Chapter IX: Bach’s Compositions

To have produced so many great works in all forms of musical expression Bach necessarily must have been a prolific writer. For if a composer be the greatest genius in the world, unless he constantly exercises his art he cannot hope to produce real masterpieces. Superlative excellence is the fruit of indefatigable application. Yet in Bach’s case we should be wrong to acclaim as masterpieces all the products of his great activity just because masterpieces at length were the fruit of it. Already in his early compositions we find undeniable evidence of genius. But they are blemished by faults, passages poor in quality, extravagant, insipid, that are hardly worth preserving, though of interest to the student who wishes to trace from its source the development of Bach’s genius.

It is not difficult to distinguish with exactitude those of Bach’s early compositions which are of the first excellence; for he has been at pains to give us the clue. As he did not publish his first work until he was about forty years old (223) we are justified in assuming the merit of what, at so mature an age, he thought worthy to put into print, and in concluding generally that all his engraved works are of first-rate merit.(224)

With respect to his unpublished compositions, and they are by far the most numerous, we must in order to distinguish their merit rely partly on a critical examination of their texts, partly on Bach’s own judgment. Like all great composers, he was continually working on his compositions with a view to making them still more finished. Indeed, he actually attempted to improve some of them that were already perfect. Any that were susceptible of improvement he improved, even those already engraved. Such is the origin of the variant readings of his works found in older and more recent texts. By constantly retouching his compositions Bach aimed at making them indisputable masterpieces. In this category I place most of what he wrote before the year 1725, as I show in detail in the following catalogue. A great many compositions subsequent to 1725, which for reasons easily understood are still in MS., bear too evidently the stamp of perfection to leave us in doubt whether to class them as early essays or as the finished work of an accomplished master.

The following are those of Bach’s works which have been engraved:

1. _Clavierübung_, or “Exercises for the Clavier, consisting of
Preludes, Allemandes, Courantes, Sarabandes, Gigues, Minuets, etc.,
for the Diversion of Amateurs. Opus I. Published by the Composer,
1731.” This was Bach’s first published work and contains six
Suites. The first of them came out in 1726;(225) the others
followed in successive years until all were engraved together in
1731.(226) The work was much noticed at the time. Such compositions
for the Clavier had not been seen or heard before, and the man who
could play them was sure of a success. Our young players to-day
would profit by the study of them, so brilliant, agreeable,
expressive, and original are they. In the new edition(227) they are
entitled, “Exercises for the Clavier.”
2. _Clavierübung_, or “Exercises for the Clavier, Part II.,
consisting of a Concerto in the Italian style and an Overture in the
French manner(228) for a Clavier with two manuals. Published by
Christopher Weigel, Junior, in Nürnberg.”(229)
3. _Clavierübung_, or “Exercises for the Clavier, Part III.,
consisting of various Organ Preludes to the Catechism and other
Hymns, composed for the diversion of amateurs and particularly of
competent judges of such works. Published by the Composer.”
Besides the Preludes and Fugues for the Organ, all of which are
masterly, the book contains four Duetti for the Clavier,(230) models
of their kind.
4. _Sechs Choräle_, or “Six Choral Melodies of different kinds, for
an Organ with two manuals and pedal. Zella, in the Thuringian
Forest. Published by Johann G. Schübler.”(231) They are full of
dignity and religious feeling. In some of them, too, we have
instances of Bach’s original management of the stops.(232) Thus, in
the second Choral, _Wo soll ich fliehen hin,_ he gives to the first
manual an 8 foot, to the second a 16 foot, and to the pedal a 4 foot
stop. The pedal has the cantus firmus.(233)
5. _Clavierübung_, or “Exercises for the Clavier, consisting of an
Aria with several Variations, for a Clavier with two manuals.
Published by Balthasar Schmidt at Nürnberg.”(234) This admirable
work consists of thirty Variations, some in canon, in a variety of
movements and at all intervals from the unison to the ninth, with
easy flowing melody. It includes a regular fourpart Fugue,(235)
several extremely brillant Variations for two Claviers,(236) and
concludes with a Quodlibet, as it is called, which alone would
render its composer immortal, though it is not the best thing in the
volume.(237)

