Buxtehude's Ciacona in C Minor and the Nicene CreedAuthor(s): Carol JarmanReviewed work(s):Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 146, No. 1891 (Summer, 2005), pp. 58-69Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30044090 .Accessed: 23/01/2012 19:18

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58

CAROL JARMAN

Buxtehude's Ciacona in C minor and

the Nicene Creed

I. Kerala J. Snyder: Dieterich Buxtehude: organist in Liibeck (Schirmer Books, 1987), pp.IoI-02, 132 and 12.

2. Carol Jarman: 'Buxtehude's E minor Ciacona and the Rosary', in The Organist (The Royal College of Organists, November 1994).

MATHS AND MUSIC GO TOGETHER' - how often have you heard this

comment? It is certainly an observation that can be applied to the

Danish organist and composer Dieterich Buxtehude (c.i637-1707).

In addition to his duties as organist at St Mary's, Liibeck, a position he held

from i668 until his death, he was also employed as 'Werkmeister' - admini-

strator and treasurer - at the church. In fact, the meticulously kept account

books of that period form part of a small number of surviving documents in

Buxtehude's hand. His education as a boy at a Latin school in Denmark

would have included the study of the 'quadrivium' - arithmetic, geometry,

astronomy and music.'

But these are not my only reasons for making the maths and music

connection. Through detailed analysis of the structure of his Ciacona in C

minor BuxWV 159 for organ I have discovered a dimension which appears

to have remained concealed for nearly 300 years. Here, mathematical ele-

ments are used as compositional devices and, furthermore, they provide the

key to unlocking the hidden meaning behind the notes. For this work is not

simply a chaconne, with a series of variations on a bass theme/harmonic

scheme: it is a statement of the Christian faith, a musical interpretation of the Nicene Creed.

My interest in the Ciacona in C minor was prompted by my discovery some years ago that another of Buxtehude's ostinato organ works, the

Ciacona in E minor BuxWV 160o, is actually a beautifully crafted piece based

on the Rosary.2 This, too, was as a result of looking at the use of numbers in

its composition. Briefly, although it appears to have 31 four-bar statements of

the theme, there are in fact just I5 'full' eight-bar statements, each depicting

in turn the 15 mysteries of the Rosary. The additional bars which bring the

total length up to 125 bars are there for mathematical reasons: the factors of

I5 are 3 and 5, and 53 = 125.

It is the length of the Ciacona in C minor, 154 bars, that turns out to be one

of the most crucial elements involved in unravelling this work. The piece is

based on a four-bar bass theme (ex.i) which is repeated in various forms 38

times; this produces a total of 152 bars. One more bar is essential to complete

the final cadence, but another is added at bar 81. Why add this extra bar and

why at this particular place? My investigation into the properties of 154 pro- duced the result shown in fig.I:

Ex.I: Buxtehude: Ciacona in C minor, bars I-4, pedal only

Ex.2: Buxtehude: Ciacona in C minor, bars 77-82

II I2 13 14 I I I I

21 2 223 24 = 2 4 8 i6 31 32 33 34 3 9 27 81

Total = i54

Fig.i

Bar 81 now starts to show its significance as 34, a prominent number in the table. It is also around this area of the work that the music provides the clearest hint as to what it represents (ex.2). The change in the style of writing at bars 77-81 and the alterations to the bass statement are not dissimilar to those occurring in the Crucifixion passage in the E minor Ciacona. Then at bar 81 there is a moment's silence in the manuals (and possibly pedals, too, according to some editors), before three rising chords lead to an exuberant and triumphant passage. Could this be a representation of the Resurrection on the third day? Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection are central to the Christian faith, and bar 77, where the passage begins, is exactly in the middle of the Ciacona. Compare this with the Credo ('Symbolum Nicenum') of Bach's Mass in B minor - it, too, has the Crucifixus as its central pivot point.

There is a further link which can be made between Bach's Credo and Buxtehude's Ciacona and this takes us into the slightly controversial area of the Number Alphabet. In her book Bach and the riddle of the number alphabet3 Ruth Tatlow describes how Friedrich Smend, writing in 1947, put forward his theory of Bach's use of the natural-order number alphabet (A = i, B = 2...

