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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 Mar 11, 2024
Monday Mar 11, 2024
In this gem of a sonata, played on an original instrument, Bach hides the simplest musical theme in plain sight: one note. Alex looks at the end of movement 3, where Bach gives a pedal point E to the viola da gamba, asking for over 30 seconds of one sustained note on this instrument. Simple, yes, but perfectly aligned with the notes around it. It's just another gem in the sea of jewels that is Bach's oeuvre.
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Monday Mar 04, 2024
At the beginning of our podcast seasons, we always look at a new part of BWV 61. This week Christian chooses an unusual bass trill from the sparkling tenor recitative. For this moment Bach opens up the narrating voice and enters a half-aria section so that the singer can repeat the words "You come and let your light shine with full blessing." The lilting cello and bright harpsichord offer repeated "shines" in this section, which concludes with our surprising trill in the basso continuo.
This episode's featured recitative as performed by the Netherlands Bach Society
Nicholas Mulroy, tenor
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Welcome to Season 4! Thanks so much to all our listeners!
Today we give thanks -- not just for all of you wonderful listeners, but for Bach's creativity in the opening chorus of this cantata, which he based on the classic Lutheran chorale "Now Thank We All Our God". We explore the origin of the poetry by Martin Rinckart, a man who, like Job from the Old Testament, lost everything dear to him, but still remained faithful -- and grateful -- to his God. Then, we dive into the music and the clever text painting, and, after hearing so many hundreds of Bach's works, we delight in the way he continues to surprise us. We can always find something new. And that, wonderful listeners, is something we can all be thankful for.
Video link: Shunske Sato conducts the Netherlands Bach Society in a performance of BWV 192
Even MORE thanks to Netherlands Bach Society for the permission to use audio examples from their high-quality recordings, and also to Syndey LaCom for our delightful artwork.
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
In this bonus episode, we have a chat with soprano Emily Wood, a featured soloist in the recent concert performance of BWV 147 at Alex's church. We hear about Emily's personal experience singing this wonderfully challenging solo which is nestled in the very heart of this cantata; we also reflect on the whole 10-movement masterpiece.
Audio recordings of BWV 147 in this episode are from the recording of this concert, at St. John's Lutheran Church, Orange, CA, USA, featuring Cathedral Singers and Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Alex Guebert.
Keep an eye out for the second bonus episode soon -- the blooper reel from Season 3!
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Listeners! Thank you for 100,000 episode downloads!
It's Bachtoberfest, which means we talk about a silly piece by Bach -- this year's is a little parable about a tobacco pipe. We also read some of your comments and suggestions, we drink some Hefeweizen, and we talk about our plans for season 4, coming in 2024.
TWO MORE BONUS EPISODES are on their way soon -- a blooper reel for season 3, and a post-concert interview with soprano and previous podcast guest Emily Wood.
LOCAL LISTENERS in Southern California: Info about the Christmas Carol Festival organized/directed by Christian at his church: 3:00pm, Sunday December 10, Abiding Savior Lutheran Church, 23262 El Toro Rd, Lake Forest, CA 92630, USA.
And check out the Bach: Coffee and Cantata online group organized by listener Thierry -- a place for like-minded Bach lovers to meet and discuss cantatas in the context of the Sunday on which they were written. We mention this in the episode.
As always, thanks to Netherlands Bach Society for the use of our audio examples, and Sydney LaCom for our artwork.
Until next year... enjoy those moments...
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Composer and guitarist Giovanni Piacentini joins us today with guitar in hand and an enthusiasm to share with us one of Bach's most surprising moments.
Bach's "Prelude, Fugue and Allegro" is designated for lute or harpsichord. Classical guitarists have long enjoyed the work, which is successfully adapted to the guitar. Near the end of the prelude, Bach takes us down an unexpected path, then gives us a thoroughly strange chord -- Giovanni's moment of Bach today.
We discuss two normal ways that this chord could have progressed. But as Giovanni says, "Bach isn't normal!" Instead he takes on a wild trip before returning to the peaceful home key.
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Today we take a suggestion from listener Dave, and dive into the wonderfully rich "Trauerode", which was written for the funeral of a princess. Bach put some extra effort into the instrumentation and orchestration. Here we have an aria with not just one complex obligatto instrument line, but three separate obligatto instrument lines (flute, oboe, violas da gamba), all with different material and different timbres.
"Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl" (Trauerode) (BWV 198) -- tenor aria
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Closing out this set of three chorale preludes on its Trinitarian hymn tune, this sparkly trio (of angels?) dances up and down the organ console.
The Three-ness is evident in this piece meant to evoke the third part of the Trinity, the breath-giving Holy Spirit. Three bars by three bars make up the first nine, and three bass notes begin the prelude. Three sturdy eighth notes pin down the dancing texture on occasion, there are three sharps in the key, and there are three independent parts in the trio.
In this episode we talk about our favorite pair of moments with a long chain of trilled suspensions against fast notes. Knowing that Bach always used the text, we discuss whether this music is meant to set the stanza about the Holy Spirit and whether it may be the fire of the Spirit upon faithful people rather than angels.
Monday Sep 11, 2023
Monday Sep 11, 2023
When the King of Prussia requested Bach's presence for a visit, Bach probably expected to be asked to improvise some complex music on the king's prototype fortepiano. But did he expect the king to give him such a twisty, chromatic theme? And, after he played an extemporaneous 3-part fugue successfully, was it then even more unfair for the king to ask for a 6-part fugue immediately following that? And, most intriguing to us, was it actually Bach's son who convinced the king to spring this "trap" on Bach, as theorized by Arnold Schoenberg?
Today we dive deeper into the Musical Offering, and take a suggestion from listener Darcy, looking at a fairly jazzy few seconds of Bach.
Playlist of the entire Musical Offering, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society
Or, go straight to the Ricercar a 3.
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Monday Sep 04, 2023
In this episode we concern ourselves with the inner workings of the fugue. The fugue of the D major set from Book 2 of the Well-Tempered Clavier makes for an excellent study. It is made of a pliable, connectible subject which Bach treats as two small motives. These lend themselves to layering, overlapping, and echoing of all kinds.
The atomic building block of this fugue subject gives it all at once simplicity, harmonic ambiguity, rhythmic ambiguity, and momentum.