Discussion of Bach's Magnificat, part 2. T.
Herbert Dimmock discusses the second half of the work. BDP #309. http://bachinbaltimore.org/.
<music: J. S. Bach,
Brandenburg Concerto No. 1>
We get to the text Et misericordia “and His mercy will be on me forever. Bach for comfort—this is a comforting idea—Bach uses a pastorale idea. That is to say music in 1 and a, 2 and a, 3 … so 4 beats that divide into three parts. Here we have two flutes and strings with their mutes on. So, it is a delicate, warm, gentle sound. You hear this gentle, undulating bands of these high instruments. The flutes double with the first and second violins and the viola. This is a beautiful and comforting idea because the mercy is coming to us and that is of great comfort.
[Music]
Underneath what you just heard on that beautiful recording, the low instruments have an accompaniment. Let me play it for you first and ask you what it is. [Music] What comes into your mind? Well, if you study the music of Bach, you know that he likes to use octaves to represent God. This is nothing but a series of octaves. [Octaves] They descend in a chromatic way. [Chromatic notes]. So, what Bach is saying is that the mercy—he is saying that in the music, it is not in the text—the mercy comes from God. [Octaves} But why the chromatic line descending? [Chromatic notes] Because the chromatic descending line for Bach is a symbol of the crucifixion. Lutheran theology, which Bach whole-heartedly embraced, says that salvation is possible because of God’s sacrifice on the cross. The mercy flows out of a godly sacrifice in the crucifixion. All of that is a musical commentary made with the instruments. It is an amazing achievement and it is all done in a very beautiful way.
The second movement is Fecit potentiam “For He has made me mighty with His arm.” In the full chorus of that, they have made me powerful and mighty, they come in and sing a fanfare [music]. There is a sound like a royal, powerful thing. And then “with His arm.” You can see in the score that it has this block of sound and then one line come out. It is like a torso with an arm extending out. What you see is on the word potentiam cum brachio, with His arm. Here is the sound of the arm.
[music]
An extended line, and extended arm. Of course when that happens in the beginning only the arm escapes, the rest—the body of singers is quiet.
The next piece is an aria. “For he has sent the mighty away.” Before we had a powerful arm, now that arm with little flick, with a little flick of the almighty wrist the powerful are knocked off their thrones. The immoral, powerful leaders of the world are just knocked aside.
[music]
Each line finishes abruptly with just a flick of the wrist, dismissing the powerful.
Two flutes come in the next movement accompanying the alto, who sings “He has filled the hungry with good things.” Bach shows this idea of filling almost like with cascades of water. The lines flow down from heaven above. You can hear in this recording how one flute comes down, then the next flute comes down, and they overlap like gentle waves lapping, as they flow into humanity. So, He has filled the hungry with good things. The good things flow down from heaven above into humanity down below.
Suppose that you were out and about and you heard some music coming, the doors were open and you were allowed to come join a concert. When you came in you heard a very fine choir singing this.
[music]
If you heard a choir singing that, you just wondered in, and you didn’t know the Bach Magnificat from cover to cover, you would think that you were hearing a choir that specialized idn older music. That piece is actually written in the style of Palestrina. Palestrina was Bach’s musical forebearer, born in 1515. He was born exactly 150 years before Bach. The text here is Sicut lecutus est ad Patres nostros Abraham, “As He has promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed forever. So, Bach looks back to his musical forefather and used his musical forefather’s musical style to show the lineage of that promise, which goes back in time. Just as Palestrina would have done the melody moves by steps. It tends to have long notes particularly at the beginning. The voices come in in order: bass, tenor, alto, second soprano, first soprano. This is all a very logical, orderly approach to the composition. This is exactly what Palestrina was known for and loved for. So, “As He has promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed forever. It is beautiful.
Now the piece ends with the Gloria Patri, “Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The last text of that is “as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. So, Bach just can’t resist. He has a little fanfare [music]. Members of the choir all sing together with the orchestra. Then they come in with these lines [music]. All voices coming in one after the other. The lines go up raising praises toward heaven. After that short setting of the word Gloria, “as it was in the beginning, so it shall be forever.” So, Bach brings back the music from the beginning: the same notes, the same organization, the same approach and finishes his wonderful oratorio The Magnificat. It is just a wonderful piece.
Bach in Baltimore has performed it only once in our thirty-three years. I am pleased to say that we have it on in our schedule coming up on the next couple of seasons.
We hope to see you there when we perform it next. Thank you.
<music: J. S. Bach,
Brandenburg Concerto No. 1>