A Mighty Fortress Is Our God by J. S. Bach A Musical Report - Essay Example

“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” by J. S. Bach – A Musical Report Johann Sebastian Bach’s hymn for “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” is my selected musical piece which consists of three sections, each with a time duration of 10:13, 7:19, and 4:32. I learned that it was an adaptation of an original work by Martin Luther, a German priest and chief proponent of the Protestant Reformation. As Bach’s remarkable chorale cantata which depicts a religious theme based on the substance of the Scripture’s Book of Psalms, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” embodies baroque music due to its flexible melodic variations that allude to sacred or godly exultations typically resembling the church’s operatic chants. It may be classified as baroque in nature due to its potential in unifying senses to a certain mood that could engage a protestant listener in a recollection of Lutheran customs. To this day, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” still holds popularity owing to the versatile musician J. S. Bach had become as he traveled frequently to several places, and his encounter of diverse cultures undoubtedly makes a significant impact on the musical artistry that presents the unfading memory of such music from his period. Besides being an organist, he was also recognized for possessing a beautiful soprano voice which, along with his special skills in playing the violin, continuo, and church choir performance, had withstood severe criticisms. His determination to pursue not just a career in music but also create an entire unique world around it as if a wonderful abode for an auditory refuge managed to build for him an enduring impression in which the heart of audience was drawn to a type of music readily capable of engaging human nature with profound sensibility as in the well-crafted “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” It would also amount to an inevitable appreciation of Bach regardless of the listener’s background on account of the flexibility his rendition took, for instance, when he came up with a musical composition which was styled in French at Luneberg. Moreover, Bach’s influence on the baroque style in music is quite signified in the monophonic texture and volume of the hymn shaped out of its initially severe complex rhythmic structure. Just as how a harpsichord was intended to establish the identity that is uniquely baroque for musical creations, the organ was similarly used to yield to the common objective of bringing a grotesque form in “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” This piece shaped the baroque society by being the “Battle Hymn of the Reformation,” which even during the early part of the 16th century had been sung upon entry to the Imperial Diet of the Worms when Luther defended his theses and critical beliefs against Catholic misdeeds. In a way, J.S. Bach’s rendition of the hymn (Ein’ Feste Burg ist unser Gott) reflected the erudite traits present in the opposing major religions that were tested in the midst of extravagant progress and by high philosophical intellects within the baroque society after the Age of Enlightenment in Europe. Being a music piece of the period of 1600-1750, Bach’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” projects an essential attribute of the baroque style as perceived through its grandiosity, irregularity, and strangeness. Compared to the music of the preceding Renaissance age, baroque music is found to be rich in various textures, levels of intensity, and melodies that seemed to form more embellished or intricate sound. To normal listeners, the characteristics of the original musical pieces of this era appeal to the senses not only emotionally but also experimentally. In either approach, a genius baroque musician had a particular unity of mood, form or style, and selection of instruments. By unity of mood, composers followed a specific kind of affection in generating rhythmic and melodic patterns such as those constituting “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” and this affection unified the mood in music, enabling the audience to recognize a theme or subject that is consistent all throughout the piece. When it comes to musical style, baroque is identified with the recitative manner of singing compositions or with speech rhythms designated for sung texts, which later evolved to arias or expressive melodies of a different order and instrumentation. Equivalently, the use of harpsichord featured the distinction of baroque music in conveying homophonic and developing polyphonic elements with the support of bass instruments in garnishing melodic lines with harmonic effects. This is somewhat evident in the passage: A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal. Understanding the baroque’s fashion by listening to “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” I could not help but justify that the craftsmanship of Bach exhibits certain elements that, though retaining their classical feature, are very distinct and timely compatible. It appears as one that means to evoke a familiar biblical passion yet remains within the realm of tunes that echo round a contemporary church. As operatic as it occurs to the hearing, the blithe variation of tempo renders the Lutheran song with a flow that soothes any prior sentimental tension, at least in my perspective. With a slightly rigid texture and varying fluidity to incorporate in the music of pop culture, Bach’s creation depicts a wider range of the classic genre for which most of the modern-day alternative concepts have found substantial relevance with which to blend. Works Cited “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” 2012. Web. 12 Dec 2012. http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/i/mightyfo.htm. Read More