'The patient is progressing favourably, but has not quite recovered
his health.' At this some mocked, and were of opinion that, had it
been in his power, the author might well have depicted the joy at a
perfect recovery. So far, however, as I could judge, there was good
reason for adding words to the music. The sonata commenced in D minor;
in the Gigue there was constant modulation towards G minor. At the
final close, in D, the ear was not satisfied, and expected the closing
cadence in G." In this wise was the partial recovery expressed in
tones, and explained in words.

Except for the unmistakable seriousness of the author, this
description might be taken as a joke, just as in one of the "Bible"
Sonatas the deceit of Jacob is expressed by a deceptive cadence; but
such extreme examples serve to emphasise the author's declaration
that, at times, words are indispensable. Before noticing the sonatas
themselves, one more quotation in reference to the same subject must
be made from this interesting preface. The humblest scholar, Kuhnau
tells us, knows the rule forbidding consecutive perfect consonances,
and he speaks of certain strict _censores_ who expose the clumsiness
of _musical poets_ who have refused to be bound by that rule. "But,"
says Kuhnau, in lawyer-like language: "_Cessante ratione prohibitionis
cessat ipsa prohibitio_." The term _musical poets_ (the italics are
ours) is a remarkable one; Kuhnau himself, of course, was one of them.

Philipp Spitta, in his _Life of J.S. Bach_, devotes one short
paragraph to the Bible stories, and gives one or two brief quotations
from the second; but they certainly deserve a longer notice.

The 1st Sonata is entitled "The Fight between David and Goliath." It
opens with a bold section, intended, as we learn from a