The Musical Offering facts for kids
The Musical Offering (also known as Musikalisches Opfer) is a special collection of music by Johann Sebastian Bach. It has different types of musical pieces like canons, fugues, ricercars, and a trio sonata. All these pieces are based on a unique tune that was created by King Frederick II of Prussia, also known as Frederick the Great. Bach wrote this music especially for the king.
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How Bach Created This Music
The idea for The Musical Offering began during a meeting between Bach and King Frederick II on 7 May 1747. Bach's son, Carl Philipp Emanuel, was a musician who worked for the king. The king wanted to show Bach a new musical instrument that had just been invented. This new instrument was the piano. So, the king invited Bach to his royal palace in Potsdam.
During the visit, the king gave Bach a musical theme, which is like a short melody. He asked Bach to create a three-part fugue using this theme. Bach was very good at making up music on the spot, a skill called improvisation. He quickly composed a three-part fugue. The king then wondered if Bach could create a six-part fugue. This was a very difficult challenge, and some people thought the king was joking. But Bach said he would try.
About two months later, after Bach had returned home to Leipzig, he finished the six-voice fugue based on the king's theme. He also put together other musical pieces that used the same theme. Bach then sent all this music to the king. This collection of music became known as "The Musical Offering." We don't know what the king thought of it.
At the top of the music, Bach wrote a Latin sentence: "Regis Iussu Cantio Et Reliqua Canonica Arte Resoluta." This means: "the theme given by the king, with additions, resolved in the canonic style." If you take the first letter of each word in the Latin sentence, they spell out the word ricercar. A ricercar was a type of music that was well-known at that time.
The Musical Offering includes ricercars, canons, fugues, and a trio sonata. The trio sonata was written for specific instruments: a flute, a violin, and a basso continuo (which is usually a cello and a keyboard instrument playing together). However, most of the other pieces in the collection do not say which instruments should play them. They are often performed on keyboard instruments, like a piano or harpsichord, or by small groups of instruments as chamber music. Bach also did not specify the order in which the pieces should be played.
Musical Riddles in the Pieces
Bach also included riddles at the beginning of some of the pieces. These riddles were musical puzzles that musicians had to solve to play the music correctly. Some of these riddles have been figured out, but others have more than one possible solution.
One of these riddle canons is called "in augmentationem." In this piece, the notes get longer and longer as the music plays. Bach wrote a message with it: "Notulis crescentibus crescat Fortuna Regis." This means: "May the fortunes of the king increase like the length of the notes." Another piece is a modulating canon. This means the music changes key and ends one whole tone higher than where it started. Bach wrote over this music: "Ascendenteque Modulationis ascendat Gloria Regis." This translates to: "As the modulation rises, so may the King's glory."
Modern Adaptations of the Music
Over the years, several composers have created their own versions of the music from The Musical Offering. In 1935, a composer named Anton Webern arranged Bach’s six-part ricercar for a full orchestra. Later, in 1980, Sofia Gubaidulina used the Royal Theme from The Musical Offering in her violin concerto. She changed the notes to sound like a Russian Orthodox hymn.
Images for kids
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The Flute Concert of Sanssouci by Adolph Menzel, 1852. It shows Frederick playing the flute, with C. P. E. Bach playing a harpsichord-shaped piano.
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The beginning of Anton Webern's arrangement of "Ricercar a 6."
See also
In Spanish: Ofrenda musical, BWV 1079 para niños
