Bach Recent Chorale Studies, Resources

William L. Hoffman Wrote (May 14, 2022):
Recent chorale research and resources make a strong contribution to Bach studies of this most important genre, particularly in its four-voice harmonic manifestations closing most vocal works and in its free-standing versions, BWV 253-438 (see Wikipedia). The most recent and impressive contribution is Derek Remeš' article, "Bach's Chorale Pedagogy,"¹ where new source findings in reception history from Bach's circle "suggest that a little-known, keyboard chorale tradition also played an important role in Bach’s pedagogy." The three-century traditional vocal four-part (SATB) Choralgsänge style now could be eclipsed by the keyboard two-part (SB) Choralbuch thoroughbass method, often with multiple basslines, with multiple improvisations and strophe settings "for an infinite variety of creative responses," says Remeš, and a greater "sensitivity to textual matters" as Bach sought, instead of "one ideal harmonization of a given melody." Chorale studies and resources often were neglected in Bach scholarship, save for the earlier 20th century English-language pioneering studies of Charles S. Terry (Wikipedia), and Henry S. Drinker (Wikipedia). Chorales now have acquired a plethora of varied Lutheran hymnal pursuits in print and electronic media of great breadth and depth in just the past decade-plus. These other sources range chronologically from Robin A. Leaver's multi-disciplinary Luther's Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications (2007), to Christopher Czarnecki's highly-accessible J. S. Bach 413 Chorales Analyzed: A Study of the Harmony of J. S. Bach (2013) and Luke Dahn's J. S. Bach Chorales (2017, readily available on-line at Bach-Chorales), to the just-emerging Bach: Complete Chorales for Mixed Choir, bi-lingual Breitkopf & Härtel Urtext edition (2021), and the Bach Werke Verzeichnis (BWV, Bach Works' Catalogue), 3rd edition (2022) with its addition of two Bach textbook sources, BWV 1133-4, in a new category of musical/ theoretical works (not for performance). Besides Dahn's online website is the Bach Cantatas Website (BCW) with other valuable resources.

Personal Back Story

Can it be that in the past 60 years, since I began music studies, little has changed in the chorale pedagogical process, that the foundation of theory and harmony, Bach's harmonized chorales, have essentially been taught to collegiate beginners (usually without any historical context) through academic studies such as Walter Piston's Harmony (1941, Amazon.com)!?. Fortunately, in the fall semester of 1962 at The American University (AU), Washington DC, beginning music majors had a choice. Because of an overflow for the first semester harmony class, the professor, Lloyd Ultan, also the new, imported chair of the music department, had to authorize a second section, taught by Norman Scribner (Wikipedia) Scribner, who also presented Bach's Christmas Oratorio in December 1962 at the National Cathedral with the National Symphony Orchestra as director of the AU Choral Union. Scribner instructed his students to take the Piston Harmony book back to the bookstore and exchange it for Bach's 389 Choral-Gesange, ed. Bernhardt Friedrich Richter (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1898). At the end of the semester, Dr. Ultan decided that both classes would take the final exam, which he and Scribner devised. Guess which class did better! More than 30 years later, after no further academic musical training, I enrolled as a graduate student in Music History and Literature at the University of New Mexico (soon after changed to Musicology!). I flunked almost all of the graduate record exam with major deficiency (also called "competency") in theory and harmony. I was told that the non-credit refresher class for post-undergraduate music majors would be of no help to me. How about, I asked, if I audit all four undergraduate semesters?² "Well, it's never been done before." So I did, with a new textbook, Harmony and Voice-Leading by Edward Aldwell and Carl Schachter (Amazon.com), and the professor of the last three semesters (who soon after became department chairman) praised me for my maturity and sense of innate understanding. Voila! I got a Master of Music on the five-year plan while continuing to work full-time.

