The world's dissonance is on full display. We talk over, around, and past one another. Faith in the legitimacy of dialogue is at an all-time low. The aggressive name-calling dominating American politics is not just online. The grocery store checkout line can be as brutal as the comment section on any social media site. Harmony is in short supply. Melody is a memory. No one is singing from the same hymn sheet. The only music the world agrees upon is Taylor Swift. Does music (as a metaphor) offer any insight into our current predicament? I believe so. There is a German Lutheran Baroque Organist and father of twenty children with an idea: Johann Sebastian Bach.
His sound is distinctive. Even if we’re unfamiliar with a 338-year-old composer, his melodies and harmonies feel modern. We know this music at an emotional level. While we may not be able to name the artist or era in which he wrote it, these notes change the people who hear them for the better. Why is this? Bach and other Baroque composers were the masters of a style of composition known as “counterpoint.”
Counterpoint is as much like the process of writing dialogue as it is placing notes on a page. Counterpoint places two different melodies in conversation with one another. Instead of indistinguishable sounds, there is order and understanding. Neither voice overtakes the other. Listeners hear each note individually and collectively. In the end, there is a resolution. In counterpoint, there are no loose ends or compromises. We end where we began, on an equal playing field, with two melodies that depart in chordant unity.
Counterpoint is more than a method of writing music perfected by Bach. Listening closely enough may provide insight into resolving contentious disputes, heated arguments, and other divisions plaguing the human condition. We best see Bach's use of counterpoint in "The Art of Fugue." A Fugue's primary theme evolves across seven unique parts. Bach then weaves melodies, creating a complex yet coherent musical tapestry. Each voice in a fugue enters sequentially, introducing the central theme and developing it through various transformations. This method of thematic development shows Bach’s ability to create unity out of diversity, a principle that resonates deeply with contemporary America.
E Pluribus Unum, out of many one, the motto of the United States, is the essential idea undergirding counterpoint. Life comprises interwoven elements—individuals and communities—each with its unique path and function. The beauty of life emerges from the harmonious interaction of diverse components. Diversity is a source of strength. As in a fugue, another melody joining does not cause the original to be lost. The sound becomes more robust and more inspiring.
Finding harmony in life requires both freedom and constraint, creativity and structure. Bach’s mastery of counterpoint shows that harmony arises not from uniformity but from the dynamic interplay of distinct yet interrelated elements. Beauty emerges from life's complexity. Bach’s use of counterpoint demonstrates that diverse melodies lead to unexpected and joyous musical realities. What might America learn from Bach as we seek to welcome new voices, live together, and listen to one another? I know it is more than the appreciation of classical music.
I love Bach so very much. My favorite composer by a mile and the organ works are my favorite. I can whistle every fugue lol. Little Fugue in G Minor is my favorite. Pipe organists are my heroes and there should be baseball cards of these people. E. Power Biggs was the best organist for the fugues. If there is such a thing as divine music it surely sounds like Bach.