Ariadne musica
Encyclopedia
Ariadne musica is a collection of organ
music
by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer
, first published in 1702. The main part of the collection is a cycle of 20 preludes
and fugue
s in different keys
, so Ariadne musica is considered an important precursor to Johann Sebastian Bach
's Well-Tempered Clavier, which has a similar structure.
The title refers to the Greek myth
in which Theseus
is able to find his way out of Minotaur
's labyrinth
using a ball of thread Ariadne
, daughter of King Minos
of Crete
, gave him. Similarly, the music in the collection can be said to guide the listener through a labyrinth of keys. Fischer also used Greek mythology to name the pieces in another large scale music collection of his, Musikalischer Parnassus.
The first edition of Ariadne musica was made in 1702 in Schlackenwerth. The work was reprinted several times during Fischer's life. The original print mentioned by Johann Gottfried Walther
in Musicalisches Lexicon is now lost, but a manuscript
copy survives.
5 ricercar
s on chorale
melodies, each connected with a specific catholic
event:
All pieces are quite short, including a few really brief fugues (the 7 bar A minor fugue being the shortest). Most are in common time, with a few exceptions (most notably the E Dorian fugue which is in 12/8). The preludes vary from pieces based on short simplistic toccata
-like passages over long sustained chords (as in, for example, the C major and G major ones) to slightly more complex works with brief imitative passages like this one, from the end of the E-flat major prelude:
The fugues are all in four voices, except the A-flat major one which is a five voice fugue. Some are loosely connected thematically to the accompanying preludes.
The ricercars all feature themes written in whole and half notes, the C major Ricercar pro Festis Natalitys being one notable exception with the theme composed mostly of quarter and eighth notes. Three are marked alla breve
, Ricercar pro Festis Natalitys is in common time and the F major ricercar is in 3/2.
Ricercar pro Festis Paschalibus was previously attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach and listed in the BWV catalogue as BWV 746, chorale prelude
Christ ist erstanden.
The six-note subject of the E major four-voice fugue by Fischer (opening bars pictured above, subject highlighted) is used by Bach as the subject of the E major fugue from the second volume of the Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV878/2, also in four voices:
Fischer's piece is quite short (although not as short as, for instance, the 8 bar E Phrygian fugue from the same collection) and written predominantly using long note values; Bach's fugue is much more complex, with dense counterpoint
and also much longer - although Fischer's subject makes it into one of the few pieces from the WTC that feature a significant amount of whole and half-notes in all voices.
The same six-note subject is found in two 17th century keyboard
compositions by the famous Johann Jakob Froberger
: Fantasia No. 2 and Ricercar No. 4. The latter's opening bars can be seen below (with the inverted version of the same theme shown in dark pink):
Fischer might have learned the theme from Froberger. Additionally, Fischer's E-flat major fugue and Bach's G minor fugue from Book 1 share a similar structure concerning the use of countersubjects; the subject of Bach's fugue is a slightly modified version of Fischer's. Both Bach's and Fischer's C major fugues are heavily based on stretto and their subjects are somewhat similar rhythmically.
organ music. Here's a partial list of recordings that feature at least one part of Ariadne musica (preludes and fugues or ricercars) in full:
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer
Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer
Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer was a German Baroque composer...
, first published in 1702. The main part of the collection is a cycle of 20 preludes
Prelude (music)
A prelude is a short piece of music, the form of which may vary from piece to piece. The prelude can be thought of as a preface. It may stand on its own or introduce another work...
and fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
s in different keys
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
, so Ariadne musica is considered an important precursor to Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Well-Tempered Clavier, which has a similar structure.
The title refers to the Greek myth
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
in which Theseus
Theseus
For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...
is able to find his way out of Minotaur
Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...
's labyrinth
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...
using a ball of thread Ariadne
Ariadne
Ariadne , in Greek mythology, was the daughter of King Minos of Crete, and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios, the Sun-titan. She aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and was the bride of the god Dionysus.-Minos and Theseus:...
, daughter of King Minos
Minos
In Greek mythology, Minos was a king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every year he made King Aegeus pick seven men and seven women to go to Daedalus' creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten by The Minotaur. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in Hades. The Minoan civilization of Crete...
of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, gave him. Similarly, the music in the collection can be said to guide the listener through a labyrinth of keys. Fischer also used Greek mythology to name the pieces in another large scale music collection of his, Musikalischer Parnassus.
The first edition of Ariadne musica was made in 1702 in Schlackenwerth. The work was reprinted several times during Fischer's life. The original print mentioned by Johann Gottfried Walther
Johann Gottfried Walther
Johann Gottfried Walther was a German music theorist, organist, composer, and lexicographer of the Baroque era.Walther was born at Erfurt...
in Musicalisches Lexicon is now lost, but a manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
copy survives.
