Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso
organist than as a composer in his day. His sacred
music, organ and choral works, and other instrumental
music had an enthusiasm and seeming freedom that
concealed immense rigor. Bach's use of counterpoint was
brilliant and innovative, and the immense complexities
of his compositional style -- which often included
religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit
perfectly together in a profound puzzle of special
codes -- still amaze musici...(+)
Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso
organist than as a composer in his day. His sacred
music, organ and choral works, and other instrumental
music had an enthusiasm and seeming freedom that
concealed immense rigor. Bach's use of counterpoint was
brilliant and innovative, and the immense complexities
of his compositional style -- which often included
religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit
perfectly together in a profound puzzle of special
codes -- still amaze musicians today. Many consider him
the greatest composer of all time.
As a young man he developed a rather unique talent for
writing long passages of pseudo recitative for the
organ, trusting the acoustics of the building to 'fill
out' the harmony the listener experiences, even though
no more than a single note at any one time is being
played. The organ wasn't the only instrument where he
displayed this skill as with his Cello sonatas.
Although Bach was still quite young, this is one of the
last 'major' works that he wrote for organ. (The
Passacaglia followed it a year later. The high pitched
rhapsodic passage, even if heard in superb, reverberant
conditions, is sometimes hard to understand. Many
people think the composer slightly mad when he wrote
it, The sound is possibly vague, and the direction it
is heading is often found to be impossible to
ascertain. Many are mystified by it and Ideally, it
should be played just a little bit slower, and
considerably softer - under those conditions, you will
actually hear, as if by sorcery, a magnificent
progression of sometimes dissonant chords, and the
emotional response is often considerable.
Although written for Organ, I created this arrangement
for Solo Viola.
SHEET MUSIC