John Smyth wrote:

>What I miss in Bach, (and it's not his fault), is orchestral
>color, and changes in meter and dynamics within single movements.  His
>music, *within movements,* is infused with what I would call a sort of
>"mono-emotionalism".  There is no sense of ambiguity and mystery.  The
>Baroque is characterized by logic, restraint, and understatement; and while
>one can always find exceptions, the era as a whole just doesn't turn me on.

It's true that in Baroque music there doesn't seem to be such a flexible
mechanism of transitions as in later music, and that means that different
ideas have to be presented in straight contrast or juxtaposition, rather
than in complex combination within the same movement - you won't get a
'battle of themes' as in Beethoven's use of sonata form.  That may make
individual movements or sections 'mono-emotional', perhaps - but on the
larger scale of Bach's many-movement works, his simple combination of
different parts can have a complex and emotionally resonant effect of its
own - you just have to see the sections in combination rather than as a
collection of discrete moments.  (That's not restricted to Bach - Chopin's
preludes work like this too.) Also, a single section or movement of Bach
may express and develop a single basic idea, but within that framework,
there are a lot of subtly shifting micro-moods (as expressed by key
changes, register or orchestration, the interplay of voices, etc).

It seems to me that generally the emotional and non-musical effects in Bach
are musically stylized and symbolic - you won't get as direct an assault on
your emotions or senses as in romantic composers.

Felix Delbruck
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