This page was written September
2004 and last edited on 16/01/06
This page was written September
2004 and last edited on 16/01/06
My page about Chorale 281 Bach Chorale links
A Comparison of Bach Chorales 117 and 355 [ See Music ]
Download this page as a WORD document
Download the music as a WORD document
Download the music as a Finale fileBefore you begin
Spacing and crossing of parts
What chords and standard progressions does Bach use?
Keys and modulationsHear the Chorale [MIDI files you can download too]: 117 355
See the Music [New Window]
The 371 Harmonized Chorales in the Riemenschneider collection should be consulted regularly be students who have to write harmony in the style of Bach for AS and A2 examinations. Those who know the book will be aware that some chorales appear only once and others occur more than once, each appearance showing using slightly, or very, different harmony. "Nun ruhen alle Wälder" is in the collection six times. For no good reason I have selected versions 117 and 355.
This page may introduce you to a few new ideas, but it is really a 'refresher' for students embarking upon A2 in September. If you need some revision try these links.
Chorale 117 is in A flat major so I have transposed it to B flat major in order to make the comparison easier for [student] visitors to this page.
The score was produced in Finale 2004 which can export MIDI files, but I tidied the MIDI files up in Noteworthy Composer. All sound cards are different so I hope it sound OK on your machine.
As the score is quite large I have placed it on a separate page. If you click here a new window should open and then you can toggle between windows to read the commentary and then view the score as you listen. You may need to decide where to put your Windows Media Player when you play the MIDI files, but you are, of course, a dab hand at computers.
I use the abbreviations S, A T and B for the 4 voice parts some of the time.
The score was produced in Finale 2004 which can export MIDI files, but I tidied the MIDI files up in Noteworthy Composer. All sound cards are different so I hope it sound OK on your machine.
MIDI links will appear in the text, but here are MIDI files of the two chorales in full. NOTE: In Chorale 355 the bass line is played an octave lower than written in the score. To find out why you will have to read on!
I have only mentioned a few unessential notes as I think you should be able to spot them. Take a look through these chorales to see how Bach uses passing notes (accented and unaccented) and both upper and lower auxiliary notes. Think how banal the harmony and texture would be without them.
Hear the whole of chorale 11. Hear the whole of chorale 355
Spacing and crossing of parts - Notes 1 to 7 Menu
Open a new window to see the score by clicking here and toggle between screens. [Click on the task bar or use Alt/Tab]. Not sure what Mac users do!
When you look at the chorale scores you will see that I have indicated 7 places where the spacing is a little surprising. Remember:
Tenor parts can be quite high and there can be a large gap (a 10th or a little more is fine) between the Tenor and Bass parts
There should not be a large gap between other parts although you will see that Bach gets away with a few instances [Bach was the 'master' so he is allowed!]
It is not a good idea to have Tenor and Bass too close together at a low pitch.
Voices should not leap more than a 5th if possible but octave leaps are fine as they can be used to 'reposition' the voice. See if you can find where he lets a part leap a 6th.
117 - Spacing Note 1
S&A are some distance from T&B. I think the context works in Bach's favour. Half way through the previous bar S&A and T&B started to move in contrary motion (which is nice) and our ears 'understand' why the part are becoming widely spaced. As the cadence is approached the parts move back together again.117 - Spacing Note 2
This may look widely spaced but it is only an octave between A and T in bar 6.117 - Spacing Note 3 Menu
This is a situation where Bach is forced to used a particular spacing. If he had had an A in the Tenor, consecutive 5ths would result in the next bar. There was no way Bass and Tenor could stay on the high D together. It was fine in the previous major chord under the pause, but with S & A sharing an F (it's OK to double the minor 3rd) the solution you see is the best. You can omit the 5th of a chord, NEVER the 3rd or root.117 - Spacing Notes 4a & 4b
Here we see two instances of doubled 3rds. S & A and then A & B. In the first, the alto E flat '7th' must fall [VII is the top 3 notes on V7 really] and the C rises to a D in the Sop. because the melody is given. On the 4th beat the justification is that A & B move in contrary motion as passing notes and you will see this a lot in the chorales, especially in the outer parts.117 - Spacing Note 5
Nothing wrong here! Tenor is high but that is part of the style.355 - Spacing Note 6
Well it is all completely logical, but if my students handed it in I'd reach for the red pen. It is because of situations like this that it is useful to look at Bach's alternative harmonizations of chorales. The doubled D's hammer home the 3rd of chord strongly, but I suppose they are moving in a contrary pattern from the previous chord and continue to do so. The Alto crosses the Tenor (this is fine but I would not actively encourage students to do this). Again, looking at the context, see how Bach gets out of this spacing and gives us a textbook IV7b V7b I progression. The Tenor D suspension was prepared and the Alto leaps an octave to arrive at a 'better' voice position.355 -Spacing Note 7 Menu
Chorale 355 contains fewer spacing issues than 117 and only a quick look at the 4th bear from the end reveals that there is not a problem here even if it looks wide.355 - Spacing Note 8
Having the Alto above the Soprano melody is rather too risky for an exam and it is best if you do not do this.355 - General note on the Bass part
As you read above, the bass part of the MIDI file of 355 sounds an octave lower than written. When played on an organ (as they will have been) the pedal part would sound an octave lower anyway. If played by a double-bass the same would be true. The Chorales were never intended to be sung a capella. You can find out more from the preface of Riemenschneider.
