A Moment of Bach

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3: movement 2

For our second installment in the Brandenburg Concerto 3 miniseries, Christian describes the whole 20-second middle movement: chord 1, chord 2. Well...no, that isn't the whole story. We will uncover much more than meets the eye in this shortest of all Bach movements. It's an automatic "moment" -- no cutting or zooming in necessary. 

 

Brandenburg 3 mvt. 2: https://youtu.be/qr0f6t2UbOo?t=350

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3: movement 1

Welcome to our miniseries on Brandenburg Concerto No. 3!  In this first episode, we will talk about the first movement.

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos are considered by many to be the pinnacle of instrumental Baroque music.  Come and join us as we explore why.

Alex's "moment of Bach" comes near the end of the first movement, when the music gets a little low and scary, and the cellos play some heavy metal music. Well, it sounds pretty metal!

Stay tuned for the next two episodes in this miniseries, as we continue to marvel at Bach's creativity, and the elegance of his musical construction. The Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 is truly one of the greats.  The Netherlands Bach Society performance of this piece is a great way to spend 11 minutes of your free time: https://youtu.be/qr0f6t2UbOo

Artwork for "A Moment of Bach" by Sydney LaCom

Du Hirte Israel, höre (BWV 104): opening

Don't you just "know" when someone has put good work into a product just from your first experience with it? We think this is why Bach never feels lazy. While Bach excels at portraying a shepherd's pasture with music, we hear how some contemporary examples from film and TV are so much more widely varied in quality. Bach's musical pasture is so idyllic that we can use it to de-stress from our modern lives!

Cantata BWV 104: https://youtu.be/eZaL8XakQLo

Freesound #183454 CC license

Bleib bei uns (BWV 6): alto aria

"Stay with us, for night is falling..."

Happy Easter Monday! Today's moment comes from the Easter Monday cantata "Bleib bei uns" ("Stay with us"). The music is inspired by the story of the two disciples who met a stranger along the road as night was falling. The twist ending of this story makes us look back on the moment a little differently. "Stay with us..." is given new meaning.

Alto aria (Tim Mead, countertenor; Yongcheon Shin, oboe da caccia): https://youtu.be/YOtAvqH_A9k?t=346

St. Matthew Passion: "Wiewohl" recitative (mvt. 12)

In our tenth episode, we celebrate the genesis of this podcast's main premise. Using a humble and unassuming bit of connecting music from the St. Matthew Passion, Christian shows how Bach portrayed the soul swimming in tears. Love emerges victorious in the last line, where the music reaches a shimmering conclusion. "How can we talk about moments like this?!" That was our question to each other, so that's why we've got a podcast now!

"Wiewohl" recitative: https://youtu.be/ZwVW1ttVhuQ?t=1732

St. Matthew Passion: "Wenn ich einmal" chorale (mvt. 62)

In our ninth episode, we take our first look at the beloved St. Matthew Passion.  Staggering in its emotional scope, this work tells the complete story of Jesus's suffering and death (from the Gospel of Matthew -- in German!), interspersed with personal reflections. Hearing this music, it is as if you are transported  -- you are there, at the cross. The St. Matthew Passion is a true masterpiece.

St. Matthew Passion last chorale: https://youtu.be/ZwVW1ttVhuQ?t=8543

Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit: sonatina

In our eighth episode, a very young Bach employs old funereal recorders and viols for maximum heartstring-pulling effect in one of the most sublime few minutes of music: the opening sonatina of the cantata Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (God's time is the very best time). The cantata, also known as Actus tragicus, is a masterwork from beginning to end. It's easy to see why Christian selected one of its many moments.

Full cantata: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXMUpqSyJJo&t=1083s

Jesu, meine Freude (BWV 227): 9th movement

In our seventh episode, we find lots of remarkable moments from Bach's 11-movement choral masterwork "Jesu, meine Freude". Alex describes his favorite moment: the end of movement 9 ("Gute Nacht"), when all the wandering voices slow down and come to rest on a single, solitary note. We also explore some new ways to listen to music that has multiple voice parts, focusing on the beauty of the inner lines.

Jesu, meine Freude conducted by Christoph Prégardien: https://youtu.be/uN5Tt7SAhzg

Prelude in C major (Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1)

In our sixth episode, we marvel at the simple beauty of the C major Prelude, one of the most recognizable pieces of all time. Why is this keyboard exercise pattern with apparently no melody so famous and captivating? Christian unpacks its structure by looking not for a moment in the middle, but instead where the end and beginning seem to touch. 

 

Prelude in C Major performed by Siebe Henstra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCqWH9bKzQE

 

Passacaglia in C minor

In our fifth episode, the church organ comes alive! Alex guides us through the journey of the Passacaglia in C minor -- starting with a hushed, low tune, and expanding into an epic finale that could shake a cathedral.

Passacaglia played by Reitze Smits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzBXZ__LN_M

And played by Cathedral Bells: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t6xG9bsBA8