Template:Current events and The Musical Offering: Difference between pages

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'''''The Musical Offering''''' (German title '''''Musikalisches Opfer''''' or '''''Das Musikalische Opfer'''''), [[BWV]] 1079, is a collection of [[canon (music)|canon]]s and [[fugues]] and other pieces of [[music]] by [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], based on a musical theme by [[Frederick II of Prussia]] (Frederick the Great) and dedicated to him.
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===OngoingThe events=music==
===The theme from the king===
The collection has its roots in a meeting between Bach and Frederick II on [[May 7]], [[1747]]. The meeting, taking place in the king's residence in [[Potsdam]], resulted from Bach's son [[Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach|Carl Philipp Emanuel]] being employed there as court musician. Frederick wanted to show a novelty to Bach: the [[pianoforte]] had been invented a few years earlier, and the king owned such experimental instrument, allegedly the first Bach ever saw. Bach, who was well known for his skill at [[improvising]], was given the following theme by Frederick to improvise a fugue upon:
 
[[Image:Musical offering.png|frame|none|The ''Thema Regium'' ("theme from the king")]]
&bull; [[Paris Air Show]]<br>
&bull; [[Allegations of Qur'an desecration]]<br>
&bull; [[2005 Atlantic hurricane season]] </br>
&bull; [[2005 Pacific hurricane season]]<br>
&bull; [[Expo 2005]] in [[Aichi Prefecture|Aichi, Japan]]<br/>
&bull; [[Oil price increases of 2004 and 2005|Fuel prices]]<br/>
&bull; [[Gomery Commission|Gomery Comm.]] ([[Sponsorship scandal]])<br/>
&bull; [[May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan|Unrest in Uzbekistan]] <br/>
&bull; [[Bagram torture and prisoner abuse]] <br/>
&bull; [[Downing Street memo]] <br/>
&bull; [[Marburg virus#2004-2005 outbreak in Angola|Angola Marburg virus outbreak]] <br/>
&bull; [[History of the European Constitution#Ratification|Ratification of the European Constitution]] <br/>
&bull; [[Confederations Cup 2005]]<br>
 
According to the press of the day, Bach succeeded pretty well in producing an instant fugue, although he must have confided afterwards he felt not very much at ease playing the new type of instrument.
===Upcoming events===
<!-- Please omit anniversaries - they belong at (or near)
[[Template:Selected anniversaries]] -->
&bull; [[Live 8]]<br>
&bull; [[July 6]]: [[2012 Olympics|2012 Olympics Host City announced]] <br>
 
Two months after the meeting, Bach published a set of pieces based on this theme which we now know as ''The Musical Offering''. Bach inscribed the piece "Regis Iussu Cantio Et Reliqua Canonica Arte Resoluta" (the theme given by the king, with additions, resolved in the canonic style), the first letters of which spells out the word ''[[ricercar]]'' (an old name for a fugue).
===Deaths in June===
[[June 18]]: [[Syed Mushtaq Ali]]<br />
[[June 13]]: [[Lane Smith]]<br>
[[June 11]]: [[Juan José Saer]]<br>
[[June 9]]: [[Richard Eberhart]]<br>
[[June 6]]: [[Anne Bancroft]]<br>
[[June 1]]: [[George Mikan]]<br>
* ''[[Recent deaths]]''
 
===Structure, instrumentation===
=== Upcoming elections ===
In its finished form, ''The Musical Offering'' comprises:
[[June 24]]: [[Iranian presidential election, 2005|Iran presidential runoff]]<br>
*Two ricercars, written down on as many [[Musical staff|stave]]s as there are voices:
[[July 10]]: [[Kyrgyz presidential election, 2005|Kyrgyz presidential]]<br>
** a ricercar a 6 (a six voice fugue)
[[September 12]]: [[Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005|Norwegian parliamentary]]<br>
** a ricercar a 3 (a three voice fugue)
[[2005]]: [[German federal election, 2005|German federal]]<br>
*Ten [[canon (music)|canon]]s
[[2005]]: [[New Zealand general election 2005|New Zealand general]]<br>
*A four-movement [[trio sonata]] featuring the [[flute]], an instrument which Frederick played.
[[September 25]]: [[Polish parliamentary election, 2005|Polish parliamentary]]<br>
[[October 9]]: [[Polish presidential election, 2005|Polish presidential]]<br>
* ''[[Electoral calendar]]''
 
Apart from the trio sonata, which is written for flute, [[violin]] and [[basso continuo]], the pieces have few indications of which instruments are meant to play them.
=== Recent election results ===
[[April 24]]: [[Togolese presidential election, 2005|Togo presidential]]<br>
[[May 5]]: [[United Kingdom general election, 2005|UK general]]<br>
[[May 14]]: [[ROC National Assembly election, 2005|ROC (Taiwan) National Assembly]] <br>
[[May 15]]: [[Ethiopian general elections, 2005|Ethiopian general elections]]<br>
[[May 17]]: [[British Columbia general election, 2005|British Columbia general]] <br>
[[May 29]]: [[Lebanese general election, 2005|Lebanon general]]<br>
[[May 29]]: [[French referendum on the European Constitution|French EC referendum]]<br>
[[June 1]]: [[Dutch referendum on the European Constitution|Dutch EC referendum]]<br>
[[June 17]]: [[Iranian presidential election, 2005|Iran presidential]]<br>
[[June 19]]: [[Guinea-Bissau presidential election, 2005|Guinea-Bissau presidential]]<br>
 
