Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Piece: Canata, BWV 140: I. “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme”
Performer: Münchner Bach-Orchester, Karl Richter
Where: Apple Music, Streamed
Score: IMSLP Score
The opening bars have a compelling call and response. The strings begin with three beats of a repeated dotted-eighth note/sixteenth note pattern which is imitated in the woodwinds. This is repeated multiple times in the piece, and the first violin and oboe alternate call and response with another distinctive rhythmic motif throughout.
There are two aspects that I find drawn to in the piece: First, the opening motif is rhythm only, and that rhythm is quite simple. Second, the contrast between the timbre of the strings and the woodwinds is quite intense, as the staccato sound of the oboe sounds quite raw and unpolished in contrast to the violin.
The textural contrast here is something I would like to experiment with, as my past piano composition has been quite uniform with respect to voicing. Also, the piece does demonstrate how compelling repetition of simple motifs can be.