The crash-course guide to Bach motets

Motets, as Bach defines them, are a slightly different genre than used before.

 The “cantata,” a new genre, came to mean a multimovement work typically beginning with chorus, alternating arias and recit, and concluding with a chorale.
 Motets are essentially cantatas consisting of all choral movements
 No librettist, aside from the chorales, is credited – Bach selected the texts
 Written approximately between 1723-29 at least some and possibly all for funerals
Things for which to listen in Bach:
 Laughter/dancing
 Sighing/weeping
 Wandering/fleeing
 Cross
 Trinity
 Rhythms and meters signifying biblical numbers
 Soloists and instrumentalists themselves text-painting
 Doctrine of affections

Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (BWV 225)
Sing to the Lord a new song
1. Singet dem Herrn (Psalm 149:1-3)
2. “Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren” v. 3
3. Lobet den Herrn (Psalm 150:2-6)

Two choirs toss back shouts of “Singet!” and playful figures in 3/8 to illustrate the joy of the Christian, additionally text-painting on the words “Harfen,” “Pauken,” and “Reichen,” making use of the “laughing” style. The second movement, an aria alternating with a chorale movement, blends the two with supplementary texts and similar melodic shapes. Lastly, “Lobet den Herrn” returns to the effervescent style of the first movement, rolling back and forth in 3/8 between choirs until combining all to sing “Praise the Lord!” at the end.

Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf (BWV 226) The Spirit helps in our weakness
1. Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf (Romans 8:26)
2. Der aber die Herzen forchet (Romans 8:27)
3. “Komm, Heiliger Geist” v. 3

Composed in a rush in October of 1729, this cheerful motet was sung for a funeral for the rector Johann Ernesti, or adapted from a now-lost cantata. Rocketing off in the bright key of B-flat Major, the laughing groups of spiritlike 16th-note figures surround the listener in polychoral comfort that “The Spirit helps in our weakness.” Bach must have written the verse from memory, for the word “selbst” seems to have an extra syllable. Secondly, the words “He who examines hearts…” are set to a canon, hinting at the fact that He is measuring something according to the Law. Finishing this lively fugue is the third verse of “Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord,” praying for the Comforter to come and strengthen the hearts of all believers.

Jesu, meine Freude (BWV 227)
Jesus, my joy
1. “Jesu, meine Freude” v. 1, 4
2. Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches (Romans 8:1)
3. “Jesu, meine Freude” v. 2
4. Denn das Gesetz (Romans 8:3)
5. “Jesu, meine Freude” v. 3
6. Ihr aber seid nicht fleischlich (Romans 8:9)
7. “Jesu, meine Freude” v. 4
8. So aber Christus in euch ist (Romans 8:10)
9. “Jesu, meine Freude” v. 5
10. So nun der Geist (Romans 8:11)
11. “Jesu, meine Freude” v. 5

This simple pairing of verses from Paul Gerhardt’s hymn with passages of Romans 8 shows Bach’s theological mastery as well as text-painting skills. Each verse of the chorale is set to fit the text: “Now there is nothing, nothing” is set quite emphaticallythe third verse, on the word “trotz,” meaning “defiance,” is spit out with anger, hinting at the cantus firmus in the shape of the melody. “Tobe,” the word for rage, is painted with an aggressive run in the tenor and bass. “You are not in the flesh, but in the spirit,” has a very long melisma on the latter. The fifth verse “Good night,” sighs as the walking continuo marches away from the world’s temptations. Romans 8:10 then adds how the believer will be raised again from the
dead, with the “spirit” figure at the close coming to rest. Lastly, the final verse looks to Jesus’ entrance as the Master of joy in a glorious four-part setting identical to the first.

Furchte dich nicht (BWV 228)
Do not fear
1. Furchte dich nicht (Isaiah 41:10)
2. Furchte dich nicht, denn ich habe (Isaiah 43:1)
3. “Wann ich gramen” v. 4 and 5

Some consider this to be the most difficult of Bach’s motets. In the opening figure, the choir is scattered everywhere, almost as if they doubt the plea “Do not fear.” “I will strengthen you” is the next motif, supported by fully-diminished seventh chords. The extent of repetition emphasizes how much the listener needs it.

