Two New Possible Models for the "Confiteor" of J. S. Bach's Mass in B Minor

Abstract

Abstract:In the mid-nineteenth century, J. S. Bach's Mass in B Minor was considered an original work in its entirety, but later research revealed that a significant portion of its movements can be traced back to Bach's earlier compositions. With regard to the "Confiteor" movement, however, there is widespread consensus that it is a new composition. In my view, however, the "Confiteor" has two direct models or prototypes, both double fugues: the first fugue of the Toccata in E Minor BWV 914 and the opening movement of Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe BWV 25. The relationship between the "Confiteor" and these two earlier double fugues is not parody-like in nature. The transformation here is more profound, more radical, and more complex, and it conforms with the procedures Bach regularly applied in the 1740s to rework his earlier fugues.The first fugue of the Toccata in E Minor resembles the combination section of the "Confiteor" because it combines two themes. While the two themes of the Toccata fugue show significant similarities with the two themes of the "Confiteor," the fugue in the Mass in B Minor is considerably longer, it has an individual structure, and its contrapuntal texture is denser and more complex. The opening movement of Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe primarily recalls the exposition of the first theme in the "Confiteor." Just like in the "Confiteor," the double fugue of the cantata has a completely irregular structure. Remarkably, this peculiar structure and the unique combination of the applied procedures deepen the similarities between these two compositions. Both themes of both double fugues appear in stretto expositions; a cantus firmus is integrated into both double fugues; these cantus firmi on both occasions appear in their augmented forms as well; and both fugues present a canon at the fifth. Besides the musical, thematic, and structural similarities, one can detect a possible connection on the textual-conceptual level as well: both movements focus on sins (Sünde / peccata) and on their remission. One of the lines, referring to forgiveness in the cantus firmus in the first movement of the cantata ("Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder"), reappears several times at the end of the "Confiteor" (Vergebung / remissio), emphasizing both sin and its remission.