Something for a Friday: All of Bach

[Mandryka]

Konstantin Lifschitz somehow managed to record the whole of Musical Offering on a standard modern piano - including the trio sonata! That really is clever!

[vinteuil]

https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1079-10/

... now that is some clever filming - Leo van Doeselaar twice over at the keyboard!

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[Edgy 2]

https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1079-10/

[Edgy 2]

Two short videos this week from The Musical Offering BWV 1079

https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1079-5/

[Joseph K]

[Padraig]

Charming sounding organ, the Uithuizen Schnitger!

The Sonata sounds good as well, especially the first movement.

[Mandryka]

Many thanks for all the comments everyone

Latest

Organ Sonata No.6 in G major, BWV 530

https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-530/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_Sonatas_(Bach)

Charming sounding organ, the Uithuizen Schnitger!

[Edgy 2]

Many thanks for all the comments everyone

Latest

Organ Sonata No.6 in G major, BWV 530

https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-530/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_Sonatas_(Bach)

[Mandryka]

A good argument for playing this 3 part Ricercar (and even more for the magnificent 6 part Ricercar) on a broken consort, say a bassoon, violin, and oboe, which is how I love to hear it.

Unless you lose too much by moving it away from harpsichord - lose the brilliance of the instrument, the speed, the transparency, the rich overtones. But Doeselaar’s instrument is nice, as is the performance.

[Keraulophone]

A good argument for playing this 3 part Ricercar (and even more for the magnificent 6 part Ricercar) on a broken consort, say a bassoon, violin, and oboe, which is how I love to hear it.

Quite so. The Trio Sonatas for organ sound delightful played in this way. Doing the reverse, playing the Trio Sonata from the Musical Offering on a lone keyboard instrument, which I hope no one has ever done in concert, would be a reduction towards absurdity.

Jean Guillou’s transcription of the ricercar à 6 is a magisterial experience to play on the organ, large or small.

[Beresford]

The fortepiano in this performance has a beautiful sound and allows the player far more expressive scope than would a harpsichord. Of course it does ‘work’ on a harpsichord, but Bach would immediately have become aware of the possibilities afforded by the extra dimension of touch. The subject entries can be emphasised, the running triplets can be lightened, and so on...

A good argument for playing this 3 part Ricercar (and even more for the magnificent 6 part Ricercar) on a broken consort, say a bassoon, violin, and oboe, which is how I love to hear it.

[Keraulophone]

There’s an interesting discussion on YouTube about the relation of this piece to the music that Bach famously improvised on a piano. I wonder if there’s anything about it which makes it particularly suited for a piano.

The discussion includes one opinion that only a computer ‘but no man’ could improvise a fugue like this! I agree with the response that the à3 is probably an elaboration of what Bach improvised for the king and his guests on one of his Silberman fortepianos, Frederick II first having played the theme (or something similar to it). Its chromatic and triplet episodes and sequences are characteristic of an improviser providing thinking time before the next treatment of the fugue subject.

The fortepiano in this performance has a beautiful sound and allows the player far more expressive scope than would a harpsichord. Of course it does ‘work’ on a harpsichord, but Bach would immediately have become aware of the possibilities afforded by the extra dimension of touch. The subject entries can be emphasised, the running triplets can be lightened, and so on... Dr van Doeselaar provides the answers in a subtly sublime performance.

[Joseph K]

Currently listening to this:

[Mandryka]

Tomorrow's offering

Ricercar a 3 from The Musical Offering BWV 1079

https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1079-1/

There’s an interesting discussion on YouTube about the relation of this piece to the music that Bach famously improvised on a piano. I wonder if there’s anything about it which makes it particularly suited for a piano.

[Padraig]

Ricercar a 3 from The Musical Offering BWV 1079

Very enjoyable, Rob. I love this piece. I also particularly like the Ricercar a 6 in Webern's arrangement, a point I always feel I have to add. It was what eventually drew my ear to the Musical Offering.