Leaver: Luther's Liturgical Music

The foundation of the Lutheran chorale was Martin Luther's hymns, which express biblical, theological, and liturgical ingredients as realized in Bach's vocal works (Wikipedia). Luther utilized Latin chants with their associated texts to form the core of liturgy, as well as the German tradition of folk songs, to shape the basic Lutheran chorales. Luther began with the hymnal established and developed between the Forumla missae of 1723 and the Deutsche Messe of 1526, with the expanded role of congregational singing in the vernacular (source, BCW). The hymns served three functions: substitutes for the Mass Ordinary and Propers as liturgical prose, preparation (Gradual songs) for the pulpit sermon on the Sunday and feast day's Gospel, and during communion. Among the first hymns Luther designated, says Leaver,³ was his “Jesus Christus, unser Heiland,” the Catechism Communion Hymn; the German Sanctus, “Jesaja, dem Propheten, das geschah”; the German Creed, “Wir glauben all an einem Gott”; and the German Agnus Dei, (O Christ, Thou Lamb of God). Another category of familiar chorales were the settings of penitential and other psalms, including Psalm 130, the de profundis, especially Luther’s Catechism Confession setting, “Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir” (Out of the deep I cry to you). Luther published his vernacular Deutsche Messe in 1526 and in 1529 published his Large and Small Catechisms, in part to accompany the service. That same year (1529) Luther published Geistliche Lieder, with “its hymns within a carefully constructed and orderly plan,” says Leaver (Ibid.: 109). Following 10 hymns for the church year, from Advent to Trinity, are eight hymns addressing catechism topics. In 1543 the Wittenberg hymnal created “a more coherent and complete collection of catechism hymns . . . with all five parts of the catechism being represented,” says Leaver (Ibid.: 111), with a later addition of Confession (Office of the Keys). Luther's Catechisms had the following subjects and hymns: “Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot” (These are the 10 commandments); the Creed, “Wir glauben all an einen Gott” (We all believe in one God); The Lord’s Prayer (the "Our Father"), “Vater unser im Himmelreich” (Our Father in the heavenly kingdom); Baptism, “Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam” (Christ, our Lord, to the Jordan came); Penitence, “Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir” (Out of the deep I cry to you, Psalm 130); and the Eucharist, “Jesus Christus, unser Heiland” (Jesus Christ, our Savior).

Luther also was involved in pulpit and other liturgical hymns as well as Catechism Morning and Evening Songs (source: BCW, beginning "Deutsche Messe: Two Pulpit Hymns"). Liturgical catechism hymns were set successively in Bach’s Clavierübung III, BWV 678-689, each in two settings (BCW: "Clavierübung III: Catechism Chorales, BWV 678-689," YouTube). The Creed is part of the Deutsche Messe. Although Bach did not compose a thorough, systematic setting of the Deutsche Messe (YouTube), as he had with the Latin Mass Ordinary in his B Minor Mass, he left chorale four-part settings and organ preludes for all the five sections (source: BCW). The vocal settings are: “Kyrie Gott Vater in Ewigkeit,” BWV 371; “Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr’,” BWV 260; “Wir glauben all an einem Gott,” BWV 437; Sanctus, “Heilig, Heilig” (Holy, Holy), BWV 325; and Agnus Dei, “O Lamb Gottes unschuldig,” BWV 401, or “Christe, du Lamb Gottes,” BWV 23/4. Bach composed settings of four of these in the Clavierübung (CU) III, and used the modern Sanctus in place of the CU chorale, Luther’s “Jesaja, dem Propheten, das geschah,” In addition is, Luther’s Grant us Peace setting, “Verlieh uns Frieden,” which Bach harmonized in BWV 126/6 (YouTube) and 42/7 (YouTube).

