Religious Music of the Reformation

Handel & Bach

Cantata (Bach)• A work for chorus, soloists, and

orchestra• Performed without action or

costumes• Usually part of the church service

on Sunday and based on that week’s Bible reading

• Protestant

Johann Sebastian Bach(1685 – 1750)

• Two wives and twenty kids

• Excelled in both secular and sacred music.

• Appointed Kapellmeister (Music Director) of St. Thomas church in Leipzig

• Composed new music every week for the Sunday mass

Bach’s Cantata No. 120 “Wachet auf, ruft uns die

Stimme”• One of Bach’s 195 surviving cantatas• Movement 7 – Chorale

– Chorus needs to harmonize with keyboard

– Bach is considered a master of harmony

Bach’s Cantata No. 120“Wachet auf, ruft uns die

Stimme”• Movement 1 – Ritornello

– Melodic idea that returns periodically (refrain)

– What instruments do you hear?• Movement 4 – Nocturne

– This part of the story takes place at night

– Tenors sing about Mary awakening and her “joyful union” with Jesus

Oratorio (Handel)• An extended work for chorus,

soloists, and orchestra• Text is typically drawn from

scripture• Performed without action or

costumes• Not part of a church service• Catholic and Protestant

George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759)

• Born in Germany• Traveled and

studied in Italy• Became

Kapellmeister of Hanover, Germany

• Moved to London in 1712

• Considered England’s greatest composer

Handel’s Messiah

• Presented in Dublin, Ireland in 1742• It has been performed every year

since• Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection• King George II of Britain stood up

when he first heard the “Hallelujah Chorus” in 1743, starting a tradition that lives on today

“Hallelujah Chorus”of Handel’s Messiah

What to listen for:• The chorus gradually intensifies through

voices rising to ever higher pitches• The sharp shouts of “hallelujah” • Imitative Polyphony during the phrase

“and he shall reign forever and ever.” • Building tension through a series of rising

phrases (“King of Kings, and Lord of Lords”)

• Regal tone