Beyond the Notes - Bach Fugue in C Minor, WTV book 1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 เม.ย. 2023
- Music goes directly to our hearts and souls. It connects on an emotional level, which is great. But why is that? In this series you and I are searching for some elements, details sometimes even, that can (a little bit) "explain" that connection.
Here: Bach's Fugue in C Minor from his Well-Tempered Clavier book 1, BWV 847
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'Benefit' and 'inspired' by the way you talk about this piece are both understatements! I, myself, am guilty of playing and recording this fugue WAY too fast, because that's what we were taught was the "correct" tempo by old-school teachers who could only see things one way (thank goodness that pedagogy isn't as popular anymore). After your commentary on this fugue, the slower tempo seems to be much more appropriate. (Your imagery is how I think of every piece of music I ever play---always with deep imagery.) I will now have to re-record this on my new harpsichord!
(In general, I think a lot of Bach is played way too fast, and so much is lost. I first realized this when listening to 50 people play the A major Sinfonia..."traditionally" played quite fast, but 99% is lost at a fast tempo. Again, guilty myself!)
"I play the notes as they are written, but it is God that makes the music" - J.S.B.
The old man was being modest. We know that not all performances of his music are equal.
Mr Wim you are very inspiring, no words can describe the way you changed my perspective of Bach's music. It might be a lot to ask but as a 19 year old amateur pianist I would love to know more about you, your path towards this very high level of music understanding, the obstacles you faces in the process of learning, and what makes you keep going. A video about that would be very great and once again thanks for this quality content.
This was great!! I truly appreciate the “Beyond the Notes” series!, amazing well done!!
The c minor prelude and fugue from Well Tempered Clavier Pt 1 was the opening number on side b of Switched On Bach (J S Bach on the Moog Synthesizer).
The recording was the second classical record to sell 1 million records and continued to sell for Columbia years afterwards.
Thanks- I list this LP as VERY formative - It was completely different to anything a five year old had heard to date. Over Fifty years later I am studying the WTC assiduously. Better than scales (or Hanon)!
@@DohcHama In my second year of studying the piano, my best friend in Junior High School when Jr High was still called this and began at the 7th Grade, introduced me to Switched On Bach. I stopped playing Chopin Waltzes and Mendelssohn’s advanced pieces, top on my list to study were the WTC Eb Prelude (and the double fugue) and the C minor Fugue. The Romantic works, Classic works, and the exercises were abandoned for the masters that JSB had known, and I started with the inventions, preludes, sinfonias, and works of the French harpsichordists. More than a half century later, with the study of counterpoint and Harmony as practiced by the great master, I have never regretted a minute spent in the endeavor.
I've been playing, writing and teaching music for seventy years and I don't know more about why music has the effect it does on my than the first time I was conscious of listening to music. It's an interesting video but it doesn't have the same effect on me. I couldn't tell anyone who it doesn't do it for but I've encountered so many people who get nothing out of, for example, Schoenberg's Quartets, even as early a piece as the First Chamber Symphony and no one has ever been able to explain to me why Handel's music has, for my entire life, failed to move me, even though I've played it with what did it for listeners. The same is true for such composers as Sibelius, Wagner, Berlioz, . . . I can say that since you introduced me to more authentic performance practice in terms of tempo, Hayden, Mozart, and others from that period gained a meaning for me that only the slow movements ever had before.
Maybe it's because I'm Irish Catholic but I'm very comfortable with admitting it's all a mystery to me.
Thank you, Mr Winters, for this most educational and insightful video. Having your guidance to understand ever more layers to Bach’s music is so great - in both the astounding technical aspects so that we better appreciate Bach’s awesome compositional skills and in the subjective and performance aspects where the player can interpret the music and convey their understanding and meaning of Bach’s work to listeners.
I find so much of Bach’s music - not only so masterfully composed in structure, harmony and emotional scale - also has flexibility that it allows different interpretations and meanings to be convincingly delivered. This allows for variation not just between different performers, but also evolution of an individual’s playing as well. The music and its meaning can grow and change alongside our own journeys in life. For example, the recording you played in this video is slower and (to me) more contemplative than your video on this piece from 2014.
