Mikhailova I. Idea of the Transcendent in the Music of J. S. Bach and A. G. Schitcke: images, symbols, paradoxes

In musicology of the XXI century there is a sphere of scientific knowledge regarding direct connection between music and religion. Despite the fact that there’s a wide range of various ideas about the universe, almost every religious doctrine has its own musical evidence supporting the idea of divine creation. Music is sacral, secret, and mysterious art that reflects complex ideas. It influences spiritual world of people and unveils ancient truth making our inner fire burn. Ancient theological doctrines are sometimes decoded with unusual signs and symbols as they are both simple and complicated at the same time. In our opinion the ancient idea of the transcendent is the most highlighted in music. Christian interpretation of this idea is the most interesting. It identifies the subject of our research paper – theological idea of the transcendent and its realization in the music of its prominent adherent composers. There are a lot of composers and musicologists who touched upon this idea in their works. Mate-rial for the present paper consists of the works written by two brilliant composers who can be called spiri-tual leaders of the mankind. They are J. S. Bach (1685–1750) and A. G. Schitcke (1934–1998).