Johann Sebastian Bach: Model for Cultural Change Through the Arts - RENAME
- Greg Wilbur
- Jun 5, 2006
- Series: Music
Reprinted by permission from reformation21.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a musical genius, an intellectual giant, and a gracious man. Bach’s achievement in the area of music is one of the greatest tour de forces in the history of the world - on par with, or surpassing, that of Shakespeare, Michelangelo, Dante, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Milton, Aristotle, Augustine, or Aquinas. Bach was that great and significant. Even more compelling is the fact that he consciously and deliberately wrote all of his music from a Christian perspective and for the Glory of God.
Bach was able to function on a multiplicity of levels: a conservator of past styles and musical elements and an innovator of new forms and styles; a craftsman who brought his art to the highest imaginable summit while creating timeless works of beauty; an artisan who perfected his art with almost scientific precision while remaining lively and accessible to average listeners; a communicator who clearly conveyed a message while simultaneously embedding layers of symbolism - musical and extra-musical - that requires studious inquiry to uncover.
Sebastian Bach remains an agent of the power of cultural change through his clear presentation of the gospel in his work, his commitment to biblical excellence, and his reformational approach to cultural change. In all these areas he provides a corrective and example of how to fulfill the calling of an artist from a biblical perspective and how to engage the world.
Gospel-centered Work
Martin Shannon wrote, “Bach the Christian, Bach the believer. To appreciate more fully the character of his music requires that we more fully appreciate the character of his faith.” [1] Bach’s personal understanding of biblical truth resonates throughout his music as he presents sound and weighty doctrine in a manner that challenges the listener to consider issues of the faith. The margin notes he wrote in his personal Bible testify to the depth of Bach’s knowledge and study of scripture and clearly indicate he was a thorough student of Scripture—especially as it related to his specific calling. That fact should come as no surprise considering the careful and instructive manner in which he set scripture texts to music and used scripture to comment on other texts.Bach preached musical sermons of theological complexity that explored the problem of sin and need for redemption as well as the path of grace and the way that Christ has made to fulfill the law and bring true freedom. His are no vague and sentimental works of dubious religiosity, but rather a firm assertion of the doctrines of grace as outlined in Reformation teachings. At the time of securing his position in Leipzig, Bach freely signed a statement indicating that he subscribed to the beliefs of sola Scriptura, sola gratia and sola fide and none other. Bach expressed a real and profound hope in eternal life and the resurrection of Christ. He readily identified himself as a sinner in need of God’s grace and mercy, he looked expectantly for redemption, and he expressed these beliefs through music.
In addition to the gospel-centered content of his vocal music, Bach’s faith and knowledge gave him the courage to stand against the erosion of biblical theology by the ideas of the Enlightenment. This struggle caused him decades of turmoil and strife, but he refused to relinquish his beliefs in the authority of scripture. After all, as a child of the Reformation, sola Scriptura was the bedrock of his faith—scripture alone as the rule and guide for all of life.
During Bach’s lifetime a shift occurred regarding basic assumptions and fundamentals of life. Bach grew up with the church as the primary influence in man’s life or the center of everything—relationships, the understanding of civic responsibility; the very basis of how one perceived reality was tied to the authority of the Word of God in the embodiment of the church. By the time of Bach’s death, the ideas of the Enlightenment—individuality, reason, and the pursuit of secular pleasure—reigned supreme.[2]Around Bach, “other advocates of progressive concepts were charting a course toward a new aesthetic of art which would hold beauty and sensation as paramount. But the environment in which Bach worked and lived was not conducive to such ideas, nor did he seem to take much interest in them,” states Bach scholar Christoph Wolff.[3] Bach realized the difference between innovative ideas within the framework of Christianity and progressive ideas that sought to replace Christianity. Bach stood firm against the spirit of the Enlightenment because of his knowledge of the gospel.
Biblical Excellence
Bach understood that excellence is its own apologetic of the gospel. All truth is God’s truth. But all beauty is also God’s beauty and all goodness flows from Him as well. The very pursuit of his artistic calling provided, and continues to provide, a rebuke to shallow aesthetics—those things that are transient, temporary, or trendy. The permanent things—those that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise—are profitable to think on. Beauty, finding its source in God and as one of His attributes, reflects the nature and character of God in a powerful and transcendent manner.
Bach labored to make his work as excellent or perfect as possible. Bach believed that all of life was to be lived to the glory of God. The connection between his sacred or church music and service to God seems obvious. However, he also explicitly revealed this belief through his “secular” works.
For Bach there was no secular/sacred dichotomy. Everything was to be done for God’s glory alone—all work, all music, tuning instruments, writing keyboard exercises, positioning orchestras, loving his wife, teaching students, dealing with criticism, watching over the care of his students. Everything! If all of these things are to the praise of the Most High Almighty God, ought they not to be the very best that can be offered? Should not man seek to perfect his work, excel in his craft, broaden his understanding through wisdom and discernment?
Bach’s quest for perfection extended to the entirety of his art. His goal, though ultimately humanly unattainable, was no less than striving to love God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind. Approaching human endeavors with a Godly mindset of excellence or perfection renders a legacy that astounds the watching world.