Two Contrasting, Complementary Studies

Two contrasting, complementary studies of Bach's four-part chorales are found in spiral-binding form. Christopher Czarnecki's J. S. Bach 413 Chorales Analyzed⁴ is a rigorous, analytical, pedagogical examination of Bach chorales, arranged alphabetically with the hymn melody incipit, beginning with the author's No. 1, "Ach bleib uns, Herr Jesu Christ," in the BWV order 253-438, integrating the vocal work designations, beginning with "Ach Gott und Herr," BWVV 48/3, to No. 414, "Wo soll ich fliehen hin," without BWV reference, which is BWV 148/6 untexted, found at BCW: "Untexted, PDF" 148/6 Variation. The remaining Bach settings are found in Czarnecki under the alternate title, "Auf meinen Lieben Gott" (Text No. 2 EKG 289), some with similar harmonizations. Czarnecki's Preface (v-xvi) begins with a caveat: "this study is not meant to be a comprehensive treatment of the thorough-bass system that Bach championed, but rather a contemporary look at these masterpieces in terms that the modern musician will find more accessible than the largely lost art of figured bass." He provides three analytical systems in the two-stave format. The top Alpha notation, found in modern guitar sheet music (with jazz chords), while just below and still above the soprano clef is the passing note system with detailed inner-voice dissonance preparation and resolution in an explanation for Ach Gott, erhör’ mein Seufzen!, BW 254 (Ibid.: xv), and a most graphic figured (thorough) bass Roman numeral harmonic analysis below the bass clef. In the Preface is a section on "The Modern Chord Symbols," with added diminished and augmented symbols and Major Seventh and Diminished-Minor Seventh symbols (Ibid.: vi), as well as "Miscellaneous Chord Symbol Items" (Ibid.: vii); then a section on Roman Numeral Analysis" (Ibid.: vii-ix); a brief 'Thorough-Bass Notes" section (Ibid.: ix); a section on "C.P.E. Bach's Chord Catalogue" (Ibid.: x-xiv); "The Treatment of Dissonances" section (Ibid.: xiv); and "Kirnberger's Table of Dissonances" section (Ibid.: xvi). After the Preface is an Index of the [413] Chorales (Ibid.: xvii-xx) with no BWV number but each of the succeeding pages of chorales (one per page) has an incipit English translation and Bach Ausgabe and BWV numbers, with some having explanatory footnotes. The Preface beginning (Ibid.: v) lists printed studies of Emanuel Bach, Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments; Johann Philip Kirnberger, The Art of Strict Musical Composition; F. T. Arnold, The Art of Accompaniment from a Thorogh-Bass; Johann David Heinichen, Thorough-Bass Accompaniment; and (Pamela Poulin)⁵ J. S. Bach’s Precepts and Principles For Playing the Thorough-Bass or Accompanying in Four Parts (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1994). There is no bibliography but some of the footnotes have biographical information.

The other, contrasting, complementary, four-part study is Luke Dahn's J. S. Bach Chorales,⁶ a new comprehensive edition arranged by BWV catalogue. There are 420 settings in compact format and smaller typeface, each with basic information and the German text of one stanza, without any figured bass notations. The arrangement involves 198 chorales from BWV 1.6 to 248/64 (vocal works) to the stand-alone chorales, BWV 252 to 438, then a few recent BWV editions, 1122-26, ending with "O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid!, BWV deest (Bach Digital). Particularly helpful is the author's Layout Overview / Abbreviations (Ibid.: ix) of the basic information with a brief history of the published chorale collections (with a Timeline of Events, "Timeline of Events Related to the Transmission of Bach Chorales"). After the 420 settings are 14 Indices of valuable information on the chorale and sources (General Table of Contents, Ibid.: i). At Dahn's website are other valuable Resources and Databases (Bach Chorales: Resources) and Articles & Research and a contemporary bibliography (Bach Chorales: Articles), especially Speculations (Bach Chorales: Speculations). A remarkable labor of love and scholarship!

Complete Chorales, Breitkopf & Härtel 2021

As a significant, new contribution to Bach hymnology, Bach's complete, harmonized chorales have just been published in an Urtext musical edition,⁷ edited by Thomas Daniel from Breitkopf & Härtel in two-parts with informative German-English texts (see "Bach books," BCW. It enumerates all of his plain (four-part) chorales in two-stave cantional (songbook) style, involving settings of the Lutheran congregational hymns, beginning in Part I from the sacred (cyclical) vocal works (i.e. cantatas, motets, passions, BWV 1-252), alphabetically listed in numerical designation Nos. 1-198, with BWV numbers (i.e., from No. 1, "Ach Gott und Herr," found in BWV 48/3 = Cantata 48, movement 3, internal chorale). This paperback publication for the first time separates the authentic chorales in Part I from those with suspicious, "partly dubious authorship" (Breitkopf.com: Description) in Part II,⁸ "Chorales from the Posthumous Printings and Sources by Other Hands," also listed alpha-numerically, involving Nos. 201-381 (i.e. beginning No. 201, "Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ," BWV 253), some 186 independent, free-standing plain chorales, BWV 253-438 (BGA Vol. 39, see Wikipedia), followed by Appendices.⁹ Part II involves "individual settings from the prints lacking an authentic source," says Daniel in "Preface" (4), beginning with the Birnstiel 1765/69 print collection of 200 Bach chorales, followed by the complete publication of 370 chorales by Leipzig publisher Breitkopf in four volumes (1784-87), without texts, only the incipit, suggesting these were for study rather than performance.¹⁰ Earlier were the manuscript collections of Bach student(s) Johann Ludwig Dietel (BCW, Wikipedia) and Carl Friedrich Fasch (Wikipedia). Two such chorales, BWV deest, are printed: No. 387, "Auf , auf, mein Herz, mit freuden (Dietel 95, BWV 441)), and No. 388, Welt tobe, Wie du wüte (Penzel 198).

