Bach Again

A LIFE Institute CourseSession Three - Spring 2018Bob Fabian – LIFEcourses.ca

“Authentic” Plan

Deeply satisfying musical experience(as experienced in Bach’s day)

● Authentic Space● Authentic Performance● Instrument Development● Keyboard Instruments● Personal Conclusions

Authentic Argument

● Bach used the sound of different instrument for expressive purposes

– It makes a difference to play on a trumpet or a flute

● We may be able to better appreciate his music when we hear the sounds he intended

● Sharp limits on the argument– We respond differently than those in Bach’s day

– Performer’s art will shape the music’s impact

Setting The Stage

BBC - Sacred Music - Bach and the Lutheran Legacyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dAC1lLYJpg

[first 6 minutes]

The Space

● The space clearly shapes the sound– Reverberation, echo, delay, …

● We respond differently in different spaces– At the side of a quiet forest stream

– Within a vast baroque cathedral

– Sitting in Zimmerman’s cafe

● Bach’s organ music in Bach’s church ...

Authentic Organ Music

Johann Sebastian Bach. Organ Concert in St. Thomas Church. Ullrich Bohme (organ)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGNUsIxVKbE

Tech Disadvantage

● Music can be a constant presence– Everywhere and everywhen

● No longer requires a special time or place● This can make music much less “special”

– But a live human performance can make a difference!

Polished

Bach - Richter, Conciertos de Brandenburgo 1-6, BWV 1046-1051https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehbar90jHz8

Authentic

Bach, Brandenburg Concert No 1 - Nikolaus HarnoncourtPerformance starts 23 minutes in …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qYEqRFzwKI

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Baroque Violin

2:30 minuteshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_SS0WLaUsI

Baroque Cello

5:48 minutes - Introducing the Baroque Cellohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO88Ydj-S9k

Baroque Trumpet

6:50 minutes - Introducing the Baroque Trumpethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XN_qgbM6Dc

History of the Piano

5:30 minutes - A brief history of the pianofortehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMxqAKxWMYA

The Partitas, BWV 825–830

Bach’s 6 Partitas

● The six partitas for keyboard are the last set of suites that Bach composed and the most technically demanding of the three. They were composed between 1725 and 1730 or 1731. As with the French and English Suites, the autograph manuscript of the Partitas is no longer extant.

● In keeping with a nineteenth-century naming tradition that labelled Bach's first set of Suites English and the second French, the Partitas are sometimes referred to as the German Suites. [But] there is nothing particularly German about the Partitas. ... the Partitas are by far the most free-ranging in terms of structure.

- Wikipedia

Instruments for the Partitas

● Bach almost certainly first heard them played on a clavichord in his home

● They were played in musical salons, often using a harpsichord

● Today, they are most often performed on a modern piano

● Less “faithful”, but with greater expressive power

Clavichord

20 minutesJ.S.Bach :: Partita n°I, BWV 825 :: Wim Winters, clavichord

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5HAPtRXDjI

Harpsichord

16 minutesKarl Richter - Partita No.1 In B Flat Major - BWV 825

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrSmbtEDHYo

Comparison ...

● Harpsichord is more fluid sounding, but everything is at the same volume level

● Clavichord is more angular and there are volume differences within the work

● For me● The clavichord better communicate the musical idea● But the harpsichord provides a more enjoyable sonic

experience(And it’s difficult to filter out the performer differences)

Modern Piano

18 minutesSunwook Kim - Bach : Partita No.1 in B flat major, BWV 825

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RJwyZTiTtw

My Conclusions

● “Authentic” can help in understanding what Bach intended

● But the inspiration behind the performance, the vision, is of central importance

● How it’s played is often more important than the instruments upon which it is played

● And the modern piano makes sense – features of both clavichord and harpsichord

Next Week

● Planned focus on the Cello Suites– Video defending Bach’s second wife as the real

composer of the Cello Suites

– Performance of the suites on a wide range of instruments

(I met them playing the French Horn)

● Reconstruction of 4th keyboard concerto as the “original” oboe concerto