In the third movement, a descending chromatic subject penetrates all voices parts underneath the soprano cantus firmus. To close, all exclaim “Do not fear” several times, ending in homophonic motion: “you are Mine!”

Komm, Jesu, komm (BWV 229)
Come, Jesus, come
1. Komm, Jesu, komm
2. Drum schliess ich mich in deine Hande

With a cry of urgency, each side of the choir calls out “Come!” with a slow pace to suggest “my body is weary.” Painting “waning strength,” they start out the next phrase with vigor but then die away in tempo. Thinking about peace, they cadence at a major chord before going on to the “sour path,” then “yielding” in rest to Jesus at the end. This motet’s following aria prays that the Lord will come quickly, singing the world a farewell, and commiting quietly to Jesus at the end.

Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden (BWV 230) Praise the Lord, all ye nations
1. Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden (Psalm 117)

The opening triadic shape of the text, Psalm 117 exudes a festive, confident air, imitating trumpets and timpani with the layering and melismas of voices. Describing God’s “grace and truth,” the style slows and becomes homophonic, regaining speed and polyphonic texture to paint His rule for eternity, and a joyous Alleluia in a waltz-like triple meter.

Works Cited:
Emmanuel Bach Choir. “Motets and Liturgical Works Notes and Translations.” Emmanuel Bach Choir. Web accessed 26 June 2014. http://emmanuelmusic.org/ notes_translations/nt_notes_transl_motet.htm#pab1_7
Geck, Martin. Johann Sebastian Bach: Life and Work. Orlando: Harcourt Publishing, 2000.
Shrock, Dennis. Choral Repertoire. London: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Stapert, Calvin R. My Only Comfort: Death, Deliverance, and Discipleship in the Music of Bach. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.

Adventures in Grad School, Part 2

A test, hymnal review, article review, many Finale transcriptions, four organ lessons, a choral hymn setting, and about 70 hours of class later, I am done with grad school.  The first half of the session, and over half of my whole MCM degree.

The Kretzmann post feels like forever ago.

Anyhow, since then, I promise that I have learned LOTS, including actual coursework.  One of them is that I say the word "actual" way too much - oops.

Last Sunday, Trinity Sunday, I attended my first-ever hymn festival for the dedication of this organ:

My organ instructor led the special program, several choirs sang, the parish handbell choir rang, and the pastor read the three articles of the Creed from Luther's Small Catechism while we joined in on hymns describing the explanations to each.  Fun!  More ideas for MY upcoming senior service/project, whenever that is.

To reward ourselves for doing so well in an unconditioned church on an 80-degree afternoon, my friends and I wandered over to our favorite frozen custard joint, where I tried a banana split for the first time.

For one of our projects, I got to explore the rare-book room here at school, and obviously did make it out of there.  Just barely.  Gingerly, I perused the tiny German hymnals, numerous English psalm books, and other token publications of the old Synodical Conference with columns so tight and bindings so fragile I was afraid to drop anything.  There, in the crisp air, I cradled several of them in white-gloved hands, smiling as I traced the names written inside.  Each one belonged to someone like me.  For the first half of my project, I selected the English Chorale Book for England, and carefully paged through, taking down its organizational characteristics.

Another perk about school?  Running by a lake every morning.  :)  I've discovered it's hardly possible for myself to listen to anything but the grandest music with this view.

Perfect.  It's also always cool early in the morning here, and not many people can roll out of bed and come this far to be right on the shoreline, so awesome for the students here.

For lessons, I get to work with one of these:

Yes, that is a Zimbelstern.  Apparently, in some Lutheran synods, this stop of whirling bells is Pavlovian for "Please rise and sing the Doxology."  Currently, I'm working on a Herman Schroeder prelude, Brahms' "Schmucke dich," Buxtehude Prelude/Fugue/Chaconne BuxWV 137, Joseph Jongen's "Choral," and Bach Prelude/Fugue in c minor BWV 549.

Today, I'm getting together and exploring the area with some friends who live about an hour away - so excited!  The end of classes are in sight.  Still, I'm realizing in all of this that I'm really not cut out to live by myself.  Doing serious coursework like this, it's honestly very difficult for me to get back to my suite and have no one with whom to recall the day's events.  That's why I blog.  Hopefully I can have a person someday to share morning coffee and Gerhard loci and silliness and awesome music...

You can tell where my mind is.  Happy Saturday.  Study hard and play hard, and God's blessings on all of it.

The Kretzmann cantatas

Did you know that Paul Kretzmann (author of the venerable Popular Commentaries) also wrote cantata libretti?  You probably didn't.  That's because from my library catalogue-digging, only two locations have scores available to borrow.  However, one of them happens to be where I go to school.  Guess what I did this afternoon.

I checked both of them out!  Kretzmann actually founded the church where my dad was a pastor, and I was baptized and a member there until I was four years old, so seeing these is like a letter from an ages-past friend.  

Both of them are in delicate shape, rebound, and taped.  I tried to play through them on a practice-room piano, but had to gently place my cell phone over the bindings the whole time to keep them from closing or tipping.  

Stylistically, I don't want to label them "schmaltzy," but the Romantic harmonies of the piano accompaniment, rich with secondary V7s and diminished viis, almost render it over to the concert nature rather than a special festival service.  The melody lines are rather complicated and at times chromatic.  Nonetheless, the words are great and biblical, just like his hymn translating and hymnwriting.  

Examples of text (all copyright by Concordia Publishing House):

Our King Victorious,Part III, 9. Chorus with Children's Chorus

Let us with joyful tone the Savior's praises sing,

Messiah on His heavenly throne devoutly worshipping

Who deigned in flesh to shade His glorious deity,

Himself of no repute made us lost ones to set free, 

Exult we on that day 

When Jesus rose on high

And opened wide the living way

Deliverance is nigh

Let stars and earth and heav'n rejoice

And all angelic choirs on high 

Upraise their glorifying voice 

To praise the Trinity.

Amen!  Hallelujah!

Unto Us, 24. Soprano

Bright was the guiding star that led with mild benignant say,

The Gentiles to the lowly shed where the Redeemer lay,

They brought Him gold, as King that reigns forever, 

They offered incense, as to a mighty God, 

And myrrh withal, since death their Lord would sever,

From those He loved, and on whose foes He trod.  

In addition, he also at least wrote the words for Der 46th Psalm (1921), Cantate! A Song Service (1924), Liturgical Service for Rally Day (1927), He Lives!  A Childrens' Vesper Service for Easter Day (1929), In Dulci Jubilo and Soli Deo Gloria (no dates) (see http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/inauthors/view?).  

Here also is an interesting link to his hymn texts that have made it into lesser-known hymnals:  http://www.hymnary.org/person/Kretzmann_PE3

Happy digging!

Cantata No. 18: the one with the Litany

Once again, I'm on a cantata kick - this time, it's Bach's Weimar cantatas.  Stylistically, these differ a bit from the later, more "practical" Leipzig cantatas intended for the school and resident musicians to rehearse and perform every week.  At Weimar, Bach's main duties constituted leading the instrumental ensemble and playing organ in the court, but the unstable health of the current Capellmeister obligated him to begin writing cantatas for performance there.  Weimar's resident poet, Salomo Franck, also supplied libretti for many of Bach's cantatas, beginning with BWV 182, 12, 172, and 21, so that connection certainly proved helpful.  This work, however, uses a text by the father of the chorale cantata, Erdmann Neumeister, who also wrote our beloved hymn "God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It."

Violists need not feel ignored any longer.  The sinfonia for Bach's personal group of instrumentalists individually uses FOUR of them (!) with a thunderous triple figure under a contrapuntal interplay of two recorders, emulating the rumbling and flashing of a precipitous storm and its fruition on the earth.

As Jesus' voice, the bass reads these very words in a descriptive secco recit, picking up tempo for the mention of rain and snow falling from heaven, and slowing for its response.  Next, we run into a scene from courtly devotional life:  the tenor, in a corner as it were, sings "My God, here is my heart:  I open it to you in Jesus' name," essentially asking the classic sermon blessing, "May with words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight" (Psalm 19:14).  Suddenly, the continuo picks up and the sopranos chant a portion of the Litany: "That You would lend your Spirit and power with Your word..." with a four-part cadence "Hear us, dear Lord God!" just as it would be intoned in church.

