J.S. Bach
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Topic: J.S. Bach
Posted By: The Pessimist
Subject: J.S. Bach
Date Posted: June 11 2009 at 17:42
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This guy needs no introduction, so I'll keep it short and sweet. This is a thread where I encourage you to list your favourite Bach works, your experiences with his music, praise his genius and overall celebrate the, in my opinion, most influential musician and composer of all music history. His list of music is almost endless, ranging from thousands of keyboard works to the masterful orchestral suites, the Brandenburg Concertos, and the list of ideas and inventions he brought to the musical table is almost as large. So I address the entire PA community when I say this. Let's hear it for one of the greatest composers, if not the VERY greatest composer, of all time. Hell, the music you are listening to at the moment would not be the same without Grandpa Johann. Now show some love! ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Replies:
Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: June 11 2009 at 17:44
I just had to learn him for my History Of Music exam. I need a few days break from him, to say the least. 
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Posted By: Vompatti
Date Posted: June 11 2009 at 18:23
| I was introduced to his music through this wonderful movie called Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach. I'm still not as familiar with his works as I should be, but I greatly enjoy everything I've heard so far. |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: June 11 2009 at 19:02
My favourite combination ever in music is Johann Sebastian's music and Glenn Gould's fingers on the piano. "The well tempered clavier", Goldberg Variations' or "French Suites" in this combination are divine pieces of music.   |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 11 2009 at 19:18
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Beethoven once said about Bach, while studying his works: "Nicht Bach, Meer sollte er heißen"! This is a wordplay with the name Bach, which is German for "brook"; the translation of the Beethoven quote is "Not Brook, Sea he should be called"! -------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: meptune
Date Posted: June 11 2009 at 23:21
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I adore Bach and I'm absolutely fascinated by canons and fugues. To think that he could actually improvise a multivoice fugue is mind boggling. ------------- 
"Arf, she said" |
Posted By: Calculate900
Date Posted: June 12 2009 at 13:05
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In eighth grade, I played the first movement from his "Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins." Great stuff, it remains one of my favorite classical songs. |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: June 12 2009 at 13:22
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A friend brought over Brandenburg one day when we were having a heavy a snow (rare around these parts). Will always remind me of a snowy winter day. The Jesu piece, I think, is one of the more beautiful songs ever composed. I think Bach's stuff sounds really dated though.  I have and have heard some of his less famous stuff. Not really interested in exploring his work much further, but I certain respect him as one of the more important decomposing composers. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: Rocktopus
Date Posted: June 12 2009 at 13:47
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My favorites are something like this: 1 St. Matthew's Passion 2 Violin Sonatas no. 1, 2 & 3 3 Concerts for one, two, three and four Cembalos + the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLrNhMGPQtk - Harpsichord Concerto used quite achingly in Woody Allen's Hannah and her Sisters, where I first heard it. If I remember right its Michael Caine's character who tries to connect with Hannah (Mia Farrow) by playing an Lp with this Bach-piece. 4 Cello Suites 5 St. John's Passion I've seen 1, 4 and 5 performed live, and the two passions are two of the most fantastic concerts I've experienced. Was in tears at the end of both, actually. The opening of St. John were 8 minutes of nonstop svivers down my spine. The complete cello suites concert wasn't as sublime as it should have been, because of the cellist. These grand Passions are never the same at home, obviously Mainly because all the recitals don't work in a CD context. Atleast not for me. I get tempted to skip them. ------------- Over land and under ashes In the sunlight, see - it flashes Find a fly and eat his eye But don't believe in me Don't believe in me Don't believe in me |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: June 12 2009 at 18:58
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Rocktopus wrote:Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: June 12 2009 at 20:19
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St. Matthew's Passion literally had the hairs on my neck at attention throughout it's entirety. Without doubt, one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. Although I throw that term around quite a fair bit, this time I really mean it.
