Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her

O Lord, you have created all!
How did you come to be so small,
To sweetly sleep in manger-bed
Where lowing cattle lately fed?
(Dr. Martin Luther)

Bach first wrote and published “Some Canonic Variations on the Christmas Hymn 'Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her'” (BWV 769a) in 1746 or 1747 as his submission to the Mizlar Society for Musical Sciences in 1747, having it engraved on copper and published. But the piece remained in his mind. He wrote out a new copy for himself over the last two years of his life, making many small revisions and, most of all, rearranging the cycle. The most virtuosic variation (the one with all four phrases of the chorale at once) had been the finale; Bach now moved it to the middle as Variation Three. It reminds me of the high-spirited Quodlibet of the Goldberg Variations, with its assortment of folk songs stitched together into a raucous finale – followed by the Da Capo of the Theme, whose return is one of the most sublime moments in music. It seems to me that Bach may have had something like this in mind by now concluding the Canonic Variations with two leisurely and quiet meditations. What is now the Fourth Variation reminds me of the "Vater unser" in the Clavierübung (BWV 682). The Fifth Variation is a slow, meditative canon in augmentation reminding me as much of the “Black Pearl” variation from the Goldberg as the raucous one reminds me of the Quodlibet.

Hermann Keller, in “The Organ Works of Bach,” writes:

The Canonic Variations are, in fact, entirely worthy of being placed beside two other works of Bach's old age: the Musical Offering (1747) and the Art of Fugue (1749-50). Common to all three works is the almost abstract quality of their style.

Quoting Spitta (Bach's early biographer), Keller continues:

… the very complicated forms, to which, by preference, Bach devoted himself in the last years of his life, did not fascinate him because of their difficulties alone; his musical perception had grown more and more profound, and it drew him to these forms. [Spitta wrote] “These partitas are full of a passionate vitality and poetical feeling. The heavenly hosts soar up and down, their lovely song sounding out over the cradle of the Infant Christ, while the multitude of the redeemed 'join the sweet song with joyful hearts.'” [this last is a phrase from the hymn text].

In the works of his last years, Bach ascends into the realm of philosophical music, which can no longer be explained by the traditional concepts of style.... All great art has its own laws and is based on them: even Bach we can understand ultimately not from his period, nor from his humanity... but solely from his music. (p. 288-294)

Argument continues as to the best form for presentation of this work. Keller does not think that the later arrangement of variations succeeds in performance. A cursory sampling of the many YouTube recordings of the work indicate that most performers agree – all but one of the ones I sampled conclude with the original Finale, which Bach moved to the middle (Ton Koopman's performance, split into five shorter clips, is the sole exception).

My opinion is that Bach did not care one whit about public reactions to this piece, no more than he did in relation to the Musical Offering and the Art of Fugue. Viewed purely as theoretical and mystical explorations into the Heart of God, he concluded that they should be in the version that he took a great deal of trouble to write out when he had many other things that he wanted to do. A good performance of the former Finale (now Third Variation) – I suggest the one by Helmut Walcha, whose rendition of the whole set on a Silbermann organ is spectacular – will rightfully elicit applause for the performer and for Bach. An ideal performance of what is now the Fifth Variation (the Canon in Augmentation) would elicit spiritual transformation.

I think that one very good way to play these Variations is to place them among the fourteen stanzas of Luther's great Chorale, sung by the congregation. This is how I played them at the Midnight Mass two days ago. Congregational singing does not record well – one hears too much the handful of too-loud voices, the lagging behind, the out-of-tune singers. (Note well that I consider these aspects to be essential to healthy congregational song; that is a matter for another day.) Thus, I have edited the sung stanzas out of the YouTube clip.

But for those organists who might consider such an adventure, here is the manner in which we sang (and I played), with some brief notes to help the listener with the canons. Among other virtues, this arrangement covers the deficiency caused by the smallness of our beloved Pilcher organ; several of the variations have essentially the same registration because it is the only registration that works for this music. Heard back-to-back, it lacks variety; interspersed with congregational singing, not so much. Especially, it is good to go from full-throated singing for Stanza 14 (“Glory to God in highest heaven”) to the final Canon in Augmentation on soft 8' stops.

A final note: I have used for the Artwork in the YouTube clip “The Mystical Nativity” by Sandro Botticelli. To my way of thinking, Botticelli's angels and their ring-dance in the sky are the visual equivalent of Bach's music in these Variations.

Some Canonic Variations on the Christmas Hymn “Vom Himmel Hoch”

Stanzas 1 through 5:

(5) These are the signs which you will see
To let you know that it is he:
In manger-bed, in swaddling clothes
The child who all the earth upholds.

Variation 1: Canon at the Octave
The Canon is between the two voices in the manuals, with the Chorale in the pedals. The same arrangement applies to the Second Variation.

Stanzas 6, 7, and 8:

(8) Welcome to earth, O noble Guest,
Through whom this sinful world is blest!
You turned not from our needs away!
How can our thanks such love repay?

Variation 2: Canon at the Fifth

Stanzas 9 and 10:

(10) Were earth a thousand times as fair
And set with gold and jewels rare,
Still such a cradle would not do
To rock a prince so great as you.

Variation 3: Cantus Firmus in canon
inverted, and at the intervals of the Sixth, Third, Second, Ninth, then all four phrases of the Cantus Firmus in stretto.

Stanzas 11 and 12:

(12) O dearest Jesus, holy child,
Prepare a bed, soft, undefiled,
A holy shrine, within my heart,
That you and I need never part.

Variation 4: Canon at the Seventh
The Canon is between the two lower voices, with an ornamented Alto voice and the Chorale in the Soprano.

Stanzas 13 and 14:

(14) “Glory to God in highest heav’n,
Who unto us his Son has giv’n.”
With angels sing in pious mirth:
A glad new year to all the earth!

Variation 5: Canon in Augmentation
The Canon is at the interval of a Fourth between the Soprano and Baritone voices, with the Chorale in the pedals. The motif “B-A-C-H” appears in the Tenor and Baritone just before the final cadence.