Musicians have long been told that their minds are similar to those of mathematicians. This week we’ll discover and decipher codes, messages and meanings that have been hidden within pieces of classical music over the centuries. Some of these messages were encoded for the fun of the puzzle, while others held deep painful meanings.
Shh, It’s a Secret: Musical Cryptograms
Playlist
Episode 1
Bach, JS: Musicalisches Opfer: Fuga a Canonica in Epidiapente (excerpt)
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Marriner
Musikalisches Opfer / The Musical Offering BWV 1079
Phil 412800
00:40
Busnoys, Antoine: “A Que Ville”
Pomerium
In Hydraulis & Other Works
Dorian 90184
4:40
Des Prez, Josquin: Missa Hercules: Kyrie and Gloria
De Labyrintho/Walter Testolin
Josquin: Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae
Stradivarius 33862
6:48
Tradition: “L’homme armé”
The Tallis Scholars
The Tallis Scholars Sing Josquin
Gimell 206
00:35
Josquin Des Prez: Missa L’homme armé: Kyrie
The Tallis Scholars
The Tallis Scholars Sing Josquin
Gimell 206
5:01
Bach, JS: Mass in B minor: Crucifixus
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Solti
Mass In B Minor
Lon 430353
3:06
Bach, JS: Musicalisches Opfer: Ricercare a 3
Gustav Leonhardt, harpsichord
Musikalisches Opfer, BWV 1079
Pro Arte 009
5:55
Bach, JS: Musicalisches Opfer (excerpts)
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Marriner
Musikalisches Opfer / The Musical Offering BWV 1079
Phil 412800
4:37
Bach, JS/arr. Webern: Bach’s Musical Offering: Fuga a 6 Voci
Boston Symphony Orchestra/Ozawa
20th Century Bach
Phi 432092
8:31
Episode 2
Bach, JS: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 – Contrapunctus 14 (excerpt)
Pittsburgh Symphony Brass
The Art of Fugue
Four Winds 3008
00:45
Bach, JS: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 – Contrapunctus 1
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
Die Kunst Der Fuge
DG 479 4546
3:01
Bach, JS: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 – Contrapunctus 5
Glenn Gould, organ
The Art of the Fugue
Sony 89344
2:54
Bach, JS: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 – Contrapunctus 13 Contrapunctus 13, Inversus
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
Die Kunst Der Fuge
DG 479 4546
4:19
Bach, JS: Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus
Akademie Für Alte Musik Berlin
The Art of Fugue, BWV1080
Harmonia Mundi 902064
2:40
Bach, JS: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 – Contrapunctus 14 (Unfinished)
Pittsburgh Symphony Brass
The Art of Fugue
Four Winds 3008
9:23
Liszt, Franz: Fantasie & Fuge Über Das Thema B-A-C-H, S 529
Marc-André Hamelin, piano
Piano Sonata
Hyperion 67760
12:30
Schoenberg, Arnold: Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31 Introduction & Theme
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Simon Rattle
Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht / Erwartung / Five Orchestral Pieces / Chamber Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 / Variations for Orchestra, Opp. 4, 9, 16, 17, 31, 38
EMI 555212
2:44
Schumann, Robert: Variations on the name “Abegg”, Op. 1
Peter Frankl, piano
Concertos
Brilliant Classics 92277
7:14
Episode 3
Robert Schumann: Carnival, Op. 9 – Eusebius, Florestan, Chiarina, Paganini
Evgeny Kissin, piano
Carnaval, Op. 9 / Sonata No. 1 In F-Sharp Minor, Op. 11
RCA 63885
5:48
Schumann, Robert: F-A-E Sonata; Intermezzo
Ilya Kaler, violin; Boris Slutsky, piano
Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2
Naxos 8.550870
2:53
Brahms, Johannes: F-A-E Sonata; Scherzo
Daniel Hope, violin.; Sebastian Knauer
The Romantic Violinist – A Celebration of Joseph Joachim
DG 477930
5:42
Schumann, Robert: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat, “Rhenish”; I
Vienna Philharmonic/Bernstein
Schumann: Symphonie No 3, Piano Concerto
DG 415358
9:42
Schumann, Robert: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat, “Rhenish”; I
Vienna Philharmonic/Bernstein
Schumann: Symphonie No 3, Piano Concerto
DG 415358
00:16
Brahms, Johannes: Symphony No. 3 in F; I
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/ Abbado