------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: fusionfreak
Date Posted: June 13 2009 at 10:39
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Could you quote Bach influenced prog records from the 70's? ------------- I was born in the land of Mahavishnu,not so far from Kobaia.I'm looking for the world of searchers with the help from crimson king |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 13 2009 at 11:23
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Egg use the famous "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" on their first album. During a solo in "Release" from the live album of Frumpy keyboarder Jean-Jaques Kravetz suddenly breaks into this well-known tune too, which is immediately picked up by the others, so all play a few bars of it. I am pretty sure Sky adapted a lot of tracks from him too, but am not too familiar with their work. I am sure there are more bands which were influenced by him, and there are probably dozens of adaptions of the "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" around. ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: June 13 2009 at 12:49
Well for a start, all the bands from the 70s used major and minor scales (I think, correct me if I'm wrong, they were coined by J.S. Bach) but let's not get paedantic. One really standout influence for me would be the organ breaks in Gentle Giant's "Experience" (from In A Glass House, my favourite GG song incidently). They have Bach written all over them. ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: June 13 2009 at 13:15
Old Sky fan, just a technical point, Sky is more of a phenomenon of the '80's. Bach stuff was used, but was not predominant. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: June 13 2009 at 13:20
| And there's also Tull's "Bouree". |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: June 13 2009 at 16:59
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It's weird to think that until the end of the nineteenth century or thereabouts, if you said "Bach", you generally meant JC Bach or even CPE Bach, and not their father, whose music was considered dated.
JC was influential on Mozart's concerto style and countless other composers of the time - more so than his more deserving old man, even though (or maybe because) he drew highly from the Italian composers.
JS Bach's most amazing opus has to be his Mass in B minor - no-one wrote choral music like JS.
As an aside, when I was a young(er) student, I used to call JS Bach the "dum digger" composer, because in almost all his works, there would be many lengthy passages that went "dum digger digger dum digger...". Imagine my delight when I discovered that one of his sons had the initials JC...
 It wasn't just prog bands that were influenced by JS - the jazz pianist Jacques Loussier, the Swingle Singers, Procol Harum, and Clouds all used material gleaned from the great man. ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: June 13 2009 at 17:02
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^ I might see Jacques Loussier in September. He's my father's favourites, just like the Cello Suites are for him the ultimate masterpiece.
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Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 13 2009 at 17:18
Yes, it was Mendelssohn who dug him up again, supported by Schumann. He organized a rendition of the St. Matthew Passion, which was a great success and revived the interest in Bach. ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: fusionfreak
Date Posted: June 14 2009 at 12:45
------------- I was born in the land of Mahavishnu,not so far from Kobaia.I'm looking for the world of searchers with the help from crimson king |
Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: June 14 2009 at 13:24
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Bach Live At Fillmore East - Virgil FoxPosted By: limeyrob
Date Posted: June 14 2009 at 15:04
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Years and years ago I bought Walter Carlos's Switched on Bach.
Other Bach music I like includes the Brandenburgs, Overtures/Suites BWV 1066-1069 and his Harpsichord Concertos.
