''The Musical Offering'' (German: or ),

BWV The (, ; BWV) is a Catalogues of classical compositions, catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990 and the third edition in ...

1079, is a collection of keyboard

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

s and

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

s and other pieces of music by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

, all based on a single musical

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

given to him by

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

(King Frederick II of Prussia), to whom they are dedicated. They were published in September 1747. The ''

Ricercar A ricercar ( , ) or ricercare ( , ) is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. The term ''ricercar'' derives from the Italian verb , which means "to search out; to seek"; many ricercars serve a preludial func ...

a 6'', a six-voice fugue which is regarded as the high point of the entire work, was put forward by the musicologist Charles Rosen as the most significant piano composition in history (partly because it is one of the first). This ricercar is also occasionally called the ''Prussian Fugue'', a name used by Bach himself.

History

The collection has its roots in a meeting between Bach and Frederick II on May 7, 1747. The meeting, taking place at the king's residence in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, came about because Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel was employed there as court musician. Frederick wanted to show the elder Bach a novelty, the

fortepiano A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...

, which had been invented 47 years earlier but had not yet gained wide acceptance (Bach did not encounter them until around 1736). The king, however, owned several of the experimental instruments being developed by

Gottfried Silbermann Gottfried Silbermann (January 14, 1683 – August 4, 1753) was a German builder of keyboard instruments. He built harpsichords, clavichords, organ (music), organs, and fortepianos; his modern reputation rests mainly on the latter two. Life Very ...

. During his anticipated visit to Frederick's palace in

, Bach, who was well known for his skill at improvising, received from Frederick a long and complex musical theme on which to improvise a three-voice fugue. He did so, but Frederick then challenged him to improvise a six-voice fugue on the same theme. Bach answered that he would need to work the score and send it to the king afterwards. Bach instead chose a different theme and, again completely extempore, executed a six-voice fugue on it with the same virtuosity as he had done the three-voice one, greatly impressing all in attendance. He later returned to Leipzig to write out the ''Thema Regium'' ("theme of the king"): \relative c' Four months after the meeting, Bach published a set of pieces based on this theme which we now know as ''The Musical Offering''. Bach inscribed the piece "Regis Iussu Cantio Et Reliqua Canonica Arte Resoluta" (the theme given by the king, with additions, resolved in the canonic style), the first letters of which spell out the word ''

ricercar A ricercar ( , ) or ricercare ( , ) is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. The term ''ricercar'' derives from the Italian verb , which means "to search out; to seek"; many ricercars serve a preludial func ...

'', a well-known genre of the time.

Possible origin of the King's Theme

Humphrey F. Sassoon has compared the theme issued by Frederick II to the theme of an A minor fugue ( HWV 609) by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

, published in ''Six fugues or voluntarys for organ or harpsichord''. Sassoon notes that "Handel's theme is much shorter than the King's, but its musical 'architecture' is uncannily similar: jumps followed by a descending chromatic scale." He also elaborates on their additional similarities, which led Sassoon to suggest that Bach used Handel's A minor fugue as a structural model or guide for the ''Musical Offerings Ricercar a 6, and that its musical concepts may also have influenced Bach's development of the Ricercar a 3. Nevertheless, the Ricercar a 6 is longer and incomparably more complex than Handel's fugue.

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

, in his 1950 essay on Bach, suggested that the ''Thema Regium'' was created by Bach's son Carl Phillip Emanuel on the orders of the king, as a well-prepared trap to embarrass J. S. Bach.

