The Mass in B minor (BWV 232) by Johann Sebastian Bach is a musical setting of the Latin Mass Ordinary. The piece is orchestrated for two flutes, two oboes d'amore, one natural horn (in D), three trumpets (in D), timpani, violins I and II, violas and basso continuo (cellos, basses, bassoons, organ and harpsichord). The work was one of Bach's last compositions, not completed until 1749, the year before his death. Much of the Mass gave new form to vocal music that Bach had composed throughout his career, dating back to 1714, but extensively revised. Bach's devout relationship with the Christian God in the Lutheran tradition and the high demand for religious music of his times placed sacred music at the centre of his repertory. The Lutheran chorale …show more content…
During this period of time, the industrial revolution was just revving up. While the work that Bach sent to the ruler in Dresden included only the Kyrie and Gloria portions of the mass ordinary, Bach would probably have considered it complete for such “short” mass settings were typical in Lutheran Germany at that time. It was perhaps his first attempt at setting the Kyrie and Gloria texts – the other four extant masses were all written later – and it was apparently his most ambitious: the scope of this is far beyond that of most missae brevis. Aspects of style and structure reveal that this missa has an internal unity of its own. All five voices are utilised in the solo movement, the instrumental families are represented in turn in the solo instrumental roles, and the various aspects of symmetry can be …show more content…
Bach incorporated Martin Luther’s Kyrie melody from the German Mass in 1526 in the uppermost line, which he also used in other of his works as well, the single Kyrie, BWV 233a as well as the Mass in F, BWV 233. We can therefore assume that it appearing here in this Mass is significant. The voices came in as a fugue, with every vocal line a fifth apart from each other, with cantus firmus used. The contour of the primary theme masterfully depicts the text, “Lord, have mercy”, by ascending very slowly and chromatically but falling back abruptly quite a few times, as if struggling out of a deep and dark abyss, pleading for divine mercy. When the voices enter for the second time, from the lowest to the highest, heightening the overall sense of anguish, it seems as though there are figures out of breath, powerfully portraying the inarticulateness of the speaker, making them sound like they are grasping for air. The second movement is set in D major, which is the relative major of B minor, the key for the previous movement, the “Christe” offers a distinct contrast in tonality, style and effect as Bach set the text as a duet which suggests agreement between the two singers. After this duet in the Christe, Bach sets the second Kyrie in fugue form, just like the first one to add elements of emotional tension. He also chose to employ stretto for both the subject and countersubject, and by using F# minor, which is highly
Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven both flourished in their compositions of classical music; however, their genre of music differed considerably. Bach was a German composer during the Baroque time era of western music which is estimated to have taken place during 1600 to 1750. It was during this time that he composed prolific church organ music which included such works as the Mass in B Minor, much scared choral music, and the St. Matthew Passion, as well as composing over a thousand works in nearly every musical genre except opera. On the other hand, Beethoven was a German composer whom began to emerge during the classical era of western music twenty years after Bach. This era took place throughout the years1750 and 1830. The large quantity of arrangements, over two hundred works in numerous musical genres composed by Beethoven was significantly influenced by his predecessors, onset of deafness, and his highly personal expression of intellectual depth. Such works include the first an...
The “Agnus Dei” of Guillaume Machaut’s Notre Dame Mass was created in the Medieval Time Period; it was the first polyphonic setting of mass by one composer. It was polyphonic because it used four voices, two tenors and two basses. It used one lower voice and a form of ABA. This piece used Timbre instruments such as brass. This piece by Guillaume Machaut used a triple meter and consisted of complex syncopation and rhythm. The two upper parts of this piece are active rhythmically while the two lower parts are longer in note values. Guillaume de Machaut was a brilliant poet and musician who was born in France. He loved to travel and wrote many songs consisting of love.
