Nothing But Bach

I spent the summer of 2020 listening to and reading about the music of Johan Sebastian Bach.  The impression I am left with, after over 250 hours of listening and reading, is this:  if Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Vivaldi all represent the Himalayan mountain range of Western Classical music, then Bach is the Mt. Everest, towering over them.

I hope you enjoy these 10 summary thoughts about Bach, where I list his music and some trivia along the way:

10. Crab Canon (link)

So called because crabs can travel sideways to the left and the right.  This piece, featured in The Muscial Offering, has the melody going from right to left and left to right and sit on top of each other, and plays harmoniously.  A short piece - and a terrific introduction to the contrapuntal style of music that Bach epitomized.  Goes well with: Mirror Canon (link)

Trivia:  Bach's monogram represents this contrapuntal style.  His letters JSB are mirrored and transposed on each other to create it.
 

9.  Brandenburg Concertos (link)

When I would mention my summer deep dive, the unanimous reply was some version of, "I love his Brandenburg Concertos."  As did I.  They are musical, melodious, vibrant and absolutely well known.  All 6 of them very enjoyable.  #5 is easily my favorite.  Goes well with both Chaconne and Italian Concerto.


Trivia:  The King of Prussia Fredrick The Great will feature as trivia in my #1 selection below.  This trivia is about the town of King of Prussia that is situated north of Philadelphia.  It is so named because there was a bar there during the revolutionary war.  To attract German soldiers to fight on the American side, the bar owner named it King of Prussia.  Eventually the town was named that.  The bar is still there as a historical building!

 
8. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (link)

A derivation of the cantata, Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life, it seems that this piece is quite popular at weddings!  Goes well with Air on G string.

Trivia:  A quack from England made the rounds performing eye surgery.  He performed it twice on Bach who died in great suffering due to this at age 65 in 1750.


7. Passacaglia and Fugue (link)

At the time of Bach's death his reputation was of a great Organist.  And this piece is one of his most recognized.  Goes well with Fantasia & Fugue.

Trivia:  Passacaglia is featured in the climactic scene of the movie The Godfather, when Michael Corleone is asked if he "renounces Satan and all his works ..."


6. Cello Suites (link)

I waited a while in my deep dive to get to the Cello Suites.  And the wait was worth it.  My favorite is Suite 5.4 which is a Spanish Style Sarabande.  Goes well with concerto for two violins.

Trivia: Yo Yo Ma issued an album on these suites three times over his career.  He also designed a garden based on these suites.  The garden was initially proposed for Boston and finally ended up in Toronto. (link)
 

5. Cantatas (link)

Bach's prodigious output at the Cantor of Leipzig was astonishing - he produced an original Cantata to be sung every Sunday year after year!  He would start composing on Monday, the choir would practice and be ready for the Sunday service.  Cantata No. 82 is truly heart-wrenching - Ich Habe Genug (I have enough). Goes well with Magnificat.

Trivia:   John Eliot Gardiner would see a painting of J.S. Bach in the hallway of his house as a child.  Growing up, he realized it was one of the only surviving Bach portraits.  Later as he gained renown as the world's foremost Bach expert and conductor, he gifted the painting to the Bach museum in Leipzig.

4. French Suites (link)

If one agrees taste in music is subjective as with wine, then I would love to stake my claim that the French Suites are the most fun and enjoyable compositions by Bach.  Goes well with his English Suites.

Trivia: There are some excellent jokes with Bach as the subject.  Here is my favorite.  Stallone and Schwarzenegger want to make a period Hollywood movie.  Stallone says he will play Vivaldi.  Arnold replies, "I'll be Bach."

3. Art of Fugue (link)

Bach's contrapuntal style culminated in his Art of Fugue.  Indeed he died before he completed it.  There is an excellent lecture on this by Michael Parloff (link).  Goes well with the Goldberg Variations.

Trivia: There are some amazing quotes on Bach, none more revealing than Albert Einstein, himself an expert violinist who said, "This is what I have to say about Bach – listen, play, love, revere – and keep your trap shut.”

2. Mass in B minor (link)

Bach was in the Lutheran tradition.  Yet, one of his greatest compositions was for the Catholic Mass.  Our friend and neighbor performed this piece as part of the Back Bay Chorale in 2019 and shared the program book with me.  Goes well with St. Matthews Passion.

 

Trivia:  Bach's music was included in the Golden Record on both Voyagers I & II in the late 70s - and they have left the solar system into interstellar space!

1. Ricercar a 6 (link)

Bach's contrapuntal achieved its peak in this 6 voice fugue.  I have listened to this piece, in particular to the link above, nearly every night all summer.  At this point I can hear the melody and the six voices and the harmony across them.  Genuinely monumental work.  I have no words to describe this piece, only awe.

Trivia: "Old Bach" was how J.S. Bach was known by the time his sons themselves became prominent musicians.  King Fredrick The Great invited Old Bach to Potsdam and after a lot of persuasion he did visit.  Upon his visit, the King presented him a piece of music and asked him to create a contrapuntal in 3 voices on the spot.  Which Bach did!  Then the King challenged him to do it in 6 voices.  Bach demurred and promised to do so upon his return to Leipzig.  Which he did!

Notes:

 I arrayed J.S. Bach's repertoire into a two-by-two grid to get a better handle on his music.

 

 

Literature Survey:

Christoph Wolff - The Learned Musician

Christoph Wolff - Bach Essays on His Life and Music

Jan Swafford:  Language of the Spirit

Robert Marshall:  The Music of Johan Sebastian Bach

John Eliot Gardiner:  Music in the Castle of Heaven

Artists:

Andras Schiff - Piano

Hilary Hahn - Violin

Yo Yo Ma - Cello

Lang Lang - Piano

Glen Gould - Piano

Helmut Walcha - Piano

Sumi Jo - Soprano

Yehudi Menuhin - Violin

Pablo Casals - Cello

Murray Perahia - Piano

Ensembles:

Emerson String Quartett

Nethelands Bach Society

Boston Baroque

Orion Quartet

Bethlehem Choir

Windscape Woodwind Quartet