I/J=9... U/V=2o... Z=24). He pointed out, amongst many other

examples, that CREDO = 43 (3 + 7 + 5+ 4 + 14) and that in the B minor Mass

chorus 'Credo in unum Deum' the word CREDO appears 43 times. Could it be that Buxtehude also made use of this type of symbolism? The number 43

3. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), p.9.

THE MUSICAL TIMES Summer 2005 59

60o Buxtehude's Ciacona in C minor and the Nicene Creed

is a prime number, and so has no factors available to use in the same way as in the E minor Ciacona. Is it possible, then, that he took the figures 4 and 3 and used them to devise the 4 by 3 rectangle, with its numbers from i to 3, powers of I to 4, and 34 taking on special significance as the moment of the Resurrection?

Another illustration of the importance of the figures 4 and 3 and the number table can be seen at the beginning of the Ciacona, in the grouping of the statements of the theme. Pairs of statements are the most common approach in chaconnes and initially this seems to be the pattern, with the first two statements identical and the second two almost the same. However, they are then grouped as a three, two and one. Taking the first two pairs as one unit, this produces 4 + 3 + 2 + I, a feature clearly linked to the table. Also note that the pedals are used for the first seven statements (4 + 3) and then stop; although there are further pedal entries, not one of them is exactly the same as the original form of the statement used at the beginning.

One more mathematical feature remains to be described: the Golden Section. This is the term used to describe the division of a line so that the ratio of the smaller segment to the longer one is equal to the ratio of the longer segment to the whole line. It is a concept that dates back to the Ancient Greeks and has been used over the centuries in art, architecture and music, to create a very pleasing sense of proportion.

A B C

The Golden Section Ratio of B/C to A/B = Ratio of A/B to A/C

Fig.2

The value of the Golden Section, to three decimal places, is o.618. Later I shall show that bar 95 is very important as the only place where the highest

pedal note, D, is used. The position of this bar in relation to the total length of the Ciacona is 95/154, which equals 0.617.

Returning to the musician now, the detailed planning involved in the composition of the Ciacona does not end with the mathematics: there are hidden melodies, too. The Lutheran version of the Credo is 'Wir glauben all' an einen Gott' (We all believe in one God) and Buxtehude takes the first three phrases of this chorale, divided into four sections, another example of the use of the figures 4 and 3, as the basis for the opening of the work (ex.3). The first pair of statements of the bass theme (bars 1-8) incorporates the melody in two ways - as the initial pedal note followed by a decorated inner voice in the texture and also to provide the opening motif in bar i (ex.4). The second

Wir glau - ben all' an ei - nen

Gott, Schip - fer Him - mels und der_ Er - den,

Ex.3: 'Wir glauben all' an einen Gott', opening

Ex.4: Buxtehude: Ciacona in C minor, bars I-4

phrase of the chorale, again in an embellished form, is distributed between three different voice parts in the next pair of statements (bars 9-16, ex.5). Only the opening interval of the third phrase, a rising fourth, is used for the following set of three statements (bars 17-28, ex.6), and this is very significant in the interpretation of the text. In the first verse of the chorale the word 'Himmels' ('Heaven') coincides with this interval and in the Cia- cona, as I shall show later, it is used at the point 'Maker of Heaven and Earth'. The remainder of the third phrase provides the outline for the subject of the

fugato passage from bar 29 to 36 (ex.7). There may well be some significance in the length of this 36-bar chorale-

based section. The chorale text is 'We all believe in one God, maker of Heaven and Earth'; the Creation took six days and 36 = 62. Bach uses the same portion of the melody in his organ chorale prelude 'Wir glauben all' an einen Gott' BWV 680. Piet Kee in 'Number and symbolism in the Passacaglia and Ciacona' links the six pedal entries in this with the six days of the Creation.4

Two more chorale melodies feature in the Ciacona. 'Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her' ('From Heaven on high I come') (exx.8 and 9) appears at the appropriate moment at bar 65 and there is a hint of 'Heut' triumphiret Gottes Sohn' ('Today God's Son triumphs') at bar 82 (exx.io and ii).

