Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work

by Johann Nikolaus Forkel

I. Compositions For The Clavier

	1. Six Little Preludes far Beginners.[255]
	2. Fifteen Two-part Inventions. An Invention is a musical theme so constructed that by imitation and inversion a whole movement can be evolved from it. The subject having been first stated, the rest develops naturally out of it. For the instruction of a young Clavier player these fifteen Inventions are of great value, seeing that the composer has been careful not only to provide exercises for both hands but for every finger as [pg 125] well. They were composed at Cöthen in 1723, with a long title which begins: “An honest Guide, in which lovers of the Clavier are shown a clear method of playing correctly in two parts,” etc.[256] It cannot be denied that, among other blemishes, the Inventions occasionally exhibit melodic poverty and roughness. But finding them useful to his pupils, Bach eventually revised them and removed from them everything that offended his maturer taste, so that they now stand as masterpieces of pure music. Moreover they are invaluable exercises for the fingers and hands and are sound instructors of taste. There is no better introduction to Bach's larger works than they afford.
	3. Fifteen three-part Inventions, also called Symphonies. They were written for the same purpose as the Inventions, but are more advanced.[257]
	4. The Well-tempered Clavier, or, Preludes and Fugues in all tones and semitones, composed for the profit and use of young musicians desirous of knowledge, as also for those who are skilled already in this studio. Part I. was finished in 1722. Part II., like Part I., contains twenty-four Preludes and twenty-four Fugues in every key, [pg 126] and was composed at a later period.[258] Every number of it, from first to last, is a masterpiece. In Part I., however, certain Preludes and Fugues bear marks of immaturity and are included probably only in order to complete the series. But here again Bach eventually corrected whatever seemed to him lacking in finish. He altered or rewrote entire passages, so that in the later texts few movements are not perfect. Among these few I reckon the Fugues in A minor,[259] G major and G minor,[260] C major,[261] F major and F minor.[262] The rest are excellent, some of them so superlatively good as to be not inferior to those in Part II.[263] Even Part II., for all its original perfection, has been improved by the composer, as may be observed by comparing the original and later texts. Both Parts contain treasures of art not to be found outside Germany.
	5. Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue.[264] I have taken considerable pains to discover a similar piece of music by Bach, but without success. The Fantasia is unique and unequalled. Wilhelm Friedemann sent it to me from Brunswick inscribed with these words by a mutual friend. “Anbey kommt an etwas Musik von Sebastian, sonst genannt: Fantasia chromatica; bleibt schön in alle Saecula.” It is remarkable that this piece, for all its technical skill, appeals to the most unpractised hearer, if it is performed at all tolerably.
	6. A Fantasia in C minor. It is not of the same character as the preceding work, but resembles rather the Allegro of a Sonata. It is divided into two parts, but must be played as a single movement. It is an excellent work, and in old copies an unfinished Fugue follows, which, however, cannot belong to it.[265] The first thirty bars certainly are by Bach, for they are marked by an extremely bold use of augmented and diminished intervals and their inversions, in three-part harmony. None but Bach attempted such things. [pg 128] The rest of the movement seems to have been added by another hand and bears no trace of Bach's style.
	7. Six large Suites, consisting of Preludes, Allemandes, Courantes, Sarabandes, etc. They are known as the “English Suites,” because the composer wrote them for an Englishman of rank.[266] All of them are of great merit as works of art, and some movements, in particular the Gigues of the fifth and sixth Suites, are perfect masterpieces of harmony and melody.
	8. Six small Suites, consisting of Allemandes, Courantes, etc. They are generally called the “French Suites,” because they are written in the French style.[267] The composer is intentionally less academic in them than in his larger Suites, and their melodies are more than usually pleasant and agreeable. In particular the fifth Suite deserves to be noticed: all its movements are most melodious, and in the concluding Gigue [pg 129] only consonant intervals, especially thirds and sixths, are used.