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Posted By: hitting_singularity2
Date Posted: June 14 2009 at 16:01
he did what now! When i start making rock, i intend to write some pieces that are directly and primarily influenced by classical pieces |
Posted By: meptune
Date Posted: June 15 2009 at 03:04
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^ Yes, Bach could improvise fugues! It's well documented. -------------
"Arf, she said" |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 15 2009 at 06:18
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It is a little known fact that the classical composers used to be great improvisers, and in most concerts for instruments they played large parts were improvised when played, and actually this practice was kept up until the romantic era. The Romantics, however, followed a kind of "genius cult"; it is they who introduced the practice of playing exactly what is written down and nothing else, and this was kept up until today. Recently there have been some attempts to re-invoke the spirit of improvisation for classical music though. I bet Bach, Mozart or Beethoven would turn in their graves when they hear how (comparatively) lifeless their works are being played today. Don't get me wrong: I love classical music, but I am pretty sure much of it was never intended to be played the way it is now. ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: hitting_singularity2
Date Posted: June 15 2009 at 08:36
that's really cool. I've always wondered what the point of the conductor is if everyone is just playing off a sheet anyways! but i guess they used to actually make the music! pretty cool |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: June 15 2009 at 08:51
That's rather interesting, the romantics insisting on discipline, and before them the written music being much more flexible. It makes sense, though, strictly sticking to what was written and not using your own creative license can be a bit tedious. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Negoba
Date Posted: June 15 2009 at 08:58
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Bach can be deceptively simple. Certainly he has some pieces that have very broad appeal, but when you tell the average person that Bach was the master of them all, they seem puzzled. When you start actually studying classical music, he can just spin your head. All of the masters simply thought in a different language than many of us, but Bach was on another level. There are others who give me more enjoyment aesthetically, but none match his genius. ------------- You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all. |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: June 15 2009 at 11:20
I'm actually working on my skills as a classical improv man. Despite being bloody difficult (you have phrasing, mood, direction and strategic dissonance to worry about as well as melody and harmony), it is so fun to do. Admittedly, I'm not to a standard where I can pull off even a 3 part fugue yet (I can just about do a really slow two part invention at best), but I think I could pull off a lame version of a pseudo-Lizst fantasia or rhapsody. But yeah, it's probably one of the most difficult things I've ever tried out on the keys. ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: Negoba
Date Posted: June 15 2009 at 11:37
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My brother-in-law can do it but that's his full time job, improv piano for theater. For stage it's much more basic stuff, but his improvisations on his own are just incredible. ------------- You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all. |
Posted By: hitting_singularity2
Date Posted: June 15 2009 at 11:53
| I have a friend, John Ebata, who is an AMAZING improv pianist. He did a live album that was all covers of bands from the 60s and 70s with a really good singer and I was there for the recording. He had a piano solo in every song, it was simply incredible. |
Posted By: meptune
Date Posted: June 15 2009 at 12:29
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I have a friend who plays organ for a local Lutheran church. He told that me it was a common practice in the church during the 19th century for the organist to play the chordal parts of a hymn as written for the first and last verses, but for the middle verses the organist would typically improvise alternate chord voicings. Much of Bach's deceptive "simplicity", by the way, is probably due to the fact that a great many of his works are based on small musical subjects, often only a few measures - or even a few notes - long. This is almost always the case with fugues - otherwise the subject would become very difficult to recognize. The complexity comes when the subject is inverted, reversed, compressed, expanded, modulated, staggared, fragmented and layered on top of itself and other melodic material. If you listen to Die Kunst der Fugue you can really hear this demonstrated. -------------
"Arf, she said" |
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: June 15 2009 at 21:17
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My favorite composer and in general musician of all time... I guess a lifetime wouldn't be enough to enjoy all of his great music like it deserves to be enjoyed...
My favorites:
1. Matthaus Passion BWV 244
2. The four orchestral suites, especially the 2nd and 3rd
3. His Weihnachtsoratorioum
4. Mass in B Minor
5. His Clavicembalo concertos... especially BWv 1052 - 57
Curiously, mostly religious-inspired works... ------------- 
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Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 03:14
Bach dedicated his whole life, as well as his entire music,, to God.  -------------
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Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 05:13
There are a few exceptions in his work though which show that the man had a sense of down to ground humour too, like his "Coffee Cantata": "Ei, was schmeckt der Kaffee süße" ("Oh, how sweet the coffee tastes"). ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 08:39
Wasn't talking about the distribution between sacred music and secular music, the outlines are quite clear in this case, I was just saying he justified his entire musical creating effort in that way. -------------
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Posted By: hitting_singularity2
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 09:25
God loves laughter |
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 10:33
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If (improbable, according to me) God does indeed exist, Bach was obviously one of his closets sons....
