured chiefly by C. P. E. Bach. (84 bars.) There are no expression marks in the Score. No. 14. Duetto. SA. Ob. d’am. i. ii; Vn, i. ii; Va.; unfigured Continuo. (8o bars.) There are no Oboes in the Score. They are supplied from early copies. The Score is marked Andante at bar I, and piano at the entry of the instruments at bar Io. Strings are soli at bars 49, 70, tutti at bars 28, 42, 63, 76. No. 15. Coro. SSATB. Vn. i. ii; unfigured Continuo (except bars 2-9). (49 bars.) - There are no expression marks in the Score. *No. 16. Coro. SIIATB. Fl. trav.i.ii; Vn, i.ii; Va.; unfigured Continuo (except bar 17). (53 bars.) - The last five bars are marked piano in the Score. No. 17. Coro. SSATB. Tr. i. ii. iii; Timp.; Fl. trav. i. ii; b. i. ii; Vn. i. ii; Va.; unfigured Continuo. (131 bars.) The expression marks in the Score do not appear to be Bach's. No. 18. Aria. B. Ob. d’am.i.ii; unfigured Continuo: (144 bars.) C. P. E. Bach substituted Violins for the Oboes d’amore. The expression marks are correctly entered in the Novello vocal score. No. 19. Coro. SSATB. Unfigured Continuo (bars 1–146); *Tr. i. ii. iii; Timp. ; Fl. trav. i. ii; Ob. i. ii; Vn. i. ii; Va.; unfigured Continuo (bars 147—251). (251 bars.) Though Bach's clear intention was that the ‘Confiteor’ should be accompanied only by the Continuo, C. P. E. Bach put the Oboes and Violins with the Sopranos, Violas with the Altos, Fagotti with the Tenors, and Violoncelli with the Basses. The direction Adagio (bar 121) is Bach's, and so is the Vivace e Allegro at the beginning of the “Et expecto’. In the complete Score the latter stands at the second bar, in the parts sometimes at the first. There are no expression marks in the Score. The Credo 39 The Symbolum Nicaenum, as Bach’s generation called the Nicene Creed, does not suggest itself as an ideal text for musical treatment. Beethoven, like Mozart and Schubert, was satisfied with a conventionally florid setting, careless to explore or illustrate its dogmatic subtleties. Bach, on the other hand, is obviously concerned with them, but without sacrificing his art. The Credo is glorious as pure music, and there are no anti-climaxes. After the solidly affirmed “I believe of No. 12, Bach looks forward to the “Et resurrexit” (No. 17) as the goal toward which the music, like the words, must move, and refuses by anticipating to diminish its impressiveness. The Credo includes eight movements, all but two of which are Choruses. Perhaps Bach felt that no foundation less solid could support fundamentals. The first movement, the Chorus ‘Credo in unum um' (No. 12), is built upon the Intonation associated with the Creed for more than fifteen hundred years and still in general use: –à Raº & &º-º. £2 Tri-arry I zºº º zºº - _º L-s- I º L tº ſº wn | # Cre - do in ul e alliºl De - um This severe Latin theme 1 is declaimed above what has been aptly called a “steadfast and confident’ procession of pedal crotchets, an inexorably pulsing foundation which persists until the final bar, and symbolizes the unshakeable solidarity of the Church’s faith, giving the movement a demeanour, in Sir Hubert Parry’s words, “positively fierce in its in- tensity’.” Nor is it the only device Bach employs * That it was sung at St. Thomas's we know from Vopelius, p. 497. * }. S. Bach, p. 316. : : . : 4.O The Maff in B minor to illustrate the impregnability of the Christian belief. At bar 13 from the end of the movement (p. 97, line 2, bar 4) a remarkable passage begins with the entry of the vocal Basses. While they declaim the Intonation in augmentation, the Second Sopranos and Altos sing it in its normal form, the First Sopranos answer in syncopation, and the First and Second Violins discuss it in imitation. Such tours de force were congenial to composers of the polyphonic school, and to Bach more so than all. But there can be little doubt that the deliberate object of this interweaving of the motif was to enforce by musical device the unity and solidarity of the Catholic j he next movement, the ‘Patrem omnipotentem” (No. 13), withdraws us from the incensed interior in which the preceding number placed us. It pictures the Father throned in majesty, the full orchestra and the seraphic