Improvisation on BACH

There is not a great deal one can say in advance about a composition that will be improvised. Surely there is some forethought in David Schrader’s mind about what structure and technical or stylistic features he will choose to build upon. But beyond that we must all (Schrader himself) remain captive to our expectations and imaginations. In choosing a musical theme based on the name of BACH, Schrader takes his place in a long tradition of musical poets. It’s not surprising that members of the Bach musical dynasty, including Johann Sebastian, used the family name as a compositional theme. J.S. Bach wrote at least one fugue on the B-A-C-H subject, and in the nineteenth century Franz Liszt wrote variations on the theme.
To understand how such a motive works, we need to address how Germans refer to musical pitches. Many of the pitch names are the same as in English, for example C, D, G, A and so forth. But there are a few crucial differences which make it possible to represent the letters of Bach’s name in tones. Below I have written both the English pitch names and their German counterparts for the twelve tones in the octave:


English: C C-sharp D E-flat E F F-sharp G A-flat A B-flat B
German: C Cis D Es E F Fis G As A B H

The sharp/flat keys are noticeably different in German, as is the English B. This explains how Robert Schumann, for instance, could write a musical tribute to his fiancée: the name of her birthplace (Asch) translates to A-flat, C and B.
The important H (English B) makes Bach’s name possible and musically very interesting. For B-A-C-H translates to the pitch pattern B-flat, A, C, B; hence the pattern itself makes a tight circular formation. More importantly, it also contains two falling half-steps (B-flat to A and C to B) which convey tension and a degree of tonal uncertainty. The four pitches imply some kind of modulation or chromaticism since A, B-flat, B and C cannot appear together in any key unless the bounds of that key have been breached. For instance, the pitches A, B-flat and C (but not B) work nicely in F major; or, in C major one can use A, B and C but not the B-flat. Thus, drama about the tonal center (and even whether the motive is tonal at all) becomes a point of inspiration for performers exploring the name’s musical potential.

(c) Jason Stell