If (likely) God is just a figment of our imagination (and Bach's), well, Thank god for god.... without this idea, we probably wouldn't have enjoyed the work of the Kantor of Leipzig... -------------
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Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: June 16 2009 at 11:10
I'm pretty okay with this compromise. -------------
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Posted By: meptune
Date Posted: June 17 2009 at 03:19
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I'm curious, in whose Prog Rock work, besides ELP and Gentle Giant, do you hear a direct influence of Bach? By "direct influence" I am speaking of counterpoint and polyphonic composition, i.e. specifically canon and fugue. Is there any prog artist today writing canons and fugues? Who today is deliberately using canonic imitation and it's concomitant variations in a Prog context? The only one I can think of is a Turkish Stick player named Akin Unver, but he hasn't released a CD that I know of. Do you know of any? -------------
"Arf, she said" |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: June 17 2009 at 09:03
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I can think of a few non-prog bands that fit that description, like Necrophagist, Cephalic Carnage, Spawn Of Possession, Nile (in a lot of the solos)... As for prog I can only think of two bands at the moment that use contrapuntalism in an effective manner, and they are Opeth (in the acoustic sections) and Unexpect.
------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 17 2009 at 11:57
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if you want counterpoint, go and listen to Peter Hammill's opera "The Fall of the House of Usher". There is counterpoint in abundance on it.
------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: June 17 2009 at 12:34
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I'll be learning counterpoint in my next year at the Conservatoire. And I'm now studying the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue. -------------
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Posted By: meptune
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 01:33
Regarding counterpoint, I was refering to, specifically, canon and fugue. I have not heard those from Opeth (I have not heard Unexpect). Do you know of any prog bands, aside from ELP and Gentle Giant that have deliberately used canonic imitation and fugal structure? -------------
"Arf, she said" |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 02:25
^I have not heard any examples of counterpoint in Opeth either - their acoustic sections tend to be merely 2 or 3 chord riff patterns that are picked and roughly harmonised with parallel movement (predictable 3rds, 6ths, etc - not true counterpoint). I shall have to check out Unexpect - that was unexpected...  As The Pessimist says, Gentle Giant and ELP are among the very few prog bands that have produced counterpoint of any note. http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=4325 - Shub Niggurat h are another band who wrote "true" counterpoint, and are well worth checking out from a technical point of view, as they incorporated many classical writing styles in their music - including serialism.
I tend to listen to The Enid more for pleasure than analysis, but I would imagine that they produced a fair amount too. Queen produced some cool counterpoint with the frequent use of the echo machine in their early days, and Marillion's early work features multi-layered melodies which are contrapuntal. I also noticed bits and pieces in Clouds' music. Counterpoint isn't necessarily canon and fugue - it's simply simultaneous independent melody lines. Canon, fugue and round are simply types of contrapuntal writing in which all voices produce the same melody, with the exception of fugue, in which the different voices may develop in different directions. "Independent" is not a fantastic word, as most counterpoint is entirely dependent on the underlying harmonic progressions - and such musical styles as the round (where a melody is sung, and then the exact same melody sung a few bars later by a different voice - e.g. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer_Is_Icumen_In - Sumer Is I-Cumen In ") are dependent on the melody being exactly the same and harmonically coherent at the same time. The most interesting forms of counterpoint to me are the fugue (especially multi-subject fugues) and the more free-form, where each part constitues a strong melody and not a mere supporting role dominated by the harmonic structure. This is one reason I enjoy early Marillion so much. The main reason is because I like the music, of course - what they did is hardly at Bach's level There is contrpuntal writing in most of the "better" prog - it's part of what gives it the proggy character. You'll hear it in the music of Genesis, Tull, Crimson and Yes among others - and end up hearing it in almost everything. The "dividing line" is the difference between simple parallel harmonisation combined with co-incidental tunefulness in parts, and truly "independent" melody lines. ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: meptune
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 02:46
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"Arf, she said" |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 11:03
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I think I've heard some canon-esque counterpoint in some of Uncle Frank's work, and although a jazz artist, Pat Metheny uses it a little bit as well. But seriously, you've got me racking my brains on this one.
------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 11:26
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Hi,
NEVER ...
I only listen to his relation PDQ Bach ...
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Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 11:35
What I gave is the essential difference between canon and fugue - yes, you are correct about the various permutations, and that is the big difference between canon and round. I was just trying to keep it simple and not go into technical details. I didn't see your original post, because it's on the previous page, but to re-iterate what I said above, there probably examples in The Enid's music, and definitely some in Shub-Niggurath's. ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: Negoba
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 11:47
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You guys make me want to study....for a moment.