trumpets painting a scene which, glorious and inspired as it is, but faintly anticipates the splendours the Sanctus will later unfold. The movement, in fact, affords an illustration of Bach’s unerring sense of balance. For whereas the text must have moved his creative impulse urgently, it is actually clothed in old material, as has been remarked already," somewhat formal, yet impressive. Bach treats the ‘Et in unum Deum ” (No. 14) as already he had treated No. 7. Both expound the relations of the First and Second Persons of the Trinity. Both are consequently in Duet form, and in both the dogmatic formulae of the text are illus- trated and enforced. As Schweitzer points out,” the voices follow each other in canonic imitation, the one proceeding out of the other as the words declare * Supra, p. 21. * Vol. ii, p. 319. The Credo 4. the Son to proceed from the Father. Spitta observes 1 that the “et in unum ' phrase is tongued or bowed differently by the Violins and Oboes, detached quavers being answered by slurred notes: Ob. d'am. I I-3-# ==== Wn. I. £g== tº-º (bar 14) Ob. d'arn. II. *Z-F-E-G ==== * Wn. II. {}-E P- = |--|--|--|| and supposes it, perhaps with exaggeration, another device of Bach's to illustrate the diversity of the fundamental Unity of Persons. As in No. 7, Bach illustrates the passing of the Godhead into Man by descending orchestral passages, the first at bars 21–2 (p. Io'7, line 3, bar 3), the second at bar 8 from the end. From bar 64 onward (p. III, line 2, bar 2) Bach’s first version of the movement was set to the words “et incarnatus est de Spiritu sancto ex Maria virgine, et homo factus est’, which subsequently he withdrew and set in a separate number (No. 15). The descend- ing orchestral passage, intended to illustrate the words “incarnatus' and “homo factus est’, remains equally relevant to * descendit de coelis’.” But, as a whole, the movement is formal, and the least attractive in the Mass. - The Chorus “Et incarnatus' (No. 15) was an after- thought. Bach felt the obligation to treat the Mystery of the Incarnation by itself, and short as the movement is, simple as is its construction, he conveys with extraordinary impressiveness a brooding sense of awe and mystery. The throbbing, pulsing Continuo * Vol. iii, p. 51. * The discarded version is printed in Novello's score, p. 200. 42 The Marr in B minor suggests a nebulous cosmos awaiting vivification. Above, the Violins in unison fashion a hovering figure which typifies the life-giving Spirit. Between these outer lines of symbolic meaning the vocal parts enter quietly and separately upon a descending subject to the words “et incarnatus', as though conducting the life-giving Spirit to the still inchoate substance. At the fifth bar from the end (p. 117, line 2, bar I) Bach’s symbolism interprets the throbbing Continuo, the lightly falling subject on the Violins, and the inter- mediate vocal medium. For, upon the words “et homo factus est’ the Violins for the first time (bar 5 from the end) divide, their hovering theme sinks to a temporary and inconclusive close, while simultaneously it appears in the Continuo to indicate the unity of Flesh and Spirit; the Sopranos and Altos, by their ascending phrases, seeming to declare the consequent elevation of the Manhood into God. The next movement, the “Crucifixus' (No. 16), ' is one of the supreme utterances of sacred music. That it is so is the more wonderful, since it is an adaptation 1 and in form a Passacaglia, an ancient Spanish dance in triple measure above a recurring | ground-bass or basso ostinato.” Bach used the same form for one of the greatest of his Organ works, and his success in ennobling these popular rhythms is shown by his use of one of them at this supreme moment in the Mass. The basso ostinato, a chromatic “grief 'phrase of four bars, is repeated thirteen times with a persistence that adds to the tragic intensity of the picture. Each vocal part enters separately, enunciating the word ‘crucifixus' in amazed horror before the uplifted Cross and its drooping burden. The last five bars Bach marks with one of his rare * Supra, p. 22. * Supra, p. 23. The Credo - 4-3 directions, piano. The instruments are silent, ex- cepting