Brahms: Tragic Overture; Song of Destiny; Symphony No. 3
DG 429765
13:39
Brahms, Johannes: Symphony No. 3 in F; IV. Finale
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/ Abbado
Brahms: Tragic Overture; Song of Destiny; Symphony No. 3
DG 429765
9:01
Episode 4
Berg, Alban: I. Thema scherzoso con Variazioni – Motto
Ensemble Intercontemporain/Pierre Boulez
Alban Berg: Kammerkonzert Chamber Concerto /
Igor Stravinsky: Ebony Concerto – Dumbarton Oaks – 8 Miniatures
DG 447405
0:28 (excerpt)
Berg, Alban: Lyric Suite: II. Andante Amoroso
Kronos Quartet
Lyric Suite
Nonesuch 79696
5:45
Berg, Alban: Violin Concerto; To the Memory of An Angel (excerpts)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Paul Watkins; Daniel Hope, violin
Berg & Britten Violin Concertos
Warner Classics 60291
0:41
Berg, Alban: Violin Concerto; To the Memory of An Angel (excerpts)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Paul Watkins; Daniel Hope, violin
Berg & Britten Violin Concertos
Warner Classics 60291
1:09
Berg, Alban: Violin Concerto; To the Memory of An Angel; Finale
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Paul Watkins; Daniel Hope, violin
Berg & Britten Violin Concertos
Warner Classics 60291
17:05
Shostakovich, Dmitri: String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110
Emerson String Quartet
Shostakovich: The String Quartets
DG 4663284
19:38
Ravel, Maurice: Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré (excerpt)
Joseph Kalichstein, piano; Jaime Laredo, violin
Ravel: Works For Piano, Violin And Cello
Koch 7726
1:56
Episode 5
Bach, JS: Musikalisches Opfer: Canon Perpetus
Kuijken, violin; Kuijken, flute; Leonhardt, violin;
W. Kuijken, bass viola da gamba; Kohnen, harpsichord; G. Leonhardt, harpsichord
Bach: Musical Offering
Sony/Seon 63189
1:03
Corigliano, John: Symphony No. 1, I. Of Rage and Remembrance (excerpts)
National Symphony Orchestra/Slatkin
Of Rage And Remembrance / Symphony No. 1
RCA 68450
7:07
Corigliano, John: Symphony No. 1, I. Of Rage and Remembrance (excerpts)
National Symphony Orchestra/Slatkin
Of Rage And Remembrance / Symphony No. 1
RCA 68450
4:31
Elgar, Edward: Enigma Variations: Theme; C.A.E
Philharmonia Orchestra/Davis
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Pomp & Circumstance / Marches
CBS 44788
3:38
Elgar, Edward: Enigma Variations: Variation II (Allegro) “H.D.S-P.”
Philharmonia Orchestra/Davis
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Pomp & Circumstance / Marches
CBS 44788
:27
Elgar, Edward: Enigma Variations:III Variation III (Allegretto) “R.B.T.”
Philharmonia Orchestra/Davis
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Pomp & Circumstance / Marches
CBS 44788
:36
Elgar, Edward: Enigma Variations: Variation IV (Allegro di molto) “W.M.B.”
Philharmonia Orchestra/Davis
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Pomp & Circumstance / Marches
CBS 44788
:29
Elgar, Edward: Enigma Variations:Variation VII (Presto) “Troyte”
Philharmonia Orchestra/Davis
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Pomp & Circumstance / Marches
CBS 44788
4:51
Elgar, Edward: Enigma Variations: Variation VIII (Allegretto) “W.N.”
Philharmonia Orchestra/Davis
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Pomp & Circumstance / Marches
CBS 44788
:43
Elgar, Edward: Enigma Variations: Variation IX (Adagio) “Nimrod”
Philharmonia Orchestra/Davis
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Pomp & Circumstance / Marches
CBS 44788
3:57
Elgar, Edward: Enigma Variations: Variation X (Intermezzo: Allegretto) “Dorabella”
Variation XI (Allegro di molto) “G.R.S.”
Variation XII (Andante) “B.G.N.”
Philharmonia Orchestra/Davis
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Pomp & Circumstance / Marches
CBS 44788
6:57
Elgar, Edward: Enigma Variations:Variation XIII (Romanza: Moderato) ”
Variation XIV (Finale: Allegro) “E.D.U.”
Philharmonia Orchestra/Davis
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Pomp & Circumstance / Marches
CBS 44788
7:51
Ravel, Maurice: Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn (excerpt)
Kalichstein, Joseph
Ravel: Works of Piano, Violin and Cello
Arab 6736
1:00