A Moment of Bach

Fugue no. 23 in B major (Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2)

Bach the composer, Bach the educator, Bach the church music director, Bach the scholar, Bach the instrument inventor... Johann Sebastian Bach was so many things.

In this episode, we focus on Bach the innovator of keyboard technique -- specifically, a style of playing which facilitated the complexities of the music he put on the page.  Familiar with the great keyboard composers of the past, Bach built upon standard clavier technique and developed his own, which his son and his first biographer both recorded after his death.  This little compilation of information on how Bach played, down to the specifics of how the fingers bent and exactly what time each finger arrived at and left each note, is a real gem.  It might even be more precious to Bach performers than some of his manuscripts themselves -- because it can crack the code of how to actually play the music (or at least, to play it well). Indeed, many players of Bach nowadays owe a lot to this description of Bach's keyboard technique, not because they have necessarily read it themselves, but because all of the best music teachers have passed on its secrets over the years.

Fugue no. 23 in B major from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2, performed by Christine Schornsheim for the Netherlands Bach Society

Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (BWV 150) (part 2 of 2)

Bach's first church works were anything but plain and dull. Untouched by Italian style, firmly in German Lutheran tradition, this very first known Bach cantata shines and surprises at every turn through its mazy passages. 

This is the second part in a two-part miniseries on the masterwork BWV 150 (Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich). See the previous podcast episode for part 1. In this episode, we discuss the last three movements: the shaking trees of the trio (Cedern müssen von den Winden), the frantic escaping of the net in the chorus (Meine Augen sehen stets), and the towering final Ciaccona.

In this episode, we reference Bach's most famous choral works. We see how in his early works he was more experimental, and we explore how the seeds of his later masterworks are yet already there. 

 

BWV 150 as performed by the Netherlands Bach Society (recordings used with permission in this episode)

Musical score to BWV 150 referenced in this podcast miniseries

Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (BWV 150) (part 1 of 2)

Grab a score (or open the link) and follow along with us in an exploration of Bach's first known cantata. This straightforward psalm setting keeps us on our toes as it changes with almost every line of text, including the sublime and ancient sound of the "Leite mich" (lead me) chorus moment. Why doesn't Bach follow the rules of harmonic progression here? In this first episode of two, we will explore the first four parts of the cantata. This brilliant work of a very young Bach has a host of all-star moments within.

 

BWV 150 as performed by the Netherlands Bach Society (recordings used with permission in this episode)

BWV 150 as recorded by VOCES8 and the Academy of Ancient Music

Musical score to BWV 150 referenced in this podcast miniseries

Mass in B minor: Confiteor/et expecto (part 2 of 2)

Welcome back -- this is Part 2 of our 2-part series on a pivotal moment during the "Et expecto" section of the Mass in B minor. If you haven't caught Part 1 yet, which was released last week, we suggest you start there.

In this episode we go more in-depth with harmony than we ever have on this podcast. If you want to follow along with the twists and turns, get out your Mass in B minor score and read along with us! (Or use this link for a vocal score reduction from IMSLP.  The "Et expecto" bridge starts on the bottom of page 118.)

Jump to the "Et expecto" bridge, where we start this episode (performance, as always, courtesy of the Netherlands Bach Society)

Mass in B minor: Confiteor/et expecto (part 1 of 2)

Always know where you're going.

Today is part 1 of a 2-part series on one of the famous moments of Bach -- the transition from "Confiteor" to "Et expecto" at a dramatic moment in the Mass in B minor.  Rather than jump right into the final, festive section that describes the eternal joy of the resurrection of the dead, Bach first gives us a slow, searching, harmonically unstable bridge.  This section contains some of the most unusual sounds in all of Bach's work.  But... he always knows where he's going -- and when he gets there, it is glorious.

This week we focus mostly on the "Confiteor", which is a lead-up to the real moment.  Next week we get to the bridge.

