True, he designed it, from what I read, and went to a harpsichord maker with his design and had it built to his own specifications. So basically he invented the instrument conceptually. Prior to Bach's idea there was no such lute-keyboard instrument as far as I know. But I may be wrong.
Lautenwerk (Germania, XVII secolo): clavicembalo con corde di budello, costruito per simulare il suono del liuto. Già descritto in un trattato del 1636 di Marin Mersenne, fu perfezionato nel corso del XVIII secolo. Apprezzato da Johann Sebastian Bach, il Lautenwerk restò però sempre allo stadio di prototipo, non raggiungendo mai una reale diffusione nel mondo della musica.
Also, for all us guitarists/lutenists this is Bach's 3rd lute suite. While living in Cothen Bach invented an instrument he called the "Lute-Clavicembalo" which was basically a keyboard instrument meant to imitate the sound of a lute. In this suite (as in the other 3 lute suites) the writing is completely idiomatic to the lute.
@@kenchapin5946 The G minor suite probably came first, then he transcribed only the prelude into the cello suite and added the picardy third in the resolution. Also, omitted some of the voices in the Tema Fugatum of the Prelude itself
This luticord (as I'm calling it,) has a very nice sound, but the bass notes have a delay, most likely from friction - the lower and heavier the string, the greater the resistance and delay. Though out of sinc at times, the bass notes still sound great.
We can think of several implications on this prelude: The Weiss influence in the instrument used (Probably cannot be played in the baroque lute, though, but JS bach wanted the timbre of the lute for this suites) and in some of the harmonies, such as the pretty tense one in 4:54. We can also note the fact that the resolution is done into a minor chord, in comparison to the bwv 1011 (Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor) which uses a picardy third, resolving into a major chord, which indeed makes it sound quite like an organ prelude. The Prelude from Suite No. 5 omits the Tema Fugatum since the cello does not have the harmonic capability of a keyboard or lute like instrument to make a fugue in three or more voices. Also quite interesting the fact that bach used the Prelude of this G minor Suite equally for the cello suite no. 5 without major modification.
Some variety of horizontal articulation would be nice. This performer rolls every chord. Many of the the dyads aren't played simultaneously. Even contemporary guitarists hide the technical necessity of a rolling thick harmonies in these suites. I am incredibly grateful for your videos, Gerubach. I love them. They've made such an impact on my life, my career... I really owe so much to your work - I would even volunteer my own time to raise money for your project. But with perspective some of the recordings you choose are substandard!
I hear the top line being doubled in I think octaves (correction: unison) during the gigue, but that is not on the score. Like before 22:19 the top line is doubled but then it isn't. Was this doubling improvised or is this a mistake in the score?
Ara Zaratsyan I believe this may be a dual-manual lautenwerch. So that perhaps may be the timbre of the top manual, and the performer switches which manual she is playing on for effect.
Perhaps, but it sounds awfully resonant for a single note being played. I said octaves before, but it sounds like it's in unison. When you play on the top manual, does it also play the bottom manual? Or maybe she plays on both?
You can put both manuals together in most harpsichords and play the top while playing the bottom one. This is what is done here too, I believe the same goes with lautenwerk.
Much like in organ music, the manuals of this instrument could be "coupled" together mechanically so that when playing on the bottom manual, the corresponding keys of the top will also play. This adds that resonance you're hearing. That said you were right in your initial instinct as well, thinking you were hearing octaves - this happens very very frequently with harpsichords and apparently with lautenwerck as well I see. It's a similar principle; the performer is not suddenly playing everything in octaves but using a "stop" (much like in organs, again), which doubles every note played up the octave. I confess to not being 100% well-versed in the mechanics of this procedure but based on my understanding and the harpsichords I myself played, that's about the size of it - so I'm making an assumption that it works similarly here on the lautenwerck.
