The Bach Cantatas - GLOSSARY

A

ABA  Ternary structure see form.

Appogiatura  The leaning of one note, not part of the chord and thereby creating a momentary dissonance, against a second to which it will resolve usually, but not always, in a downward direction. It may be thought of as a suspension missing the first note of preparation. The effect is often doleful and sad, particularly in a minor context.

Arco   A return to the bowing of stringed instruments following plucking (pizzicato).

Aria   
A term used in both opera and religious music; a movement for solo voice and instrumental accompaniment. Baroque arias might be accompanied by continuo only or with one or more additional instruments. The use of only one melodic instrument is called obligato.

Augmentation    
The playing of a theme in which the notes are longer than, usually double the length of, those of the original version. This technique is frequently found in the articulation of the chorale in opening choruses particularly in the second cycle.

A cappella
A term usually applied to unaccompanied singing i.e. without instruments.

B 

Baroque 
In music a term which covers the period approximately 1600-1750. Bach, Handel, Domenico Scarlatti , Rameau and Vivaldi were the best known composers of the last fifty years, usually considered the period of culmination whilst the first century is associated with such names as Monteverdi, Purcell, Corelli and many more.

Bel canto  Literally beautiful song. Lyrical with good tone.

Binary Form see Form.

Buffo, buffa  as in opera buffa

A term to describe comic opera which may or may not descend into farce. Bach tends to portray Satan in 'buffo' terms thus diminishing his stature.

C

Cadence see also Phrase.
The cadence is the end of the phrase, a ‘pausing point’ in the music. A harmonic cadence consists of the last two chords of the phrase.  Cadences are categorized thus; cadences which convey a sense of completion e.g. perfect cadence (most common) and plagal (the 'amen' chords) and those which are incomplete suggesting that there is more to come e.g. imperfect (most common) and interrupted (where we anticipate a 'finishing' cadence but are surprised). Every movement ends with a cadence usually of finality but Bach sometimes ends on a chord which sounds ‘unfinished’.

Cadenza
Usually a virtuosic passage for a soloist.

Canon   
A tune, such as 'Three Blind Mice' in which a second or third voice or line may begin the tune before the starting voice has finished, popularly known as a ‘round’. The composition of complex canons was expected of Eighteenth Century composers  (see, for example, JS Bach's Musical Offering and Art of Fugue').

Cantabile In a singing style.

Cantata    
A term the meaning of which has altered drastically over the years. We now tend to apply it to vocal works with instrumental accompaniment, usually combinations of choruses, arias and recitative. Often used to describe religious works there are, however many examples of secular cantatas written for the celebration of birthdays, weddings, funerals and civic events. Ironically the word ‘cantata’ was one which Bach seldom used to describe his compositions.

Cantus Firmus     
Literally fixed tune.  Either a tune which is continually repeated or a predetermined melody such as that of the chorale.

Chaconne  see Passacaglia, Form.

Chorale  
In general, the name applied to Protestant hymns. Luther (1483-1546) established the Lutheran hymn book, himself, contributing some texts and music. By Bach’s time a considerable repertoire had been established with some tunes associated with particular events. The chorale was, for Bach and for other composers, an important stimulus and starting point for a wide range of forms.

Chorale/Fantasia   also chorus/fantasia
A movement in which the chorale melody is sung, usually in long notes and by the sopranos throughout a movement. It is supported by orchestra and choir and is the format used by Bach for the opening choruses of the first forty of the second cycle cantatas (see the Introduction to volume 2)
.
Chorale Prelude  
A composition based upon the chorale melody, usually played with the phrases separated and in long notes and was encompassed by a texture of counterpoint. It was traditionally improvised by organists although existing also in other media.

Chord  
Whilst melodies are structures of notes of different pitches played one after the other. Chords are constructed from groups of notes played simultaneously.  They may be consonant or dissonant.

Chorus  see vocal line.

Chromatic, Chromaticism  
Using notes outside of those of the main scale e.g. in the key of C major, the notes of the scale which forms that key  are c, d, e, f, g, a, b, c. The use of these notes is diatonic. The use of  chromatic  notes which lie outside that scale, in this case C#, d#, f#, g# and a#, enrich the harmony.