4. Occasional Paper no.2 (The John Loosemore Centre, 1988), pp.6-7.

THE MUSICAL TIMES Summer 2005 61

6z Buxtehude's Ciacona in C minor and the Nicene Creed

Ex.5: Buxtehude: Ciacona in C minor, bars 9-13

Ex.6: Buxtehude: Ciacona in C minor, bars 17-20

Ex.7: Buxtehude: Ciacona in C minor, bars 29-33

Vom Him - mel hoch da komm ich her

Ex.8: 'Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her', opening

Ex.9: Buxtehude: Ciacona in C minor, bars 65-69

Heut tri - um - phi - ret Got - tes Sohn

Ex.Io: 'Heut triumphiret Gottes Sohn', opening

Ex.II: Buxtehude: Ciacona in C minor, bars 81-86

THE MUSICAL TIMES Summer 2005 63

64 Buxtehude's Ciacona in C minor and the Nicene Creed

Ex.I2: Buxtehude: Ciacona in C minor, bars 36-41

Setting the words

Bars i-16 I believe in one God Statements 1-4 the Father Almighty,

Bars 17-28 Maker of heaven and earth, Statements 5-7 And of all things visible and invisible:

Bars 29-36 And in one Lord Jesus Christ, Statements 8-9 the only-begotten Son of God,

Bars 37-40 Begotten of his Father Statement o10 before all worlds,

The Ciacona in C minor, therefore, begins with a series of bold and powerful statements, affirming belief in the Christian faith. The chorale melody 'Wir glauben all' an einen Gott' forms the basis for most of this section, including the placing of the 'Himmels' interval at the beginning of statement 5. In this group of three statements (bars 17-28) there is much use of imitation, with each entry 'creating' another, perhaps as a means of portraying the words. The opening interval of a fourth is only used once in this way, however, with the following entries beginning with thirds (another 4-3 reference?) The contrast between the lower and higher entries may be there to represent earth and heaven.

At bar 29 there is a complete change of style for the words 'And in one

Lord Jesus Christ', with a flowing three-voice fugato for manuals only. Coupled with the modulation to EL major - the only place in the Ciacona where this occurs - the effect is one of calm and serenity. However, there is a chromatic twist at the end, bar 36, with a diminished seventh chord taking the music back towards C minor (ex.12). Interestingly, Geist (c.I640-7II)

uses exactly the same chord in his motet Media vita to emphasise human mortality. Geoffrey Webber describes how the use of the chord reminds the listener that 'Media vita in morte sumus' ('In the midst of life we are in

death').5 The return of the pedal part, now with an altered bass line, adds solemnity to the final statement of this section, which appears to anticipate the Crucifixion statement later in the Ciacona, perhaps foretelling what is to befall the Son of God. The last note of the pedal line, C, is the lowest note available and is used only four times in the whole work, each time coinciding with a reference to the earth or world. Piet Kee describes the ancient number symbolism linked to the world and nature, and lists 'of the earth' as one of the meanings of the number four.6

Bars 41-52 God of God,

Light of Light, Very God of Very God,

Bars 53-60 Begotten, not made, Being of one substance with the Father, By whom all things were made:

Bars 61-64 Who for us men, and for our salvation

Bars 65-72 came down from heaven, Bars 73-76 And was incarnate

by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And was made man,

Bars 77-81 And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered and was buried,

Statements 11-13

Statements 14-15

Statement 16

Statements 17-18

Statement 19

Statement 20

5. Geoffrey Webber: North German church music in the age of Buxtehude (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), p.I30.

6. Piet Kee: op. cit., p.2.

7. Snyder: op. cit., p.238.

8. 'On the secret meaning of numbers', in Musicalische Paradoxal-Discourse (1707; facsimile, Hildesheim: Olms, 1970). See also Kee: op. cit., p.20.

Kerala Snyder comments on the freedom with which Buxtehude handles repetition in the Ciacona, sometimes expanding it to three variations, whilst on other occasions omitting the repetition completely.7 In fact, these differences are there for a purpose. The groupings were clearly for mathematical reasons in bars 1-40 and now in this section the opening set of three statements appropriately reflects the text. The pairing of the words 'God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God' is represented by the use of two-part writing in bars 41-52. The highest notes so far in the piece, Abs, are used twice in the last of these three statements. A fuller texture, with pedals, returns at bar 53. The trill-like pattern of notes which runs through this section - pairs of notes used to create one musical element - could be significant in portraying the words here.