Cello version first. My understanding is Bach when arranging his own music for other instruments NEVER went from one with more polyphonic capabilities to less polyphonic capabilities, but always doing different arrangements that allowed for more texture to be shown. (Someone feel free to call me out on that if it’s in correct)
No, I don't think so. Some brief thoughts: Luckily we have the manuscript and there is no written sign of Bach wanting us to play the chords arpeggio. It could have been a common thing to do in Bach's times and there is record of Johann Joachim Quantz mentioning "It must not appear as if notes tick together." - although I'm not sure what exactly he is referring to, and he was a flutist and for that instrument "chords" are an easily understandable problem. I know that violin players have long discussions about this. In the violin works Bach often writes "arpeggio" when he wants it. Remember: Here he did not and also for the cello version he did not. The answer may lie in the interpretation of what a "chord" in Bach is actually made of and I think that is multiple voices(!) and I don't think that a choir would ever sing it like a harp (because that is what arpeggio means). So for me the arpeggio is something to avoid or handle with great care when playing Bach. Also the arpeggio loses its effect if done all(!) the time..
g30rG If this were adapted for lute/guitar, I promise the natural instinct for most of these chords would be to "roll" them, or arpeggiate them. Since this instrument imitates a lute, I bet Bach would have tried to play it stylistically as a lute.
Arpeggiated chords, arpeggios and arpeggiated passage could mean different things depends on the context. It is common that both violin, lute, and the harpsichord to play the chords in an arpeggiated manner but it also depends on what kinds of music it’s is being played. For the case of “arpeggios” appeared in Bach’s works, usually it indicates there are passages of chords being written who Bach to emphasise how to play those chords. While that doesn’t mean chords besides that passage are not meant to be played “arpeggiated” since that was what treatises back in that time told us so. That’s why today the historical performance practice is contextual dependence not like in the beginning of hip movement.
Matheus Ventureli Most people believe playing music from the Baroque period requires a little bit of improvisation because that's the style musicians from that period had adopted.
Aaron Hungerford I agree with you, but take a look at 5:24. The G played on the lute harpsichord is an octave down. In my point of view, it is a mistake on the score, not mere improvisation
Also same for the Gavotte? And there are unexpected trolls everywhere without it being written in the score as well. Tempo is off, play with a metronome & you'll tell more easily!
If you are playing baroque music and you play it like a robot, professionals will laugh at you like they would if you kept accidentally playing major 2nds while playing Chopin's Etudes.
Why the silly ornaments in the sarabande? Like the piece isn't able to stand on its own and the artist has to mess up ! There are stupid ornaments in the Gavotte too.
It's customary when playing Baroque dance suites to play repeated sections with added ornamentation or other personalized touches. They weren't intended to be note for note repetitions.
@@folderol8487 yes - you are correct. Indeed, one finds this in classical music, too. Repeats were usually not meant to be exactly the same. I think p and is the one who messed up.
If you don’t care for the interpretation of the player, that’s understandable but I’m not sure how you’re not aware that improvisation is historically accurate.
One of the most beautiful instruments I've ever heard
The Lute-Harpsichord, a very used instrument by Bach. He probably owned three of these..
Is that a medieval wooden smaller piano?
Bach invented the instrument, and called it the "LautenClavicembalo"
Paul West are you sure he invented it? I thought he just advised on its design
True, he designed it, from what I read, and went to a harpsichord maker with his design and had it built to his own specifications. So basically he invented the instrument conceptually. Prior to Bach's idea there was no such lute-keyboard instrument as far as I know. But I may be wrong.
Lautenwerk (Germania, XVII secolo): clavicembalo con corde di budello, costruito per simulare il suono del liuto. Già descritto in un trattato del 1636 di Marin Mersenne, fu perfezionato nel corso del XVIII secolo. Apprezzato da Johann Sebastian Bach, il Lautenwerk restò però sempre allo stadio di prototipo, non raggiungendo mai una reale diffusione nel mondo della musica.
Finally, the lute version of my favorite cello suite BWV 1011! You did a great job as always, gerubach.
One thing that I love about Bach is: when he writes in a key, he stays in that key.
mymy, my own instrument at work. Thank you sir!
Well well, look who's here.
You didn’t invent this.
Hail!
Abso(LUTE)ly beautiful music :D hehe keep up the amazing work, it's a credit to humanity!
