BACH motif
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bes1 a c b!
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/B-a-c-h_Reger.jpg/300px-B-a-c-h_Reger.jpg)
In
Origin
Johann Gottfried Walther's Musicalisches Lexikon (1732) contains the only biographical sketch of Johann Sebastian Bach published during the composer's lifetime. There the motif is mentioned thus:[1]
...all those who carried the name [Bach] were as far as known committed to music, which may be explained by the fact that even the letters b a c h in this order form a melody. (This peculiarity was discovered by Mr. Bach of Leipzig.)
This reference work thus indicates Bach as the inventor of the motif.
Usage in compositions
In a comprehensive study published in the catalogue for the 1985 exhibition "300 Jahre Johann Sebastian Bach" ("300 years of Johann Sebastian Bach") in Stuttgart, Germany, Ulrich Prinz lists 409 works by 330 composers from the 17th to the 20th century using the BACH motif.[2] A similar list is available in Malcolm Boyd's volume on Bach: it also contains some 400 works.[3][page needed]
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach used the motif in a number of works, most famously as a fugue subject in the last Contrapunctus of The Art of Fugue. The motif also appears in other pieces.[4] Later commentators wrote: "The figure occurs so often in Bach's bass lines that it cannot have been accidental."[5]
Instances of B–A–C–H appearing in Johann Sebastian Bach's compositions and arrangements:
- Fugue from his BWV 898
- Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, BWV 1047 (the continuo part at bar 109)
- Gigue from his English Suite No. 6 for keyboard
- The subject of the Sinfonia in F minor BWV 795 "incorporates"[6] a version of the motif. This five-note version appears transposed: a♭'–g' (rest) g'–b♭'–a'. Eventually, in measure 17, the piece makes its way to a passage in which the five-note version of the motif starts on B♭: as B–A–(rest)–A–C–H.
- His arrangement of a motet for SSATB singers
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Kuhnau.tristis.jpg/570px-Kuhnau.tristis.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Musik.beispiel.b-a-c-h.jpg/570px-Musik.beispiel.b-a-c-h.jpg)
- Near the end of the Augmentation Canon of Bach's Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her", BWV 769:[4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/B.W.XL.p145_-_BACH_motif_in_end_of_Augmentation_Canon_of_Canonic_Variations%2C_BWV_769.jpg/570px-B.W.XL.p145_-_BACH_motif_in_end_of_Augmentation_Canon_of_Canonic_Variations%2C_BWV_769.jpg)
- Near the end of Contrapunctus IV of The Art of Fugue:[7]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/B.W.XXV.%281%29p18_-_Bach_motif_in_last_bars_of_Contrapunctus_IV_of_Art_of_Fugue.jpg/570px-B.W.XXV.%281%29p18_-_Bach_motif_in_last_bars_of_Contrapunctus_IV_of_Art_of_Fugue.jpg)
- As first four notes of the third and last subject of the final unfinished fugue of The Art of Fugue:[8]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/B.W.XXV.%281%29p100_-_third_subject_of_the_unfinished_fugue_of_Art_of_Fugue.jpg/570px-B.W.XXV.%281%29p100_-_third_subject_of_the_unfinished_fugue_of_Art_of_Fugue.jpg)
Other composers
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Schumann%2C_Sechs_Fugen_for_organ%2C_op._60%2C_no._5%2C_mm._1-4.png/390px-Schumann%2C_Sechs_Fugen_for_organ%2C_op._60%2C_no._5%2C_mm._1-4.png)
The motif may be used in different ways: here it is only the beginning of an extended melody.[13]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Charles_Ives%2C_3-Page_Sonata%2C_1st_mvt.%2C_Bach_motif.png/390px-Charles_Ives%2C_3-Page_Sonata%2C_1st_mvt.%2C_Bach_motif.png)
The BACH motif from The Art of Fugue Contrapunctus XIXc is the "1st Theme'/fugue subject" of Ives' combined sonata-allegro and fugal procedures.[14]
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bes1 a c b!