For me, this was one of the first fugues I learnt and I only learnt the last two lines to start with as I didn’t think I could manage the whole piece. The staccato interpretations of some players never resonated as much as the more legato ones. Lately, I took to giving it a more dramatic feel, inspired by the dramatic parts of other Bach works in C minor (Toccata BWV 911 and Partita BWV 826). Your meditative rendition is yet another revelation to me on this wonderful piece.
Thank you again for all your hard work, personal touch and dedication to this music and this channel 🙂🎵.
Thanks for reminding me to practice, I have so much more work to do now!
Your analysis makes me want to play the piece and enjoy it again.
Playing this piece in school and I have to say, this tempo is so inspiring and actually sounds like music. Everyone wants these things to be fast but, so much is missed. I’ve never heard the intricacies balanced so well in all the time I’ve practice it. Wonderful video! (:
I agree. Well said. The focus on performance rather than the interpretation of the musical line is what is missing in most peoples practice. Here we have a total devotion to the "inner working" of Bach's mind. Thank you Wim!
This has always been my favorite piece from the WTC, and was actually the first fugue (ever) that I learned.
I would argue that for many! I also love it as something special!
WTC?
World Trade Center?
We don’t all know what WTC means…please clarify.
@@renzo6490 Well-Tempered Clavier. Sorry, I assumed that it would be clear from the context of the video.
It WAS clear from the context of the video. Anyone who knows the music of Bach knows exactly what you are referring to. Bach’s name is in the title of the video. That is a little clue that this video has nothing to do with the World Trade Center!
@@jktekkerz8735 sorry…I am new to classical music.
Your passionate “Welcome everyone!” entry struck me like that last suspended doubled C note of the fugue.
Thanks a lot for sharing with us your fantastic interpretation which is a special combination of musicological analysis with a personal visual imagination that perfectly fits the title of "Beyond the Notes".
The picardy third! Love it love it
very interesting, thank you for that passionate analysis!
I love the metaphor, i think it fits perfectly
This sort of live score analysis is really great, very interesting to watch especially after having played this piece in the past
I learned this fugue at uni. I love the minor keys.
The third voice is God 😮 mind blown! 🤯great explanation
Gosh you really got deep beyond those notes!
This is a positively fascinating interpretation. I love it, which is why I love Bach. Because my first introduction to this fugue was many years ago. It was used in a tv commercial for the Art Institute of Chicago. In it, two little girls were walking up the steps inside the Art Institute and it moves into the galleries of the Institute. Because of that commercial with the little girls I have always associated this piece with the pleasure and challenges of the works in the Art Institute. The same piece, a quite different take. And of course, I am struggling my way through this one.
Fantastic 😮
In many pieces I play I have such a story, or an image/photo, or a certain thought of someone special ... or so. Helps a lot for memory too.
This is my favorite from WTC#1. It’s a beautiful fugue.
Excellent! Thank you for bringing this fugue to life, from an engineer who loves Bach's music. (And who struggles to learn to play it)
Looking forward with anticipation for more in a similar vein.
I say echo to your words, exactly my feelings. Henry
These expositions of yours on the WTC are some of the best things you have done.
Many thanks.
Loved this video. Could not stay away from the keyboard. Always a favorite to play. Now a renewed insight. It is like returning to a lost live only to see her young and vibrant. Thank you.
You could register a trademark and use it to certify recordings that are historical tempo compliant.
This is awesome. I have learned so much from this channel about tempo and finding the music - the story! - in the many clues left behind by the great composers. How wonderful to reclaim this wonderful art from the adrenaline monkeys.
Out of curiosity, could you make a recording on the piano in which the third voice is not limited by the clavichord's range - thus able to achieve the full scales?
If I mentioned the Swingle Singers version of this fugue that might show my age !
These are beautiful. Enjoyed your analysis.
I really appreciate your masterclass on WTC pieces. The slower tempo choice allows one to savour rather than scoff the subtle harmonic interplay. I see the 1st and 2nd parts playing together with the 3 rd part (bass) trying to hang with the cool guys.
