Bach, oh Bach...

[cosine]

... how could I have neglected you?

I pulled out the Well-Tempered Clavier tonight and just finished playing through half a dozen of the preludes and fugues. Why have I neglected playing Bach for the last four or five months? I forgot how great his music was, (his intricately moving lines, harmonizing each other perfectly are wonderful and awesome) and how much fun it is to play.

Darn, I'm showing my tender, sensitive side here... darn, darn, darn...

[K Frame]

You know Bach's organ works?

It must have. He had 18 kids.

I've always loved Bach's music.

[Perd Hapley]

Bach?  I haven't heard of them.  Are they British?  Are they anything like Coldplay?

[Bogie]

I can play the jukebox...

And about 6,000 watts that I've got in The Bunker...
 
Pro amps rule... Guitar Center's webgeek screwed up a few weeks ago... Crown XLS 602 for $249...

[...has left the building.]

His music is indeed great...but he was too much of a goody-two-shoes for me. So of course, I'm more of a Paganini fan.

[Lo.Com.Denom]

Bach?  I haven't heard of them.  Are they British?  Are they anything like Coldplay?

No, Sebastian Bach from Skid Row, man!

Rawk and Rowl!! Par-tay!! Pass the hairspray!! etc.!!

[cosine]

You know Bach's organ works?

It must have. He had 18 kids.

Oldie but goodie.

I've always loved Bach's music.

Me too. I don't know why I haven't played his music for so long.

For the rest of you who replied... I expected those responses.

[peteinct]

Hi, For a while, not too long ago, I was listening to Switched on Bach by Walter/Wendy Carlos. Are there any other synth bach recordings?
pete

[280plus]

I had a music professor that insisted the Clavier piece he wrote around the key of E flat was the best of them all. She claimed E flat was the "prettiest" of all the keys. Good on YOU for playing your Bach again!

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

The Bach-Brandenburg concertos are among the crowning achievements of mankind.  

That, along with Vivaldi's 4 seasons, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Handel's Messiah, and Pachelbel's Canon pretty much make up my entire classical repertoire.  
I'm happy with it.

[Perd Hapley]

What about Kerosene Hat by Cracker, and The Clinch Mountain Backstep?

[Brrlgrrl]

um,  I love Cracker.

[Perd Hapley]

um,  I love Cracker.

Everyone should.

[tyme]

...Brandenburg concertos... Vivaldi's 4 seasons... Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Handel's Messiah... Pachelbel's Canon...pretty much make up my entire classical repertoire.
I'm happy with it.

That's a pretty narrow selection.  Handel's Messiah is awesome, but the rest are so overplayed that I find them nauseating.

If you want some perspective, try Brahms:
http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3289862

Piano concertos... Chopin and Rachmaninov.  A few of Chopin's etudes and preludes are worthwhile, too.
Symphonies... I'm biased against symphonies, but try Beethoven's 7th and Brahms's 2nd.
Violin concertos... Brahms, Dvorak, Sibelius, Goldmark, Schumann
Bruch's Scottish Fantasy

I must admit that I don't like Bach's keyboard works very much.  His multi-voice compositions (i.e. most of his works) are simply too neat and tidy on keyboard instruments.  I do, however, greatly respect his violin partitas and sonatas, but they are not typical classical music.  Amazon has samples: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000001GXY  (probably the best recording)

[cosine]

Hi, For a while, not too long ago, I was listening to Switched on Bach by Walter/Wendy Carlos. Are there any other synth bach recordings?
pete

Bachbusters is one of my favorite synthed Bach recordings.

I had a music professor that insisted the Clavier piece he wrote around the key of E flat was the best of them all. She claimed E flat was the "prettiest" of all the keys. Good on YOU for playing your Bach again!

I just have to ask: Which Clavier piece in E-flat? There are four of them in the WTC.
As for "pretty" keys: I've never been able to choose one as the prettiest. All keys are beautiful in their own way.

The Bach-Brandenburg concertos are among the crowning achievements of mankind.

Agreed. One of my goals someday is to play them with a Baroque chamber group.

That, along with Vivaldi's 4 seasons, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Handel's Messiah, and Pachelbel's Canon pretty much make up my entire classical repertoire.
I'm happy with it.

Aw, man, that's a pretty slim list. Branch out a bit. Check out what tyme listed. Ask here if you want any recommendations for particular works.

What about Kerosene Hat by Cracker, and The Clinch Mountain Backstep?

um,  I love Cracker.

um,  I love Cracker.

