On Saturday, October 17, members and friends of the Tacoma Chapter of the American Guild of Organists gathered in Lagerquist Hall at Pacific Lutheran University for an engaging and insight-filled presentation titled Theological Tone Paintings: Exploring J. S. Bach’s Leipzig 18 Chorales. Hosted on the hall’s landmark Paul Fritts mechanical-action organ, the program featured a collaborative presentation by David Dahl and Dana Robinson, with introductory and contextual commentary by Paul Tegels.

The gathering offered chapter members a rich opportunity for camaraderie, to observe live masterclass-style demonstrations, and engage in open discussion. Rather than focusing solely on score analysis, the morning highlighted how Bach’s compositional rigor and poetic imagination intersect to turn sacred Lutheran theology into living sound.

David Dahl began the presentation with an overview of the Leipzig chorales, providing context and an overview of the program.

Paul Tegels continued the morning by framing Bach’s lifelong devotional commitment, reminding attendees that Bach routinely inscribed “S.D.G.” (Soli Deo Gloria—To God alone the glory) at the conclusion of his manuscripts. Drawing from musicological scholarship and personal notes of David Dahl—most notably the teachings of Austrian organist and composer Anton Heiler—the presenters illuminated how Bach embedded specific rhetorical and theological devices within the Achtzehn Große Orgelchoräle.

Throughout the session, Dana Robinson demonstrated these techniques on the Gottfried and Mary Fuchs organ in the gallery.

Highlights of the musical illustrations included:

• Pentecostal Imagery in Komm, Heiliger Geist (BWV 651): Robinson opened with a sweeping performance utilizing the full plenum and pedal reeds. Dahl pointed out how the rushing manual figurations function as tone painting for the strong, rushing wind—a vivid symbol of Pentecost.
• Trinitarian Symbolism: The presenters explored Bach’s deliberate voice-placement conventions reflecting the Holy Trinity. Works focusing on God the Father place the cantus firmus in the soprano/top voice; works emphasizing Jesus as mediator position the melody in an inner voice (alto or tenor), symbolizing both divine and human natures; and works centered on the Holy Spirit feature the chorale in the bass.
• Rhetorical Figures (Anabasis & Katabasis): Dahl introduced key musical-rhetorical terms drawn from his formative studies with Anton Heiler and European masterclasses. He illustrated how katabasis (descending lines) depicts grief or humbleness, while anabasis (ascending lines) signifies resurrection and hope.
• Deep Structural Symbolism in O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig (BWV 656): The trio unpacked this massive three-verse partita. Tegels highlighted how the cantus firmus moves into progressively lower voices with each verse, reaching the pedals only at the final verse to redefine the bass structure. Attendees noted Bach’s numerical and musical symbolism: the shift to a compound 9/4 meter in the third verse signifying Trinitarian perfection, tragic musical figures portraying anguish, and the subtle insertion of the musical motto motif B–A–C–H (B-flat–A–C–B-natural) in the middle voices as a personal plea for redemption.
• Voice-Leading Dynamics: Robinson illustrated further textures from the collection, including Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (BWV 659) with its ornamented soprano melody, and BWV 660, featuring two distinct bass lines set in the same register beneath a decorated chorale.

To help attendees follow the intricate musical figures, short musical excerpts from Heiler’s analyses were projected on screen while Robinson performed matching live illustrations on the Fritts organ.

Following the music demonstrations, Robinson joined Dahl and Tegels downstairs from the gallery for an interactive Q&A session and group discussion with attendees. The energetic exchange between presenters and audience brought a wonderful sense of community to the morning, leaving everyone with a renewed appreciation for Bach’s genius and fresh ideas to bring back to their own instruments and church positions.

Undaunted by the rigors of the morning, David’s final comment was, “Now we need to do a program on the other eighteen!”