What chords and standard progressions does Bach use? Menu
One reason I chose these chorales is to show that the same chord progressions can yield quite different voice part. The first 4 chords of both chorales are I IV VIIb I and yet the spacings are worthy of study.
You will find the passing VIIb progression in these places: [Ai] & [Aii] and [Bi] & [Bii].
[Ai] & [Aii] are respacings of the same progression and both give rise to a doubled 3rd in the Tonic chord, though in slightly different places.
[Bi] & [Bii] are both interesting because the passing VIIb appears to be Ib followed by II and it is not until the quaver passing note A appears that VIIb is actually formed. The 'G' can be regarded as an accented passing note although it is not dissonant with anything.
You will find cadential progressions involving secondary 7ths here: [Ci] & [Cii], [Di] & [Dii], [Ei] & [Eii]
[Ci] has quite a high alto which is prepared on the previous beat. (If you have ever sung in a choir as an soprano or alto then moments like this can make it all worthwhile as you clash with each other!) [Cii] is the same progression but, strangely, not quite so intense. You should become familiar with both versions of this progression.
[Di] and [Dii] use II7 but not in 1st inversion which you have already encountered at AS level. Neither is the chord followed by V or V7. However, VIIb only lacks a 'C' bass note. So this is a ploy one could use for variety or to avoid complications.
In [Di] the B flat in the S and T need a comment. In II7 they are the (minor) 3rd; fine. In VIIb the note to double would be the 'G' because VII is like V7 without the bass note. So B flat is a 7th and should fall. It cannot do so without producing consecutive octaves. Bach chose not to do what you can see here and so he has made the best of an awkward situation because he was not entering and examination. To be honest, one's ear is not offended by this "rule breaking". In [Dii] the A and T cross and Bach does not insist on quaver motion. The result is plainer but successful.
At [Ei] we have a 'textbook' instance of Bach NOT using IC V I. He could have done if he had left out the Alto and Bass quavers at the very end of the previous bar. This would have allowed the Bass to go from G to F and make IC. Anyhow, it is more stylish to have the running quavers in the penultimate bar and use IV7. At [Eii] Bach does appear to use IC but one could argue (though life is too short) that the bass F is a passing note from G to E flat and that the Tenor D just make a better spacing than letting the C be an upper auxiliary and having it return to B flat as a crotchet. It is interesting that in the number 63 and 289 settings of the chorale Bach DOES use IC V I at the end! So don't think he never used the cadential six-four.
In Chorale 355 the most striking chord is the Diminished 7th at [F]. This chord is formed on the F# the leading note of G minor although Bach cadences on a major chord. Before this Dim 7th is a chord of I in C minor but remember that the bass note is an octave lower so the Tenor does not cross the bass in sound.
So that you can see the real progression in the following bar, take a look at the music with the bass written an octave lower [rather than crossing above the Tenor] by clicking here. The use of a six-four will be clearer as will the lower auxiliary note in the tenor and contrary motion between T & B.
Phrase 1 is solidly in B flat major in both versions. Phrase 2 modulates to F major, the dominant, but then returns to B flat major during phrase 3 arriving on chord V at an imperfect cadence. The distinction of being on a chord and in a key is important. It is important to know if the music is ON a dominant chord (for example) or IN the dominant (i.e. on the Tonic of that key). The same sound [even if it is respaced] means totally different things depending upon the context. So the chord at the end of phrase 2 is not the same as the chord at the end of phrase 3; one is I of F the other is V of B flat.
Notice how phrase 3 starts (in both versions) with a 3rd inversion of the dominant 7th of B flat. The E flat very strongly cancels out the earlier E natural.
Phrase 4 begins with an abrupt modulation to G minor (the relative minor) but in 117 Bach soon shifts to C minor ending on an imperfect cadence. However, although he reaches the same chord in 355, the diminished 7th has taken us to G minor and we have what looks like a plagal cadence [C in the bass to G] and Tierce de Picardie. Hang on, didn't we read that Bach hardly used plagal cadences? OK, well either this is a place where he DID do so, or another explanation will be needed. You can regard VII7 as, essentially, V9 (i.e. a Dominant minor 9th) but with the root (D) missing and, thus, argue it to be a chord which functions like a dominant giving a 'perfect cadence' feel. Hence the Diminished 7th is a Secondary Dominant Chord..
Phrase 5 starts by turning the major chord built on G into a minor one. In 117 Bach goes to B flat major (using the quaver E flat in this version of the melody to help him) and then he pays a brief visit to F major before heading for an Imperfect Cadence in G minor. In 355 he heads for F major and stays there. So the same tune can warrant two totally different harmonies. To understand this is an important step to being able to write in the style of Bach.
Phrase 6 of 117 starts by turning the major chord (V of G minor) into a minor one (VI of F) which brings 117 into line with 355 as it were. The Alto F natural DOES becomes a 7th in II7=VI7 and it does eventually fall to an E flat in the next bar. The false relation does not trouble Bach and, if you read the Preface to Riemenschneider, you will discover that in Bach's vocal works the phrases were separated by other music anyway.
The chorale ends with a strong return to B flat major in both versions.
You might consider looking at the version of this Chorale where it appears as Chorale 63. The first phrase modulates twice in an effective but surprising ways and provides an instance of an inverted cadence where the SECOND chord is not in root position. Usually the second chord is a root even if the first chord is not. Work out the key to which Bach has modulated.
Bach Chorale Links (A few) Menu
Bach Chorales. An excellent site.
Harmony revision and exercises to make you think!
