Bach - Das Orgelbüchlein: "Das alte Jahr vergangen ist" BWV 614

(Temperament: Werckmeister III): BWV 614 is one of the three ornamental short chorale preludes inserted in Bach's "Das Orgelbüchlein".
"Das alte Jahr vergangen ist" may well be understood as evoquing the transitoryness of human experience.
Composed in the key of A minor, it employs "passus duriusculus" (twice up and twice down), as if the composer was eagerly endeavouring to convey the sense of the inevitable, at the same time he suggests a subtle inversion of time flow. It is inquiring and disturbing... Life is transitory, the old year has passed away, but consciousness stays aware o it...
The masterpiece ends up in a kind of defying "interrogation mark", which is achieved thanks to the use of sighs, both in the soprano and alto parts, moving up through enphatic parallel motion.
Sebastian seems to pose a question that rises, rises, and rises, and... is never answered (from such a perspective the "trillo" is obviously not to receive a termination...)
Actually, Bach's musical mind seems to be restrained by no limits whatsoever.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Baroque
• Organ
• Music
• Musique
• Musik
• Muziek
• Bach
• Orgelbüchlein
• Das
• alte
• Jahr
• vergangen
• ist
• BWV
• 614
• Gilberto
• Guarino

[pbazant]

20th century :)

[GilbertoGuarino]

Indeed!... For all the centuries on...

[rssfhs]

Were you aware that there are 365 notes (one for each day of the year) in this piece? There are also 12 measures (one for each month), and 52 notes (one per week) in the choral melody.

[TheoFilgueiras]

Great, as always...