BWV, Bach Works' Catalogue, 3rd ed. 2022

The Bach Werke Verzeichnis (BWV, Bach Works' Catalogue), 3rd edition (2022) has its addition of two Bach through-bass rules textbook sources, BWV 1133-4, in a new category of musical/ theoretical works (not for performance), cited at Wikipedia.¹¹ BWV 1133, Generalbassregeln I (Einige höchst nöthige Regeln vom General Basse) [General Basse Rules I (Some Highly Necessary Rules of General Basse), Google trans.], Bach Digital (Bach Digital); and BWV 1134, Precepts and Principles For Playing the Thorough-Bass or Accompanying in Four Parts (Bach Digital), Bach Digital Bach Digital. While no additional four-part chorale settings have been accepted in BWV ³, organ chorale settings have been as BWV 1168-76: BWV 1167 (Anh. 213) – Organ concerto in F major after a lost concerto by Georg Philipp Telemann (lost); BWV 1168 (Anh. 200) – O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid (fragment); BWV 1169 (Anh. 55) – Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn; BWV 1170 (Anh. 77) – Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn; BWV 1171 – Auf meinen lieben Gott (Emans 30)[109]; BWV 1172 – Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn (Emans 85); BWV 1173 – Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ (Emans 111); BWV 1174 – Komm, heiliger Geist, erfüll die Herzen (Emans 122); BWV 1175 – Es ist das Heil uns kommen her (deest); BWV 1176 – Herr Christ, der einig Gottes Sohn (Anh. 77, Choralpartita, Bärenreiter).

Bach Cantatas Website

Finally, the Bach Cantatas Website (BCW: Homa Page) has various chorale sources: A. Chorale Recordings and Discussions (BCW: Index Vocal: scroll down to "Chorales BWV 250-438"); B. Motets & Chorales for Events in the Lutheran Church Year and (BCW: LCY: Motets & Chorales), C. Chorale Text translations (BCW: Texts: Index Title, BCW: Texts: Chorales: Index Number); D. Chorale Melodies (BCW: CM: Index); and E. Chorales by Theme (Passion Chorale; Clavierübung III, German Organ Mass/Catechism Chorales, BWV 669-689; Luther's Deutsche Messe, Other Liturgical Chorales; Christological Cycle: Penitential/Communion Chorales; Chorales: Psalms, Christian Life, Troubles, Thanks, Weddings; Gloria Settings, BWV 260; Free-Standing Chorales, BWV 253-438; Trinity 21-23, Death & Dying Chorales; Last Trinity Time Sundays' Cantatas, Chorales; Devotional Hymns: Morning, Evening Songs; Blessing & Thanks Hymns as Chorales at Meals; Tafelmusik; Eschatological Chorales, Coming in Judgement; Passiontide Devotional Chorales, Other Weiße Hymns; Holy Week Passion Chorales; Good Friday Chorales; Easter Season Chorales; Chorale-Song Collections, Student Work).

ENDNOTES

¹ Derek Remeš' "Bach's Chorale Pedagogy," BCW: 271ff, May 5, 2022.
² In that time, I found particularly helpful Ultan's contextual Music Theory: Problems and Practices in the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1977), University of Minnesota Press: "Full Details."
³ Robin A. Leaver, Luther’s Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications (Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmanns Publishing, 2007: 231), Amazon.com.
⁴ Christopher Czarnecki, J. S. Bach 413 Chorales Analyzed: A Study of the Harmony of J. S. Bach (Santa Clarita CA: Seezar Publications, 2013); Amazon.com; Look Inside: Bach Chorale Harmony.
⁵ Pamela Poulin, J. S. Bach’s Precepts and Principles For Playing the Thorough-Bass or Accompanying in Four Parts (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1994); Bach Werke Verzeichnis 3rd ed., catalogued as BWV 1134, Generalbassregeln II (Vorschriften und Grundsätze zum vierstimmigen Spielen des General-Bass oder Accompagnement) (Figured Bass Rules II, rules and principles for four-part playing of figured bass or accompaniment), Generalbassregeln II, Bach Digital, textbook Bach Digital, Amazon.com, MT 49, B1713, 1994.