2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
Church music is fundamentally different from what we hear on the radio and download from mobile applications. It is different not only in its sound, but also in structure. Even classical works have a more secular color than religious plays. One of the latter is the choral prelude, which arose a long time ago and is still an important part of the service in some Christian denominations.
First there was a chorale
Perhaps, this word will be clear even to the most remote person from music and religion. Chorale is a work of a church nature, which is performed by the choir of employees. It can sing of specific events or reproduce certain prayers, requests, etc.
Chorals as monophonic, that is, works written under one voice, appeared in the Middle Ages. It was the heyday of church power, and in addition to the majestic cathedrals that were built inEurope everywhere, it was decided to make the service of God also a cultural event. This is how the Gregorian chant appeared, which was performed by monks or other church employees on certain holidays. The creation and development of this genre later had a strong influence on the formation of classical music.
Baroque Era
Well, here we are already at the origins of the origin of the choral prelude. The creators of the Baroque times, having survived the Renaissance and all its charms, rethought the essence and meaning of this work a little, made it more secular and interesting. How? It's just that the chorale has now become polyphonic and, most importantly, it has ceased to be called Gregorian, turning into Protestant or Lutheran. Yes, all this happened just during the period of the Reformation, and this religious innovation could not but affect art.
The newly minted Protestants began to perform in their own way the motives that were once sacred for the medieval church and gave them such a sound that we can hear now. A few decades later, the work of Johann Sebastian Bach became famous in Germany, who became the father of the genre of organ choral prelude.
What is this?
Why a prelude, and what does this nice little piece have to do with something as serious as a chorale? The fact is that the Protestants completely rejected the orthodox norms of the church inherent in the medieval era. Now the temple has become not a source of fear and the blindworship, but a house that will listen and understand each person. The parishioners began not only to listen to the performances of church choirs, but also to sing along with them. So it was decided to write a separate part for them - a prelude (performed in front of people). It was simpler and clearer than the chorale, divided into voices and helped to understand God and become closer to him.
Why an organ?
The chorale prelude was always accompanied by an organ, an accompaniment was written for this instrument, and four (standard number) parts were performed by the people. Was it really impossible to "play along" with simple parishioners on a simpler instrument? Of course not. The fact is that the piano did not yet exist at that time, and all other instruments were not acoustic enough to support the crowd. Moreover, each church was equipped with an organ, so there were no problems with this chic instrument these days - it was found literally at every step.
Organ Book
The first recorded notes of the chorale prelude were the property of J. S. Bach. He literally gave his life to music, and on his account an incredible number of church works, among which chorales are far from the last. Almost everyone comes with their own choral prelude, which can be a kind of introduction, or it can sound like an independent piece. The composer designed all the works of this genre in the "Organ Notebook". Exactly 46 chorale preludes and oneincomplete.
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