1
Girolamo Frescobaldi, with his refined and imaginative artistry, influenced European music in the second half of the 17th century, particularly German music. Not only Froberger, Pachelbel and Buxtehude, but also and above all Johann Sebastian Bach held Frescobaldi’s music in high regard, considering it a fundamental model from which to draw inspiration. The correspondence between Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and his first biographer Nikolaus Forkel shows how important it was for the Leipzig Kantor to study the music of the Italian master in depth. Carl Philipp Emanuel in his letter to Forkel, dated 1775, stated that his father ‘loved and studied’ Frescobaldi’s music:
“Ausser Frobergern, Kerl u. Pachelbel, hat er die Wercke von Frescobaldi, dem Badenschen Capellmeister Fischer, Strunck, einigen alten guten französischen, Buxdehude, Reincken, Bruhnsen u. dem Lüneburgischen Organisten Böhmen geliebt und studirt.”
“Apart from Frobergern, Kerl and Pachelbel, he loved and studied the works of Frescobaldi, the Baden Kapellmeister Fischer, Strunck, some good old French composers, Buxdehude, Reincken, Bruhnsen and the Lüneburg organist Böhmen.”
Emanuel, in response to requests from Forkel – who would later write his father’s biography[1] – mentions several composers, mainly German, whom Johann Sebastian considered important; Frescobaldi is the only Italian composer mentioned, while Philipp Emanuel refers to ‘some good old French composers‘. Why, then, was Frescobaldi so important that he was mentioned even several years after Johann Sebastian’s death?
Until recently, musicological research focused primarily on the Fiori Musicali of 1635, with reference to the works that had most influenced Bach. Some German musicologists tended to trace the origins of Bach’s language back to composers such as Scheidt, Poglietti and Froberger, i.e. composers who worked in Germany and Austria, composers who can certainly be considered a link between Frescobaldi and Bach. However, I believe that the issue is much more complex and, from an analysis of the themes, ideas and elaboration of the material, the figure of Frescobaldi, not only as the author of the Fiori musicali, appears quite evident.
Apart from some distinctive elements of 17th-century Italian music, such as the durezze and ligature style (ex. 2) – the famous final passage in the adagio in the Toccata Adagio and Fugue in C major for organ BWV 564 – or certain elements typical of the canzone variata, with the theme elaborated in binary and ternary time and the inversion of themes (ex. 3), subjects such as La Gallina and Il Cucù also present in Poglietti and Pasquini (ex. 1) – there are several references to ‘original’ Frescobaldi elements. An interesting fragment of Frescobaldi is present in Partita BWV 767 (ex. 5), in which the bass performs a rhythmic figuration consisting of an anapestic rhythm with a tied note and an octave leap, as we find in Frescobaldi (Toccata Terza from the first book), later reused by Georg Muffat[2] .
[1] Published in 1802
[2] G. Muffat, Apparatus musico-organisticus, Salzburg 1690
2
Many references in the comparison between Bach and Frescobaldi can be found in various contrapuntal pieces. In ex. 6, we can see how the theme of the Ricercare Decimo of 1615[3] corresponds exactly to the opening of the Fugue in C minor BWV 871. Other examples of this type can be found in the Fantasia Quarta with the second theme of the ‘Dorian’ fugue BWV 538 (ex. 7), while in Frescobaldi’s Fantasia Sesta and Duodecima, the first subject is similar to that of the Triple Fugue, the final piece of Clavierübung III[4] .
The thematic reference of Canzona BWV 588 is debated; in fact, according to some analyses, the theme derives from the counter-subject of the Canzon dopo l’Epistola, from the Mass of the Madonna (Fiori musicali)[5] . Zehnder argues that, since Bach’s Canzona is contained in the Möller manuscript (written by Ohrdruf’s brother Johann Christoph), dated around 1707, it cannot derive from Fiori because the copy of Frescobaldi’s work, which belonged to Bach and is now lost, was dated 1714[6]. We do not know whether this copy was dated the same year it was written or earlier, but in any case, the two themes are remarkably similar. It is also interesting to note that the same theme appears in a very similar form in the violin fugue BWV 1005 (ex. 9).
Going into more detail, from a compositional point of view, we can see that certain contrapuntal procedures are similar, a sign that Bach studied and explored Frescobaldi’s contrapuntal art. In ex. 10 and 11, we can see how the structure is similar. Not only the theme, but also the order in which the voices enter: Frescobaldi begins with the alto, followed by the entry of the subject in the soprano. The subject and the response of the main theme are preceded by an ascending counter-subject that begins in the tenor, with a response in the octave of the soprano. In Bach, this counter-subject is a combination of the two characteristic elements of Frescobaldi’s counter-subject: the one in ex. 10 in the tenor in bar 2 with the dactylic rhythm, and the ascending one with a fourth leap (ex. 11a).
As we have seen, Bach’s copy of Fiori Musicali was dated 1714; the collection of chorales in the Orgelbüchlein belongs to that period and clearly reflects the composer’s in-depth study of Frescobaldi’s counterpoint. Ex. 12 shows how the theme of the final Kyrie of the Mass of the Apostles is identical to the alto theme in BWV 637 (ex. 12c, d).
In my opinion, the work that most closely resembles the aesthetics of the Fiori is the Dritter Teil der Clavierübung, published in Leipzig in 1739. It was planned with modal and liturgical elements, as in Frescobaldi, unlike other German composers who preferred other structural arrangements, such as the series of chorales in all keys, or the verses for the Magnificat (Pachelbel), the division of pieces according to liturgical seasons (Advent, Christmas, etc.).
In BWV 678, for example, the key is G, but without the F sharp in the key signature; this suggests the mode of Mixolydian rather than the key of G major, as a tribute to 17th-century modality. Other common elements include the frequent use of 4/2 time, the ternary rhythm for the alio modo pieces (Kyrie and Christe), and the use of the contrapuntal form of syncopated stretti, as found in Bergamasca, Kyrie BWV 671 cum organo pleno, Wir gläuben
[3] G. Frescobaldi, Recercari et Canzoni Franzese, Rome 1615
[4] G. Frescobaldi, Fantasie, Milan 1608
[5] G. Frescobaldi, Fiori Musicali, Venice 1635
[6] J. C. Zehnder, Die frühen Werke Johann Sebastian Bachs. Stil – Chronologie – Satztechnik, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Scripta 1, 2009, Schwabe AG, Verlag, Basel, 2 vols.
3
BWV 680, Jesus Christus unser Heiland BWV 688. Other characteristic elements include the division into three sections, as in the Canzoni, in the final Triple Fugue, and in Vater unser BWV 682, the characteristic ‘Lombard rhythm’, as in the Toccatas for the Elevation.
In ex. 12 a and b, we can see how Christe alio modo (a term also used by Bach in both the Orgelbuchlein and Clavierübung III) is similar to Christe BWV 673, both in the theme used and in the ternary rhythm.
The Clavierübung III was printed just over a hundred years after Fiori: since these pieces were composed earlier, it would be nice to think that Bach may have had the idea of writing such a work precisely as a tribute to Fiori Musicali. Indeed, the structure seems to be based on Frescobaldi’s masterpiece. In the latter, in each of the three Masses, the Toccata-Mass-Canzona (postcommunio) pattern follows Bach’s structure of Prelude-liturgical pieces (chorales)-Fugue. In both composers, we also find pieces that are (apparently) unrelated to the context of the work: in Frescobaldi the Bergamasca and the Girolmeta; in Bach the four duets, which, however, can be interpreted as one of the chapters of the Lutheran Catechism, the one referring to ‘confession’ (two voices = two figures involved, the confessor and the sinner).
In ex. 13, 14 and 15, we see excerpts from the collection of fugues dedicated to Christmas, presumably composed in Leipzig during the years when Clavierübung III was written[7] . It is noticeable how the treatment of the contrapuntal material, especially in the exposition, is similar to the procedure used by Frescobaldi. In particular, the way of dividing the Cantus firmus into two half-phrases (ex. 15 a) placed simultaneously in the soprano and alto (with larger values in the soprano and smaller values in the alto), is also found in BWV 701, where the chorale is divided into two parts, one of which has larger values in the alto and smaller values in the soprano. This denotes a profound knowledge of the Ferrara composer’s contrapuntal style, demonstrating that Bach’s study continued well beyond his youth: Frescobaldi was therefore a model and point of reference throughout his life.
Among his mature works, certain passages in The Art of Fugue are certainly worthy of note. In ex. 16 and 17, this correspondence is illustrated: for example, bar 4 of the Toccata avanti la Messa della Domenica finds an almost exact correspondence in some bars of counterpoint number 14 of The Art of Fugue, but in general, even later on, it can be seen how Bach’s contrapuntal style follows Frescobaldi’s style of writing in a truly impressive way. Ex. 17a is symptomatic in this regard; it could very well have been written by Frescobaldi! In ex. 17b and c, we find the melodic fragment already observed in Durch Adams Falls (ex. 12c), but this time without chromaticism (bars 43-51 of counterpoint 14).
As we have seen, the series of models that Bach draws on is quite varied: not only the Fiori, but also the Fantasies and Ricercars. In this regard, I would like to focus on the Fugue in C sharp minor BWV 849 from the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier[8].
[7] BWV 696, 697, 698, 699, 701, 703, 704 for Advent and Christmas, preserved in a posthumous manuscript from 1760 and written for manual only, without pedal.
[8] For this subject: J. Ladewig, Bach and the Prima prattica: the influence of Frescobaldi on a Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, The Journal of Musicology, Vol 9 No. 3 (1991), pp. 358-375, University of California Press, from which some musical exemples are taken
4
As can be seen in ex.18, the theme is clearly taken from Frescobaldi’s Ricercare primo, which also appears in the First, Sixth and Twelfth of his Fantasie.
Ex. 19 shows the three subjects of the ricercare: the themes are superimposed and mixed together in a very dynamic and varied way, with frequent modifications and rhythmic changes. In Bach, the idea is similar, but structured in a more ‘severe’ manner.
In ex. 21, 22 and 24, Frescobaldi’s great freedom and imagination in the treatment of contrapuntal material is evident: more irregular and surprising in the mixing and permutation of voices. Bach is more regular, but it is clear that he uses Frescobaldi as a model (ex. 21 b).
Bach thus demonstrates his in-depth analysis of Frescobaldi’s technique, as well as the great cantabile quality of his counterpoint, as can also be seen in the ‘osservato’ style pieces contained in Clavierübung III. However, the ‘Kantor’ tends to develop his own musical conception in the ‘transcendent’ and to take his music to a higher level in terms of the use of mathematical and theological symbolism.
What could have prompted Bach to choose such a theme? A ‘cross-shaped’ form is also present in the Triple Fugue in E flat major: Bach will certainly have noticed that the theme used by Frescobaldi recalls the notes B. A. C. H., so often used by Bach, almost as a personal ‘signature’. Furthermore, if we look at the three themes of the Ricercare in ex. 19a, we can see a progressive decrease in values. The same thing can be found in the Fugue in C sharp minor (see also the Triple Fugue), in which the first theme has large values, while the others have crotchets and quavers (ex. 21b). It should also be noted that the overlapping of themes occurs as a final conclusion, a procedure found in both Frescobaldi (ex. 20) and Giovanni Maria Trabaci’s Ricercars. In the Canonical Variations on Vom Himmel hoch BWV 769, in the printed version, we find the use of overlapping and permutation of the subject divided into various fragments used in all possible contrapuntal forms in the final stretto.
From these observations, we can conclude that Frescobaldi was a truly important model for Bach, not only in his youth but throughout his entire life. At the time, Italy was considered the foundation of musical culture, and perhaps this is also why Italian composers are not mentioned in the aforementioned letter of 1775; it was taken for granted that Italy was an absolute reference point for every European musician. Frescobaldi, on the other hand, as we have seen, is expressly mentioned, even though he contributed to the Kantor’s music not so much by ‘providing’ musical forms (Bach never used the Toccata form for the elevation), but by making the counterpoint linear, cantabile, refined and elegant despite its complexity.
Perhaps this was the reason why Bach probably felt the need throughout his life to ‘consult’ the genius from Ferrara as if he were a great encyclopaedia of knowledge.
Through J. S. Bach, we can still ‘savour’ a little of the musical ‘Italianness’ of the golden age.
Essential Bibliography:
J. Ladewig, Bach and the Prima prattica: the influence of Frescobaldi on a Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, The Journal of Musicology, Vol 9 No. 3 (1991), pp. 358-375, University of California Press
P. Williams, Frescobaldi’s “Fiori musicali” and Bach, Recercare, Vol. 24. No. ½ (2012) pp. 93-105, Fondazione Italiana per la Musica Antica (FIMA)
P. Williams, Bach, una biografia musicale, “Adagio” collana di studi musicali, Roma, Astrolabio, 2019
S. A. Crist, Beyond “Bach-Centrism”: Historiographic Perspectives on Johann Sebastian Bach and Seventeenth-Century Music, College Music Symposium, Vol 33/34 (1993/1994), pp. 56-69, The College Music Society
J. C. Zehnder, Die frühen Werke Johann Sebastian Bachs. Stil – Chronologie – Satztechnik, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Scripta 1, 2009, Schwabe AG, Verlag, Basilea, 2 voll.
L. Ghielmi, Da Frescobaldi a Bach,
https://lorenzoghielmi.com/blog/