3 in A Minor was published in 1727, dedicated to Bach’s second wife, Anna Magdalena. The work opens with a quick-tempo Fantasia — a two-part contrapuntal piece in 3/8 with a melodic line that flows gracefully between the two hands, with inversions and modulations. The lyrical Allemande follows the traditional characteristics of a moderately slow movement in quadruple meter and binary form, and is articulated with turns and mordents. The Italian Corrente that follows it is a lively dance featuring sharply dotted rhythms and sixteenth notes. This is contrasted by the serious and dignified Sarabande, which is serious and dignified, yet lacks the accented second beats commonly used in most sarabandes, making it an unusual
The music of the Baroque period was focused on having music be a tool of communication to its listeners; conveying an arousal of emotions. Composers of this time thought to use this tool to have this effect or one similar to it to correctly match music from the Roman time period. One composer that goes by the name of Georg Phillip Telemann. He was a German composer born in 1681, he was known as one of the most prolific composers of the Baroque era, “At the age of just ten years old he was able to play four different instruments and had written arias, motets and instrumental works”(Norton Grove Concise Encyclopedia of Music, 756). As well as learning many skills at a young age, his fame grew immensely in Germany becoming a very famous composer and was even assigned four times as much space as the famous J.S. Bach in some contemporary dictionaries. Telemann composed in all varieties of forms and styles, from Italian-style concertos to French-style overture suites and quartets. The Sonata in F minor was one of his pieces that was played at the concert. The piece first given appearance in 1728 in a German musical periodical; though it was originally written for a bassoon and continuo the piece was altered by the performers to be played with a bass trombone and piano. One way that an individual could tell it is a piec...
These sections can be divided into even smaller sections, with section a having three subsections. All of section a is based on Acts 17:28 from the Bible, which reads “For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, we are His offspring.” This is from the Old Testament of the Bible, otherwise known as the Law before Christ. This theme is extremely important to this work; so significant, in fact, that this work’s alternate title, Actus Tragicus, suggests the concept of God’s will. Actus Tragicus is translated from the German Trauerspiel, which is a tragedy play that focused on bereavement over the human condition. From a Lutheran standpoint, humans cannot overcome their own selves, and they must trust in God and His plan. (232 online) According to Acts 17:28, humans are unsustainable without God, so they live for and through him. They must trust that God is ever-knowing and to believe in His will. Using the word “offspring” also proposes that humans must have respect for him, considering the fifth of the Ten Commandments: Honor your father and your mother. Calling people the offspring of God implicates that He is the almighty father, meaning people must honor Him. This, in turn, calls on humans to have trust and respect in His will, and to believe that they will meet Him someday. Acts 17:28 also states that we “move” and “live” through God. While this obviously means that people live not for themselves, but for God, it also suggests that life is dynamic, whether it be through events that occur or the fluctuating emotions people feel throughout their time living for God. Even in just this one section of the second movement, Bach displays various styles from subsection to subsection, suggesting that the emotions surrounding death can be different and ever-changing. (230
According to the article, “Johann Sebastian Bach”, “his Lutheran faith would influence his late musical works.” A tragic event occurred as both of his parents had passed away a few years later, which prompted him to live with his brother’s family. It was there that he continued learning about music. He continued to live there for five years as he left his brother when he was 15. He soon was enrolled in a school at a place called Luneburg. He was enrolled there due to him having “a beautiful soprano singing voice.”(Johann Sebastian Bach) However, as he got older, his voice didn’t sound the way it used to be, so he quickly transitioned back to playing the violin. His first job had also to do with music as he began to work in Weimar as a musician. According to the article, “Johann Sebastian Bach”, there were various jobs he did like serve as a violinist or occasionally fill in
Luther, Martin. "The German Mass and Order of Divine Service, January 1526." The German Mass and Order of Divine Service, January 1526. Hanover.edu, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. .
Between the 1600s and the 1700s, many would think more of Kings or Queens who ruled their vast kingdoms for years upon years rather than a great composer such as Johann Sebastian Bach, a man who greatly contributed to Germany and many other specific regions of Europe during his life. Born in 1685 Eisenach on March 21, Bach was a member of one of the most excellent musical families of all time as, for over 200 years, the Bach family had birthed some of the most superb composers and performers, many supported by churches, the government, and nobles for their extraordinary works ("Wikipedia"). However, having been orphaned so early on, Bach grew up in the home of his brother, Johann Christoph Bach, in Ohrdruf. During his early life, he attended schools of dance, acted as an organist on many occasions, particularly in Arnstadt, Mühlhausen, Weimar, as well as a court music director in Cöthen, and, later in his life, in 1723 to be precise, he became the grand choirmaster of St.Thomas in Leipzig for twenty-seven years and oversaw many events of the school, going so far as to divide the students into four individual choirs and recruiting the talents of the citys professional musicians and university students (pg 1 - 14, Eidam). He continued as a choirmaster until the end of his days, writing various and exquisite pieces that were preformed in front of many audiences, quite a few of which were preformed by those of the four individual choirs he created while he lead them through each piece (pg 1 - 14, Eidam). Though this may not seem as important as the rulings of Kings and Queens at the time, Bach's contribution to his homeland of Germany and its people was mostly certainly memorable and worth consideration. In fact, because of his contr...