Coda  
A piece of music which ends or completes a movement.  It might consist of only two bars or, in the case of the first movement of Beethoven’s fifth symphony, over one hundred bars. A codetta is a small coda usually completing a section of a movement rather than the entire piece.

Compound Time
Organizations whereby the basic beats of each bar are divisible into three e.g.6/8= two beats in the bar but each beat is divisible into three rather than two quavers. 9/8 is three similarly divided beats in each bar and 12/8 denotes four.

Concertante  
The solo parts in a concerto grosso or choir. See C 109/1 for typical examples of choral solo/tutti writing. The additional instrumentalists added in the tutti section are the ripieno.

Concerto
A piece usually for one soloist with the orchestra. Bach was one of the composers largely responsible for liberating the harpsichord from its continuo duties, allowing it to become the solo instrument, usually supported by a string orchestra.

Concerto Form see Form.

Consonance/concord   
The effect produced by a chord in which the notes sit happily together without stress or tension: antonym dissonance.

Continuo
As a rule baroque bass lines were played by the lower strings, 'celli and basses, sometimes bassoons. They were supported by a keyboard instrument, usually harpsichord or organ, which filled in the chords. Continuo was the name for the combined components i.e. bass line and harmony.

Counterpoint also Polyphony
The weaving together of two or more themes of more or less equal importance or interest. This is a different texture from that in which a single melody is predominant supported by accompaniment which might, on its own, sustain little interest.

Countersubject 
A theme written in counterpoint against the subject i.e. a theme secondary to but combining with a fugue subject.

D

Da Capo    
Go back to the beginning.  The da capo arias and choruses were so called because the first section was repeated. To save time it was not written out again and the players would recommence the movement; stopping when indicated. Also referred to as ABA structure because the result is three sections of which the first and last are identical.

Dialogue cantatas
Works for two voices which explore developing relationships between Christ and the Soul. e.g. 57, 32, 49, 58, 152.

Diminution      
Here the theme is sung or played in shorter notes than in the original; antonym augmentation. 

Diatonic  
Using the notes of the scale or key of the piece i.e. using the notes of the scale of C major (or minor) if that is the key in which the music is written: See also chromatic.

Dissonance /Discord  
The effect produced when the notes of a chord seem to clash and produce tension. Such chords feel that they need to resolve onto a more consonant sound.

Dominant 
The fifth note of a scale and also the key to which music frequently modulates to initially. Tonic  notes and chords generally have an effect of finality. Dominant ones appear incomplete with an expectation of more to come.

Dominant Pedal see Pedal
.
Double Counterpoint see Inversion.

E

F

False Relation
An oddly archaic effect achieve when an altered note is heard immediately in another part e.g. c natural in the bass line immediately followed by c# in the tenor. The effect does not occur if the alteration is made in the same part.

Fantasia see Chorale / Fantasia.

Figure of joy see Joy Motive
.
French Overture    
Often mentioned alongside the Italian Overture, both popular 18th century forms. The latter was in three movements or sections, fast—slow—fast which was to become the usual practice for the concerto. The former began and ended in an imposing, moderately slow tempo of imperious dotted rhythms enclosing a central faster fugal section. All four of Bach’s Orchestral Suites begin with a French Overture and he makes use of it also in about half a dozen of the cantatas (see C20 in volume 2)

Form       The musical structure of an individual movement or that of a complete composition i.e. a cantata may have a particular structure (e.g. chorus, recitative, aria, chorale) and so will each individual movement within itself.

18th Century movement forms come in two broad categories:

Variation Forms
These generally remain within the given key and repeat themes or bass lines, inventing such additional ideas as should maintain interest. Theme and Variations (Goldberg Variations, Bach), Ground Bass (Lament from Dido and Aeneas, Purcell), Passacaglia (Passacaglia in Cm for organ, Bach) and Chaconne (Charconey in Gm, Purcell) are all common examples.

Tonal Forms
The principle is described in volume 2 chapter 19. Common forms in Bach's day were:

• Binary form:   two balanced sections, one unfinished, one finished.  
  

• Ternary form: also da capo and ABA, in three sections the first the same as the last.  

• Rondo:  the main theme keeps returning separated by other themes/   
  

• Ritornello:  a body of thematic material is stated at the beginning, at the end and throughout the movement. Known as the ritornello, it will be restated wholly or partially in various related keys, separated by episodes which move to and from these keys. Employed by Bach and Vivaldi in many concertos, therefore sometimes referred to as Concerto Form.
  