Looking good Wim! Love the channel
This was really such a great look into the actual music! The typical WTC analysis I've read will always speak mostly on the simplicity of texture and regularity which contrasts with the C major fugue's complicated stretto, but you have actually gone into the rhetorical process and the journey of the music itself.
Bach EST le MAESTRO absolu,celui dont Schumann disait :
« À côté de lui nous ne sommes que des enfants «
Amazing episode, thank you for your effort. I hope someday you analyze the prelude no 22 in Bb minor
Hi this was so great. Are there more? If so is it in a playlist?
Sure, the playlist is called BWV, an abbreviation of a way too long german word.
I recommend you google it and listen to all the songs in sequence.
@@plemli Thank you!
👏👏👏🎹
What temperament should someone use for the whole WTC?
Terrific commentary. I've never heard such a good or penetrating analysis. And it is so refreshing to hear Bach played reverently. Most pianist breeze through this fugue as fast as they can, as though it's a virtuoso piece. We must always remember that all Bach is about emotion, feelings, deep thoughts, and reverence.
You always make me want to play Bach 😀
You really change my mind in music, thanks.
1:40 - Waldeinsamkeit.
Hello all. I have a question. I learn this fugue in c minor, and i want to learn others whit the same level of dificulty, in any tonality. Can someone recommend me a good one ? Thanks
Fugue in E flat Bk1
Heh, no way his description of the forest isn't based on Badalamenti's description of David Lynch giving him the imagery to compose the Twin Peaks theme.
Seb war so schlau!
I agree there is some regret or sadness in there but also joy, maybe not when in your interpretation
For me, the mysterious end of the piece means that the painful experience has led us to a transformation within ourselves. Just as the suffering of Christ has ended in the salvation of men, the questions that arise during a painful experience have given us a new understanding about ourselves and the meaning of our lives.
Bach copied the theme to Jurassic Park
Yeah but it should be played ten times faster - in fact Lisitsa could play it with her hands crossed over each other fifty times quicker.
And she would make it superficial.
@Chlorinda It is a way in for the non-specialist listener and is not an unusual approach. The specialist musician can gain insights as well sometimes - the university analysis class does not provide all the answers. Is a fugue just a mathematical exercise on a certain theme or is there possibly something else as well?
@@chlorinda4479 I just couldn't help it. You are of course quite right. Inasmuch as I do respect Lisitsa, her attitude is very silly.
Nice, but I think you've been listening to too much Gould.
When Gould speaks you realise it must have been the inspiration for Month Python.
systematic mathematical music, nothing speaks to the heart.
To the contrary, the music speaks to the soul as well as the heart. The dissonant passing notes reflect the sorrow of a man who lost both parents as the youngest child before he was a teen, never had the opportunity to say goodbye to his first wife who died and buried while he was away from home, who had lost three children with this wife that died before their first birthday, to list only a few. No J S Bach, no Beethoven.
@@Renshen1957 Correct Renshen, I hear a lot of pathos in Bach's music- Abdul is a little harsh on JSB!
@@DohcHama Abdulaziz Shabakouh may not have heard the entire oeuvre of JSB, however who could simply dismiss the final movements of the 4th and 5th Brandenburg concertos as systematic mathematical music? Both are pieces are Fugues. Or the Fugues from the Toccata and Fugue in D minor for organ, from the the Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, or from the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor (each Fugues subject based on a quotes from Pachelbel, a Dutch folk tune, and a French organ Mass, respectively)? Then there’s the Canons from the Goldberg Variations and the Canons based on the Goldberg baseline found in JSB’s copy? The Musical Offering? The Art of Fugue? The Inventions and Sinfonias? I believe the gentleman’s originates with either an unfamiliarity or ignorance with these works, rather than his only taste being his mouth.
@@Renshen1957
Yes
The greatest mathematician, the Lord God, makes the greatest earthly mathematician look like she’s still in kindergarten.
Very difficult to listen to this BS - belongs on Monty Python.
?And you are here because?