In bars 61 to 64 (manuals only) there is a brief move towards the dominant, G minor. This may be connected to the symbolism of five representing man. Werckmeister describes how the number i is associated with God the Father, 2 with Christ, 3 with the Holy Spirit, 4 with the angels and 5 with man.8 This

THE MUSICAL TIMES Summer 2005 65

66 Buxtehude's Ciacona in C minor and the Nicene Creed

particular modulation, however, is of far greater significance when it appears a little later on; so perhaps here the use of a D major chord on the first beat of bar 64 is simply intended to give an uplifting effect on the word 'salvation'.

The dotted rhythms at bar 65 create a joyous feel, but it is actually the lower part that deserves the attention - the beginning of the chorale 'Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her' ('From Heaven on high I come') (exx.8 and 9). The pedal line in the following statement (bars 69-72) descends through just over two octaves, almost from the top of the pedal board to the bottom, further illustrating Christ coming down from heaven. The choice of Dl rather than D in bar 69 will later be seen to be important in the wider scheme of the work. The low pedal C is again used to represent the earth.

Bars 73-76, for manuals only, include more descending passages, with

each successive entry in the three-part texture lower than the previous one. At the end of this statement, though, the semiquavers suddenly cease, as the central section of the Ciacona is reached. 'Accompanied' by silence, a single line melody enters at bar 77 (ex.2). After four notes (which, perhaps significantly, descend through a fourth and then rise by a third, giving 4 and 3 again), it leads to a passage very similar to that first heard at bars 36-40 (ex.12). The pedal line is an exact transposition, up a perfect fifth, of the earlier statement, and the harmonies used, in G minor now, are almost identical. Thus the passage appears to be showing the fulfilment of God's divine plan. The very clearly defined modulation to the dominant that occurs here is the point most likely to be symbolic of the number five and Christ made man. The Crucifixion statement ends at bar 81, where the all important extra bar is added at 34.

Bars 81-89 And the third day he rose again Statements 21-22 according to the Scriptures,

Bars 90-97 And ascended into heaven, Statements 23-24

And sitteth on the right hand of the Father.

Bars 98-oy5 And he shall come again with Statements 25-26 glory to judge both the quick and the dead:

Bars o106-13 Whose Kingdom shall have Statements 27-28 no end.

A quaver's rest in the manuals part (and possibly pedals, as well - editors' views vary as to how long the pedal note should be) is followed by three quaver chords to signify the third day and announce the Resurrection. Above the joyous-sounding semiquaver arpeggios the melody line now resembles the opening of the chorale 'Heut' triumphiret Gottes Sohn' ('Today God's Son triumphs') (exx.io and I1).

Ex.I3: Buxtehude: Ciacona in C minor, bars 94-97

The statements from bar 82 through to the end of the Ciacona are basically grouped as identical pairs, but in bars 90-97 this pattern is not followed, in order to allow for details in the pedal line to fit the overall plan of the work. For the words 'And ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of the Father' three-note chords are used for the manuals, while the pedals grandly portray the movement from earth to heaven with a huge, two-octave leap from C to C in bar 94 (ex.13). This is the third appearance of the lowest C, again used to represent earth. It is bar 95, however, which plays an especially significant role. It is the only place in the whole Ciacona where the note D, the highest pedal note available, is used and marks the exact position of the Golden Section. In this beautifully proportioned piece, Buxtehude has reserved a special place for heaven.

Bars 98-o105 make use of rushing semiquaver scales to represent the coming in glory, and the contrasting high and low parts of manuals and pedals probably refer to the quick and the dead. The semiquavers continue into the next pair of statements, with broken chord patterns taking the music this time to the highest manuals notes, Cs. Again this is the only occasion that they appear in the work and their placing coincides with the conclusion of the most triumphant section of the work.

Bars 114-21 And I believe in the Holy Ghost,

The Lord and giver of life, Bars 122-29 Who proceedeth from

the Father and the Son, Bars 130-37 Who with the Father

and the Son together is

worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the Prophets.

Bars 138-45 And I believe in one holy

Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for

Statements 29-30

Statements 31-32

Statements 33-34

Statements 35-36

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68 Buxtehude's Ciacona in C minor and the Nicene Creed

the remission of sins.

Bars 146-54 And I look for the Statements 37-38 Resurrection of the dead, And the life of the world to come. Amen.

At bar 114 the style becomes much more like that of the opening of the Ciacona as the words 'I believe' return. The pedal theme is back in a more familiar form although rests take the first beats of the bars. The distinctive rhythm introduced in the manuals for the first (and only) time - semi- quaver/dotted quaver - can thus be heard very clearly giving new energy to the top voice. The shape of the melodic line refers back to the 'Wir glauben' motif, which is used three times, successively higher, in each of these statements. Three, as mentioned earlier, can be used to represent the Holy Ghost. As if to further emphasise this symbolism, the next four statements have their beats subdivided into threes. The 'arpeggiando' section (bars 122-29) has a two-part texture representing the Father and the Son, with the lines moving in parallel thirds and sixths throughout. From this, more notes can be generated, depending on the performance practice adopted. ('Arpeg- giando' can imply that the pairs of notes, although shown sounding together, should be played one after the other, left hand then right hand; alternatively, broken chord patterns can be added to the pairs of notes.) The following pair of statements (bars 130-37) also has two voices moving together, but this time a third is added, placed centrally inside each beat, portraying the Holy Ghost with the Father and Son. Below these, the pedal line from bars 114-21 is used again to give a symmetry to the structure of these six statements referring to the Holy Ghost. Another example of modulation to the domi- nant occurs in bars 133 and 137 and this may be a reference to five, man and the prophets.

At bar 138 there is a return to the standard subdivision of beats. Semi- quavers have, of course, been much used throughout the piece, but there is the possibility of the 12 semiquavers per bar relating to the 12 Apostles. The centrally placed three-note chords may in turn represent the true Church and

the dipping semiquaver lines which go below them three times could be depicting Holy Baptism.

The last two statements both begin with a crotchet's rest to provide a point from which to look ahead. The strength of faith portrayed at the beginning of the Ciacona is heard again above an almost identical bass and, with the fourth and last of the low Cs in the pedals, the piece ends on a triumphant C major chord.

If any one of the points described above was simply an isolated feature, it would tell us little, if anything, about this Ciacona. There are so many differ-

9. Ruth Tatlow: op. cit.

The music examples from Buxtehude's Ciacona in C minor are taken from Buxtehude: New Edition of the Complete Free Organ Works, volume z, BA 822z, and reprinted by kind permission of Bdrenreiter Verlag.

ent ways of arriving at the figure 154, and why should it be the length of the work rather than the number of statements that is significant? A chorale

melody which fits a standard harmonic scheme could quite naturally fit against another composition. Why should the texture mean something particular on this occasion and not on another? The same point could be made about the use of high and low notes, modulations, melodic shapes - the list goes on. And Buxtehude and the Number Alphabet? It is the sheer volume of detail that can be identified that convinces me that the Ciacona in C minor is actually based on the Creed.

IT is difficult to say whether Buxtehude ever intended the hidden meaning to be known. It may be that he was using his mathematical and musical

gifts to express his religious belief in a very personal and private way, as an act of devotion to be understood only by himself and his Maker. This would clearly relate to his personal motto, 'Non hominibus sed Deo' ('Not to men but to God'). It is also possible, though, that he expected other musicians who were familiar with the techniques used to be able to work out the solution. There is, after all, much evidence from that time of the setting of word puzzles, with number alphabet codes to be solved.9 The clues are there to be found: the 4-3-2-1 grouping at the opening, the addition of bar 81, the chorale melodies, the solemnity of the Crucifixion passage, followed by the three chords for the Resurrection on the third day. It seems unlikely, however, that the meaning of the music was widely understood at the time, as surely there would be some record of this.

Whatever the reason behind its composition, the Ciacona in C minor undoubtedly provides evidence of the amazingly detailed thought-processes employed by Buxtehude in his music. Equally awe-inspiring is the apparent ease with which these ideas combine to allow the true meaning to remain concealed for all these years.

Carol Jarman, a teacher and further education lecturer, read music at Royal

Holloway College, University of London, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.

THE MUSICAL TIMES Summer 2005 69