Bach's Arrival in Leipzig.

[ardcarp]

EMS tomorrow.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001m4zs

Mark Seow explores the cantata with which JS Bach exploded onto the musical scene in Leipzig in 1723 – Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV75.

Bach composed the piece at a decisive turning point in his career. After various positions in churches and courts, he assumed his post of Thomaskantor in Leipzig on the first Sunday after Trinity, performing this cantata.

I did wonder whether to use the heading 'Bach Explodes', but thought better of it

[oddoneout]

EMS tomorrow.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001m4zs

Mark Seow explores the cantata with which JS Bach exploded onto the musical scene in Leipzig in 1723 – Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV75.

Bach composed the piece at a decisive turning point in his career. After various positions in churches and courts, he assumed his post of Thomaskantor in Leipzig on the first Sunday after Trinity, performing this cantata.

I did wonder whether to use the heading 'Bach Explodes', but thought better of it

Does that mean Lucy Skeaping will do the news interruption? Mark Seow might know his stuff( I am not qualified to comment) but I'm afraid I don't think I can cope with listening to him for that length of time - for some reason his voice has a similar, if far more muted, effect on me to the fingernails/blackboard thing unfortunately.

[smittims]

I was struck by the phrase 'exploded onto the musical scene' which sounds more like Handel or Stravinsky than Bach. But I suppose it's just BBC sensationalism to get people to listen.

[ardcarp]

...or maybe it will deter them?

[oddoneout]

...or maybe it will deter them?

Well, bearing in mind the reservations I already have about Mark Seow's presenting, I cannot say that it made me think "oh this will be worth hearing". As it happens I will be indoors for the beginning of the programme, so will give it a go, and see if it can persuade me to delay my return to gardening activities.

[oddoneout]

It was Les Pratt doing the news slot, but I had already decided to switch off so don't know what the news was this week.

[AuntDaisy]

It was Les Pratt doing the news slot, but I had already decided to switch off so don't know what the news was this week.

The website listing has HF "... there's a round-up of the week's Early Music News with Hannah French".
Not sure I've heard Les Pratt before.

How's the gardening going?

[oddoneout]

The website listing has HF "... there's a round-up of the week's Early Music News with Hannah French".
Not sure I've heard Les Pratt before.

How's the gardening going?

Nature has exploded on the scene - fortunately my garden's not in Leipzig...

[ardcarp]

Not sure I've heard Les Pratt before.

No I don't think we have. A question of the producer stepping in at short notice I suspect. The 'commercial break' was particularly irksome this week...the content not Mr Pratt's voice. I didn't mind Mark Seow's presentation style at all. I guess having different groups for different 'movements' of the Cantata was interesting (Suzuki's particularly good, I thought) but when one section was sung by the genuine article (the Thomasschule) it suddenly became obvious to me that they should have done the whole thing if only for HIPP reasons. And did we get the whole cantata? The historic bits were interesting and informative, even if they strayed occasionally into the realms of conjecture, but I thought having other bits of Bach (especially Brandenburg 2) was unnecessary and distracting.

[AuntDaisy]

No I don't think we have. A question of the producer stepping in at short notice I suspect.

Will Les P get an extra presenter's fee?

The 'commercial break' was particularly irksome this week...the content not Mr Pratt's voice. I didn't mind Mark Seow's presentation style at all. I guess having different groups for different 'movements' of the Cantata was interesting (Suzuki's particularly good, I thought) but when one section was sung by the genuine article (the Thomasschule) it suddenly became obvious to me that they should have done the whole thing if only for HIPP reasons. And did we get the whole cantata? The historic bits were interesting and informative, even if they strayed occasionally into the realms of conjecture, but I thought having other bits of Bach (especially Brandenburg 2) was unnecessary and distracting.

I'm not keen on presenters who seem to have primary school teacher jollity & over-enthusiasm - why not let the music / composer speak for themselves? Not that I'm saying MS does this.

It did seem bitty - the playlist has 16 pieces of music, which along with the chat & news, meant snippets.
For comparison, the playlist for the 2008 "Bach in Leipzig" only had 8 pieces (repeated 2012) and no annoying news to break the flow. "Bach in Cothen" also had 8 pieces. To my mind, fewer & longer was better.

Nature has exploded on the scene - fortunately my garden's not in Leipzig...

[AuntDaisy]

It did seem bitty - the playlist has 16 pieces of music, which along with the chat & news, meant snippets.
For comparison, the playlist for the 2008 "Bach in Leipzig" only had 8 pieces (repeated 2012) and no annoying news to break the flow. "Bach in Cothen" also had 8 pieces. To my mind, fewer & longer was better.

I did a bit of digging into the 16 vs 8 pieces - did the older EMS programmes play longer pieces & have less chat?
The answer isn't as clear-cut as I'd thought - surprise, surprise.

Here's an image with the 2008 "Bach in Leipzig" on the top & Mark Seow's explosion below - blue is music, red is presenter / interviewee / announcer, & green is the EM news.
What it doesn't show is where pieces of music are adjacent to each other & whether they'd naturally follow on from each other (if by the same performers).


Full res. image here or here.

[gurnemanz]

Mark Seow might know his stuff( I am not qualified to comment) but I'm afraid I don't think I can cope with listening to him for that length of time - for some reason his voice has a similar, if far more muted, effect on me to the fingernails/blackboard thing unfortunately.

I also cannot comment on the depth of his erudition but I would have thought that when doing a programme based around the cantata, Die Elenden sollen essen, he might have noticed somewhere along the way that the 'e' in 'elend' is long, ie not 'ell' but 'ale'. Nit-picking maybe but it started to annoy me a bit.

[Pulcinella]

I also cannot comment on the depth of his erudition but I would have thought that when doing a programme based around the cantata, Die Elenden sollen essen, he might have noticed somewhere along the way that the 'e' in 'elend' is long, ie not 'ell' but 'ale'. Nit-picking maybe but it started to annoy me a bit.

This from Wiki:

Die Elenden sollen essen
BWV 75
Church cantata by J. S. Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Die Elenden sollen essen (The miserable shall eat),[1] BWV 75, for the first Sunday after Trinity. He first performed it in Leipzig on 30 May 1723, assuming the position of Thomaskantor. The complex work in two parts, of seven movements each, marks the beginning of his first annual cycle of cantatas.

That's a pretty miserable mistake to make. But wouldn't we normally use meek not miserable?

[vinteuil]

. But wouldn't we normally use meek not miserable?

...in translations of Psalm 22:26/27 'meek', 'poor', 'afflicted', 'miserable' all occur. 'Mites' in the Vulgate.



.

[oddoneout]

...in translations of Psalm 22:26/27 'meek', 'poor', 'afflicted', 'miserable' all occur. 'Mites' in the Vulgate.



.

Wretched, as it appears in some texts, seems appropriate. Meek doesn't imply want or lack to my mind. However given the Christian tendency to favour putting up and shutting up/compliancy as a way to one's prayers being answered and needs met perhaps meek is more accurate?