Mus140 Lecture 5
Bach’s desire for a well-regulated church music
The function of music within the Lutheran liturgy
Luther ‘ next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise’.
Luthers main aims to encourage congregation to participate and reflect upon the religious experiences.
Bachs music = THRUST in liturgical hymns and sermons
The example of the st matthew passion, its levels of meaning and significance.
Passions are sermon sandwiches. It phrases the sermon. First part encourages sort of drama directed towards a subject (the holy priest) – 2nd part is somewhat like a meditation.
The passion and the opera: similarities and differences
PINNACLE
The passion and the cantata: similarities and differences
The passion story: the story of the Crucifixion as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The passion works on several levels of meaning –
Specific musical examples of those levels.
NARRATIVE: telling a story using recitative – the main way of communicating text and drama – getting messages across and relaying information. SPEECH-LIKE and spontaneous-sounding solo singing, free in rhythm and meter, and a lacking melodic sense. Accompanied by CONTINUO group with CADENTIAL and STRUCTURAL chords, and occasional dramatic effects.
Monumental: the evocation of grandeur (scale) and various time-zones
Frames the chorus and shit
Devotional: the function of the chorale. It provided the opportunity for congregational singing – creating a sense continuity in the narrative.
MUSIC STYLE: steady pulse
Chorale also has a dramatic function (chorus has a part to play in the drama) then the congregation becomes a character – they acknowledge their guilt and sins. They realize their own position in the scripture.
They sing (in appropriate homophony) of the collective need for redemption.
Meditative: opportunity for disciplined contemplation of the religious story, owing to music’s rhetorical ‘Affekt’ (expressive character).
The function of music within the Lutheran liturgy
Luther ‘ next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise’.
Luthers main aims to encourage congregation to participate and reflect upon the religious experiences.
Bachs music = THRUST in liturgical hymns and sermons
The example of the st matthew passion, its levels of meaning and significance.
Passions are sermon sandwiches. It phrases the sermon. First part encourages sort of drama directed towards a subject (the holy priest) – 2nd part is somewhat like a meditation.
The passion and the opera: similarities and differences
PINNACLE
The passion and the cantata: similarities and differences
The passion story: the story of the Crucifixion as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The passion works on several levels of meaning –
Specific musical examples of those levels.
NARRATIVE: telling a story using recitative – the main way of communicating text and drama – getting messages across and relaying information. SPEECH-LIKE and spontaneous-sounding solo singing, free in rhythm and meter, and a lacking melodic sense. Accompanied by CONTINUO group with CADENTIAL and STRUCTURAL chords, and occasional dramatic effects.
Monumental: the evocation of grandeur (scale) and various time-zones
Frames the chorus and shit
Devotional: the function of the chorale. It provided the opportunity for congregational singing – creating a sense continuity in the narrative.
MUSIC STYLE: steady pulse
Chorale also has a dramatic function (chorus has a part to play in the drama) then the congregation becomes a character – they acknowledge their guilt and sins. They realize their own position in the scripture.
They sing (in appropriate homophony) of the collective need for redemption.
Meditative: opportunity for disciplined contemplation of the religious story, owing to music’s rhetorical ‘Affekt’ (expressive character).