How Did Wachet Auf, Rift Uns Die Stimme IV?

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Johan Sebastian Bach’s arrangement of Wachet Auf, Rift Uns Die Stimme IV was Bach’s favorite and the only cantata that he ever published. The genre of the composition was a cantata and the form that was used in it was a ternary form AAB. This arrangement is what is known as a chorale, “a spiritual melody or religious folk song, of the Lutheran Church. (In other denominations, such a melody is called a hymn.)” (Wright, C. M., 2014). The piece has a three-part polyphonic texture as each of the lines were independent and entered at different times. It was also played in the ritornello form with the main part being played again and again. The melody of this arrangement was performed by violins and violas, while the chorale was sung by tenors. The song had a steady moving rhythm with the bass of the song being played on every quarter note which gave it a walking bass feel. Bach made good use of terraced dynamics in this arrangement by raising and lowering the loudness from time to time which made it enjoyable to listen to. I really like the way this piece flowed, allowing the violins and violas to play a verse and afterwards, the chorale singing a verse. I also liked the way the strings played louder and accentuated the high points of the song. The music of this arrangement gave me the feeling of wanting to sway or move with the music and I really enjoyed it. …show more content…

The genre of this arrangement was a pastoral aria from an oratorio and it was of a strophic form. It appears that this arrangement has a repetitive rhythm and unlike Bach’s arrangement I did not get the feeling that it was hitting on the quarter notes. This arrangement felt more like a hymn with the violins providing an intro and afterwards, the vocals entering and being the main part rather that switching like Bach’s arrangement above. (Wright, C. M.,

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