Chapter 11: Class of 1685 (II): The Vocal Music of Handel and Bach
I. Handel A. Introduction 1. In every idiom, Handel’s music is imbued with aspects of music for theater. 2. In the early eighteenth century, opera tended to be formulaic, which made it possible to compose quite a few in a short period. 3. Handel’s Giulio Cesare is a prime example of the composer’s operatic style, written at the height of his career (1724). 4. The aria “Empio, diró, tu sei” contains several exciting aspects of what Handel could do within a da capo aria. a. Ritornello b. Word-painting in both harmony and melodic line c. Contrast (B section) d. Counterpoint, which, unlike the previous elements, reflects his German background 5. Handel eventually fell out of favor with London audiences, who came to prefer the lighter works, such as the genre known as ballad opera.
B. Lofty Entertainments 1. As his operas declined in popularity, Handel realized that he would need a new outlet to continue his career in England. He returned to the genre of oratorio. a. He had composed two Italian oratorios while in Rome. b. A performance of Esther in 1732 showed Handel that there was public interest in such works. c. His Saul (1739) introduced a new type of oratorio, now known as the Handelian oratorio. 1) It is an opera seria based on a biblical subject. 2) It was not acted onstage; there are no sets and costumes. 3) Structurally, it followed operatic conventions of recit/aria. 4) The addition of large choruses differed from opera, but made for dramatic excitement. 5) The orchestra was large and colorful by mid-eighteenth-century standards. d. Israel in Egypt (later in 1739) moved the genre further away from opera in its lack of personal dramatic action in favor of colorful choruses that supply the narrative. 1) This use of chorus, now considered indicative of Handel’s oratorios, moved the genre from one for soloists to one for choir (“anthem oratorio”). 2) The choir depicts the various nature (plagues) in somewhat graphic imagery, much in the way of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
C. Messiah 1. The Messiah includes aspects associated with Handel’s other works, but it differs in its New Testament subject. 2. Handel composed Messiah supposedly in twenty-four days.
3. It has never gone out of the repertory—an unusual feat—although it took a few years to gain true popularity (1742–1750).
D. “Borrowing” 1. Handel’s alarming speed in composing Messiah was due in part to being able to recycle pre-composed music. 2. Such borrowing was common, and Handel partook frequently. a. Almost half of Israel in Egypt derives from works by other composers. b. Some scholars have attributed Handel’s numerous borrowings in the 1730s to a stroke in 1737. c. Others comment that it was not until the nineteenth century that modern ideas about copyright came into being, and to apply them to Handel is unfair. 1) It must be noted that Handel often made these works more brilliant. 2) Some of Handel’s contemporaries commented (negatively) on his excessive borrowing. 3. Handel borrowed extensively from himself in Messiah. a. Such borrowing explains why some of the choruses are so difficult: they were originally intended for soloists. b. Modern attitudes tend to see Messiah as church music, but for Handel such was not the case.
II. Bach A. Bach’s Cantatas 1. Bach’s contemporaries considered his sacred vocal music to be his chief contribution. 2. Unlike Handel’s, Bach’s vocal music was intended for church (most of it). 3. Although he disparaged operatic “tunes” he nonetheless adopted some of the dramatic devices associated with opera. 4. Texts published by Neumeister altered the traditional biblical verses associated with chorales into little poems that contained an emotional response to the texts, functionally as arias do. a. He published texts called “cantatas” for the entire liturgical year. b. Bach set up to five cycles, three of which survive. 5. Of the Bach cantatas: They include both secular and sacred; only a few of the surviving 200 use Neumeister’s texts; most follow operatic conventions of recit/aria (da capo) mixed in with chorale settings.
B. Death Set to Music 1. Bach’s cantata Christ lag in Todesbanden (BWV 4) dates from early in his career: 1707 Mühlhausen, as part of his application for the organist position. 2. The work consists of variations on the chorale, and the text matches the chorale exactly. 3. Each verse is set differently. a. The first verse is long, with the chorale as a cantus firmus in the soprano. Points of imitation in the other voices give this verse a motet style, although the harmony is more modern. The instrumental accompaniment is equally active. For the “Hallelujah!,” the speed of the cantus firmus matches the other voices.
b. The second verse is duet over a ground bass, with the chorale tune in the soprano, although it is somewhat decorated. c. The third verse is for tenor alone, singing the chorale over accompaniment. The general style is similar to an organ setting for three parts. d. Motet style returns for the fourth verse, but differs significantly from the first, especially in the accompaniment (which is reserved, more like a basso continuo). e. The fifth verse most closely approximates an operatic type: the lament. The vocal part must make some wide, dissonant leaps to vividly reflect the text. f. To reflect the text (to “mark the occasion”), Bach incorporates elements of a French overture—perhaps the most regal genre available in 1707. After the stately opening, the singers move to joyous triplets (also reminiscent of the genre). g. The final verse is set in four parts, like a hymn; it is possible that the congregation joined in here.
