We are slowly making our way through the book of 101 Chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach. Here are chorale numbers 33 through 38. Download for free! (Now where else can you get such a great deal?)
More Music
Category: classical music
Four More For The Road
The Countdown of Bach Chorales continues. You probably have noticed that the final chord is major, instead of minor, in most of these songs. When that happens it is called a “Picardy Third” because the third note on the final chord is raised a half step.
For more on that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picardy_third
The Hits Are Back
And here are some thoughts I thought worth sharing:
– Did you know that before I became a vegetarian I was in “Burgers and Acquisitions?”
– Do you like ambience? Take an ambien.
– I am a guitar player, which means I often fret.
– Even thugs sometimes need hugs.
– Nipples always come in pairs. You can’t have one without the udder.
Happy Tuesday
Here is something to brighten your day
Just sit back and then press play
It’s not too long so you can bear it
And when you’re done be sure to share it
And Now For Something Completely Different
Here are some chorales by Bach
They aren’t quiet, they almost rock
Each song has horns, and trumpets too
It will cheer you up if you are blue
I made some changes to it yesterday
Instead of going out to play
It’s too hot out there anyway
I wish that it would rain today
The Chorale List is Growing
I’ve been making music all day long
My back feels like I’m sitting wrong
The song is mellow, it doesn’t rock
And that’s because it was written by Bach
It’s actually several Chorales put together. How many, you ask? You will have to listen and find out.
A chorale is metrical hymn tune associated in common English usage with the Lutheran church in Germany. From early in the Reformation, chorales were to be sung by the congregation during the Protestant liturgy. Unison singing (everyone singing the same note) was the rule of the reformed churches, both in Germany and in other countries. Early polyphonic (multivoiced) versions may have been intended for a choir singing only the melody while the full version was played on the organ.
One More Time
You thought I was done with the music lessons, didn’t you? You were so wrong….
Johann Pachelbel (1653 – 1706) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most important composers of the middle Baroque era.
Pachelbel’s music enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime; he had many pupils and his music became a model for the composers of south and central Germany. Today, Pachelbel is best known for the Canon in D; other well known works include the Chaconne in F minor, the Toccata in E minor for organ, and the Hexachordum Apollinis, a set of keyboard variations.
And here is my take on it:
And the list of Bach Chorales is growing. Here are nine chorales, harmonized by Johann Sebastian Bach. Whether or not he wrote all of the music is a question I guess only he can answer. I find it very comforting to listen to.
And now for something completely different.
In music theory, we are taught to use “smooth voicing” when changing chords. That involves moving as few notes as possible. This little musical experiment has all dominant chords, ascending and descending by minor thirds. The melody contains the notes of the chords, called arpeggios. For example, the first four chords are G, B-Flat, D-Flat, and E. The root moves up a minor third each time. Do you understand?
I knew you would.
To move a chord up by three half-steps (a minor-third): Lower the root by one whole step, and lower the third by a half-step. The fifth doesn’t move and it becomes the third of the new chord. For example G B D, or G Major, becomes F B-flat D, or B Flat Major.
If you want to move a chord down by a minor third, you raise the root a half step and raise the fifth by a whole step. The third stays the same and becomes the fifth of the new chord.
For example G B D Becomes G# B E.
And that concludes today’s music lesson.
The following examples use the above mentioned technique and go through all 12 keys. The beautiful thing about music, at least for me, is the fact that there are no rules.
Eight Songs
Can you tell which one of them is not like the other?
And Now For Something New
As of April 2022, this song has been the number one downloaded song on johnsthewritestuff.com.
It is my version of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. (A part of it, at least!)
Here is a very well-known song
It’s not too short and it’s not too long
If you have two sticks then you can drum
But if you don’t you still can hum
Your Daily Dose
Of Bach, that is.
Here are four chorales from the “101 Chorales by Bach” songbook, along with a new version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
I changed the last note on one of the chorales. Actually, I made a mistake transcribing it, but I liked the way it sounded and left it in. I hope I don’t get haunted by the ghost of Johann Sebastian telling me to fix it.
An OK Chorale
A long long time ago, even before “The Masked Singer” was on TV, I bought a book called “101 Chorales Harmonized by Johann Sebastian Bach.” It was required reading for a music class, and I have since discovered many treasures within its pages. The song I have posted here was written in the Baroque era, before the Classical period, which began in 1750.
Here is Chorale Number One, “O God Look Down From Heaven and View.” Just 100 Chorales to go…..
Wolfgang Is Back
Here is a song written in 4/4 time
Some might say it sounds sublime
It’s really quite a work of art
And it was written by our friend Mozart
This version is different from the first
It’s not the best, but not the worst
It has percussion, this is true
It’s the latest gift, from me to you
“View of a Port in the Morning”, 1774, painting by Claude-Joseph Vernet (Museum: National Museum in Warsaw):
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756. That means that when he wrote this well-known sonata in 1774 he was just 18 years old. Wow!
The Write Stuff 