Cross motif
A cross motif ( chiasmus ) is a popular musical symbol - especially in the Baroque period . It consists of four tones that follow one another in such a way that you get a cross when you connect the outer and inner tones .
The best known cross motif is BACH (see graphic), the setting of the name of Johann Sebastian Bach . Bach himself set this series to music many times in fugues, chorales and other works. This is particularly worth mentioning, since BACH are each very small steps (distance of 3 semitones from A to C), which is not easy to compose harmonically.
meaning
In Bach's work, a cross motif usually indicates Jesus Christ , but it can also simply appear as a trick. Cross motifs also appear in purely instrumental works. Cross motifs were also very popular in later times, especially in church music . A cross can also simply stand for suffering or pain, also in connection with other musical figures in baroque music .
use
Bach uses cross motifs in countless works, whereby Contrapunctus 14 from the art of the fugue with its name should be mentioned as a separate theme. Even Mozart used in his trade fairs frequently cross motifs. One of the most famous examples of the early 19th century is the Agnus Dei from the E-flat major Mass by Franz Schubert , in which he quotes a work of his own ( The Double from the Swan Song ). Later, when the baroque techniques (imitation, crab walking, mirroring ...) became important in the second Viennese school , the cross motif also became interesting again, for example in Alban Berg's violin concerto . Overall, it can be said that BACH is certainly one of the most popular motifs in music history. The fact that Anton Bruckner's symphonic work is concluded with a cross-figure corresponding to a crucifixion , formed from two fifths ( 3rd movement of the 9th symphony, Adagio ) is certainly to be regarded as indicative .