dis e cis d
ges, f aes g
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The motif was used as a fugue subject by Bach's son Johann Christian, and by his pupil Johann Ludwig Krebs. It also appears in a work by Georg Philipp Telemann.[15]
The motif's wide popularity came only after the start of the
- 1845 – Robert Schumann: Sechs Fugen über den Namen: Bach, for organ, pedal piano, or harmonium, Op. 60[12][16]
- 1855 – Franz Liszt: Fantasy and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H, for organ (later revised, 1870, and arranged, 1871, for piano)[17]
- 1856 – Johannes Brahms: Fugue in A-flat minor for organ, WoO 8[16]
- 1878 – Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov– Valse, Intermezzo, Scherzo, Nocturne, Prelude et Fugue (Six Variations) sur le thème B–A–C–H
Composers found that the motif could be easily incorporated not only into the advanced harmonic writing of the 19th century, but also into the totally chromatic idiom of the Second Viennese School; so it was used by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and their disciples and followers. A few 20th-century works that feature the motif prominently are:
- 1926–28 – Arnold Schoenberg: Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31[18]
- 1937–38 – Anton Webern: String Quartet (the tone row is based on the BACH motif)[19]
- 1942 – Charles Koechlin: Offrande musicale sur le nom de Bach, Op.187[20]
- 1951–55 – Luigi Dallapiccola:
- 1951–55: "Canti di liberazione"[21][page needed]
- 1952: Quaderno musicale di Annalibera for piano [21][page needed]
- 1954: Variazioni ("Variations" 1942, orchestral version of Quaderno musicale di Annalibera)[21][page needed]
- 1966 – Krzysztof Penderecki: St Luke Passion
- 1968–81 – Alfred Schnittke:
- 1968:
- 1981: Symphony No. 3 – used alongside the monograms of several other composers.[24]
- 1974 – Jon Lord and Eberhard Schoener: Continuo On B.A.C.H. on the album Windows
- 1992 – Ron Nelson: Passacaglia (Homage on B–A–C–H) for wind ensemble
In the 21st century, composers continue writing works using the motif, frequently in homage to Johann Sebastian Bach.[4]
References
- ^ Johann Gottfried Walther Musicalisches Lexicon oder Musicalische Bibliothec, p. 64. Leipzig, W. Deer. 1732.
- ISBN 3-7952-0459-3
- ISBN 0-19-530771-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.
- ISBN 0-415-96642-6. See Godt 1979.
- ISBN 0-415-97399-6.
- ^ Cumming 2000, p. 256.
- ^ a b Brandstätter 1990.
- ^ Eggebrecht 1985, p. 15 (in German), or Eggebrecht 1993, p. 8 (translated), cited in Brandstätter 1990, p. 163, Kivy 2000, p. 380, and Cumming 2000, p. 256.
- ^ Kivy 2000, "The Solution", pp. 380–381.
- ^ Cumming 2000, pp. 256–257.
- ^ ISBN 0-674-01037-X.
- ISBN 0-19-509180-9.
- ISBN 0-252-02788-4. "The reference could not be more clear."
- ^ Jones, Ben. "B–A–C–H motif in Oboe Concerto, TWV 51:D6 (Telemann, Georg Philipp)". IMSLP. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
there is a clear B.A.C.H. motif at the beginning of the Adagio
- ^ ISBN 0-8153-3850-3.
- ISBN 0-313-30689-3.
- ISBN 978-0-520-06009-8
- ISBN 978-0-521-54796-3
- OCLC 18833927.
- ^ ISBN 1-58046-078-X.
- ^ Schmelz, Peter J (2009). Such Freedom, If Only Musical: Unofficial Soviet Music During the Thaw. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 255.
- ISBN 0-19-534193-7.
- ^ Ivashkin, Alexander (2009) Liner notes to BIS complete symphony cycle, BIS-CD-1767-68
Sources
- ISBN 9783476044600.
- Cumming, Naomi (2000). "8. Culturally Embedded Signs", subsection "2. Skeptical Issues", part "a. Humpty Dumpty and the New Musicology". The Sonic Self: Musical Subjectivity and Signification. Indiana University Press. pp. 254–258. ISBN 0253337542.
- ISBN 379590725X.
- ISBN 0813814898.
- ISBN 0198167342.
- Orledge, Robert. Charles Koechlin (1867-1950) His Life and Works. Harwood Academic Publishers pp. 197-198. ISBN 3-7186-0609-7.
Further reading
- Seyoung Jeong (2009). Four Modern Piano Compositions Incorporating the B–A–C–H Motive. ISBN 3-8364-9768-9.
- Schuyler Watrous Robinson (1972). The B–A–C–H Motive in German Keyboard Compositions from the Time of J.S. Bach to the Present (thesis, University of Illinois)
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)