Aug 11, 2020
Bach’s Trio Sonata No. 4 in E Minor (BWV 528). The second movement can only be described as sublime.
seen from United States
seen from Japan
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from India
seen from Bulgaria
seen from Australia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Japan
seen from Malaysia
seen from Brazil
seen from Bangladesh
seen from Brazil
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Brazil
seen from United States
seen from Russia
Bach’s Trio Sonata No. 4 in E Minor (BWV 528). The second movement can only be described as sublime.
Bach’s Violin Partita No. 1 didn’t interest me as much as the others when I first heard it. I much preferred Partita No. 2 and Violin Sonata No. 1. On subsequent listens, I my mind completely changed. Bach’s writing in the key of B Minor has a special significance, and it sounds magnificent on the violin. BWV 1002 is played here by Shunske Sato for the Netherlands Bach Society.
Last night’s bedtime music: Yehudi Menuhin playing Bach’s Violin Sonatas and Partitas. Classic record.
Good timing too, since I will be reading some of Wolff’s Bach essays today.
Lovely Italian-style works by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 545. Recorded by the Netherlands Bach Society. Their Youtube channel is a gold mine for those seeking quality, historically-informed performances of Johann Sebastian’s work.
Pleasant sounds for a (rainy) Sunday afternoon: Bach’s Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major.
Happy (Western) Birthday to Johann Sebastian Bach! 31/03/2019.
Bach all day.
Honourable mentions to the composers who shaped Bach’s formidable output. Antonio Vivaldi, as Charles Rosen explains in this fantastic documentary, showed Bach how to begin a piece with a charismatic theme. Bach would have played Vivaldi’s music and transcribed several of the Italian master’s works for organ. In those days, transcribing a composer’s work was a compliment. Bach was far more generous in acknowledging his influences and themes he had borrowed from other composers (a substantial amount). Here, Bach is lively, but controlled: he keeps most of Vivaldi’s character without adding much of his own more advanced contrapuntal work. (With Reincken’s Hortus Musicus, however, he takes the reins and dashes off!).
Beautiful transcription!