The Musical Language: Introduction

The baroque took the principal of note symbolism from the Renaissance, and expanded it. Musical things also have extra-musical meanings:

• Note names and syllables for names, like b-a-c-h
• The sharp sign (#) for christ's cross, also notes forming a cross
• number sumbolism: 3 for the holy trinity, completeness, spirit; 4 for the elements, the world; and 12 for the apostles, the church; also the number alphabet A=1, B=2, etc.
• structures like canon for following after (caccia, hunt, fuga ), but also lawfulness and righteousness;
• figures which have more direct meanings than symbolism. musica poetica (see next chapter)

In this example by Monteverdi, the three voices join together to form a unison: 'and these three are one'.

Shortly before his death, Bach dictates the death chorale Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit, into which he weaves his own name using the number alphabet and adding 8 ornamental notes to the original melody (14, mirror image of 41). In his Orgelbuchlein the chorale has 158 notes (in this case the title is Wenn wir in Hochsten Nothen sein).