God is man, man to deliver,
And the Son / Now is one / With our blood forever.
And the Son / Now is one / With our blood forever.
— Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676)
On this Holy Saturday, the Faithful remember the connection between the incarnation (Christmas) and the cross (Good Friday). Christ cannot redeem what He has not assumed, as we see in the following exploration of two complimentary movements in The Mass in B Minor by J. S. Bach (1685-1750): Et incarnatus (“And was incarnate”) and Crucifixus (“And was crucified”).
Faithful readers of “Lifted Voice” may recall from previous issues that J. S. Bach never heard the complete B Minor because it is a compilation of his life’s work, rather than a work intended for one specific performance. The Kyrie and Gloria, known as a Lutheran Missa Brevis or “Brief Mass,” might have been performed once or twice in Leipzig or Dresden under Bach’s leadership. The Sanctus was performed in Leipzig on Christmas Day in 1724. The Credo and the Agnus Dei, however, were not performed in Bach’s lifetime. The complete “Missa,” as Bach called it (the phrase “B Minor was added in the 1800’s) was probably compiled in the late 1740’s during his last period of creative outburst. It is a gift for posterity, the culmination of his life’s work, and his musical last will and testament.
Before delving into the details of the two movements at hand, consider the structure of the Credo of The B-Minor and how it places the Crucifixus at the center, closely framed by the incarnation and resurrection of the Son of God:
Before delving into the details of the two movements at hand, consider the structure of the Credo of The B-Minor and how it places the Crucifixus at the center, closely framed by the incarnation and resurrection of the Son of God:
| I believe in one God The Father almighty … And in one Lord Jesus Christ … And was incarnate … And was crucified … And the third day He rose … And I believe in the Holy Spirit … I acknowledge one Baptism … And I look for the resurrection of the dead … | CHORUS CHORUS DUET CHORUS CHORUS CHORUS ARIA CHORUS CHORUS |
In this structure, the outer frames consist of two grandiose and closely paired choruses, in which the chorus and orchestra function as equal partners. Working toward the center of the chiasm, we find one duet and one aria, both with light orchestral accompaniment that allows the individual voices to prevail. This leaves three movements, all in triple meter, toward the center of the chiasm: Et incarnatus, Crucifixus, and Et resurrexit. (Please see the April 2016 issue for a commentary on Et resurrexit.) Helmuth Rilling, one of the foremost conductors and teachers of the music of J. S. Bach, interprets the placement and musical continuity of these three movements as highlighting three key ideas of the Christian faith: the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of the So of God (Johann Sebastian Bach’s B-Minor Mass, p. 52), with the crucifixion of the Son of God as the innermost ring of the structure. Similarly, conductor John Eliot Gardiner is not Lutheran, but his nearly 80 years of immersion in Bach’s sacred music led him to say, “Christ’s crucifixion, according to Luther’s theologia crucis (‘theology of the Cross’), is the event to which the belief of the true Christian is oriented, the means by which he can perceive God as a result of Christ’s sacrifice and suffering” (Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven, p. 505).
Now listen to Bach’s musical depiction of the incarnation and crucifixion (the transition occurs at 3:38 in this video), performed here at St. Thomas Leipzig, where Bach served as Kantor (1723-1750), but where the Credo was not heard until long after Bach’s death:
Now listen to Bach’s musical depiction of the incarnation and crucifixion (the transition occurs at 3:38 in this video), performed here at St. Thomas Leipzig, where Bach served as Kantor (1723-1750), but where the Credo was not heard until long after Bach’s death:
| Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto Ex Maria virgine Et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis Sub Pontio Pilato, Passus et sepultus est. | And was incarnate by the Holy Spirit Of the Virgin Mary And was made man. And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and was buried. |
A number of elements in the Et incarnatus are striking in the next video, which includes a rolling score and color coding for thematic groupings. First, notice the pulsating base line at the bottom of the score, which initially functions as a pedal point before moving through the harmonic sequence. Bach used similar gestures in the St. John and St. Matthew Passions in connection with the road to the cross.
Second, notice at the top of the score the jagged instrumental line, which also continues throughout the movement. The unison violins seem to “sigh” by leaning on the lower notes and “sighing” into the upper neighbor. If one draws a line from the second to the fifth note and another line from the third to the fourth note, then it produces the shape of the cross in every measure of violin music:
Second, notice at the top of the score the jagged instrumental line, which also continues throughout the movement. The unison violins seem to “sigh” by leaning on the lower notes and “sighing” into the upper neighbor. If one draws a line from the second to the fifth note and another line from the third to the fourth note, then it produces the shape of the cross in every measure of violin music:
Finally, notice the descending vocal lines, which depict how the Son of God descended to earth. At the mention of the Virgin Mary, however, the melodic lines ascend, perhaps depicting how humanity is exalted through the birth of Jesus, as per Mary’s Magnificat. The last eight measures of this movement (et homo factus est) are particularly striking as the vocal lines ascend while the instruments, including the continuo, continue the cross motif, reminding the faithful that Christ was made obedient for us that He might suffer and die for us:
The Crucifixus is built on a passacaglia or lamento bass, which produces a pulsing or throbbing that is fitting for the crucifixion of the Son of God. In the next video, notice the highly chromatic, four-measure theme, which is repeated 13 times in pulsating quarter notes:
As you follow the thematic groupings in the next video, notice the constant use of the descending second (i.e., dropping down one note) in a lamenting theme that emphasizes the third syllable of the text by consistently placing it on the first beat of the measure: Cru-ci-FIX-us, Cru-ci-FIX-us, etc. At the top of the score, see how the strings usually play chords that fall on beats one and three, the traditionally strong beats in 3/2 meter. The flutes (flauto traverso in this video), however, emphasize beats two and three, which adds a different layer of accents to the music. Notice, however, that all the instruments play on the downbeat every time the above four-measure theme occurs (mm. 5, 9, 13, etc.), adding yet another layer of lament to the movement that Robert Summer called “one of the most expressive and deeply moving musical offerings in all of music literature” (Choral Masterworks from Bach to Britten, p. 7). On the last page, see how the flutes and strings drop out for the ill-fated 13th occurrence of the four-measure theme as the four lower voices (first sopranos are omitted in this movement) gradually descend into the depths to depict the burial of Christ, with a tempo appropriate marked Grave:
Taken together, the musical continuity between Et incarnatus and Crucifixus seamlessly connects the theology of the incarnation to the theology of the cross. Christ was incarnate for us so that He might be crucified for us and for our salvation. This connection between the incarnation and the cross was not lost on Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676), whose hymns were well known in Leipzig from the 1730’s and used regularly by J. S. Bach in his sacred choral works. In contrast to the sap, sentiment, and even theological sediment of many Christmas hymns today (what parent can possibly take seriously, for instance, the fantasy that “little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes”?), see how the theology of the cross is central to Gerhardt’s Christmas hymn, “All My Heart Again Rejoices.” Just after the words quoted as the header to this article (“God is man, man to deliver,” etc.), he gives the church voice to sing of Jesus’ incarnation and crucifixion in tandem:
| Should we fear God’s displeasure, Who, to save, Freely gave His most precious treasure? To redeem us He has given His own Son / From the throne Of His might in heaven. See the Lamb, our sin once taking / To the cross, Suff’ring loss, Full atonement making. For our life His own He tenders, And His grace / All our race Fit for glory renders. (Lutheran Service Book 360, stz. 4-5) |
+ You, who have suffered for us: Have mercy upon us! +
Addendum: Watch the video below a one-hour lecture on the Credo by Helmuth Rilling, one of the most respected Bach scholars in the world. His insights into the tune, text, and context of the Credo are highlighted by demonstrations from the professional musicians of the Oregon Bach Festival.
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