Bronk Tug - You're tugging on my heart-strings.
When you know youre badass you just write a 2 as time signature
Lmao.
It was a way to say 2/2
Also, for all us guitarists/lutenists this is Bach's 3rd lute suite. While living in Cothen Bach invented an instrument he called the "Lute-Clavicembalo" which was basically a keyboard instrument meant to imitate the sound of a lute. In this suite (as in the other 3 lute suites) the writing is completely idiomatic to the lute.
No, he did not invent the instrument.
the instrument is also called lautenwerk
@@kenchapin5946 The G minor suite probably came first, then he transcribed only the prelude into the cello suite and added the picardy third in the resolution. Also, omitted some of the voices in the Tema Fugatum of the Prelude itself
It’s not a “lute clavicembalo” it’s a Lauten werck
This luticord (as I'm calling it,) has a very nice sound, but the bass notes have a delay, most likely from friction - the lower and heavier the string, the greater the resistance and delay.
Though out of sinc at times, the bass notes still sound great.
We can think of several implications on this prelude: The Weiss influence in the instrument used (Probably cannot be played in the baroque lute, though, but JS bach wanted the timbre of the lute for this suites) and in some of the harmonies, such as the pretty tense one in 4:54. We can also note the fact that the resolution is done into a minor chord, in comparison to the bwv 1011 (Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor) which uses a picardy third, resolving into a major chord, which indeed makes it sound quite like an organ prelude. The Prelude from Suite No. 5 omits the Tema Fugatum since the cello does not have the harmonic capability of a keyboard or lute like instrument to make a fugue in three or more voices. Also quite interesting the fact that bach used the Prelude of this G minor Suite equally for the cello suite no. 5 without major modification.
I love the bass.
Some variety of horizontal articulation would be nice. This performer rolls every chord. Many of the the dyads aren't played simultaneously. Even contemporary guitarists hide the technical necessity of a rolling thick harmonies in these suites. I am incredibly grateful for your videos, Gerubach. I love them. They've made such an impact on my life, my career... I really owe so much to your work - I would even volunteer my own time to raise money for your project. But with perspective some of the recordings you choose are substandard!
no conocía esta hermosa suite...
The gavotte makes me cry
Thanks for uploading!
very nice upload!
this suite is from the cello suite 5.
It can even be played on Piano
It's the Cello suite n5 in C minor no ?
The hole Suite is from the 5th Cellosuite.
This would later become the 3rd lute suite, arranged by Bach himself from BWV 1011.
Did Bach ever write down to the low F on the harpsichord? Or was there no low F at the time when he composed these pieces?
I can't recall if I've ever seen a keyboard score from Bach with the low F, only with low G, though harpsichords had low F back then.
Браво
What´s the Edition? I would like to get it!
I hear the top line being doubled in I think octaves (correction: unison) during the gigue, but that is not on the score. Like before 22:19 the top line is doubled but then it isn't. Was this doubling improvised or is this a mistake in the score?
Ara Zaratsyan I believe this may be a dual-manual lautenwerch. So that perhaps may be the timbre of the top manual, and the performer switches which manual she is playing on for effect.
Perhaps, but it sounds awfully resonant for a single note being played. I said octaves before, but it sounds like it's in unison. When you play on the top manual, does it also play the bottom manual? Or maybe she plays on both?
You can put both manuals together in most harpsichords and play the top while playing the bottom one. This is what is done here too, I believe the same goes with lautenwerk.
Much like in organ music, the manuals of this instrument could be "coupled" together mechanically so that when playing on the bottom manual, the corresponding keys of the top will also play. This adds that resonance you're hearing. That said you were right in your initial instinct as well, thinking you were hearing octaves - this happens very very frequently with harpsichords and apparently with lautenwerck as well I see. It's a similar principle; the performer is not suddenly playing everything in octaves but using a "stop" (much like in organs, again), which doubles every note played up the octave. I confess to not being 100% well-versed in the mechanics of this procedure but based on my understanding and the harpsichords I myself played, that's about the size of it - so I'm making an assumption that it works similarly here on the lautenwerck.
