Issue 13 - Third of Three
The organ music this Sunday helps us celebrate Pentecost - don't forget to wear red! The prelude is by Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707) who was organist in Lübeck and the postlude is by our great Lutheran ancestor, J. S. Bach (1685-1750). There's a great story that all organists love about Bach's admiration of Buxtehude. In 1673, Buxtehude helped bring to national prominence his Abendmusik (meaning: evening music), which was a series of concerts paid for by local businesses, and therefore free to the public. In 1705, Bach (who, at that time, was a young twenty-year-old working in Arnstadt) walked nearly 250 miles to Lübeck to hear Abendmusik and hear the great organist Buxtehude. He stayed there for three months to learn from the master.
Come, Holy Ghost, Lord God (LBW 163) is the tune upon which Buxtehude's chorale-prelude is based. Although modern Lutherans may not know the tune anymore - it's a Lutheran favorite upon which many composers wrote chorale-preludes. Buxtehude's setting employs vorimitation which literally means "imitation before". The accompanying left hand usually gives a hint of the chorale melody to come by improvising on the tune, creating a gracious overture to the entrance of the highly ornamented melody which is played on a brighter sound in right hand. Vorimitation is a technique that's been passed down through the ages (you may notice that I use vorimitation when improvising on hymns during communion).
The hymn tune upon which the postlude is based is Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire (LBW 473). This German hymn is a metered version of the famous Pentecost plainchant Veni, Creator Spiritus (LBW 472). (At 8:45, both offering and communion music happens to be based upon this chant). In Bach's setting, the melody is declared twice: first in the soprano line and then again in the pedal line. In the first, soprano statement of the melody we get a glimpse of how Bach illuminates the Holy Spirit in the music:
1.) The meter is 12/8. So, while the melody is in dotted quarter notes, the accompanying voices underneath are essentially triplets. While this gives a gigue-like feel to the piece, it also symbolizes the Holy Trinity.
2.) The accompanying alto and tenor voice are mostly in 3rds throughout, once again underscoring not only the Trinity - but also the 3rd person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
3.) Finally, the pedal line only plays on every third eighth note. This clearly accentuates the relationship of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity.
In the second iteration of the melody, the accompaniment in the hands has been interpreted as tongues of fire whirling above the heavy hymn tune in the pedal. Again, Bach uses three voices to create the fiery accompaniment. While Bach's music is so challenging to play, the rewards are great --- not just in music, but in spirit, too!
(Image: "Pentecost" by Dr. P. Solomon RAJ)