• Fugue  A monothematic contrapuntal structure in which a number of voices or instruments enter with the same tune or subject thence proceeding like ritornello; i.e. the subject occurs in related keys separated by episodes. The main theme recurs at least once at the end.

(See further discussion on several of these musical structures in the essay on C 78 volume 2).

Fugetto  
A shortened version of a fugue which tends not to proceed further than the point at which all voices have entered.    .

Fugue
see Form.

G

Gavotte see Suite.

Gigue see Suite.

Gregorian Chant (see C 10)
Medieval religious chants only occasionally used as archaic chorale tunes in the 18th century.

Ground Bass  
A repeated theme in the bass above which variations are devised (see also passacaglia and form).

H

Harmony    
A succession of chords which may be supporting a single melody or underpinning a contrapuntal texture.   A harmonic progression is a sequence of chords. 

Head Motive/theme
A short pithy idea forming the first few notes of a melody. Usually marked by a robust and easily recognizable rhythmic characteristic it tends to play an important part in the ultimate development of the musical material.

Hemiola  A rhythmic device whereby groups of two or four notes are superimposed upon groups of three; and vice versa.

Hererophony
The combination of lines of counterpoint which are not truly independent i.e. the one may be an embellishment of the other. See, for example, the two lowest lines of the second movement of Brandenburg 6.

Homophonic--Homophony    
In effect, the opposite of counterpoint. The music is structured in a series of chords rather than through a combination of simultaneous melodies.

Hybrid
A term often applied in these essays to recitatives which may incorporate elements of aria or arioso, chorales and/or ritornello themes. Bach’s continual formal experiments mean that arias and choruses too may well become hybrids with the inclusion of other components.

Hymn     A religious song usually intended for communal singing. The term is used synonymously with chorale in these essays although it is not clear whether the congregations joined in with the chorales in Bach's cantatas.

I

 Imperfect cadence
also interrupted cadence: see cadence.

Interval  
A way of describing the gap between individual notes. Notes next to each other would be described as a second apart. A wider interval might be a 6th or 7th.  An octave is an 8th.

Instrumental line
see vocal line.

Inversion   
This has several musical meanings.  A single chord may be inverted which means that a different note of the chord would become the bass note. Counterpoint is also said to be inverted when the parts change places e.g. what was the top melody would change places with the bottom melody (also known as double or invertible counterpoint). Most commonly the term is used to describe a melody which is literally turned upside-down i.e. an interval which went up now goes down and vice versa.

Italian Overture see French Overture.

J

Joy Motive:- motive of joy.
Referred to throughout the text this is a figure of three notes, two short and quick the third longer e.g. two semi-quavers followed by a quaver. Albert Schweitzer isolated this and a number of other motives Bach associated with certain actions or emotions e.g. pacing or treading, notions of sorrow, lamentation or grief.

K

Key see also Tonality
.If a piece of music is written in a particular key, say D major, it has a tendency to predominantly use the notes of the scale of D and will feel as if it wants to return to the home or tonic note of D. Introducing notes and chords from another key, say B minor will allow the music to migrate towards it and establish the note of B to which we then feel we would want to return. This process is called modulation. Much of Bach’s musical architecture is built around the principle of starting in and establishing one key, moving through and repeating material in related keys, thence returning to the first tonic key to ensure a sense of finality.

Key Signature
A combination of either sharps or flats at the beginning of a piece of music signifying the key (see tonality) in which it has been composed.

L

Leit motive (leitmotif).
A musical phrase, motive or theme which is associated with a particular person, event or situation, repeated throughout in order to bring to mind such circumstances to the listener and/or to intensify the drama of the situation. Particularly associated with Wagner's operas, the recurring motive was a device used by many composers. The main point is that the musical idea had important associations extending beyond its purely musical functions.

Lombard rhythm   see Scotch snap.

M

Major (and minor)     
(see also Scale and Tonality). Melodies and harmonies are built upon the notes of the chosen scale or mode. Major scales are thought to give rise to more extrovert, heroic and openly joyous musical ideas. Minor scales generally denote more subdued and tragic expression.  Bach's uses and contrasts of different scales colours continually the character of his music.