The Variations are models of what such compositions ought to be,
though no one has been so rash as to attempt to follow Bach’s
footsteps. We owe them to Count Kaiserling, formerly Russian
Ambassador at the Saxon Electoral Court, who frequently visited
Leipzig with Goldberg, already mentioned(238) among Bach’s pupils.
The Count was a great invalid and suffered from insomnia. Goldberg
lived in the Ambassador’s house, and slept in an adjoining room, to
be ready to play to him when he was wakeful. One day the Count
asked Bach to write for Goldberg some Clavier music of a soothing
and cheerful character, that would relieve the tedium of sleepless
nights. Bach thought a set of Variations most likely to fulfil the
Count’s needs, though, on account of the recurrence of the same
basic harmony throughout, it was a form to which he had hitherto
paid little attention. Like all his compositions at this period,
however, the Variations are a masterpiece, and are the only example
he has left us of this form.(239) The Count always called them “my
Variations” and was never weary of hearing them. For long
afterwards, when he could not sleep, he would say, “Play me one of
my Variations, Goldberg.” Perhaps Bach was never so well rewarded
for any composition as for this. The Count gave him a golden goblet
containing one hundred louis d’ors, though, as a work of art, Bach
would not have been overpaid had the present been a thousand times
as large. It may be observed, that in the engraved copy of the
Variations there are serious mistakes, which the composer has
corrected in his own copy.(240)

6. _Einige kanonische Verdäderungen,_ “Canonic Variations on the
Christmas Hymn ‘Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her,’ for an Organ with
two manuals and pedal. Published at Nürnberg by Balthasar Schmidt.”
The work contains five canonic variations of the utmost
ingenuity.(241)
7. _Musikalisches Opfer_, or “A Musical Offering,” dedicated to
Frederick II., King of Prussia. The theme received by Bach from the
King(242) is treated first as a three-part Fugue under the acrostic
title “Ricercare” (Regis iussu cantio et reliqua canonica arte
resoluta). There follows a six-part “Ricercare” and Thematis regii
elaborationes canonicae of various kinds.(243) The work includes a
Trio for Flute, Violin, and Clavier upon the same subject.(244)
8. _Die Kunst der Fuge_, or “The Art of Fugue.” This work, unique
of its kind, did not appear till about 1752, after Bach’s death,
though the greater part of it had been engraved by his sons during
his lifetime.(245) Marpurg,(246) the leading German musical critic
of that day, contributed a preface to this edition which contains
many just observations on the value and utility of such
treatises.(247) But, being too good for the general public, the work
found only a small circulation among those who discerned its merit
and eagerly bought copies. The plates were never used again and
eventually were sold(248) by Bach’s heirs at the price of old
copper. Written by a man of Bach’s transcendent genius, and
commended as a masterpiece by a critic so highly regarded as
Marpurg, a work of this kind, if published in any other country than
Germany, would have passed through at least ten editions by now, if
only at the bidding of patriotism. But in Germany not a sufficient
number of copies was sold to pay for the plates used in engraving
the work!

The work consists of fugal Variations planned on the most elaborate
scale.(249) The composer’s intention was to show in what a variety
of ways the same theme can be treated fugally. The Variations (here
called “Contrapunctus”)(250) are complete Fugues upon the same
theme. The last Fugue of all has three subjects, in the third of
which the composer signs his name, B A C H.(251) Bach was prevented
from finishing it by the disorder of his eyes, and as an operation
brought no relief the movement was never completed. It is said that
Bach intended to introduce four themes into it and to bring it to an
impressive conclusion by inverting them all. All the Fugues in the
work are equally smooth and melodious.

To make up for the unfinished Fugue Bach concluded the work with a
Choral Prelude upon the tune “Wenn wir in höchsten Nöthen sein,”
which he dictated to his son-in-law, Altnikol, a few days before his
death.(252) Of the extraordinary skill it displays I do not speak,
save to remark that even in his last illness it proclaims Bach’s
skill undiminished. The pious resignation and devotion that
characterise it move me deeply whenever I play it. Nor should I
find it easy to say which I had rather had been omitted, the Choral
Prelude, or the conclusion of the unfinished Fugue.

9. Lastly, after Bach’s death, his four-part Chorals were collected
by his son, Carl Philipp Emmanuel, and were published by Birnstiel
(Berlin and Leipzig), Part I. in 1765, Part II. in 1769.(253) Each
Part contains one hundred Chorals, mostly taken from the composer’s
church Cantatas.

More recently Kirnberger edited, in four volumes, a collection of
Bach’s Chorals. They are published by Breitkopf.(254)

Bach’s works, still in MS., consist of compositions for the Clavier,
Organ, with and without other instruments, Strings, and the voice.
I will enumerate them in that order.