The ricercars and canons have been realised in various ways: The ricercars are frequently performed on keyboard instruments, an ensemble of [[chamber music]]ians with alternating instrument groups, comparable to the instrumentation of the trio sonata, often playing the canons. But also recordings on one or more keyboard instruments (piano, harpsichord) exist, as well as with a more ample orchestra-like instrumentation.
===Ongoing armed conflicts===
&bull; [[Arab-Israeli conflict]] ([[Al-Aqsa Intifada]])<br/>
&bull; [[Chechnya|Conflict in Chechnya]]<br>
&bull; [[Second Congo War]]<br>
&bull; [[Conflict in Iraq]] [[Occupation of Iraq, 2003-2004|(Occupation of Iraq)]] <br/>
&bull; [[Darfur conflict]] in [[Sudan]]<br/>
&bull; [[Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire]]
* ''[[List of recent wars#Ongoing wars|Ongoing wars]]''
 
As the printed version gives the impression to be organised for (reduction of) page turning when sight-playing the score, the order of the pieces intended by Bach (''if'' there was an intended order), remains uncertain.
=== Upcoming holidays<br>and observances ===
 
====June=Musical riddles===
Some of the canons of the Musical Offering are represented in the original score by not more than a short monodic melody of a few measures, with a more or less enigmatic inscription in [[Latin]] above the melody. These compositions are called the '''''riddle fugues''''' (or sometimes, more appropriately, the ''riddle canons''). The performer(s) is/are supposed to interpret the music as a multi-part piece (a piece with several intertwining melodies), while solving the "riddle". Some of these riddles have been explained to have more than one possible "solution", although nowadays most printed editions of the score give a single, more or less "standard" solution of the riddle, so that interpreters can just play, without having to worry about the Latin, or the riddle.
[[June 20|20]]: [[Flag Day]] <small>([[Argentina]])</small><br>
[[June 21|21]]: [[Summer Solstice]] <small>([[Pagan]])</small><br>
[[June 24|24]]: [[Fête nationale du Québec]] <small>([[Quebec]])</small><br>
[[June 26|26]]: [[Flag Day]] <small>([[Romania]])</small><br>
 
One of these ''riddle canons'', "in augmentationem" (i.e. the length of the notes gets longer), is inscribed "Notulis crescentibus crescat Fortuna Regis" (may the fortunes of the king increase like the length of the notes), while a [[Modulation (music)|modulating]] canon which ends a tone higher than it starts is inscribed "Ascendenteque Modulationis ascendat Gloria Regis" (may the king's glory rise like the ascending modulation).
====July====
[[July 1|1]]: [[Canada Day]]<br>
[[July 4|4]]: [[Independence Day]] <small>([[United States|U.S.]])</small><br>
 
==Reception==
=== Ongoing trials ===
Little is known about how Frederick would have received the score dedicated to him, and whether he tried to solve any riddle or played the flute part of the trio sonata. Frederick's musical taste supposedly did not very much cherish ''complicated'' music, and soon after Bach's visit he was on his next war campaign, so it is possible it was not well received.
[[Chile]]: [[Augusto Pinochet]]<br>
[[International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia|ICTY]]: [[Slobodan Milosevic|Slobodan Milo&#353;evi&#263;]]<br/>
[[Iraq]]: [[Iraqi Special Tribunal]]<br/>
&mdash; [[Saddam Hussein]], among others<br/>
[[Netherlands]]: [[Mohammed Bouyeri]]<br/>
[[United Kingdom]]: [[Harry Kewell]] versus [[Gary Lineker]]<br/>
[[United States]]: [[Zacarias Moussaoui]]<br/>
[[United States]]: [[Brian Nichols]]<br/>
[[United States]]: [[BTK killer|Dennis Rader]] (BTK Killer)<br/>
[[United States]]: [[Ali al-Tamimi]]
 
==20th century adaptations and citations==
===Related pages===
===Arrangements===
[[Wikipedia:How the Current events page works|About this page]]<br/>
The "Ricercar a 6" has been arranged on its own on a number of occasions, the most prominent arranger being [[Anton Webern]], who in [[1935]] made a version for small [[orchestra]], noted for its [[Klangfarbenmelodie]] style (i.e. melody lines are passed on from one instrument to another after every few notes, every note receiving the "tone color" of the instrument it is played on):
[[List of '2005 in' articles|Year in...]]<br/>
 
[[Wikipedia:Announcements|Wikipedia Announcements]]
[[Image:Webern's Ricercar arrangement opening.PNG|550px|The opening of Webern's arrangement of "Ricercar a 6"]]
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===As reference===
''The Musical Offering'' is cited and deliberately interpreted by [[Douglas Hofstadter]] in his famous book ''[[Gödel, Escher, Bach]]''.
 
==See also==
* [[Johann Sebastian Bach]]
* [[List of compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach]]
* [[Bach compositions printed during the composer's lifetime]]
* [[Perpetuum mobile]]
* [[Canon_%28music%29]]
* [[Fugue]]
 
== External links ==
* [http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~tas3/musoffcanons.html Canons of the Musical Offering]
* The [[Mutopia Project]] has some of the music of [http://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/make-table.cgi?preview=1&searchingfor=1079&Composer=BachJS&Instrument=&Style=&timelength=1&timeunit=week&lilyversion= The Musical Offering]
 
[[Category:Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach]]
 
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