Music Notes 3-22-26

Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most famous composers in history. Born in Eisenach,

Germany in 1685, he spent the bulk of his most renowned composing time – the last 25 years of

his life (1723-1750) - in Leipzig at St. Thomas Church, where he provided music for 4 churches

in the area. He was a bit of a maverick, disagreeing with his employers and taking unannounced

leaves of absence to go hear other musicians perform. There is even a story of him pulling a

sword in the middle of the street during an argument with a local bassoon player (Bach publicly

called him a “nanny goat bassoonist”…the bassoonist didn’t like it). He had 22 children with 2

different wives – Phyllis Diller used to joke that his harpsichord bench made out into a bed. His

music, however, is what he is most renowned for. His catalogue is enormous, containing over

1100 pieces of music (that’s what has survived – we know a lot of his music was lost after he

died), from small pieces for harpsichord to huge choral works (The St. Matthew Passion is

written for 2 orchestras and 2 choirs). He is the god of organ music, however, and organists

around the world defer to him and his music. During the time period between 1723 and 1729,

right after he moved to Leipzig, he wrote most of his cantatas – small performance works that

usually consist of a choral piece, a few arias and a couple of chorales (hymns). He wrote over

220 of these pieces, which were all written with orchestra. Probably the most famous single

piece of music to come out of his cantatas is the piece we call Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, which

is actually a chorale from cantata #147 – Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and Mouth

and Deed and Life). A wonderfully lilting countermelody underscores the main hymn tune, and

is probably his most universally recognized piece of music, other than the organ piece Toccata

and Fugue in D Minor, which owes its renown to Hollywood. His Magnificat, written in 1723

and revised 10 years later, is also universally revered as a masterwork. Roughly 30 minutes in

length, it has 12 movements that include pieces for chorus and soloists.

John Rutter is a British composer, born in London in 1945, and one of the most recognized

composers of church music in the world. His work includes carols (both original and

arrangements of familiar carols), anthems (including All Things Bright and Beautiful, our anthem

for this week), choral works and larger musical compositions. He has written for the King’s

Singers and regularly records his music with his own chorus, the Cambridge Singers. Many of

his larger works, including his Gloria and his Requiem, are considered classics and are part of

standard repertoire (our choir sang the first movement of the Gloria on Easter morning this year).

He’s also known for having reconstructed and published the original version of the Faure

Requiem. Gabriel Faure originally wrote his Requiem orchestrated for a chamber orchestra, but

his publisher suggested that he re-orchestrate it for full orchestra so that it would become part of

standard concert repertoire, which he completed in 1900. The original 1893 version was lost

until Rutter found Faure’s original sketch books in a closet at Faure’s church, the Madeleine

Church (or, more formally, L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine). This week’s offertory, A Gaelic

Blessing, was commissioned in 1978 by 1 st Methodist Church of Omaha, Nebraska for their

music director Mel Olsen. Over the years, FUMC of Omaha and Olson had a strong relationship

with Rutter, and they were responsible for the commissioning of several pieces of his that have

gone on to become modern classics, including his Gloria. Rutter has said that his Gaelic

Blessing was derived from an old Gaelic rune, and that he added the words “Jesus” and “Amen”

to make it Christian. The words talk about elements of nature - "running wave", "flowing air",

"quiet earth", "shining stars", "gentle night", "healing light", and in Rutter’s version, “Christ,

light of the world”. It is a modern classic and is considered to be one of the “top 10” anthems in

modern repertoire.