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 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,
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. 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 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.

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 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 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, 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:

1. _The Great Preludes and Fugues_, with obbligato pedal. Their
number cannot be stated, but I believe it not to exceed a
dozen.(286) At least, after prolonged search I have not been able to
collect more than that number.(287) To these I must add a very
clever and original Passacaglia, which, however, seems suitable
rather for a two-manual Clavicembalo and pedal than for the
Organ.(288)
2. _Preludes on Choral Melodies_. It was at Arnstadt that Bach began
to compose Variations on Choral melodies, under the title _Partite
diverse._(289) Most of them can be played on the manuals alone.
Those which I include here are an exception and require the
obbligato pedal. Their number may amount to one hundred. I myself
possess above seventy, and more survive elsewhere.(290) No other
Choral Preludes approach them in religious feeling, dignity, and
sublimity of expression. I cannot notice them individually; they
are too numerous. Besides the larger, there is a great number of
shorter and easier ones, particularly useful for young players.
MSS. of them exist in considerable number.(291)
3. _Six Sonatas_, or Trios, for two manuals and an obbligato
pedal.(292) Bach wrote them for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann,
whom they helped to become the great performer he was when I knew
him. It is impossible to overpraise their beauty. Bach composed
them when he was in the full vigour of his powers, and they may be
considered his chef d’oeuvre in this form.(293) He also wrote other
Organ Sonatas, the MSS. of which are in various collections. They
are fine compositions, though they do not equal the Six in
merit.(294)

IV. Instrumental Music

There are few instruments for which Bach did not write. In his day it was usual to play a Concerto or instrumental Solo during the Communion office.(295) Bach composed many of these pieces himself, and always with a view to their improving the technique of the player. Most of them are lost. But two important works of another kind survive and to some extent compensate us. They are:

1. Six Solos for Violin, unaccompanied.(296)
2. Six Solos for Violoncello, unaccompanied.(297) The Violin Solos
have long been considered by the finest players to be the best
instructor for the instrument. The Violoncello Solos are equally
effective.(298)

V. Vocal Music

1. Five complete sets of church Cantatas for the Sundays and
Festivals of the year.(299)
2. Five compositions for Holy Week, one of which is for double
chorus.(300)
3. Several Oratorios,(301) Masses,(302) a _Magnificat,_ settings of
the Sanctus,(303) compositions for birthdays and Saints’ Days,(304)
funerals,(305) marriages,(306) and some Italian Cantatas.(307)
4. Several Motets for single and double chorus.(308)

Most of these works are now dispersed. The Church Cantatas were divided between his elder sons after their composer’s death. Wilhelm Friedemann had the larger share because, being organist at Halle, he could make use of them. Later, circumstances compelled him to part with them gradually. I know of no other collection of Bach’s larger choral works. There exist, however, eight or ten Motets for double chorus, but they are dispersed in various hands.(309) In the collection bequeathed by the Princess Amalia of Prussia to the Joachimsthal Gymnasium at Berlin there are some of Bach’s vocal compositions.(310) Their number is not considerable, but among them are the following:

1. Twenty-one Church Cantatas.(311) In one of them, set to the
words, _Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde,_(312) the composer
introduces a bell obbligato. From that fact we may conclude that
the Cantata was not composed in the period of Bach’s maturity,(313)
for the use of bells is of doubtful taste.
2. Two Masses for five voices with instrumental accompaniment.(314)
3. A Mass for double chorus, the first being accompanied by Strings
and the second by wind instruments.(315)
4. A _Passion,_ for double Chorus,(316) the text by Picander.(317)
5. A _Sanctus,_ for four voices and instrumental accompaniment.(318)
6. A Motet, for four voices, _Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu
dir._(319)
7. A Motet for five voices, _Jesu, meine Freude._
8. Four Motets, for eight voices in double chorus:

(a) _Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin dei dir._
(b) _Der Geist hilft unserer Schwachheit auf._
(c) _Komm, Jesu, komm._
(d) _Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied._(320)

9. A detached four-part fugal chorus, _Nimm was dein ist, und gehe
hin._(321)
10. A bucolic Cantata, with Recitatives, Aria, Duet, and Chorus. A
note is prefixed to it.(322)

On the MS. of the last-named Cantata and of the Mass for double
chorus (No. 3 supra) there is a note by Kirnberger analysing the
skill and merit of the compositions.