The number of performers in a cantata
Bach, in 1730, fixed the number of voices requisite for the performance of a cantata at twelve, and of instrumentalists, excluding the organist, at eighteen. His sympathies were so much more with instrumental than vocal music, that he treated the voice merely as an instrument capable of expressing words. The influence of Handel’s works, in which the voice parts were of more importance than those of the instruments, brought about the change of arrangements by which the singers outnumbered the instrumentalists.
Students and admirers of Bach’s music have often wondered how he could have got boys to overcome the immense difficulties of its execution. They certainly complained of the difficulties, but execution was at that time, owing to the Italian influence, more studied than now. Boys were made to practise shakes diligently every day. They were not expected to enter very much into the spirit of the music; it sufficed if they sang the notes correctly. Moreover there were plenty of falsetto sopranos and altos, and these could, of course, take the upper parts. The tenor voice became a soprano, the bass an alto. A falsetto soprano could sing up to E and F above the treble stave.
The pitch of organs
The pitch question at Leipsic must have caused considerable difficulty. The organ at St Thomas’ Church was a tone higher than that of St Nicholas,[85] and many of the cantatas have the organ (continuo) parts in two keys, for the two organs. There must have been a separate set of string and wind instruments for each church; for the frequent alterations of strings by so great an interval as a tone would hardly conduce to good intonation.
There were in fact two recognised pitches in use, called chorus pitch and chamber pitch. Of these the chamber pitch was used for ordinary orchestral performances, and was a tone lower than the chorus pitch, to which the organ was usually tuned. This would cause no inconvenience if the orchestras were not used in the churches; but it is very strange that such a troublesome arrangement should have been allowed to continue after it had become the custom to employ the orchestra every Sunday.
Chapter XIV
Bach as “Familien-Vater”—As a choirmaster—His eagerness to learn all that was new and of value in music—He finds time to conduct public concerts—His self-criticism—Bach was never a poor man—His reputation was gained by his playing rather than compositions—Portraits—Public monuments.
Bach as Familien-Vater