BACH motif

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The BACH motif.
The BACH motif.

In music, the BACH motif is the sequence of notes B flat, A, C, B natural. Bach's use of this cruciform melody in reference to himself extended to its inversion, retrograde, retrograde-inversion, and all transpositions thereof.

This four-note motif has been used by a number of composers, usually as a homage to Johann Sebastian Bach. The first known example, however, is in a piece by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck in the 17th century—it is possible, though not certain, that he used it in homage to one of Johann Sebastian's ancestors, many of whom were themselves musicians.

BACH signature cross, used to depict the motif as early as the 20th century, but not known to have been used by Bach himself
BACH signature cross, used to depict the motif as early as the 20th century, but not known to have been used by Bach himself

The possibility of being able to spell the surname Bach in this way comes about because, in German, B indicates what in English is called B flat, while H indicates what in English is called B natural.

J. S. Bach himself used it as a fugue subject in the final part of Die Kunst der Fuge (BWV 1080), a work he did not complete before he died in 1750. It appears in passing in several of his other pieces, such as at the end of the fourth and fifth of the canonic variations on "Vom Himmel Hoch", BWV 769. Its appearance in the penultimate bar of the Kleines harmonisches Labyrinth, BWV 591, is not thought to be very significant and the work may even be spurious (Johann David Heinichen has been suggested as a possible composer). It shows up in the St Matthew Passion in the section where the chorus sings "This man was God's own son most truly." In many pieces, while the exact notes B-A-C-H are not played, a transposition of the motif is used (a note sequence with the same intervals: down a semitone, up a minor third, down a semitone). Many of the fugues in Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, for example, employ the motive in transposed form.

A fugue for keyboard in F major by one of Bach's sons, probably either Johann Christian Bach or Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, exists using the motif, but it was not until the 19th century when interest in Bach was revived that the motif began to be used with any regularity.

Perhaps because it was used by Bach himself in a fugue, the motif is often used by other composers in fugues or other complex contrapuntal writing.

[edit] Works featuring the motif

Works which prominently feature the BACH motif include, in chronological order:

The motif features in passing in a number of other works including Arnold Schoenberg's Variations for Orchestra (1926-28) and his String Quartet No. 3 (1927), Krzysztof Penderecki's St. Luke Passion, Johannes Brahms' cadenza for the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, Jason Bahr's Divergence for brass quintet (II. Fugue) and the fifth and final movement of Godowsky's Piano Sonata in E Minor (1910-11).

In a comprehensive study published in the catalogue for the 1985 exhibition "300 Jahre Johann Sebastian Bach" ("300 years of Johann Sebastian Bach") in Stuttgart, Germany Ulrich Prinz lists 409 works by 330 composers from the 17th to the 20th century using the BACH motif (ISBN 3-7952-0459-3).

[edit] Other signature motifs

Note: These are possible because, in German, E-flat is "Es" sounding the same as 'S', and A-flat is "As"

Other signature motifs include: