Johann Sebastian Bach, a well known composer, is not always accredited for his staunch Lutheran theology, beliefs, and his love to write music for the glory of God. Some may think of Bach as a musical genius ( which he indeed was) or as a dry and boring composer of the dark ages, but I think of him as a Church musician, a composer full of creative genius that he used to worship the Lord. I would like to point out Bach's devout beliefs and how he shows, through his music, the great truths and doctrines of the Bible.
First, I must start out with a brief and compact summery of Bach's life and background. Most know that Bach was born in 1685 into a long legacy of German composers. Even though his legacy dates back almost two centuries, Bach became the climax of this great chain of composers. Bach's family originated in the town of Wechmar Germany, the same area of Martin Luther's origin. His protestant family had moved to Wechmar from Hungry to escape Roman Catholic oppression. When Bach was ten years old his father died and he went to live with his older brother, Johann Christoph Bach. During this time Bach rapidly advanced in music and later received a scholarship from the well known secondary school in Luneburg. At age seventeen, Bach unsuccessfully applied for a job as organist in Sangerhausen. Later Bach obtained a position as a minor musician in the court of Wiemar. Bach climbed the “corporate” ladder quickly and soon afterward he was made church organist in the small town of Arnstadt. Also, in the Court of Wiemar, he is promoted to the rank of Concertmaster. Bach doesn't stay in Wiemar long though, the position as cantor of Leipzig became available and he moved into this position. Even though the position of cantor at the Thomas-Schule and director of the main churches in Leipzig was one of the most prominent musical positions of the time in the Lutheran Realm, Bach soon became disillusioned by fellow workers and found himself looking for a new position. He found a new position in Danzig as court musician and it is here that he gets married twice. His first wife, Maria Barbra died after bearing seven children. Soon after Maria's death Bach married again to Anna Magdalena with whom he had twenty more children, but only nine survived.
Bach was deeply interested in theology and the study of the Bible. His library consisted of two sets of Luther's Works, one in German and one in Latin, and a number of miscellaneous writings and some works by well known Lutheran theologians of the day. Luther was a major influence on Bach and Bach's works. Luther often accredited music for the inspiration for preaching, calling it "the greatest gift of God which has often induced and inspired me to preach.” In 1542, Luther wrote a preface to a book of funeral hymns which stated his view on music quite well, "We have put this music on the living and Holy Word of God in order to sing, praise, and honor it. We want the beautiful art of music to be properly used to serve our dear Creator and his Christians. He is thereby praised and honored and we are made better and stronger in faith when his Holy Word is impressed on our hearts by sweet music." Obviously Luther valued music as a thing to be cherished and used properly. Luther even went on to say in other writings that, every seminary student or anyone who was studying to go into the ministry should have a wholesome and thorough understanding of music. This same mindset was inherited by Bach, who also thought church music was a thing to be embrace and used properly. He went on to carry out the task of bringing high and holy music to the Church.
As I have already, stated, Bach's music was greatly influenced by Luther and the reformation. I expressed Luther's view on music, I would now like to explain Bach's biblical views in light of this. Bach, we know, had a very thorough understanding of theology because he was approved by Johann Schmidt, professor of theology at Leipzig, as satisfactorily answering all the questions relating to biblical theology which aligned with the Book of Concord. Another proof we have of Bach's religion is his Bible, this Bible was rediscovered in the 1930's in the home of a farmer. The Farmer and his family were using it as a family Bible. This Bible was later given to Concordia Seminary where it was forgotten until a few years ago when Dr. Thomas Rossin translated the notes Bach wrote in the margins of the Bible during his life. These note absolutely solidify the rumor of Bach's belief in Christ. With this said, we now can see Bach's outlook on his music.
In many of Bach's compositions he illustrates his theology, such as doctrine of the Trinity and the relation of Law and Grace. These doctrines are again essential doctrines of Luther and his writings.
The doctrine of the Trinity is the first doctrine I would like to unearth from Bach's compositions. This doctrine is one of Bach's favorite doctrines to expound upon in his music. Bach illustrates this doctrine in his one hundredth and seventy-sixth cantata. Composed for Trinity Sunday in 1725, this cantata portrays the trinity by using three oboes in successive order. Bach's mass in B minor is another work in which he expounds on this doctrine. In this piece Bach symbolizes the trinity in the Kyrie movement by using three sectional fugal counterpoint voices (soprano, alto and tenor) this is one of the most magnificent and beautiful illustrations of the Trinity. The Gloria movement further illustrates through the test when Bach uses triplets and parallel thirds while the voices sing Gloria Patri ( Glory be to the Father), Gloria Fillio (Glory be to the Son), and Gloria et Spirimi Soneto ( Glory be to the Holy Spirit).
Many of Bach's Cantatas are based on the distinction of the Law and the Gospel. Most of them start out by stating man's problem of sin and judgment, Bach would then go on to give the answer to man's problem. Cantata 106 illustrates this, it starts out with the opening statement Es ist der alte Bund: Mensch, du müßt ("It is an old decree/law that you, O man, must die" ) this is usually stylized in a dark legalistic fugue. The Cantata comes to its conclusion with the words Ja, komm, Herr Jesu (“Yeah, come Lord Jesus”) this is sung by a soprano that separates from the the rest of the voices and instruments and in a sense freely floats away from the rest of the group. Notice that even though Bach uses some text to reveal the doctrine or truth to the listener, most of the revealing is done through the music itself not the texts. Text infatuation is a problem within Evangelical circles, the majority of evangelicals refuse to recognize a song as “Sacred” unless it uses some cool text that appeals to their doctrine, I will speak of this in more detail later.
One of my favorite choral works is the Passion According to St. Mathew. This work is so powerful even, if you can't understand the dialog going on, the music speaks for itself! The passion was written after a well known choral melody of the era named Agnus Dei which was sung for Good Friday. On its first performance, the people in the congregation that would not even need to hear the words of the song to understand what it this beautiful work implied. The opening to this piece is the most magnificent. It is so high and big that the tension and anticipation will just build in you the sense that this was composed for something far greater than any audience. The passion's message is also very powerful. It speaks of how Christ, the bridegroom, has become a lamb to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. This is one of Bach's best illustrations of his Christological Hermeneutic.
I have already mentioned Bach's Mass in B Minor and since some might be asking the questions about its catholic origins and how this meshes with Bach's protestant stature, I will now go on to explain it farther. This mass is rather tricky to understand Bach's reason for writing it. It seems that Bach was trying to write a catholic mass. In some of the main movements we get a very catholic ambiance but in other movements we get the normal Protestant Bach that we see in the cantatas.
The main movement that is most known and most catholic in the dialog is the credo movement. This movement is based on the Nicaean Creed.
We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, 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, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
In the Credo Bach quotes almost right out of the creed stating “God of God” and “Light of Light” “Begotten not Made.”This mass even though it is rather catholic, Bach, as far as I can tell, does not forsake any of his protestant beliefs, he simply uses common beliefs and doctrines such as the virgin birth which make it have a catholic color. I also conclude that this was written for a job as a musician not as a work in which Bach lets his Lutheran flags fly. But we must also remember what I said in the previous paragraphs, how Bach expounds many a time on the law and the gospel, this essentially in it self explains and testifies of Bach's protestantism.
We have now seen Bach's doctrinal views and how he displays them though his compositions. We have seen his view on the Trinity and how he thoroughly enjoyed placing this doctrine at the focal point of many of his works and his beautiful illustration of how the law and the gospel work together, we also have seen Bach's Christological views in his Passion of St. Mathew. All these doctrines are not only illustrated in words and texts, but they are completed and brought to a point of conveying the works message more throughly through Bach's magnificent use of music to convey his love for these doctrines.
Today Christian music tends not to uphold the high standard of Bach but it settles for what the perverted culture has to offer. Bach's music is more than just dry and boring, as some might say, but it is full of life because Bach himself had life in Christ and Bach conveyed this through his music. Bach obviously put a lot of thought and energy into his writings so they are, unlike todays music, intellectual. It is now fashionable in todays culture and (now unfortunately in today's “Christian” or evangelical culture) to dismiss the intellectual and to embrace the emotions. Another problem with today's Christian music is that we embrace the past cultures music and make our songs and hymns sound like ballroom tunes or something that would have been heard at a dance or at a maybe a hippie rock concert fifty or so years ago. This is not the answer, as so many people think, because I don't think that the urge to jump up and dance while singing a hymn during a worship service is very wholesome or respectful (plus it is just hideous). Also, to associate the past culture of the hippies is very dishonoring to God.
The dismissal of Bach's music from the church is one of the greatest disfavors that the Church has done to its music. In a sense, we have shot ourselves in the foot by holding back the greatness of this music in our worship. We have used music to bend peoples moods and affections toward some mystical feeling or “spiritual high” instead of using the music in a way to convey a doctrinally sound message through not only words, but music also. Music is not mainly for edification of the ourselves as we are partaking in music, but it is ultimately for worship and the glory of God. As I have mentioned earlier most evangelicals conservative and liberal alike are “Text infatuated” by this I simply mean that they believe that the only sacred music is textual music. If music is meant for worship then why must it directly speak to ourselves through words. Worship not meant to Glorify God? Then Why should we insist on having are pitiful little lyrics applied to every part of music within the church. I am in no way denouncing the place of Hymns in our Worship, I believe they hold a very important role, but I reject the assumption that every special music number or offertory must draw back to some hymn or sacred song. Most of the “arrangements” that I must endure are extremely hideous, if only we could replace them with the occasional fugue or prelude. I do not appose all forms of hymn arrangements but I do wish that some of them could be replaced with some serious music
Another reason I believe this dismissal of Bach's music is wrong is because it is built on the argument that Bach cannot be understood by the average person. There are two instances that I know of that proves this argument wrong. First, persecuted Christians that used to live in the former USSR, tell stories of times when they would listen to Bach for comfort during times of extreme trials and persecution. These Christians most likely did not even know Latin or German but the music of Bach conveyed the message so well that the Christians found comfort in it. Secondly, missionaries in Japan tell of times, after the second world war, when Bach's works were being performed in a city ( where Christ was not preached). After the concert the audience would walk away with questions about God and who he was and what He did and why Bach wrote that music for God. These are only two instances of when and how Bach's music affected people in a spiritual way and I am sure there are many more.
All this to say that Bach indeed indeed was a Christian musician and wrote all his music to the glory of God. Also, we as Christians should use this music in our worship and not just write it off as not worthy or too dry, because it is not and has never been. Bach would usually write S.D.G (Solo Deo Gloria “To God Alone, the Glory”) at the end of his pieces to express his desire to glorify God with his music. After his death one of his relatives went though all of Bach's manuscripts and made sixty volumes of works that Bach wrote during his life. Since Bach did not make a distinction between secular and sacred, all of these works were written for the glory of God and to the glory of God.
