154: The Trinity Seen In A Prelude

The opening piece in Clavier-Übung III! A massive prelude with three parts. The three ideas are a representation of the trinity. Here is God the Father at the opening, full organ, dotted rhythms, pedals, lots of ornaments:

Later, God the Son, a Gentle Lamb, a literal echo on a different keyboard, yet the music proceeds directly from the Father:

The Holy Ghost, related to the Father and Son by the relative minor, is a fugue in three voices. Bach may have had this image in mind: “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” (Acts 2: 2-3)

Write That Fugue!

We discuss the general contents of Clavier-Übung III: 27 pieces, (3x3x3) consisting of a Kyrie-Gloria Mass, hymns on the Catechism, the notorious ‘four duets,’ all framed by the giant pillars of the so-called ‘St. Anne’ prelude and fugue. We touch briefly on the notion of numerology in Bach.

(SPOILER ALERT just in case you want to go in fresh!) The pieces of the Clavier-Übung III, listed with their BWV numbers (the confusing arrangement of which is also discussed in the episode.) Titles in RED are Organo Pleno pieces, ‘full’ organ— not quite ‘all the stops’ but something like that. Titles in BLUE are Manualiter pieces, for the hands alone. Titles in black therefore, are generally ‘à 2 Clav. et Pedal’ — with each hand on a separate keyboard. The variety is extraordinary!

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Selected Bibliography:

Leaver, Robin A. “Bach’s Clavierübung III: Some Historical and Theological Considerations.” The Organ Yearbook 6 (1975): 17–32.

Melamed, Daniel R. “Rethinking Bach Codes.” In Rethinking Bach, edited by Bettina Varwig, 227–50. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

Schweitzer, Albert. J. S. Bach. Vol. 1. Translated by Ernest Newman. London: A. & C. Black, 1911.

Schmieder, Wolfgang, ed. Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis: Thematisch-systematisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke von Johann Sebastian Bach. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1950.

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