the Continuo's persistent throbbing. The Sopranos and the vocal Basses take up its theme, and with it lower the dead Christ into the tomb.” It is a passage of very searching pathos, lightened by the unexpected and arresting change of key from E minor to its relative G major on the final chord, conveying, an impression of sudden release and triumph. As Mr. Sedley Taylor * comments: ‘The two great sayings, “It is finished ”, and “He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied ”, seem summed up in these few wonderful progressions.” Good Friday passes into Easter Day at the “Et resurrexit” (No. 17), a long chorus built upon the jubilant theme proclaimed by the Sopranos in its opening bars. The movement is in three divisions, separated and concluded by orchestral ritornelli which keep apart the three scenes it presents: the Resurrec- tion, the Ascension, and the Second Advent. The whole is dazzling and vivacious, especially the jubilant ‘et iterum venturus” (p. 129). Professor Tovey suspects this chorus to be derived from a lost work. The next movement, the Bass Aria “Et in Spiritum sanctum ” (No. 18), calls for little comment. Bach clearly desired a contrast to No. 17 and to the greater Chorus that follows. The word “vivificantem’, seizing his imagination, inspired the fresh and tuneful air to which the words are set. If we adopt Spitta's image of the Mass as a territory of mountains and valleys, we may hold this movement a place of rest before ascending new heights. - No. 19 is one of the peaks, and with it Bach’s exegesis * Supra, p. 25. 2 ſºn Sebastian Bach's Mass in B minor in Cambridge, 1908, p. 18. - - 44. The Marr in B minor of the Credo ends. The movement is long and in two sections—the ‘Confiteor' (pp. 141–51) leading through the wonderful Adagio (p. 151, line 2) to the ‘Et expecto’ (pp. 153–62). Like the “Credo' (No. 12), the ‘Confiteor' exhales a Roman atmo- sphere, and it is not an accident that a similar proces- sion of confident pedal crotchets reaffirms the solidarity of the Church’s Faith. The old plainsong Intonation of the ‘Confiteor * EFt-E E —T ſ I Con - fi - te - or u - num bap - tis - ma L–I in re - mis - si : O = men" pºrat tor - um. was not suitable to form the subject of the movement. But (p. 147, line 2, bar I) it is introduced in a stretto between the vocal Basses and Altos, and the vocal Tenors > (p. 149, line I, bar 2) later declaim it in augmenta- tion. Upon its conclusion the five voices pass to the extraordinary passage marked Adagio (p. I51), at the words “et expecto’. These twenty-six bars, though , they are transitional, paint one of the great pictures of the Mass. In groping harmonies Bach fashions Ezekiel’s vision of the dead world, but in confident hope of the approaching miracle of the Resurrection. Spontaneous as it appears, the section is worked out with infinite care. Notice, for instance, the atmosphere of wonder and anticipation in the two Soprano utter- ances of the words “et expecto’ (pp. 151–2). Again, the Basses (p. 152, line 2, bars 1–3) soar to the height of their compass on the word “resurrectionem' and plunge to its depths on the word “mortuorum ”. Notice also that the change in the Continuo at the Adagio heightens the sense of expectancy, while its The Credo 4.5 affinity to the basso ostinato of the “Crucifixus' reveals Bach’s care to associate at this point the cardinal facts of the Christian Faith. With the repetition of the words “et expecto' (p. 153), Vivace ed Allegro," the scene changes. The word ‘expecto’ is declaimed confidently. The Trumpets and the full orchestra sound a soaring motif, the exultant song of the risen dead, and after a triumphant ‘Amen” the Credo ends upon a final and assertive crotchet. SANCTUS No. 20. Coro. SSAATB. Tr. i. ii. iii; Timp. ; Ob. i. ii. iii; Vn. i. ii; Va.; unfigured Continuo. (168 bars.) There are no expression marks in the Score. No. 21. Coro. SSAATTBB. Tr. i. ii. iii.; Timp.; Fl. trav. i. ii; Ob. i. ii; Vn. i. ii; Va.; unfigured Continuo. (148 bars.) Only the expression marks, piano, forte, between bars 104–15 in Novello's edition (p. 187) are in the Score. A copy of the Score in the possession of the Căcilienverein at