Teaching Bach's Aria Forms: Expanding Students' Analytical Horizons

Abstract:Detailed study of Bach's aria forms offers undergraduate students—especially vocal majors—a refreshing and rewarding change from the usual analytical focus on instrumental music in the theory curriculum. Two arias from well-known Bach cantatas composed in 1714, "Öffne dich, mein ganzes Herze," from Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland BWV 61, and "Erfreue dich, Seele," from Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis BWV 21, provide an excellent introduction to strict da capo form. To complement their study of strict da capo form, students may also analyze a relatively straightforward example of modified da capo form: "Erfüllet, ihr himmlischen, göttlichen Flammen," from Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern BWV 1, composed in 1725. The similarities among these arias allow students to acquire a sense of Bach's melodic style when writing for solo voice, while their differences reveal just how varied his treatment of da capo form can be. Careful attention to the sound and meaning of the German text set by Bach should precede the study of each aria's form. Students should learn to devise charts that show essential formal features, including the alternation between instrumental ritornelli and vocal phrases, the articulation of phrases through cadences, and the allocation of specific lines of poetry to each phrase or section.