Everyone should.

Want to fill me in a bit? Never heard of those two.

Piano concertos... Chopin and Rachmaninov.

Don't forget Mozart and Beethoven for piano concertos too!

I must admit that I don't like Bach's keyboard works very much.  His multi-voice compositions (i.e. most of his works) are simply too neat and tidy on keyboard instruments.

Heresy! At least for a keyboard player it is.



Wow, this is one of the longest posts I've made in a long time. Took me awhile to write too. Classical music and piano are something I really like talking about. You never would have guessed, eh?

[280plus]

I just have to ask: Which Clavier piece in E-flat? There are four of them in the WTC.
As for "pretty" keys: I've never been able to choose one as the prettiest. All keys are beautiful in their own way.

You got me there. She didn't specify and I had always thought he had wrote just one piece for each key.

If you think Bach is too neat on keyboard then I suggest learning some on guitar.  That'll take the "neatness" right out of it.

I didn't realize we had so may classical afficiandos here. Interesting. I'm just impressed anyone can take out WTC and play their way through it.

[tyme]

Don't forget Mozart and Beethoven for piano concertos too!

That wasn't supposed to be a complete list of piano or violin concertos.  I don't like most Mozart either,  nor Haydn, nor all the Baroque composers (except Bach).  The baroques should be relegated to weddings and other social events.  Elevators, even.  When bubbly shallow music is required, I'd almost rather hear Aqua's Barbie Girl.

I must admit that I don't like Bach's keyboard works very much.  His multi-voice compositions (i.e. most of his works) are simply too neat and tidy on keyboard instruments.

Heresy! At least for a keyboard player it is.

You've listened to his sonatas and partitas for violin, so you know what I'm comparing his keyboard works against?

Beethoven isn't bad, I probably should have included his concertos (both violin and piano).  Saint-Saens wrote an incredible organ symphony.  Paganini's concertos and caprices are interesting, but more for their difficulty than for emotional depth.

[...has left the building.]

Don't forget Mozart and Beethoven for piano concertos too!

That wasn't supposed to be a complete list of piano or violin concertos.  I don't like most Mozart either,  nor Haydn, nor all the Baroque composers (except Bach).  The baroques should be relegated to weddings and other social events.  Elevators, even.  When bubbly shallow music is required, I'd almost rather hear Aqua's Barbie Girl.

I must admit that I don't like Bach's keyboard works very much.  His multi-voice compositions (i.e. most of his works) are simply too neat and tidy on keyboard instruments.

Heresy! At least for a keyboard player it is.

You've listened to his sonatas and partitas for violin, so you know what I'm comparing his keyboard works against?

Beethoven isn't bad, I probably should have included his concertos (both violin and piano).  Saint-Saens wrote an incredible organ symphony.  Paganini's concertos and caprices are interesting, but more for their difficulty than for emotional depth.

Paganini's beauty is that his technical fury is part of his emotional depth. I play some of his stuff on guitar and I feel like I'm expressing myself much more than when I'm playing say a G-C-D chord strumming pattern.

[cosine]

You got me there. She didn't specify and I had always thought he had wrote just one piece for each key.

Yep, in the WTC there are two books. In each book there are 24 pieces, one prelude and one fugue in all twelve major and minor keys. So, there are two pieces for each key in each book of the WTC, and so across the two books that make up the WTC there are four pieces in E-flat major.

Don't forget Mozart and Beethoven for piano concertos too!

That wasn't supposed to be a complete list of piano or violin concertos.

Oh, okay. I just couldn't resists mentioning those though because I like Mozart's and Beethoven's piano concertos besides those of Chopin and Rachmaninov.

I must admit that I don't like Bach's keyboard works very much.  His multi-voice compositions (i.e. most of his works) are simply too neat and tidy on keyboard instruments.

Heresy! At least for a keyboard player it is.

You've listened to his sonatas and partitas for violin, so you know what I'm comparing his keyboard works against?

A couple. The heresy comment was supposed to be lighthearted humor, as signified by the . Different people like different things, and it doesn't bother me at all.

Paganini's beauty is that his technical fury is part of his emotional depth. I play some of his stuff on guitar and I feel like I'm expressing myself much more than when I'm playing say a G-C-D chord strumming pattern.

You know, I can't recall ever listening to any of Paganini's works. I really ought to.

[K Frame]

"That, along with Vivaldi's 4 seasons, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Handel's Messiah, and Pachelbel's Canon pretty much make up my entire classical repertoire.  
I'm happy with it."