Awesome!
What is the instrument which is the being played on? Thank you!
Mike Tuft lute-harpsichord
Lautenwerke
In which BGA volume appears this suite?
None, actually
Which came first? This or lute or cello version?
Cello version first. My understanding is Bach when arranging his own music for other instruments NEVER went from one with more polyphonic capabilities to less polyphonic capabilities, but always doing different arrangements that allowed for more texture to be shown.
(Someone feel free to call me out on that if it’s in correct)
It's a lute!
not its not, its a lute-harpsichord
Tuning: 0c: A4 = 440Hz
Bach's modificated harpsichord? Wowww
Lute harpsichord
Is it historically correct to play all those chords as arpeggio?
No, I don't think so. Some brief thoughts:
Luckily we have the manuscript and there is no written sign of Bach wanting us to play the chords arpeggio. It could have been a common thing to do in Bach's times and there is record of Johann Joachim Quantz mentioning "It must not appear as if notes tick together." - although I'm not sure what exactly he is referring to, and he was a flutist and for that instrument "chords" are an easily understandable problem. I know that violin players have long discussions about this. In the violin works Bach often writes "arpeggio" when he wants it. Remember: Here he did not and also for the cello version he did not.
The answer may lie in the interpretation of what a "chord" in Bach is actually made of and I think that is multiple voices(!) and I don't think that a choir would ever sing it like a harp (because that is what arpeggio means). So for me the arpeggio is something to avoid or handle with great care when playing Bach. Also the arpeggio loses its effect if done all(!) the time..
g30rG If this were adapted for lute/guitar, I promise the natural instinct for most of these chords would be to "roll" them, or arpeggiate them.
Since this instrument imitates a lute, I bet Bach would have tried to play it stylistically as a lute.
Michael Silveira Actually, arpeggios had very emotional meaning in baroque music.
Yep it's really anoyinng
Arpeggiated chords, arpeggios and arpeggiated passage could mean different things depends on the context. It is common that both violin, lute, and the harpsichord to play the chords in an arpeggiated manner but it also depends on what kinds of music it’s is being played. For the case of “arpeggios” appeared in Bach’s works, usually it indicates there are passages of chords being written who Bach to emphasise how to play those chords. While that doesn’t mean chords besides that passage are not meant to be played “arpeggiated” since that was what treatises back in that time told us so. That’s why today the historical performance practice is contextual dependence not like in the beginning of hip movement.
I noticed there are some notes played on the instrument that don't mach with the score.
Matheus Ventureli Most people believe playing music from the Baroque period requires a little bit of improvisation because that's the style musicians from that period had adopted.
Aaron Hungerford I agree with you, but take a look at 5:24. The G played on the lute harpsichord is an octave down. In my point of view, it is a mistake on the score, not mere improvisation
He could’ve just used the buff-stop.
my apologies. let me brush up on my organology.
❤
Why does the Sarabande play more notes then written on the score?
Also same for the Gavotte? And there are unexpected trolls everywhere without it being written in the score as well. Tempo is off, play with a metronome & you'll tell more easily!
ornamentation
If you are playing baroque music and you play it like a robot, professionals will laugh at you like they would if you kept accidentally playing major 2nds while playing Chopin's Etudes.
Those instruments with almost no dynamics at all need a fair amount of rubato to give expression.
Dédiée à Monsieur Schouster
D minor G minor
большое количество ошибок в нотном тексте!
The piece itself of course is amazing but the performance is really screwed up!!! Rhythmic faults all the way through..
Why the silly ornaments in the sarabande? Like the piece isn't able to stand on its own and the artist has to mess up ! There are stupid ornaments in the Gavotte too.
It's customary when playing Baroque dance suites to play repeated sections with added ornamentation or other personalized touches. They weren't intended to be note for note repetitions.
@@folderol8487 yes - you are correct. Indeed, one finds this in classical music, too. Repeats were usually not meant to be exactly the same. I think p and is the one who messed up.
If you don’t care for the interpretation of the player, that’s understandable but I’m not sure how you’re not aware that improvisation is historically accurate.