Translation - German-English - Was mein Gott will

(155) Gerd Zacher analyses, as do others, the first sonata as a study of the traditional chorale set against formal aspects of sonata theory, as it explicitly occurs in the first movement to which the following movements are related [68]. This analysis, as well as his attempt to establish proof of the chorale "Was mein Gott will" from the first movement and from the first line in each movement respectively [69], may be problematic and quite contestable. In fact, the first movement can, only with some difficulty, be regarded as the sonata theme in the narrower (156) sense [70]. Furthermore, partly because of the relatively uncharacteristic chorale phrases, which are regarded as transitions between the movements, it is difficult to identify the junctures with certainty. But it is not crucial whether the phrases were derived directly from the chorale, but rather that the references are clearly made. In that respect you will see the underlying idea that defines this cyclic form. All the movements are structured dialogically and contrastively. This stands out through the entrances of various organ works and through great dynamic breaks. In this way the first movement and finale oppose each other. Between them is a development. In the first there is a fugato dialogue and its theme and chorale, and in the latter a virtuoso-like mechanism and simple songlike melody. Even in organ sonatas, the chorale never plays a role in building intensity at the end of the musical development. The citation of the ff passage at the conclusion of the first movement sets the two chorale lines against each other in dynamic contrast [71]. The dialogic structure will continue.