I
In chronological order, the first of these collections is the Orgelbüchlein.[130]
Because this collection was made at Cöthen, it must not be supposed that the chorales which it comprises were composed only during the period of Bach's service to Prince Leopold of Anhalt; Bach rather made a practical arrangement of them, whereby they might serve as a useful work for his pupils.
It comprises forty-five chorales, of which a goodly portion undoubtedly belong to the years in Weimar—perhaps to a still earlier period.
These chorales are generally written after the models furnished by Pachelbel; but where Pachelbel is merely calmly devout, or placidly harmonious, Bach, with a more exalted piety and distinctly more poetic, lends to them whatever of mystic character he could derive from the text of the hymns; in addition, he imbues them with all the picturesqueness suggested by the sense of the words.
And what variety in the choice of means to be employed! Sometimes there are progressions which fairly chill us, simply the result of a note purposely prolonged, or a succession of chords strikingly disjointed, which seem to clash with incompatible harmonies, as at the close of Alle Menschen müssen sterben; or a false relation seems fraught with fatality, as well as with complete desolation, as in O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde gross. At other times will be found motives whose symbolic character is not the result of chance; for example, all the irreparability of the primeval fall of man[131] is symbolized by diminished sevenths, pitching obliquely downwards, as if in a veritable vertigo; or the gliding of scales in opposite directions depicts the balancing of a flying object hovering in space—skimming over the earth, and already out of range, while, in the repetitions, the flapping of wings emphasizes the rhythm.
Certain rhythms also assist Bach in his task; to express the fulness of joy in the chorale In Dir ist Freude, Bach constructed his prelude upon a chaconne movement, a carillon theme, repeated unceasingly by the bass; the sole subject perceptible, of which the other parts are but an indistinct reflection; even the melody of the chorale is lost sight of in the vibrations of the bass, but, nevertheless, it presents itself in the voices, which repeat it in fragments, sometimes with elaboration, like the hum of a great people celebrating a festival, who emerge in vast throngs from the church whence the final reverberations of the organ still voice its rhythm,[132] and who betake themselves, thenceforth busy with their pleasures, to the sunny square now invaded by the sound of the bells ringing their full peals.
Certain chorales are expressive enough to pass as paraphrases; Bach did not err in judgment, and reserved for them a discreet accompaniment, which is sustained very softly, asserting itself only to provide for the melody a "breathing space," as it were, after which it may reappear with increased breadth.
This is exemplified in Herzlich thut mich verlangen, a favorite chorale with Bach, with its gloomily suspensive ending, expressive of desire or of doubt in its employment of the Phrygian mode, which supports the harmonies, delicately ambiguous in the irresolution of a petition.
This mystical fervor, intensified by Bach, was foreign to the conception of the composer of this melody; Hans Leo Hassler, as he wrote it, saw in it nothing of a chorale, still less of a hymn, but designed it simply for the words of a five-part madrigal:[133] Mein G'müth ist mir verwirret, a poem dedicated to a certain "Maria," the initial letters of the five verses forming the acrostic of her name.
Meanwhile, the producers of religious songs soon laid hold of this one; to this secular music was adapted, in 1613, the translation made by Paul Gerhardt of the Salve caput cruentatum,[134] written by St. Bernard; it thus became the hymn of Holy Week. During the century, certain publishers (Rhamba-Görlitz) still further distorted its meaning; it was henceforth heard at funerals, expressing the longing to leave the earth, whereas formerly it had served to salute the bloodstained face of the Saviour, while, in the by-ways, amorous lute-players languished to its tones in "courtly diminutions."
But had not Luther said, "Why should the Devil have all the best tunes?"
The canon form inspired Bach to compose some curious arrangements of chorales. He commanded so many artifices, could devise such ingenious counterpoints with which to create interest, to overcome the rigidity of scholastic practices, and in addition could clothe the composition in so rich an "orchestration," that it becomes a pleasure to play something so erudite, so natural does it sound to the ear. This double interest offered to the mind and to the ear is exemplified in a canon upon Hilf Gott, dass mir gelinge, where, interlacing itself amid the imitations in the fifth, a sustained movement in triplets runs through the entire compass of the keyboard. In In Dulci Jubilo, similar triplets, liquidly intangible, imperceptibly disintegrate the rhythm, soften its somewhat harsh character. This chorale recalls Bach's stay in Cöthen by the unusual compass of its pedal part, which extends upward to F sharp; so, for the same reason, does the chorale Gottes Sohn ist kommen, also written in canon.
Of the other chorales in the Orgelbüchlein, a small number, it is true, recall chorales by the organists of the North German school; as examples of this style we would cite Wenn wir in höchsten Nöthen sein and Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, both, in the ornamentation of their melodies, characteristic of the Reinkens and Buxtehudes.
Finally, we would call attention, in Ich ruf' zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ, to a form of writing truly instrumental, at the same time as analogous to the style of the Adagio (in A minor) of the Toccata in C major, as the repetitions of notes are characteristic of G. Böhm.[135]