These are Bach's principal works for the Clavier which can be considered classics.[268] A great number of single Suites,[269]Toccatas and Fugues,[270] besides those already mentioned, have great and varying merit, but are youthful works.[271] At the most, ten or twelve of them seem to me worth preserving, some of them because they would be useful as finger exercises, for which their author originally intended them, others because they are at least better than similar works by other composers. As an exercise for the fingers of both hands I particularly single out a Fugue in A minor,[272] in which the composer has been at great pains to write florid passages in order to give equal strength and suppleness to both hands. For beginners a little two-part Fugue[273] should also prove useful. It is melodious, flowing, and not at all old-fashioned.

[pg 130]

II. Music For The Clavier With Other Instruments

	1. Six Sonatas for Clavier with Violin obbligato. Composed at Cöthen, they are among Bach's masterpieces in this form and display fugal and canonic writing which is both natural and full of character. The Violin part needs a master to play it; for Bach knew the capabilities of the instrument and spared it as little as the Clavier. The six Sonatas are in the keys of B minor, A major, E major, C minor, F minor, and G major.[274]
	2. Several Sonatas for Harpsichord and Violin,[275] Harpsichord and Flute,[276] Harpsichord and Viol da Gamba.[277] They are admirably written and most of them are pleasant to listen to even today.[278]
	3. Several Concertos for the Clavier and other instruments. They contain real gems of art but are antiquated in form.[279]
	4. Two Concertos for two Claviers, with an accompaniment of two Violins, Viola, and Violoncello. The first, in C minor,[280] has an antique flavour. But the second, in C major,[281] is as fresh as if it had been written yesterday.[282] It may be played without the String quartet and still sounds admirable. The final Allegro is a majestic movement and strictly fugal. Compositions of this form were first perfected, indeed, we may conjecture, were first attempted, by Bach. At least, I have met with only a single example by another composer that may perhaps be older—namely, Pachelbel of Nürnberg's Toccata, as he called it. Pachelbel, however, was a contemporary of Bach and may have taken the idea from him. However, his work is not worth considering. One instrument merely repeats the other's phrases without being at all concertante. It almost seems as if Bach at this period had made up his mind to discover what could be done with any number of parts. Having already written for a [pg 132] single solo instrument music which required no accompaniment, he next experimented in dividing his material between as large a number of solo instruments as possible. Hence the Concertos for two Claviers were followed by
	5. Two Concertos for three Claviers with an accompaniment of Strings.[283] These Concertos present a remarkable characteristic: besides the concertante combination of three Claviers, the stringed instruments also have concertante parts distinct from the accompaniment. It is difficult to realise the art involved in this achievement. For, in spite of their technical skill, the two works are so delicate, full of character, and expressive, that the composer might be treating a simple melody (note particularly the Concerto in D minor). Words are inadequate to express the admiration they arouse. But Bach was not satisfied. Hence he wrote
	6. A Concerto for four Claviers and four stringed instruments.[284] I cannot judge the effect of this composition, for I have never been able to get together the four instruments and four performers [pg 133] it requires. But that it is admirably written can be seen from the parts.

III. Compositions For The Organ

The pedal is the distinctive feature of the Organ which places it above all other instruments, and gives it its magnificence, sonority, and majesty. Deprive it of the pedal and you take from it the solemn and imposing tones which are its distinctive utterance, reducing it to the level of a “positiv,” or Chamber-organ, an instrument relatively insignificant.

But an Organ equipped with a pedal must be able to employ it in its full compass,[285] and both composer and organist must know the proper use of it. No one excelled Bach in this knowledge. Not only is his rich harmony and melody singularly adapted to the instrument, but he gave the pedal a part of its own, even in his early compositions. Yet it was only gradually that he mastered its technique; for his Organ masterpieces belong to the period in which those for the Clavier began to be classics. His early and immature Organ works are widely dispersed; for as soon as a composer begins to be distinguished everybody is anxious to possess a specimen of his art. Public curiosity, however, generally dies down long before a composer comes to maturity, [pg 134] particularly if his work is over the heads of the public. And this seems to have been Bach's fortune. Consequently his mature Organ works are less familiar than his early efforts. The latter, however, cannot possibly be admitted to a “correct and critical” edition of his works, and I mention here only those whose merit is as incontestable as that of the Clavier works enumerated in the preceding paragraphs.

Bach's finest Organ music falls into three groups: