Finding God in the Music of J.S. Bach

J.S. Bach: “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.”

Samuel Hsu: "Bach is inexorable"

What is it about Bach's music that seems to be a reflection of perfect spirituality? Call it what you will, even those who do not find God in Bach's music, such as pianist Murray Perahia, acknowledge the organic and primordial qualities in his compositions. I agree with the statement that if no one came after Bach to continue the progress of Western music, it would have been enough. While most music seems to be an expression of the composer(or eventually the performer), the music of Bach is an expression of the heart of God. If all the sorrow, love, and peace of God could be combined into a piece of music, this would be it.

Bach of course uses melody, which would later become the main element of music as more personal expressions became important to composers. But there is something beyond melody in Bach. The figurations, sequences, and harmonic progressions get to the very essence of life. Consider this organ prelude below, which was arranged for piano by Alexander Siloti (while still preserving the integrity of the original). Notice the right hand figuration. This simple figuration that seems to do nothing but outline the harmonic progressions continues throughout the entire prelude. Simple figurations over a "cantus firmus" (the melody, which you can see the beginning of in the top voice of the left hand). My piano teacher once told me that Bach is inexorable. This means there is something inside the music that is unstoppable, irresistable, going on until the very last chord (many parallels here could be drawn to the nature of God). Even despite pauses in the structure, it continues. Later classical music is almost always comprised of many phrases (kind of like sentences). This prelude could be viewed as one long phrase (Siloti worked in a repeat, which makes it seem like two parts).

The beautiful thing about this kind of music is you can make it your own. You can create your own story for what it represents to you. Personally, when I hear it, I imagine God the Father looking at His Son, walking faithfully towards the cross, ready to die for humanity. All the sorrow He feels and at the same time, love for mankind.

The best performance I have found of this piece is by Emil Gilels. A Russian pianist that could stay authentic to what was on the page, but made every piece his own and it showed.

Bach-Siloti-Prelude in B minor - Emil Gilels

In this case, I preferred just the audio so as not to distract too much. But if you prefer the video, click HERE

Keats, Rachmaninov, and Somerset Maugham

One of my favorite things to do is to contemplate connections between authors and composers. Previously I shared some brief thoughts about Beethoven and Shakespeare. I guess these three guys in the title could be part two in an author/composer series...

It would be hard for me to think of a poet whose works I admire more than John Keats. Granted, I am no poetry expert, but I have read quite a few of Keats' poems. One of my favorites is "When I have fears that I may cease to be"

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

Incredibly melancholy, even downright depressing, but this poem made a very strong impression on me when I read it. I have contemplated this poem a lot. For me, it is saying how fleeting our lives are. There is so much to see and experience in the world, most of which we will never get a chance to do. Dreams unfulfilled for whatever reason, expectations of life that have gradually slipped through our fingers...The more we dwell on this fact, the worse we feel. The only response (especially for Keats, who died at the tragically young age of 26!) is to remember that everyone and everything will still come to nothing in the end. The fact is that all our experiences and achievements, no matter how wonderful, will come to an end for each and every person. In a way, it can be a comfort. The dream of living a 100% completely perfect and fulfilled life is not possible in this world. When we realize that "fame" will eventually become nothing, we are comforted. Since the goal is not attainable, we come to terms with our mortality and become free to enjoy what we can experience.


A quote by Rachmaninov...


"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music."

Continuing with this similar idea, it is impossible to experience all the beauty of music (or the world/art/etc.) in one lifetime. Being a pianist and also a lover of classic literature, I can certainly attest to the fact that I will never be able to immerse myself in all the great works of the past. We might as well submerge ourselves in the beauty around us, and do the best with what we can get our hands on.

And now to throw another author into the mix...my favorite quote from my favorite book of all time- Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham:

"He had lived always in the future, and the present always, always had slipped through his fingers. His ideals? He thought of his desire to make a design, intricate and beautiful, out of the myriad, meaningless facts of life: had he not seen also that the simplest pattern, that in which a man was born, worked, married, had children, and died, was likewise the most perfect? It might be that to surrender to happiness was to accept defeat, but it was a defeat better than many victories."

That about sums it up. You can take from it what you will, but I think it pretty much speaks for itself. As a conclusion to the peaceful melancholy these great pieces of art and artists inspire, the wonderful piano version of Rachmaninov's Vocalise. Enjoy the sublime playing of Emil Gilels.