Mass  
A religious choral piece not unlike an oratorio but with a particular five part structure and function within the service. Bach wrote several masses the largest of which is the Great Mass in B minor, a work of ideal rather than practical proportions.

Melody see also Theme and Subject
An organization of notes of different pitch played or sung one after the other so as to achieve a desired expressive effect.

Melisma      
A composer may choose to set one syllable of text against one note of music. A run of notes to a single syllable is called a melisma. Frequently the key to a movement may be found in the words Bach chooses to give emphasis to in the form of melismas.

Minor see Major
.
Minuet see Suite
.
Mode see Scale.
In these essays the terms key and mode are frequently used interchangeably and refer to major and minor colourings of the harmony.

Modulation see Key.

Motet    
A choral composition for church use usually for unaccompanied choir or with instruments doubling the vocal lines having no independence of their own. Bach invoked the tradition of the German motet on several occasions; see the opening choruses of Cs 2 and 38 in volume 2.

Motive also motif 
A short musical idea which may be manipulated to give rise to complete melodies. One of the best know is that which begins Beethoven's fifth symphony    'DA--DA--DA--DAH'. A proper understanding of Bach's cantatas requires a recognising of dominant motives, their sources and development.

Moto perpetuo
A continuous flowing melody, usually a stream semi-quavers or even faster notes. Often makes use of minimal accompaniment.

N

Neopolitan 6th chord
A chord often used to approach a cadence in minor keys. It is built upon the flattened second note of a minor scale e.g. the chord of Bb major in the key of Am. It has an extraordinarily powerful expressive effect.
 

O

Obbligato  also obligato
The name given to a single instrument and its melodic line (excluding the bass or continuo) accompanying the voice(s) in an aria.

Oboe  
A family of three woodwind instruments much used by Bach in the cantatas. One might think of them as soprano, alto and tenor versions each with their own particular tone colour i.e. oboe, oboe d’ amore, oboe da caccia.

Octave 
All sound is created by vibration. When the number of vibrations per second is doubled, the pitch rises by an octave (i.e. from A to a higher A, from C to C etc). The effect is of hearing the same note at a higher pitch. Western music divided the octave into twelve more or less equal notes called semitones. Two semitones make a tone so there are six tones to the octave.  Modes and major/minor scales are ladders of notes built of different combinations of tones and semitones.

Opera buffa/buffo  see buffa.

Oratorio  
A setting of a religious text usually of some magnitude and using choir, orchestra and soloists.  It is usually performed in concert fashion, a point which differentiates it from opera.

P

Paraphrase
A reworking of a previously composed piece of music usually to accommodate a new text. In Bach’s case the practice was generally to paraphrase secular movements for religious use rather than vice versa. The process could be extremely minimal, small alterations of rhythm only required for the new words. It could also be quite a substantial rethinking of the music (see vol 3, chapter 50 for a description of the process whereby the Agnus Dei from the Bm Mass was paraphrased).

Passacaglia see Form  
A musical structure which depends upon the repetition of one theme, usually heard wholly or predominantly in the bass. See C 78 volume 2 chapter 14.

Passion
A term commonly used to describe the settings, musical and otherwise, of Christ’s sufferings.

Phrase see Cadence.
A phrase is a unit of melody, very often four bars long. Where it ends, there is a breathing space in the music. Phrases will end either with a feeling of completion (implying the end of a section or movement) or incompletion (suggesting that there is more to come). Bach was a great innovator in the design of phrases of varying lengths.

Phrygian cadence.
A cadence associated with the archaic phrygian mode (or scale) which has a specific emotional effect. See C 135 vo l2, chapter 5.


Pitch see Octave
The highness or lowness of a note.

Pedal   
Organs and some harpsichords have pedals for additional bass notes. However in the context of these essays the word pedal is usually used to signify a long held or repeated note usually on either the dominant or tonic notes of the scale of the piece. The former usually produces an effect of tension or ‘unresolvedness’ whilst the latter sounds more final, complete or ‘home based’.

Polyphony see Counterpoint.

Pizzicato     Plucking rather than bowing of stringed instruments.

Q

Quodlibet   literally 'that which pleases'. A collection of tunes, often of a popular nature, brought together and sung or improvised upon. They were, apparently, regularly performed at Bach family events.