Structure and instrumentation

In its finished form, ''The Musical Offering'' comprises: *Two

s, written down on as many

stave Stave may refer to: Music * Stave (music), used in musical notation * Stanza * The Staves, an English folk rock trio People * Bruce M. Stave (1937–2017), American historian * Joel Stave (born 1992), American football quarterback Place ...

s as there are voices: ** a Ricercar a 3 (a three-voice fugue) ** a Ricercar a 6 (a six-voice fugue) *Ten

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

s: **Canones diversi super Thema Regium: ***2 Canons a 2 (the first representing a notable example of a

crab canon A crab canon (also known by the Latin form of the name, ''canon cancrizans''; as well as ''retrograde canon'', ''canon per recte et retro'' or ''canon per rectus et inversus'')Kennedy, Michael (ed.). 1994. "Canon". The Oxford Dictionary of Musi ...

or ''canon cancrizans'') ***Canon a 2, per motum contrarium ***Canon a 2, per augmentationem, contrario motu ***Canon a 2, per tonos **Canon perpetuus **Fuga canonica in Epidiapente **Canon a 2 "Quaerendo invenietis" **Canon a 4 **Canon perpetuus, contrario motu *A

Sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

sopr'il Soggetto Reale – a

trio sonata The trio sonata is a genre, typically consisting of several movements, with two melody instruments and basso continuo. It originated in the early 17th century and was a favorite chamber ensemble combination in the Baroque era. Basic structure T ...

featuring the

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, an instrument which Frederick played, consisting of four movements: ** Largo **

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking that indicates to playing quickly and brightly (from Italian meaning ''cheerful'') * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem b ...

** Andante **

Apart from the trio sonata, which is written for flute,

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

and

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

, the pieces have few indications of which instruments are meant to play them, although there is now significant support for the idea that they are for solo keyboard, like most of Bach's other published works. The ricercars and canons have been realised in various ways. The ricercars are more frequently performed on keyboard than the canons, which are often played by an ensemble of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

ians, with instrumentation comparable to that of the trio sonata. As the printed version gives the impression of being organised for convenient page turning when sight-playing the score, the order of the pieces intended by Bach (''if'' there was an intended order) remains uncertain, although it is customary to open the collection with the ''Ricercar a 3'', and play the trio sonata toward the end. The ''Canones super Thema Regium'' are also usually played together.

Musical riddles

Some of the canons of ''The Musical Offering'' are represented in the original score by no more than a short monodic melody of a few measures, with a more or less enigmatic inscription in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

above the melody. These compositions are called the ''riddle fugues'' (or sometimes, more appropriately, the ''riddle canons''). The performer(s) is/are supposed to interpret the music as a multi-part piece (a piece with several intertwining melodies), while solving the "riddle". Some of these riddles have been explained to have more than one possible "solution", although nowadays most printed editions of the score give a single, more or less "standard" solution of the riddle, so that interpreters can just play, without having to worry about the Latin, or the riddle. One of these ''riddle canons'', "in augmentationem" (i.e. augmentation, the length of the notes gets longer), is inscribed "Notulis crescentibus crescat Fortuna Regis" (may the fortunes of the king increase like the length of the notes), while a modulating canon which ends a tone higher than it starts is inscribed "Ascendenteque Modulatione ascendat Gloria Regis" (as the modulation rises, so may the king's glory).

Canon per tonos (endlessly rising canon)

The canon per tonos (endlessly rising canon) pits a variant of the king's theme against a two-voice canon at the fifth. However, it modulates and finishes one whole tone higher than it started out at. It thus has no final cadence.

Theological character

Among the theories about external sources of influence, Michael Marissen draws attention to the possibility of theological connotations. Marissen sees an incongruity between the official dedication to Frederick the Great and the effect of the music, which is often melancholy, even mournful. The trio sonata is a contrapuntal ''

sonata da chiesa ''Sonata da chiesa'' ( Italian: "church sonata") is a 17th-century genre of musical composition for one or more melody instruments and is regarded an antecedent of later forms of 18th century instrumental music. It generally comprises four movemen ...

'', whose style was at odds with Frederick’s secular tastes. The inscription ''Quaerendo invenietis'', found over Canon No. 9, alludes to the

Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount ( anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings spoken by Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is th ...

(“Seek and ye shall find”, Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9). The main title, ''Opfer'' (“offering”), makes it possible for the cycle to be viewed as an

Offertory The offertory (from Medieval Latin ''offertorium'' and Late Latin ''offerre'') is the part of a Eucharistic service when the bread and wine for use in the service are ceremonially placed on the altar. A collection of alms (offerings) from the c ...

in the religious sense of the word. Marissen also points out that, canonic procedures often evoking the rigorous demands of the Mosaic Law, the ten canons likely allude to the Ten Commandments. Marissen believes that Bach was trying to evangelize Frederick the Great, pointing him to the demands of the Mosaic Law. In a recent study Zoltán Göncz has pointed out, the authorial injunction to seek (Quaerendo invenietis) does not only relate to the riddle canons but to the six-part ''ricercar'' as well, whose archaic title also means to ''seek''. There are several Biblical citations hidden in this movement, and their discovery is made especially difficult by various compositional maneuvers. The unique formal structure of the fugue provides a clue: certain anomalies and apparent inconsistencies point to external, nonmusical influences. Among Bach's duties during his tenure at Leipzig (1723–50), was teaching Latin. Ursula Kirkendale argued for a close connection with the twelve-volume rhetorical manual ''Institutio Oratoria'' of the Roman orator

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...

, whom

admired. Philologist and Rector of the Leipzig Thomasschule,

Johann Matthias Gesner Johann Matthias Gesner (9 April 1691 – 3 August 1761) was a German classical scholar and schoolmaster. Life He was born at Roth an der Rednitz near Ansbach. His father, Johann Samuel Gesner, a pastor in Auhausen, died in 1704, leaving the fam ...

, for whom Bach composed a cantata in 1729, published a substantial Quintilian edition with a long footnote in Bach's honor.

Adaptations and citations

The "thema regium" appears as the theme for the first and last movements of Sonata No. 7 in D minor by Friedrich Wilhelm Rust, written in about 1788, and also as the theme for elaborate variations by

Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born i ...

in his "Les Adieux de la Grande Duchesse de Russies," written in about 1784, upon his departure from the court of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

. The "Ricercar a 6" has been arranged on its own on a number of occasions, the most prominent arranger being

Anton Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...

, who in 1935 made a version for small

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

, noted for its Klangfarbenmelodie style (i.e. melody lines are passed on from one instrument to another after every few notes, every note receiving the "tone color" of the instrument it is played on): Webern's arrangement was dedicated to the BBC music producer and conductor Edward Clark. Another version of the ''Ricercare a 6 voci'' was published in 1942 by C. F. Peters in an arrangement for organ by the musicologist

Hermann Keller Hermann Keller (20 November 1885 – 17 August 1967) was a German Protestant church musician and musicologist. Life Born in Stuttgart the son of an architect, he followed his father's profession by also studying architecture in Stuttgart and Mun ...

, then based in Stuttgart. Igor Markevitch produced a realization for three orchestral groups and, for the sonata movements, solo quartet (violin, flute, cello, and harpsichord), written in 1949–50. The

Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical music, classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. The Quartet consisted of John Lewis (pianist), John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphon ...

used one of the canons (originally "for two violins at the unison") as an introduction to their performance of the standard song " Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise", on their album ''

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

'' (1955). The Royal Theme is played on the double bass, with

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

(vibraphone) and

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

(piano) weaving the two imitative contrapuntal voices above: Canon from the Musical Offering

Isang Yun Isang Yun, or Yun I-sang (; 17 September 1917 – 3 November 1995), was a Korean-born composer who made his later career in West Germany. Early life and education Yun was born in Sancheong (Sansei), Korea under Japanese rule, Korea in 1917, ...

composed Königliches Thema for Solo Violin, a passacaglia on the Thema Regium with Asian and Twelve-tone influences, written in 1970. Bart Berman composed three new canons on the Royal Theme of ''The Musical Offering'', which were published in 1978 as a special holiday supplement to the Dutch music journal ''Mens & Melodie'' (publisher: Het Spectrum).

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (24 October 1931 – 13 March 2025) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Modernism (music), modernist Holy minimalism, sacred music. She was highly prolific, producing numerous Chamber music, chamber, Orchestra, orch ...

used the Royal Theme of ''The Musical Offering'' in her violin concerto ''

Offertorium ''Offertorium'' ( Russian ''Жертвоприношение'') is a concerto for violin and orchestra composed by Sofia Gubaidulina in 1980 and revised in 1982 and 1986. It was dedicated to Gidon Kremer, who in touring with it around the worl ...

'' (1980). Orchestrated in an arrangement similar to Webern's, the theme is deconstructed note by note through a series of variations and reconstructed as a Russian Orthodox hymn.

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director, producer and writer.Obituary, '' Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' an ...

produced a new realisation of ''The Musical Offering'', which he orchestrated and conducted in Finland in 1990. The organist Jean Guillou transcribed the entire work for organ in 2005.

Notable recordings

* Karl Münchinger, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra (Decca, 1955) * Milan Munclinger, Ars Rediviva: Stanislav Duchoň, Karel Bidlo, Jiří Baxa, Josef Vlach, Václav Snítil, Jaroslav Motlík, František Sláma, František Pošta, Viktorie Švihlíková (Supraphon, 1959) * Karl Richter, Otto Büchner, Kurt Guntner, Siegfried Meinecke, Fritz Kiskalt, Hedwig Bilgram (DGG/Archiv Produktion, 1963) * Milan Munclinger, Ars Rediviva: Stanislav Duchoň, Karel Bidlo, Václav Snítil, Jaroslav Motlík, František Sláma, František Pošta, Josef Hála (Supraphon, 1966) *

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized in music of the Baroque period, but later extended his repertoire to include Classical ...

Concentus Musicus Wien Concentus Musicus Wien (CMW) is an Austrian baroque music ensemble based in Vienna. The CMW is recognized as a pioneer of the period-instrument performance movement. History Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Alice Harnoncourt co-founded the CMW in 19 ...

(Teldec, 1970) *

Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English conductor and violinist. Described as "one of the world's greatest conductors", Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ra ...

, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (Philips, 1974) * Reinhard Goebel, Musica Antiqua Köln (Archiv Bach Edition, 1979) * Hans-Martin Linde, Linde-Consort (EMI-Reflexe, 1981) * Barthold Kuijken (flute),

Sigiswald Kuijken Sigiswald Kuijken (; born 16 February 1944) is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on period and original instruments. Biography Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble o ...

(violin),

Wieland Kuijken Wieland Kuijken (; born 31 August 1938 in Dilbeek) is a Belgian musician and player of the viola da gamba and baroque cello. Biography Kuijken started his career in music in 1952 with the Brussels Alariusensemble of which he formed part until ...

(viola da gamba), Robert Kohnen (harpsichord) (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 1994) *

Jordi Savall Jordi Savall i Bernadet (; born 1 August 1941) is a Spanish Conducting, conductor, composer and viol player. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for popularizing the viol ...

, Le Concert des Nations (Alia Vox, 1999) * Hanssler Edition, Gottfried von der Goltz, Petra Mullejans, Martin Jopp, Daniela Helms, Christian Gosses (Violin / Viola), Karl Keiser (flute), Ekkehard Weber (viola da gamba), Kristin von der Goltz (cello) and Michael Behringer (harpsichord / forte piano (BWV 1079) (Hanssler Edition CD92.133. 1999) * Konstantin Lifschitz (Orfeo 676071, 2008) (all movements on piano)

References

External links

*
"''The Musical Offering'': A Musical Pedagogical Workshop by J. S. Bach, or The Musical Geometry of Bach's Puzzle Canons"
nglish ''Schillerinstituttet'' anish * The

Mutopia Project The Mutopia Project is a volunteer-run effort to create a library of free content sheet music, in a way similar to Project Gutenberg's library of public domain books. It started in 2000. The music is reproduced from old scores that are in th ...

has some of the music o
''The Musical Offering''

''Das Musikalisches Opfer''
''PianoSociety.com''
Performance of Trio Sonata
by

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

from the

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format *Phillips, Tony (March 1, 1999)
Feature Column: "Math and ''The Musical Offering''"
''What's New in Mathematics:

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

''
"Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), ''L'Offrande musicale'' – ''Musical Offering'', ''Musikalisches Opfer'' BWV 1079"
''ClassicalÀlacarte.com''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Musical Offering, The Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach Riddles Compositions in C minor 1747 compositions Music with dedications