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Welcome to A Moment of Bach, where we take our favorite moments from J. S Bach's vast output—just a minute's worth or even a few seconds—and show you why we think they are remarkable. Join hosts Alex Guebert and Christian Guebert for weekly moments! Check wherever podcasts are available and subscribe for upcoming episodes. Our recording samples are provided by the Netherlands Bach Society. Their monumental All of Bach project (to perform and record all of the works of J. S. Bach) serves as source material for our episodes. https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/allofbach Artwork by Sydney LaCom
Episodes
Monday May 09, 2022
Monday May 09, 2022
Passed down to us through almost two millennia, the poem that would later become "Savior of the Nations, Come" was set to a plainchant melody in the Middle Ages, and that melody was given a strong, angular treatment by Martin Luther, who also adapted and translated the text. A couple centuries later, it was Bach's turn to create something new from this storied hymn -- and he did, multiple times. This organ prelude may be one of Bach's more austere arrangements of this hymn, but he couldn't help adding some clever complexity to it.
We talk about how an extended ending can add much-needed closure to a piece. We also talk about how Bach is like a stained glass window -- colorful, complex, subtle, beautiful, illuminating core religious truths.
BWV 659 played by Leo van Doeselaar for the Netherlands Bach Society:
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