Frankfurt-am- Main delays the entry of the Continuo till bar 2, and of the Flutes till bar 3, Oboes till bar 4, Violins till bar 5, Violas and Trumpets till bar 6, interposing four whole bars between the first and second choral passages. There is no authority for this reading. No. 22. Aria. T. Vn. Solo ; unfigured Continuo. (57 bars.) Neither in the complete Score nor elsewhere is the obbligato as- signed to the Violin by name. There are no expression marks. After the ecstatic adoration of the Gloria and Credo, it would seem impossible that Bach should hold any colours in reserve on his palette. And yet, for glory of utterance, the Sanctus (No. 20) stands by itself. A detail in Isaiah’s vision perhaps prescribed the form of the movement. Bach read of the seraphim that “one cried unto another’.” Therefore a consider- * Supra, p. 25. * The significance of Bach's six-part vocal harmony is discussed supra, Pp. I7, 3.I. , - 46 The Marr in B minor able part of the movement represents the antiphony of seraphic hosts, the two Sopranos and First Altos voicing one, and the Second Altos, Tenors, and Basses, the second angelic choir. The anthem of adoration rests upon a Bass as solid as the “Credo’s ’, a mighty ‘step ’ motif that strides in octaves and arches the heavens, most powerful and yet most tranquil and assured: The movement is of overwhelming sublimity, and is followed (p. 170) by the second section of the Angelic Hymn, the ‘pleni sunt coeli’, the second of the 3 choruses in the Mass, instinct with the pure- hearted gaiety Bach never fails to instil into them. The “Osanna’ (No. 21) is the only one of the choruses also associated with secular words.” Circum- stantial and internal evidence alike suggests that the secular is the later version. After No. 22, itself perhaps an adaptation, the only Tenor Aria in the Mass, the ‘Benedictus’ concludes with a repetition of the ‘Osanna’. AGNUS DEI *No. 23. Aria. A. Vn.i.ii(unis.); unfigured Continuo. (49 bars.) Bach's expression marks are correctly entered in the Novello vocal score. *No. 24. Coro. SSAATTBB as SATB. Tr. i. ii. iii; Timp. ; Fl. trav. i. ii col. Ob. i. ii; Vn. i. ii; Va.; unfigured Continuo. (46 bars.) With occasional divergences Vn. i. ii, Va., and Cont. are with SATB respectively. The wood-wind doubles Vn. i. ii, with minor differences. There are no expression marks in the Score. 1 See Bach ; a Biography, p. 220. The Sanctus and Agnuſ Dei 47 The last division of the Mass consists of two numbers. Bach makes no effort to create a climax. After the Sanctus and ‘Osanna’ the liturgy subsides to a quiet Nunc dimittis. The first movement of the Agnus Dei, the Alto Aria ‘Agnus Dei' (No. 23), is borrowed as to three-fourths of its subject." But the words fit the music so ideally that it is difficult to believe it not to have been written for them. Its mood differs widely from Beethoven’s setting of the words. Bach interprets them as the confident utterance of the sinner assured of pardon. Beethoven, as Schweitzer remarks,” treats them as ‘the cry of the pained and terrified soul for salvation, almost dreadful in its intensity’, developing them to a conclusion significantly marked timidamente, in which the cry for mercy is worked up to a final shriek of the Soprano on a high. A flat. The same contrast of treatment is observable in the final movement of the Mass, the Chorus “Dona nobis pacem' (No. 24). Beethoven uses the words to support a Symphonic climax. Bach does not even find fresh music for the words, but repeats the ‘Gratias agimus’ (No. 6).” Consequently a prayer for peace is converted into an act of fervent and restrained thanks- giving, while a broad, catholic atmosphere is preserved to the end by the reappearance of the modal phrase, on which the Trumpets insist brilliantly upon their every entry. * Supra, p. 27. * Vol. ii, p. 323. * Bach's changes in the orchestral score, already referred to (supra, p. 20), are also significant of his purpose here. PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT THE UNIVERSITY PREss, oxford BY JOHN JOHNson, PRINTER to the UnivERSITY DATE DUE ;） ; ≤ ≥ ≠√≠√∞-ººs，::*（«ae, ſae ſºziae №ſº-ſ*， *）?（?:）?（.*ºğ* }% § * * ry *** -, -i & º 4 ºvnv'ſ APR 5 { t **