Pieces
20 preludes and fugues:- Prelude & Fugue No. 1 in C major
- Prelude & Fugue No. 2 in C-sharp minor
- Prelude & Fugue No. 3 in D minor
- Prelude & Fugue No. 4 in D major
- Prelude & Fugue No. 5 in E-flat major
- Prelude & Fugue No. 6 in E PhrygianPhrygian modeThe Phrygian mode can refer to three different musical modes: the ancient Greek tonos or harmonia sometimes called Phrygian, formed on a particular set octave species or scales; the Medieval Phrygian mode, and the modern conception of the Phrygian mode as a diatonic scale, based on the latter...
- Prelude & Fugue No. 7 in E DorianDorian modeDue to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different musical modes or diatonic scales, the Greek, the medieval, and the modern.- Greek Dorian mode :...
- Prelude & Fugue No. 8 in E major
- Prelude & Fugue No. 9 in F minor
- Prelude & Fugue No. 10 in F major
- Prelude & Fugue No. 11 in F-sharp minor
- Prelude & Fugue No. 12 in G minor
- Prelude & Fugue No. 13 in G major
- Prelude & Fugue No. 14 in A-flat major
- Prelude & Fugue No. 15 in A minor
- Prelude & Fugue No. 16 in A major
- Prelude & Fugue No. 17 in B-flat major
- Prelude & Fugue No. 18 in B minor
- Prelude & Fugue No. 19 in B major
- Prelude & Fugue No. 20 in C minor
5 ricercar
Ricercar
A ricercar is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. The term means to search out, and many ricercars serve a preludial function to "search out" the key or mode of a following piece...
s on chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
melodies, each connected with a specific catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
event:
- Ricercar pro Tempore Adventus, in C major (on Ave Maria klare, for AdventAdventAdvent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
) - Ricercar pro Festis Natalitys, in C major (on Der Tag der ist so freudenreich, for ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
) - Ricercar pro Tempore Quadragesimae, in A minor (on Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund, for LentLentIn the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
) - Ricercar pro Festis Paschalibus, in D minor (on Christ ist erstanden, for EasterEasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
) - Ricercar pro Festis Pentecostalibus, in F major (on Komm, heiliger Geist, for PentecostPentecostPentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
)
All pieces are quite short, including a few really brief fugues (the 7 bar A minor fugue being the shortest). Most are in common time, with a few exceptions (most notably the E Dorian fugue which is in 12/8). The preludes vary from pieces based on short simplistic toccata
Toccata
Toccata is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers...
-like passages over long sustained chords (as in, for example, the C major and G major ones) to slightly more complex works with brief imitative passages like this one, from the end of the E-flat major prelude:
The ricercars all feature themes written in whole and half notes, the C major Ricercar pro Festis Natalitys being one notable exception with the theme composed mostly of quarter and eighth notes. Three are marked alla breve
Alla breve
In music, alla breve Italian: at the breve] refers to a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol , which is the equivalent of 2/2. Alla breve is a "simple-duple meter with a half-note pulse"...
, Ricercar pro Festis Natalitys is in common time and the F major ricercar is in 3/2.
Ricercar pro Festis Paschalibus was previously attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach and listed in the BWV catalogue as BWV 746, chorale prelude
Chorale prelude
In music, a chorale prelude is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 examples of the form in his Orgelbüchlein.-Function:The liturgical...
Christ ist erstanden.
Connection with Johann Sebastian Bach
The most obvious connection of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier with Ariadne Musica is Bach's use of Fischer's subject in one of the fugues:Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
and also much longer - although Fischer's subject makes it into one of the few pieces from the WTC that feature a significant amount of whole and half-notes in all voices.
The same six-note subject is found in two 17th century keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
compositions by the famous Johann Jakob Froberger
Johann Jakob Froberger
Johann Jakob Froberger was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. He was among the most famous composers of the era and influenced practically every major composer in Europe by developing the genre of keyboard suite and contributing greatly to the exchange of musical...
: Fantasia No. 2 and Ricercar No. 4. The latter's opening bars can be seen below (with the inverted version of the same theme shown in dark pink):
Recordings
Ariadne musica is rarely performed or recorded, although individual preludes and fugues frequently appear on miscellaneous compilations of BaroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
organ music. Here's a partial list of recordings that feature at least one part of Ariadne musica (preludes and fugues or ricercars) in full:
- German Organ Music vol. 1, Joseph Payne, 1994. Naxos 550964. (on three different organs, ricercars not included)
- Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer: Blumen-Strauss: Complete Organ Works, Serge Schoonbroodt, 2002. AEOLUS AE-10321. (complete recording)
- A Joy Forever: Opus 41 at Goshen College, Bradley Lehman, 2006. LaripS 1002. (complete recording)
- J.K.F. Fischer: Ariadne Musica (20 Preludes & Fugues); works of Caldara, Bach, Beethoven, & Sorge, Franz Haselböck. Musical Heritage Society MHS 1634.
External links
- Free PDF scores of the fugues from Ariadne musica
- Bradley Lehman's recording including free samples of all the pieces