Bach Book: Fugitive Notes on Certain Cantatas and the Motets of J.S. Bach [by William Gillies Whittaker]

Bach Books
B-0101
Title:	Fugitive Notes on Certain Cantatas and the Motets of J.S. Bach
Sub-Title:
Category:	Essay Collection / Analysis
J.S. Bach Works:
Author:	William Gillies Whittaker
Written;
Country:	England
Released:	1924
Language:	English
Pages:	298 pp
Format:	HC
Publisher:	London: Humphrey Milford, 1924 - Oxford University Press, 1925
ISBN:	ASIN: B0010XTSMM
Description:
Comments:
Buy book at:	Amazon.com

Source/Links: Contributor: Aryeh Oron (April 2008)

Whittaker on Bach Cantatas 1924
Francis Browne wrote (April 18, 2008): Whittaker on Bach Cantatas 1924 Thirty three years before his comprehensive two volume work on all the cantatas Whittaker published a much shorter book entitled Fugitive Notes on Certain Cantatas and the Motets of J.S. Bach. It was based on notes printed earlier in magazines, and gave practical advice on performing the canatatas and motets at a time when such performances were not common. The introductory chapter on The Church Cantatas as a Whole concludes as follows: "Parry points out that it is not necessary to subscribe to Bach's creed to be able to fall under the spell of the Matthäus-Passion' ; that all earnest men, of whatever race and belief, can be touched by its exquisitely human feeling. The same is true of the cantatas. Even where the master assumes a didactic role, or thunders out denunciations of those whose faith was not his, we admire the strength and firm belief of the man. He felt not only for himself, but for humanity. He could rejoice with multitudes, he could sing with legions of angels, and he could walk with the lonely troubled soul. He could exalt in the overthrow of Death, he could look forward to Death with longing, yet he could feel the terror of the crossing to the unknown. He could affirm his faith against the world in magnificent bold defiance, and he could fathom the plunge into the tortures of doubt. He knew the most serene peace of mind, and he could suffer at the thought of his own unworthiness in the presence of his Saviour. His portrait of Jesus is the most beautiful figure in the whole range of music. The various phases of the Church year were to him no outside spectacle-he lived through them as personal experiences. His Christmas music is a paean of ecstasy ; his Holy Week music moves in deep and personal anguish ; his Easter music is triumphant and exulting ; his Whitsun music glows with fire. But in all his expressions of these thousand -and-one emotions there was no narrow-mindedness, no insularity begotten of creed. However far we may have travelled from the faith of Bach, however few of his theological views we can endorse, there is in him such a splendid humanity, such an intense sympathy with his fellow men, there is such a personal revelation of self in his writings, and they are clothed in such noble forms of the purest type of beauty, that they touch our heartstrings with the utmost intimacy, they give us continual mental refreshment and glimpses into the infinite". No one would write like that today.Our generation is more cynical, less enthusiastic- surely to our loss. I wish the members of this list in listening to Bach may experience much continual mental refreshment and many glimpses into the infinite....
Bradley Lehman wrote (April 18, 2008): [To Francis Browne] Francis, thanks for sharing these Whittaker excerpts. Beautifully written, and as you pointed out, it's a type of writing that doesn't happen much anymore. "There is in him such a splendid humanity, such an intense sympathy with his fellow men, there is such a personal revelation of self in his writings, and they are clothed in such noble forms of the purest type of beauty, that they touch our heartstrings with the utmost intimacy, they give us continual mental refreshment and glimpses into the infinite." Yes, I sense some of that too whenever I play through the WTC for myself, or the Musical Offering's several keyboard solos, or the E-flat prelude/fugue/allegro. Even though Whittaker's comments were about the vocal music, Bach's instrumental music is no less inspiring and wide-ranging. For me it's Bach's instrumental music in flat keys that often stands out most tellingly next to contemporary music by other people. The several violin/harpsichord sonatas and cello suites in three or more flats are extraordinary...not to slight the sharp pieces, either! Somebody asked recently about B minor being some special key in the Leipzig vocal music. I don't think so, as to any extra spiritualized significance beyond the way it sounds. It just happens to be one of the most central keys in minor, given the fact that the organist's part in those was in A minor, zero sharps/flats, and the ease for violinists and violists to play in the two-sharps area. One very interesting characteristic of A minor (assuming for the moment that my temperament work is correct) is that it's the key with the strongest and most pungent dominant, while the tonic minor and the nearby major triads in the A minor scale are all very gentle. So, music in A minor (and E minor and B minor) from the keyboard accompaniment perspective --setting a mood for the whole ensemble!