All Along
Information:
- Source: Under the Sun Notebook
- Key: G Major / E Minor
- Measures: 18
- Parts: Cello and Piano
- Duration: 3:45 Min
- Pages: 3 Pages
MUSICAL LAWS #
I remember fondly the music book from which I learned my first melodies on the piano. I also remember the out-of-tune piano on which I took my lessons, and I remember the school itself: a building that was more house than school, with a large courtyard and classrooms attached to it.
Since I did not have a piano at home, all of my practice took place on the very instrument on which I took lessons. I spent countless hours trying to understand the laws that govern music, which, as we all know, directly affect our emotions and, for that reason, make music one of the most complete and beloved forms of art on the planet.
More than thirty years have passed since then, yet every now and then I still dare to dust off the books from which I learned to play the piano. Playing and remembering the first pieces with which I spent so many hours forging and earning my place in the musical world has become part of my regular practice.
C MAJOR #
The Prelude No. 1 in C Major by the Baroque composer J. S. Bach was a work I dared to learn very early on. Written around the year 1722, this piece represents for me not only what it obviously is — a musical prelude — but also the beginning of a complication in my life that I never imagined would be as satisfying as playing the piano.
I soon realized how deceptive what I had thought was a simple piece truly was. Although it sounds straightforward at first hearing, once I immersed myself in those constant arpeggios and in that melody that is somehow present yet never truly appears, I knew that Bach’s music would be difficult to master.
DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID #
For many people, this piece represents the genetic information of Western harmony. For me, it was the gateway into the world of baroque music, but it also represented, in a way, my departure from the world of childhood.
It was during adolescence —a time filled with personal doubts, uncomfortable questions, hatred and love mixed together, and the need to belong and be comforted —that I learned to play the Prelude. Bach’s music provided answers to many of those concerns and gave meaning to my existence in countless ways.
Those moments, surrounded by mysterious chords and comforting melodies, were what kept me practicing. And why not? After all, it was only me and that beautiful piano, which demanded nothing from me, never contradicted me, and never scolded me when I made a mistake in the score, it never judged me.
THE PROBLEM #
After countless hours of practice, I finally solved the problem of the Prelude in C Major. The satisfaction of being able to play a work of such historical importance and lasting relevance — a work that, even three hundred years after it was written, still sounds contemporary ― was a great triumph for me, one that I still celebrate in secret. It was around that time, when I was finally able to play it fluently, that I first learned of the composer Gounod.
A much greater problem appeared when Gounod saw fit to write and add an insipid melody over Bach’s arpeggiated chords, only to further damage it — as if that were not enough — with a liturgical litany in Latin full of pious repetition. Finally, he handed it over to the faithful to administer the coup de grâce and called the entire thing: Ave Maria… Ave Maria most pure, what a tragedy!! To my horror, I realized that my beloved Prelude in C Major had been raped, desecrated.
YES OR NO? #
As obvious as the question may seem — and yet one is still compelled to ask it — what would Bach have thought had he heard the final result? Would he have approved? Although Bach was a Lutheran, he was not anti-Catholic. Furthermore, in the nineteenth century, when Gounod composed his melody, people thought differently about religious dogma and matters of faith.
Artistically speaking, I think Bach would have found the experiment intriguing. After all, in the eighteenth century it was common practice to borrow, reuse, modify, and adapt existing works. Moreover, he likely would have appreciated the clarity and mathematical precision with which the melody fits the harmonic structure.
The text itself might have presented a theological problem for Bach. In the Lutheran tradition, while Mary is deeply respected, prayers are not directed to her, nor is there the same emphasis — as there is in Catholicism — on intense devotion to her.
I KNEW IT ALL ALONG #
The piece I’ve composed is not about Bach, nor it’s about the historical value of the prelude. And it is not about virgins, nor a spiritual journey. And if you are listening to it, notice that it never tries to emulate the structure of the arpeggios or the patterns. All Along is the title of the music. It’s about the time when I first played Bach.
I realized that as I gained wisdom of experience I tend to look backwards into time, but this music looks forward, back to the moment when none of that wisdom existed yet. With a soothing melody, the duet is telling you the excitement of learning something so magical from long ago. It feels similar as if I enter an attic full of wonderful things waiting to be discover.
AFTER BACH #
A last thought: For me, Bach’s prelude continues to represent — and always will represent — the sum of my efforts, the balance between technique and beauty, the midpoint between the mathematical and the emotional. But it is also the vehicle that instantly transports me back to those moments of happiness I experienced while struggling to learn the piece.
In the end, who really cares about life’s questions and explanations when one has Bach’s music? It’s in that moment that anxiety settles and that which seemed to demand answers dissolves away. For some strange reason, everything makes much more sense after Bach.
Sheet Music Archive
Published Score.
The complete work is available for consultation and download.