Jump to the "Confiteor" from the Netherlands Bach Society performance of Mass in B minor

Vocal score for Mass in B minor (public domain) from IMSLP -- "Confiteor" starts on page 113

 

BONUS: J.S. Bach-Stiftung BWV 61 ”Amen, amen!” recording review and comparison

In this bonus episode, we return to the transcendent joy of the final chorale of BWV 61 "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" to review a recording from the J. S. Bach Foundation (J.S. Bach-Stiftung). The lightning speed pleads for Jesus the "Crown of Joy" to return without delay in this performance directed by Rudolf Lutz. 

 

Thank you to the J. S. Bach Foundation for permission for A Moment of Bach to utilize this recording for a podcast episode.

 

"Amen, amen!" chorale, Bachstiftung (J. S. Bach Foundation)

Bach explained: Workshop on cantata BWV 61 "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland": Bachstiftung (J. S. Bach Foundation)

For further information on the Bach Foundation, go to: https://www.bachipedia.org/en/

 

Comparison: "Amen, amen!" chorale, Netherlands Bach Society

Coffee Cantata (with Emily Wood)

Our guest Emily Wood shares her Bach fandom with us as we explore the unexpectedly funny "Kaffeekantate." Though Bach never wrote an opera, this was perhaps the closest he got. And though accused by contemporaries for being stuck in the old heavy contrapuntal style, Bach absolutely could write in the newer, lighter Italian style. Emily shares with us her favorite points from the Coffee Cantata, including the characterization of opera voice types used by Bach, and a surprising fact about the ending. 

 

Emily Wood is an accomplished soprano, composer, and educator, and also a self-described Bachophile. emilywoodmusic.com

 

The Coffee Cantata as staged and performed by the Netherlands Bach Society

Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr (organ chorale prelude, BWV 662)

The Baroque era was defined by eloquent sophistication.  All art from this period aimed to adorn and decorate the subject.  Bach's music is no exception -- this chorale prelude is based on a simple hymn tune, but he loads it up with ornaments, creating something completely unique.  If Bach were a baker, hymn tunes would be his flour -- the all-important base to his art -- but he would use so many other ingredients to such great capacity that the finished product, a magnificent cake, would be more elaborately designed and decadent than any cake you would find on any cooking show!

This chorale prelude performed by Reitze Smits for the Netherlands Bach Society

Resource from bach-cantatas.com -- cantus firmus notes isolated (this is the resource we mentioned during the episode)

"J. S. Bach's Leipzig Chorale Preludes: Music, Text, Theology by Anne Leahy (see page 179)

 

Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit: soprano solo ending

"Es ist der alte Bund: Mensch, du musst sterben!" (It is the old covenant: humankind, you must die!) What force could stand against this? A lone soprano prays "Yes, come, Lord Jesus, come." The old covenant is absolved and fulfilled by the coming of "Herr Jesu." Death is silenced. 

We explore Bach's stunning single musical setting of these two opposite texts, and we linger on one of the most stunning Bach moments of them all -- the lower voices come together then disappear, the bass dies away, and then the soprano sings of Jesus, truly alone.

The moment Christian chose for this episode comes from a suggestion by listener Talin.

In Season 1, we recorded an episode on this masterwork cantata on the opening sonatina. 

Netherlands Bach Society: entire movement recording from the Gottes Zeit video

Text translation used by the Netherlands Bach Society

Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf (BWV 226)

An outlier of a piece in an outlier of a category -- Bach didn't write very many motets compared to his other types of works, and this is the only one which is fully scored for choirs throughout AND had specific instrument parts written which all double the choral parts.  It's also a double choir, which adds to the uniqueness -- 8 separate choral parts, each with an instrument doubling.  Alex's favorite moment involves a jumpy syncopation, which is set up by one of Bach's favorite motifs, the "sighing" motif.  This little dessert of a piece is so sweet and light and fun, it might surprise you to hear that it was written for a funeral!

Performance of this motet by the Netherlands Bach Society, conducted by Stephan MacLeod