-- has a vividly defined set of contrasts, whenever the music is resolving from tense dominants or secondary dominants back into these natural-note triads. It makes for strong, forceful gestures in a rather "public" way. Music in flat major keys, by contrast against this, is more even-keeled and gentle. It has smoother peaks and valleys, and is overall more serene and "private". Dominants there are not tenser than tonics. The mood stays more concentrated and undisturbable, more steadily poised. The flat minor keys are the ones that have the more unrelenting sorrow to them, like for example in cantata BWV 12, "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen", or in the Agnus Dei of the big Mass (BWV 232), or the "Ich ruf zu Dir" in F minor in Orgelbüchlein. But, the BWV 198 funeral piece for Christiane Eberhardine doesn't go there; it's all in a middle-of-the-road couple of sharps for the orchestra and zero on keyboard.
John Pike wrote (April 19, 2008): [To Francis Browne] A brilliant summary of Bach's genius and appeal. Thanks for this, Francis.
Douglas Cowling wrote (April 19, 2008): John Pike wrote: < "But in all his expressions of these thousand -and-one emotions there was no narrow-mindedness, no insularity begotten of creed. However far we may have travelled from the faith of Bach, however few of his theological views we can endorse, there is in him such a splendid humanity, such an intense sympathy with his fellow men, there is such a personal revelation of self in his writings, and they are clothed in such noble forms of the purest type of beauty, that they touch our heartstrings with the utmost intimacy, they give us continual mental refreshment and glimpses into the infinite". > I'm sorry to be a wet blanket but I think this is sentimental drivel born out of a Romantic myth that if a man writes great music he must be a great man. I am the first to celebrate Bach as the composer of the greatest music the world has ever heard and to affirm that his music has a universal appeal. However, to say that he was morally superior person because his music is beautiful is wishfui thinking. The more I read about Bach's life and his compositional method, the more admiration I have for him as the Well-Regulated Composer. I believe that the more we strive to place Bach in his historical matrix, the more we will see an extraordinary historical personality. But the claims for suprahuman universalist virtues that transcend time and place leave me cold. I'm not even persuaded that his particularly Christian themes move people to conversion. Far from being blinded sarcastic modernity, I believe that our historical method reveals a man a saint. I would rather have Bach on my music shelf than in a devotional niche.
Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (April 19, 2008): Francis Browne wrote: < Whittaker on Bach Cantatas 1924 The introductory chapter on The Church Cantatas as a Whole concludes as follows: "Parry points out that it is not necessary to subscribe to Bach's creed to be able to fall under the spell of the Matthäus-Passion' ; that all earnest men, of whatever race and belief, can be touched by its exquisitely human feeling. > Well, again with appreciation of the time that these gentlemen (Whittaker and Parry) wrote and the denominational world in which they seem to have spent their lives, I see no need to contradict their experiences. However I never knew all the times I attended Bach "religious" music performances that I needed permission to be moved by the music. Likewise I never gave a thought to the religious beliefs or the race or anything else of my fellow-attenders at such performances except to assume that they were all there because they deeply cared for Bach's music. I guess, had I been in a different atmosphere than e.g. NYC or Princeton, things might have been different and many, a majority, might have been there for religious purposes. In my audiences, I believe, a disproportionate segment of the audience was made up of persons who were not Christians either by birth or belief as indeed was the fact in a discussion of the MP on the Moderated Music List a few years ago. >> there is in him such a splendid humanity, such an intense sympathy with his fellow men, there is such a personal revelation of self in his writings, and they are clothed in such noble forms of the purest type of beauty, that they touch our heartstrings with the utmost intimacy, they give us continual mental refreshment and glimpses into the infinite. << Most great music will do that for me, Beethoven's late quartets, a lot of Berlioz, vocal or non-vocal and I have never worried about either guy's religion or race. Nor have I ever cared about the religious beliefs or lack thereof of my fellow list member on any other music list. On lists devoted to theology that is another matter.