R

Recitative  
 A musical texture which places most of the musical interest in the melody, lightly accompanied so that the words will not be obscured, originating in early Italian opera. Often used to tell the story or convey information and may also imitate the rhythms and inflexions of speech. Secco recitative is a term used to describe the barest forms with a slow moving bass supporting the, usually more complex vocal line. The harmonies between them were filled in by a keyboard instruments, usually harpsichord or organ.

 

Rondo see Form
.
Ripieno see Concertante.

Ritornello see Form_.

_S

Scale    
A ladder of notes from octave to octave. By Bach's time there were two main scales major and minor but he occasionally made use of archaic scales called modes. The choice of scale is immensely important in the colouring of the music and attention is frequently drawn to Bach’s choice of major of minor in these essays.

Scotch snap
A short note followed immediately by a longer one; a ‘throwing’ of the rhythm onto the next note. Also known as Lombard rhythm (see BWV 195, vol 1 chapter 74 for an example).

Secco see Recitative
.
Semitone (and Tone)  
Division of the Octave.

Sequence  
The repetition of a musical idea (motive, melody or harmonic progression) at a higher or lower pitch.

Structure see Form.

Sturm and drang
Literally storm and stress. A dramatic form of emotional expression borrowed from literature and often associated with turbulent minor keys. Popular throughout the eighteenth century.

Subject 
A theme or melodic idea may be called a subject. The term is most commonly used when referring to the themes of fugues.

Suite  
As a ‘suite of furniture’ is a collection of movements with elements in common, so is a musical suite a group of movements united by key or theme. Baroque suites were a collection of dances e.g. Bach’s French and English suites for keyboard. Many dance forms have implications of a courtly or civilized demeanor e.g. minuet and gavotte. Others many suggest jollity and celebration e.g. gigue. Bach makes as much use of suite forms in his religious as in his secular music

Suspension
A harmonic technique whereby one or more notes are held or repeated against chords to which they do not belong. This produces a controlled dissonance which is usually immediately resolved. It is often used to creates moods of sadness or weeping.

Syncopation  
A ‘throwing’ of the rhythm when long or accented notes are given additional emphasis on the weaker beats of the bar. An established characteristic of much jazz.

T

Tacet
Silent: no one plays or sings at this point.

Ternary Form see Form.

Tessitura   
The range of a voice or instrument. A low tessitura would indicate use of the lowest notes of the instrument or voice.

Texture  
A piece of music may consist of only melody (e.g. folksong), a melody with accompaniment, counterpoint (a combination of two or more melodies) etc. The particular layout of the music is referred to at its texture.

Theme see Melody.

Theme and Variations  
A musical structure in which the basic theme is varied by way of shanges of mode, rhythm, instrumentation, texture etc.  See Form.

Through Composed     
A process whereby a movement appears not to repeat sections (e.g. A-B-A) but develops organically from beginning to end.

Time signature
One figure set above the other at the beginning of a piece  of movement designating the basic rhythm e.g 3/4 = 3 beats to the bar and 4/4 four beats. In general the top figure gives the number of beats and the bottom figure the value of the beats e.g. 4=crotchets, 8=quavers.

Tonality 
Music constructed from certain scales, particularly major and minor in which there is a tendency for it to be drawn back to the keynote (or tonic).

Tone    
Division of the octave.

Tonic  
The first note of a scale and the note to which the music feels it wants to return i.e.'doh' note upon which the scale is built: see tonality.

Tonic Pedal  see Pedal

Tremolo or Tremolando 
A rapid repeating of a single note usually associated with stringed instruments.

Timpani      
Kettle drums. The largest of the drum family in general use at the time, often accompanying trumpets in ceremonial or celebratory music.

Tutti   
Literally 'all:'   all instrumentalists, singers (or both) sounding together. Often used in concerti/concerti grossi between solo sections.

U

V  

Vibrato
A rapid undulation in pitch giving a richness to the tone. Most associated with stringed instruments and voice.

Vocal Line
A vocal or instrumental line is simply another way of referring to a melody. The normal choral layout is that of a four-part chorus of which the top two parts (soprano then alto) are women and the bottom two (tenor then bass) are men. In Bach's day all parts were sung by men or boys whose voices had not broken. Very occasionally Bach made use of a double chorus (eight lines) or added a fifth by dividing the sopranos

W

X

Y

Z