![]() ![]() ![]() The same theme recurs in three connected fugues, but each time with another personality. The triple fugue…is a symbol of the Trinity. In his 1905 book, Jean-Sebastien Bach, le musicien-poête, Albert Schweitzer wrote, Kei Koïto observes that “the sum of all these numbers is 34 (4+6+4+12+8), or 3+4=7.” Metrically, it begins in 4/4 time and progresses to 6/4 and then 12/8. The five-voice Fugue is also built on the Trinity. From the outset, with this perfect figure, symbol of the totality of space and time (7 days of the week, 7 notes of the scale, 7 words of Christ on the cross, etc.), Bach opens this collection with a glorification of the Perfection of God. ![]() The prelude consists of 205 bars, from which can ensue, symbolically, the number 7 (2+0+5). The organist, Kei Koïto, explains additional layers of numerological symbolism in the Prelude, writing, The final theme, representing the Holy Ghost, is filled with fugal counterpoint with rapidly moving eighth notes “descending, flickering like tongues of fire.” As the Prelude unfolds, the themes overlap, suggesting a cosmic sense of unity. This section has been compared to an Italian concerto. The second theme, representing the Son, is quieter with a graceful galant statement, followed by an echo. The first, containing the majestic dotted rhythms of a French overture, may represent the Father. The Prelude, set in a key with three flats, is made up of three themes. The Clavier-Übung III is filled with references to Christian numerology, especially to the Trinity. Anne” Fugue because its subject is strikingly similar to William Croft’s English hymn of the same name. Bach published the Clavier-Übung III, a monumental collection of liturgical organ works which is sometimes called the German Organ Mass. The compilation begins and ends with two mighty musical pillars which have been catalogued as the Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major, BWV 552. The latter has been nicknamed the “St. ![]()
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