Reaching towards what was possibly attainable in his art, striving for perfection, being satisfied with nothing less than his best could have made Bach a slave to legalism or a tyrant impatient with the performers of his works. The reason that this was not the case was that Bach understood the Reformational teaching sola gratia—by grace alone. Bach’s efforts were a musical offering, a sacrifice of praise, which flowed in grateful response to a loving God. Bach was not trying to win God’s favor or notice; he rested comfortably in God’s love, and his work was the overwhelmed response of a sinner who knows God’s forgiveness. For Bach, perfection and offering God his best was not a burden but a joyful expression of thanksgiving and praise.
Reformational Change
Bach worked at a crucial time in the history of the church combating the ideas of the Enlightenment and the elevation of human reason. Bach’s struggles, musically and professionally, were those of a man seeking to maintain a high view of worship, academics, and a view of all of life grounded on the Word of God. Bach sought to preserve and elevate the worship of the Church against specific foes who strived to undermine his very work. His adherence to biblical objective standards in his work instilled his music with an ageless quality that secured for him an enduring legacy in succeeding generations.
Under the influence of the Lutheran musician and composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and others, the Bach Society in Germany formed in 1850 and dedicated itself to publishing the complete works of Bach. This project was not completed until 1900 when the forty-sixth volume was published.[4] Composers and musicians eagerly awaited the release of each new volume. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), the famous German composer, called the publication of Bach’s works as significant an event as the unification of Germany under Otto Bismarck in 1871. Brahms commented, “With old Bach there are always surprises and I always learn something new.” However, when a new volume of the complete works of Handel arrived, “he is said to have put it on the shelf with the remark: ‘It ought to be very interesting. I will go through it as soon as I have time.’”[5]The difference between Handel and Bach was echoed by others. While no one disputes Handel’s fame or his work as a “monument of achievement,” his music remains a feat “rather than a stimulus to creation for succeeding generations.”[6] One of the differences between the two composers is that Bach’s “circumstances compelled him to be practical, and his earnest desire was to give of his best in meeting his practical obligations; but he seems never to have been aware of the immediate advantages to himself which could be gained by propitiating his public. Handel, on the other hand, seems almost to have drawn the breath of musical life from his public.”[7]Bach’s music directly influenced the work of successive generations of composers, including: Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach; Mozart; Beethoven; Schumann; Mendelssohn; Chopin; Brahms; Wagner; Stravinsky; William Walton; Shostakovich; and countless others. Since Bach incorporated and utilized music from the past, he also provides a connecting and synthesizing point from early composers to contemporary artists. Music he absorbed included chant melodies, German chorales, and the music of Palestrina, Josquin Desprez, Obrecht, Praetorius, Schütz, Albinoni, Buxtehude, Corelli, Couperin, Pachelbel, Reinken, Telemann, and Vivaldi to name a few.
By thinking multi-generationally and not just composing music for the passing style, Bach created a lasting legacy which is just as relevant and affective as when it was written. Working with a view towards the permanent is a reflection of God’s immutability and the covenantal nature of God’s action in history and of his people. Fads and fashions pass away, but those things built on the foundation of the Word of God will last.
Bach’s life illustrates the nature of thinking covenantally and inter-generationally. He was far more successful in leaving an inheritance to subsequent generations than he was in effecting change in his own time. Although he stood firm against the secular thought of his day, the fruit was his labors was not fully appreciated for another 70-80 years; however, his influence and example have been incalculable ever since.
Conclusion
As we look at issues of cultural change and how the Church should respond and lead, the example of Bach provides several key lessons. Foundational to the content of Bach’s work, his response to the secular movements of his day, and his approach to developing his calling was the Word of God. We need to know Scripture and how to apply it to all of life with great wisdom and discernment. One application of biblical knowledge is the role and importance of excellence and beauty as a witness to the gospel. Having its source in God, true beauty points to the reality of the great Sovereign in a manner the false beauty of the world can never do. Paired with truth and goodness, beauty can excite the “joy” and yearning that C.S. Lewis talks about that set him in search of Christianity.
Revolutions quickly destroy and seek to replace through external pressure; reformations provide more lasting change internally from the heart as birthed through relationships. True cultural change occurs one relationship at a time—over time—and is the epitome of reformational change. This process is slow, but the results are far more substantive, complete, and eternal. Reformational change depends upon the long-view of building relationships and laying foundations for results that will not be seen for generations. It is this understanding of beauty and culture that gave rise to cathedrals, educational institutions, and small parishes and that fueled men such as Groote, Chalmers, and Bach. Bach remained faithful in the daily activities of pursuing his calling and against the transient philosophies of the day. Considered provincial, anachronistic, out-of-step, backwards, and inept, Bach’s calling to remain grounded on the unchanging and always applicable Word of God provided the world with a testimony of genius dedicated solely to God’s glory and in a manner that even the secular world cannot ignore. Here are great lessons for leading culture, fulfilling artistic callings, and living steadfastly.
Artists: pursue craftsmanship and excellence in your calling. Rely not on inspiration but dedicated labor. Flee from the transient fashions of the day which may be momentarily rewarding but which will stagnate your art. Dig deep into the well of scripture and apply it not as a script for your art, but as the very weave of your approach, materials, goals, purpose, content, and work habits. In all things, remain steadfast for the glory of Christ’s kingdom and not your own. In all these areas, God has provided for our example the life and work of his servant Bach. What a glorious inheritance is ours!
Greg Wilbur is Coordinator of Fine Arts and Choir, Christ Community Church, Franklin, TN. He is also the author of Glory and Honor: The Music and Artistic Legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach (Cumberland House Publishing, 2005).
The original link of this article can be found here.
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