I'm not trained enough to tell canon from fugue but I do understand what counterpoint is and multiple interweaving lines (about the best I can do to describe what I like) is a major turnon when listening to music.
Hey baby, you like counterpoint?
Do I ever. ------------- You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all. |
Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 11:57
What? -------------
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 14:01
Best prog classics ever done and you have never heard it?
NP: Seasonings 1/2 tsp Oratorio
Well ... you will never know now, will you ...
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 14:04
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Hi,
Actually I look at Bach as the pre-cursor to the modern computerized music ... that is mechanical and rep[etitive at times ... sometimes it lacks feeling and that may be because of all the math that goes behind making all that code!
It's his fault that the computerized and digital stuff is not as good as the analogue ... for a few more years!
And of course ... the most famous adage of all ... not too many notes!
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Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 14:26
Bach's music is only those two things if the player sucks balls. Bach is a lot of things, but it sure as hell ain't repetitive OR mechanical. ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: Negoba
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 14:35
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I honestly don't think I've ever though "Too many notes" in relation to Bach.
The power of the music is certainly more subtle than Beethoven. Mechanical....hmmm.....maybe you're listening to something different than I am. ------------- You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all. |
Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 14:35
You've been listening to another Bach. The J.S.Bach history knows doesn't fall into anything you've described above. Or maybe you're attention has been drawn too much by Carlos Wendy, who indeed transposed Bach's music in a totally tasteless, mechanical electronic way. Bach's music isn't "computerized", it's not repetitive, he's in fact rejected some genres like the variations (which thematically repeat an initial melody), because they limited his compositional fantasy. -------------
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 14:58
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Hi,
For the record I thought that W. Carlos stunk ... I guess after all these years of listening to music, I will have to check out Keith Jarrett doing Bach ... maybe I did miss something! I actually thought that Kubrick's handling of it was kinda funny .. he was doing a 2 for one ... and while I rarely associate music with any specific human act, the one thing I got out of it is how ... some people mis-use music ... but this is similar if you ever see Isaac Stern goes to China ... a fabulous film ... and some young japanese girl calls Mozart's music ... "very industrial" ... which you and I would probably sneer at ... but you know what? There is a bit of that in it ... even though I don't like the term and it comes across as anti-western'ism.
I don't dislike Bach ... but obviously the humor went right over .... like an airplane that landed upside down ... poor Syd ... he would not survive too long in this board! You might want to see the film "Tous Les Matins Du Monde" ... just after Bach ... in the music history department.
But you need to hear PDQ Bach ... and if you haven't ... the shame! the Shame!
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Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 15:57
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Add Loussier to Jarrett (in fact above him) in the jazz-interpreting of Bach section. I didn't imply you don't like Bach (well, from your first post it's obvious you don't) or that you have to, I just said your description of his music was awkward. The feeling that he's repetitive is just an illusion of the bit more strict forms that are at the base of the genres. (PDQ noted) -------------
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Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 17:56
Listen to Glenn Gould playing Bach; I bet my head you will repent on your knees that you called him "mechanical". ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Henry Plainview
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 18:56
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Bach has never done much for me either, even with Glenn Gould. I can appreciate the complexity of the patterns, but with a few exceptions I don't get any emotion. It's the same with Mozart a lot of the time, and when he does write something I find deeply emotional, he tends to pound the theme into the ground. ------------- if you own a sodastream i hate you |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 19:13
Did you ever listen to one of Mozart's operas? Not only can you hardly get any more emotional than these, the character portrayal through the music alone in them is unsurpassed, especially in "Don Giovanni". The problem with the music of Mozart is that many ensembles play his music too "neat", and I totally agree that the emotion gets lost then. Never listen to the Wiener Philhamoniker playing Mozart; they may be one of the best orchestras in the world, but they add too much sugar to his music. ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: meptune