C. What Music Is For 1. Almost two decades after Christ lag, Bach composed a cantata on the Reformation chorale (by Luther) Ein’ feste Burg (BWV 80) for performance in Leipzig, 31 October 1724. a. Bach alternates chorale verses with recit/arias (text by Salomo Franck, similar to Neumeister). b. His son, Wilhelm Friedmann, later added three trumpets and timpani to the scoring, which may have been used in a 1730 performance. c. Bach specified the number of singers (twelve to sixteen) and instrumentalists (eighteen) needed to perform grand music, but he usually had a smaller group. 2. Enlightenment writers saw music as something that was pleasant, gratifying, and improving, but ultimately unnecessary. 3. Bach’s view was vastly different—he belonged to an earlier era when music could persuade and reveal. If what he wished to convey was positive, the music conveyed that. But if he was after a different emotion or reaction, Bach could write very disturbing music that is difficult to accept as “pleasing.” a. We can see this approach in Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott (BWV 101). 1) The text includes words such as “punishment,” “distress,” “war,” etc. 2) Bach sets these words with unbelievable dissonances that are not meant to entertain, as Handel’s insects do in Israel in Egypt, but to move us to feel the emotions associated with the words. b. Other settings indicate that Bach did not believe in Enlightenment ideals. 1) In addition to text-setting, Bach demanded his instrumentalists (and singers) reach beyond their comfort zones to express the message. 2) The technical difficulty Bach required is one reason many of his cantatas are not frequently performed today. Most of those that are popular have special gimmicks that endear them to modern audiences, such as an amusing storyline or outrageously brilliant vocal display.
D. Bach’s “Testaments” 1. Bach’s most familiar religious works are the large-scale works: Passions and the Mass in B Minor, which became part of the concert repertory in the nineteenth century. 2. The Passion oratorios were written for church use, for Good Friday, in the 1720s.
a. They are semi-dramatic works with character roles, such as the Evangelist, and the chorus often acts as the “crowd.” b. Reflective arias interrupt the action (which takes place in recitatives). 3. The Passions are the closest pieces to opera that Bach wrote. a. St. John is more like an opera in its drama. b. St. Matthew is more contemplative. 1) Bach recognized the uniqueness of this Passion among his works. 2) When it was rediscovered in the early nineteenth century, a new attitude toward Bach developed. Part of the appreciation for Bach at this time was in reaction to the Enlightenment—which is logical when we understand Bach as being “anti-Enlightenment.”
E. Cursed Questions 1. When nineteenth-century performers resurrected Bach’s vocal music, they did so in a context far removed from that in which it was created. 2. One obvious issue in the St. John Passion text is the way the Jews were treated. a. Blood libel, or blaming the Jews for the crucifixion, was taken for granted in the eighteenth century, even if scholarship has shown this to be an irresponsible interpretation. b. The text raises several thoughtful questions to consider when performing such music.
III. Scarlatti A. Scarlatti, at Last 1. Scarlatti aesthetically belongs in the Enlightenment. 2. Precocious son of Alessandro Scarlatti, Domenico spent most of career on the Iberian Peninsula. a. In Madrid he was free to compose whatever he wished—which was mostly keyboard music, specifically harpsichord. b. His creative spirit unbound by rules, he invented a new type of composition that he called “ingenious jesting with art.” 1) Most of his works are short, delightful, and imaginative. 2) They are called “sonatas,” although they were published under different titles. 3) Single movements in binary form c. His works require instrumental virtuosity and are visually exciting. 1) They include glissandos, hand-crossing. 2) He brings in aspects of Spanish music as exoticism. 3) Some include almost bizarre dissonance and chromaticism. 3. The lack of symbolism in the sonatas places them in the tradition of seventeenth- century Italian instrumental music. 4. Formally, the sonatas follow a modern format. a. They are binary, with the first half ending on the dominant and the second moving far afield before returning to the tonic. b. The conclusions of both halves resemble each other. c. The Sonata in G, K. 105, demonstrates this scheme. d. In the Sonata in F minor, K. 481, the return of previously heard material coincides with the return to the tonic. This feature is not typical of his sonatas, however.
5. Scarlatti found his stride as a composer relatively late in life (early fifties), and his works, while recognized as unique and original, more properly belong to the next generation of composers, rather than that of Bach and Handel.