[Footnote 51: It is curious to notice, even in these surroundings, an example of what was in the middle ages called the "_proportio hemiolia_," the immediate passage from triple to duple time, which we find as late as in the works of Bach and Händel. (See _The Messiah_, third chorus, thirty-fifth measure.) In endeavoring to accentuate the rhythm, Buxtehude unconsciously breaks it. In reality, the pedal brings an accent upon the third beat; and we obtain, by taking as the first beats of measures the chords marked with a sign: [Music]] The following page contains rapid and brilliant passages of many notes, which the pedal, at present omitted, could not follow, until finally the pace is slackened, and the movement becomes quiet; a plaintive harmonic progression is welcomed as a peaceful, serious word, when suddenly the movement is again quickened, even involving the pedal, then abandoning it, only to take it up again just before the cadence in major, which is now awaited. By the side of a study of this little lyric, for such the chaconne is, together with the Passacaglia, we must point out the exuberant imagination displayed in the preludes and fugues. These compositions, moreover, partake of a definite design, evolved from the _canzone_ in so far as that the same subject serves for various developments, clothed in different rhythms. Often even the various themes succeed each other, leaving to the ensemble only unity of tonality. Thus the fugue in E minor has successively three themes:[52] [Music] then: [Music] and finally [Music] [Footnote 52: See Merkel (Johann): "_Betrachtungen über die deutsche Tonkunst im 18. Jahrhundert_." _Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde_ (School of Philosophy of Leipzig University, 1886).] Each of these fugues is connected with the others by those brilliantly florid interludes for which Bach derived a taste, at least in his earlier years, from the influence of his studies of Buxtehude. In the chorale, Buxtehude does not interest us in so great a degree as does Pachelbel; he is another of the "colorists." Furthermore, he was always more worldly than religious, even transforming St. Mary's Church into a concert-hall--for sacred concerts, if you will. But churches are not temples erected to the Fine Arts; while it may be true that the latter approach most closely the divine spirit, yet it must be recognized that pantheism, a philosophic teaching, has never been followed as a religion.[53] [Footnote 53: These concerts were inaugurated in 1673; undoubtedly for one of these, to which the name _Abendmusik_, evening music, was applied, the Chaconnes and the Passacaglia were written.] THE PRELUDES AND FUGUES OF J.S. BACH TOCCATAS--FANTASIAS--THE PASSACAGLIA--THE SONATAS