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 19:24
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Any notion that Bach's music is mechanical and dispassionate probably arises from a lack of familiarity with the body of his work and a lack of understanding of the prevailing concepts of his time. Indeed, Bach's is some of the most passionate work in music history. The Toccata and Fugue in D minor was deliberately written to put the fear of God in the hearts of the congregation, the cantatas were meant to convey the majesty of God, and so many of the chorals express the pathos of the suffering of Christ. I think the notion of a "mechanical" quality comes from two aspects of the music. One is that there is a strictness inherent in imitative polyphony and, indeed almost all aspects of Baroque part writing. I think this is indicative of an overal fascination with the notion that the universe is structured and ordered, a concept pervasive in all Baroque art. Bach tried to make his music convey that structure and order. To the Baroque mind order=God, disorder=well, the other guy. I don't think structured necessarily means mechanical. The second aspect that I think may seem mechanical is the fact that the piano had not been invented. The piano allows the musician to play at different volume levels. Bach's keyboard works were really written for harpsichord and pipe organ so the dynamic ranges are limited. In fact, many of Bach's keyboard compositions have no dynamic markings. If you can get around these two aspects I think you'll find that it isn't mechanical at all. Regarding P.D.Q. Bach (i.e. Peter Schickle), he's a must hear for anyone who wants a good laugh at classical music. One of my favorites is his "Grossest Fugue", a spoof on Beethoven's "Grosse Fugue". I also love his little madrigal "My Bonnie Lass, She Smelleth" -------------
"Arf, she said" |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 18 2009 at 21:58
This is very true. We tend to forget these days that the original name of the piano was "pianoforte", which means nothing but quietloud. It was named this way because of its dynamic characteristics. ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: June 19 2009 at 05:14
The third aspect is simply that many performers play Bach mechanically, possibly out of some kind of reverence for the dots on the page - as if the only true interpretation is what's written down - which, as we established earlier in this thread, is far from the truth. There are, however, plenty of performers who realise the fluidity and soul in his music without getting overly Romantic about it - and when you hear it performed "properly", you really know about it - without wishing to wax too lyrically, it can touch your soul in a way you never imagined music could. ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: Visitor13
Date Posted: June 19 2009 at 09:53
My favourite Bach is anything that contains string instruments. Except the vocal works - I keep putting off listening to them for a special occasion when the time is right and I don't have much to do (Easter's a natural choice) and I simply never get round to it, mainly because I end up having much to do anyway or simply forget  I don't think even Bach's genius can ever redeem the church organ in my ears. Too many years of hearing people mistreat it every Sunday, bleh. |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: June 19 2009 at 11:29
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You should hear his music played on a Gottfried Silbermann organ - even Mozart acknowledged that this dude had an impressive organ, oh wait... I meant... Just listen! http://www.baroquecds.com/silbcdeng.html - http://www.baroquecds.com/silbcdeng.html It's really worth browsing the various samples here, as all Silbermann's organs had distinct characters, and amazingly varied sounds. Silbermann built organs that Bach would have played - if I remember correctly, they actually worked together to develop the instruments at one point, although that could have been someone else... a quick Google turned this up http://www.baroquemusic.org/silbeng.html - http://www.baroquemusic.org/silbeng.html - but I don't have time to re-research this area! ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: Gillywibble
Date Posted: November 15 2009 at 14:07
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My favourite work by Bach is St Matthew Passion. I am pleasantly surprised by how many progressive music lovers are also huge Bach fans, in some cases (like me) he is the main if not the only classical composer shown in their last.fm statistics. It's particularly interesting given that Bach was not considered progressive enough when he was composing. I find a lot of his music moving to the point of being a religious experience. I am sure others know precisely what I mean. ------------- There is in fact more earth than sea. http://www.last.fm/user/Gillywibble |
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: November 16 2009 at 00:29
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His Cello Suites are probably my favorite work of his. Yo-Yo Ma's performance of them is amazing unsurprisingly. The first is my personal favorite. Which is nice given it's being used in some credit card commercial I think. I'll have to listen to it now actually. EDIT: Henry what are you listening to that makes you hear Bach as cold and emotionless?
------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Xanthous
Date Posted: November 18 2009 at 20:24
| Right now I'm learning Suite #1 for Bass. |