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The Bach thread

Keith_W

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I have loved Bach all my life. Literally since before I was born, because my mum said that if she played Bach on the stereo I would calm down and stop moving. So it is not surprising that half a century has passed, and Bach still has a calming effect on me.

So I will start this thread by posting a video of one of my favourite Bach pieces, the C-Major Prelude from Book 1 of "The Well Tempered Clavier". It is the most simple piece, so simple that I could play it when I was really young. Yet it is emotionally complex and surprisingly sophisticated. It is at the same time, basic but meaningful.

This video explains it very well:

 

Rednaxela

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Great video, thanks!

I love Bach. BWV 578 was the first piece I heard as a child and I’ve been hooked ever since.

It’s often the more unassuming little movements such as this fughetta that take me to heaven every once in a while.


His music is such an incredible gold mine I could spend the rest of my life exploring and enjoying it.
 

mhardy6647

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[EDIT: Western] Music simply doesn't get any better*.

bach o rama.gif



________________
* Lookin' at you, Mozart! ;)
 
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hex168

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Any recommendations for versions of the Concerto No. 1 in D Minor (BWV1052)?
 

Soundstage

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I have loved Bach all my life. Literally since before I was born, because my mum said that if she played Bach on the stereo I would calm down and stop moving. So it is not surprising that half a century has passed, and Bach still has a calming effect on me.

So I will start this thread by posting a video of one of my favourite Bach pieces, the C-Major Prelude from Book 1 of "The Well Tempered Clavier". It is the most simple piece, so simple that I could play it when I was really young. Yet it is emotionally complex and surprisingly sophisticated. It is at the same time, basic but meaningful.

This video explains it very well:

What is your favorite version of this piece?
Among many, I like this one:
1670270740481.png
 

gene_stl

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Funny you should mention the d minor. I only heard it the first time a year or three ago. I don't know how I spent decades being a Bach lover but never heard it.



My late sainted mother , a trained musician told me when I was in college that although Bach was my favorite, eventually I would come to prefer Mozart. I like Mozart better than I did then but JS is still my favorite. My mother was a singer (soprano) so I can understand her preference. She also was from Vienna. I played the above mentioned prelude in C on the classical guitar ages ago.
 
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EdW

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Bach’s choral music is amongst the greatest. My favourite would be the St Matthew Passion. If I’m lucky I get to see a performance once or twice a year. In the UK James Gilchrist as the Evangelist is about as good as it gets. Fortunately there are many recordings with him for those who cannot attend a performance.
Only downside the music lasts about 2.75 hr and is usually performed in a large church or cathedral where the seats are very uncomfortable :(
 

Matias

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I have resumed playing piano recently and the C-Major Prelude from Book 1 of "The Well Tempered Clavier" was the song I chose. Sooo beautiful and deep! Simple repetitive theme but very moody and personal. Love it!

Next is Aria from Goldberg Variations. :)
 

Timcognito

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Switched-On_Bach_first_sleeve_%28seated_Bach%29.jpeg
WellTemperedSynthesizer.jpg
61norblyHhL._SX425_.jpg
 

Matias

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I was just showing my kids today the 2nd recording of the Goldberg Variations by Mr. Glen Gould.

 

Tremolo

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I think that Bach more than every other composer of any time has reached the real essence of "pure" music, conceptual but emotional at the same time. Simple but complex, sometimes literally from simple to complex, like in the many works he wrote starting from a simple theme of few notes that evolve in complex musical architectures. Bach doesn't mind the instrument you play, the way you use his music: from Gounod to Wendy Carlos or Jetro Tull, the result is hardly trivial or ordinary.
My favourite lute suite, probably written for a keyboard instrument and transcripted for lute by Bach himself, played on guitar
 

Robin L

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My favorite Bach:

 

Tremolo

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This transcripton of the Prelude Fuge and Allegro (bwv998) works very well on the guitar or lute.
Like 996 and 997 it was probably written with the "lautenwerk" in mind, a keyboard instrument that sounded like a lute even if the manuscript says "for lute or cembal", so it is not really a transcription.
 

MRC01

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