The Litany chant tone, as heard in the soprano

 Next, the bass bequests the Father to guard Christians from the Devil's tricks, jumping around delightfully crunchy intervals, and acknowledging that Satan's purpose is to rob us of the Word, with escaping melismas outlining a fully-diminished chord.  Again, the trebles stomp in with "That Satan may be crushed under our feet..." and all "Hear us...!"

Back to the tenor, in his other corner.  In commentary, he expresses disgust at the fall (text-painting!) of those who are not careful when they endure persecution (also depicted by a very long, persecuting, run in one breath with accidentals galore).  Sadly, he concludes that they instead bring themselves eternal suffering in its place.  "That we, from the Turks' and Pope's great murder and blasphemy..." "Hear us...!"

The bass returns, shaking his head at those who serve their gut, earthly goods, and lust.  Recalling Romans 1:26, the world becomes heaven to them since they have erred (a tangled, beastly diminished-interval melisma). "That all erring and misled ones may be brought back - hear us, dear Lord God!"

"My soul's treasure is God's Word!" exclaims the solo soprano, trying not too get too involved in the nets of ornaments all over the aria.  "Away, away!" she tells the riches of the world, carrying them up the staff to heaven, where the Lord can deal with them.

The closing chorale draws upon Lazarus Spengler's hymn "By Adam's Fall Is All Forlorn," including all voice parts to pray that God's Word remain in their mouth, and for trust in His salvation despite total unworthiness, which will shield them so that they will not see death.

Score: http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/4/40/IMSLP00743-BWV0018.pdf
Translation:  http://www.emmanuelmusic.org/notes_translations/translations_cantata/t_bwv018.htm
Recording:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGz2Npl7oL0

How to treat your...musicians?

Dear people who have a musician in their lives,

I just want to make something clear, especially if you are not musical yourselves.When you hire a musician to do something for you - perhaps accompanying for a church service, teaching private lessons, composing a soundtrack for a music video, whatever - you are NOT merely paying for the ten minutes that is the final product.

Instead, you are also compensating the person for all the time it took to get there, to the point where the abilities become natural.  You see, being a musician does not involve turning a skill on or off, like putting a kit together or lifting something heavy.  When one of us does something that we do, it's that complete set of expertise we have gathered until then, concentrated into that moment.  There are years of private lessons on an instrument, music-skills classes in which one becomes used to sightreading, listening to countless ensemble rehearsals, and even the overall awareness of the space in which a piece is played, including recordings.  For every minute of perfected "actual" applied ability, there may very well be three hours from starting at zero to finish.

Because we put so much time behind the tip of the iceberg that is seen, you can also expect us to value the time we allot you greatly.  When a musician sets up a meeting with someone, he or she specifically carves out that chunk of time around practicing and other highly specific things that require attention - musical activities usually aren't like a book you can pick up and read on the bus, or a movie you can watch on your phone.  You have to be certain places at definite times with objects like a string bass that don't always lend themselves to convenient transport. Even if one thinks they can reschedule musicians to no end, it honestly does wear down our patience.  Please understand that our time with you means a lot to us.

Along the same thought, we do need breaks.  (What? Making music all day is tiring?  I thought it was supposed to be fun!)  Ensure that you know when and where those times are, and respect those limits. R and R is welcomed, and musicians probably love sleep almost as much as they do food.  Okay, other people love food, too, but musicians really love food.  It also means that they have to take a break from practicing, because it's generally difficult to do that and eat at once, especially for a vocalist.

Truly, we enjoy helping you out.  That's why we majored in that one weird field where you do all of these classes that supposedly don't help in real-world situations and earn no money post-graduation.  We have good reasons to be where we are.  So, please remember, next time you see us, throw us a pillow for the cardboard box in the alley - I mean, a little understanding, a hug, and maybe a giftcard or Almond Joy.  You know, something commensurable for lunch.

Sincerely,

Me (and every other person brightening the world with music at this moment)

That would actually make a great box in which to live.