Dang, that's FAR too narrow!

Mozart's horn concertos (preferably played by Dennis Brain, but unfortunately only in mono)

The Magic Flute

Beethoven's Sonata No. 21, the Waldstein, not to mention his soaring symphonies.

Bach's violin concertos and his entire organ repertoiry.(sp?)

Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Rimsky-Korsakov on the Russian Front with so much that it's not even funny...

Handle's Water and Fireworks music

Albioni's chamber orchestra music...

Saint Saens' Danse Macabre, Samson and Deliahla (sp!!!), Carnival of the Animals, and his absolutely incomparable works for the organ, including orchestral works...

Mehndelson...

Oh man you're limiting yourself...

[280plus]

Wow, didn't know that. Embarrassing for a music major. I DID work my way through all the Hanon though. That's gotta be worth SOMETHING! ( I may still have the book around here.)

What I understand about Bach is that by TRADE he was an organ repairman and a lot of his work was actually him just jammin' on the organ to test it out, tune etc. The only reason we have so much of his work still today is because his wife (Anna Magdalena?) would notate while he jammed and it is her we have to thank for preserving it all. I did learn a couple short Bach pieces on the guitar but never anything significant. Also at the Hartt school of music in Hartford to audition for their masters degree in guitar you must present 3 major works and one must be Bach.

I'm a big fan of Sor and Rodrigo among others. I love what the Spaniards were dioing with guitar. Another I like is Heitor Vila Lobos who was actually a cellist but wrote for guitar. Francisco Tarrega too, IIRC he was Sor's mentor but don't quote me on it..

The favorite guitar student's lament is, "Help! I've practiced so much my FERNANDOS are Sor!"

Another is, "Uh oh, my G string just broke!"

[K Frame]

"What I understand about Bach is that by TRADE he was an organ repairman..."

Uh...

That's the first I've ever heard of that.

Bach was a professional musician from about the age of 20 on.

Around 1703 he was hired by a Duke in Weimar as a chapel violinist, but he had already developed a reputation as an accomplished organist.

Later in 1703 or 1704 he was hired as a church organist in Arndstadt at, for the time, a fairly significant salary.

A few years later he was hired as an organist in Mulhausen. Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor dates from this period...

Bach's second trip to Weimar, again as an employee if the Duke of Weimar, really saw his fame rise. The Duke (heir to the first Duke he worked for) as a major musical sponsor, not just for him, but for quite a few musicians in the area. The Duke also encouraged him to experiment on, and compse for, organ. As one music historian put it... (paraphrasing) "This is probably one of the greatest creative periods in the history of western music."

Anyway, you get the idea.

For most of his life Bach was a paid performer, composer, and teacher and was very well known in Germany.

Bach was often called on not to repair organs, but to essentially be the test pilot for either new or repaired organs. A good assessment from him could get an organ maker a lot of new work, while a negative assessment could result in an organ being torn out and replaced.

[280plus]

Hmph, first I heard of THAT. Can't remember where I picked up my info but I do remember not making it up myself. To the best of my knowledge he traveled around from organ to organ maybe not repairing (although IIRC that is what I was taught) but testing as you say and his wife jotting down what he played while testing, these later to become considered great works. Or,,, the impression I got was that a lot of his work was based on extemporaneous improvisations that were later to be considered great works of music. Actually there IS a lot of controversy on all this so let's not get ourselves TOO embroiled.

[280plus]

Well, I did a little looking around. Very little is mentioned about his technical organ skills anywhere. On the net anyways. One line I caught stated he was considered an expert in organ design and construction. I can't see how that is possible without him placing his hands on a few to do more than just than play them.

[cosine]

Well what I learned was the Bach was a professional musician, composer, organist, etc., (like what Mike Irwin posted) but that he also was a professional consultant to those who built and repaired organs. That's kinda close to what you posted, 280plus.

Or,,, the impression I got was that a lot of his work was based on extemporaneous improvisations that were later to be considered great works of music.

As far as I know, that is true. What I understand is that Bach was a great improviser, and many of his improvisations became well-known works of music.


So, 280, you mentioned that you were a music major, and you're talking quite a bit about the guitar. Was that your instrument? I've tried playing some classical guitar, but it doesn't work so well on the steel string folk guitar. I haven't heard much of Sor's work, but I do like some of Tarrega's. Don't ask me for details though. All I now is that I listened to some works by him and liked them. I don't know anything else about them.