Ed Myskowski wrote (April 20, 2008): Francis Browne wrote: >But in all his expressions of these thousand– -and-one emotions there was no narrow-mindedness, no insularity begotten of creed. [citing Whittaker, Fugitive Notes, 1924]< In the intervening eighty years, there has been much acknowledgement of the narrow-mindedness of the Christian creed of the 18th C., most generously in official statements from the Vatican. This has come up from time to time in BCML discussions, not without controversy. I am attempting to cite facts, not express a personal opinion. FB: >No one would write like that today. Our generation is more cynical, less enthusiastic - surely to our loss. I wish the members of this list in listening to Bach may experience much continual mental refreshment and many glimpses into the infinite....< I endorse the good spirits intended, and agree with the welcome suggestion to glimpse the infinite. I also agree with other replies which have questioned whether current scholarship is necessarily accurately described as cynical. No need to describe that question as a <wet blanket>. G. B. Shaw (paraphrase?): People with keen powers of observation and analysis are often described as cynics by those lacking such powers. Enthusiasm is all the more admirable when it accompanies the best available scholarship, rather than relying on sentiment. I am not in agreement that our generation has lost anything in the transition, if indeed there was a transition, rather than a continual advance in critical thinking. We are now able to enjoy Bach with the insights of both Whittaker and Rifkin, just to pick easily reconizable examples from the two generations. I find no approach to Bach more enthusiastic than the current recording series by Kuijken and Suzuki, or the ongoing releases of the Gardiner pilgrimage project from the year 2000, already of legendary status. No slight intended to other enthusiastic performers, too numerous to mention.
Ed Myskowski wrote (April 20, 2008): Whittaker (and more) >Somebody asked recently about B minor being some special key in the Leipzig vocal music. I don't think so, as to any extra spiritualized significance beyond the way it sounds. It just happens to be one of the most central keys in minor, given the fact that the organists part in those was in A minor, zero sharps/flats, and the ease for violinists and violists to play in the two-sharps area. One very interesting characteristic of A minor (assuming for the moment that my temperament work is correct)< Bach the pragmatist, finding the efficient route? Very attractive, and especially appropriate for the composition/performance conditions of BWV 198. I hope the temperament work does indeed stand up (is that a serious question?) I find comments of this nature, which might be considered musicological or technical, very informative on the general discussion list. Easy to skim past for those not interested, and a gratuitous education for others. Post more.
Francis Browne wrote (April 20, 2008): I must confess that I expected there would be a range of reactions to Whittaker's view.It is commonplace now even in classical studies, which I know far better than music, that criticism is in many ways determined by the historical and personal circumstances of the critic.Anyone who follows this list will not be surprised by the difference of views, and I am happy to let Whittaker's views stand without rushing to their defence, .People can read what he says and the comments and decide for themselves.I would only add to Ed's perceptive remarks that even though we may feel that our own generation is well placed to appreciate the best of the past and the present, nevertheless in 80 years time our views of Bach will in turn seem dated and limited.

Bach-Whittaker: William Gillies Whittaker \| Works \| Recordings Books: The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach: Sacred & Secular \| Fugitive Notes on Certain Cantatas and the Motets of J.S. Bach

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Last update: ýApril 20, 2008 ý09:41:39