Bach was born in 1685 in Germany amongst the turmoil of national reconstruction. He lived a quiet life with little musical influence, until the death of his parents at age ten. After their death, Bach’s older brother, who taught the very young Bach to play clavichord and harpsichord, raised Bach. Now, his life had the musical influence that is associated with Bach’s greatness. At the age of eighteen, he joined an orchestra where he learned to play the violin and organ. During this time the musical genius of Bach began to emerge (Jackson 15).
McGee, Timothy J. Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Performer’s Guide. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985.
Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a family of musicians. It was only natural for him to pick up an instrument and excel in it. His father taught him how to play the violin and harpsichord at a very young age. All of Bach’s uncles were professional musicians, one of them; Johann Christoph Bach introduced him to the organ. Bach hit a turning point in his life when both of his parents died at the age of ten years old. Bach’s older brother Johann Christoph Bach took him in and immediately expanded his knowledge in the world of music. He taught him how to play the clavichord and exposed him to great composers at the time. At the age of fourteen, Bach and his good friend George Erdmann were awarded a choral scholarship to the prestigious musical school St. Michael’s in Luneburg. From then on, Bach began to build his career in the music industry. His first two years at the school he sang in the school’s a cappella choir. Historical evidence has shown that Bach at a young age would visit Johanniskirche and would listen to the works of organ player Jasper Johannsen. This was thought to have been the inspiration to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Studying at the prestigious musical school has help Bach network his way around and become acquaintances’ with some of the best organ players at the time such as Georg Böhm, and Johann Adam Reincken. Through his acquaintance with Böhm and Reincken Bach had access to some of the greatest and finest instruments.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a composer, a musician, teacher, and organist who later became a specialist in construction of organs. Bach learnt to play the violin, the orchestra, and the organ from his father and his famous uncle and twin brother to the father, Johann Christoph at a young age. The organ was his chosen instrument. He also achieved success in the art of Fugue, choral polyphone, instrumental music and dance forms. In Eisenach he attended Old Latin Grammar School, the same school that Martin Luther had attended. He sang in the schools choir. His parents died before Bach was 10 years old. His mother died when Bach was nine years old, his father’s death followed nine months later (Sherrane, 2011). After the parents death Bach was taken in by his older brother Johann Christoph who had already established himself as an organist in Ohrdruf. Johann Christoph had a great influence in Bach’s success in music as he taught him and encouraged him to study music composition. At the same time Bach was attending the Gymnasium grammar school in Ohrdruf where he studied theology, Latin...
3. BWV in D major. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote four Orchestral Suites. This piece is the second of the five movements that compose his Orchestral suite No. 3. The date it was composed remains unsure, as there is strong evidence that the writing of the piece was done during his years at Köthen, even though the piece is said to have been composed and premiered some years later in Leipzig sometime between 1727 and 1730 by his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, one of his students and himself. Johann Sebastian wrote out the main violin and continuo parts, C.P.E. Bach did the same with the trumpet, oboe, and timpani parts, and Johann Ludwig Krebs, his student, finished with the second viola and violin parts. Regardless the authors of the piece, Johann Sebastian Bach ended up getting all the credit for the piece. Air stands out as one of his most famous and successful pieces of the Baroque period, as well as of his life. The beginning of the piece is one of the most recognizable melodies of the Baroque
Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 is an orchestral work performed by the the Philharmonic Orchestra of New Jersey, conducted by George Marriner Maull. On top of being preformed by an orchestra consisting of violins, violas, cellos, and basses, it is accompanied by a harpsicord and recorders. The piece is performed in G major, major meter, and is in cut time, simple meter, with the vast majority of the piece is performed mezzo forte. However, that is not all the piece has to offer has it makes diversions through the main theme throughout the piece.
Latin Music is combination of all types of sounds, rhythms, beats, and vocals. This type of music is the product of influences of different cultures from different periods and the behavior of society due to the Columbus exploration of the Americas. Many things were exchange and adapted because of this. Even though there were a lot of tragic and traumatizing events that happened the development of Latin music was one of the positive things that happened. This essay is going to be about the History of Latin music and how it has become very popular in America and the World.