You can call me Johann. But don't expect me to answer to that.
English Suites, eh? What’s an English Suite? As usual, Wikipedia to the rescue. Here’s the entry for English Suites: The English Suites, BWV 806–811, are a set of six suites written by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach for harpsichord and generally thought to be the earliest of Bach’s 19 suites for keyboard, the others […]
Entries from August 31st, 2011
Day Thirty Five: English Suites, Part One (CD 2-12)
August 31st, 2011 · 3 Comments · 1725, Bach at 40, Bob Van Asperen, BWV 806, BWV 807, BWV 808, CD 2-12, English Suites, Harpsichord
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Day Thirty Four: Goldberg Variations (CD 2-11)
August 30th, 2011 · No Comments · 1741, Bach at 56, BWV 988, Flemish harpsichord, Glenn Gould, Goldberg Variations, Harpsichord, Period Instruments, Pieter-Jan Belder
If you’re expecting me to get through today’s listening without mentioning Glenn Gould, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. For today’s Brilliant Classics CD (performed by Pieter-Jan Belder on Flemish harpsichord) is none other than the famous Goldberg Variations, which was Glenn Gould’s first album, recorded in 1955 for Columbia Records. But that’s another story. […]
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Day Thirty Three: Italian Concerto/French Overture (CD 2-10)
August 29th, 2011 · 3 Comments · 1720, 1735, Bach at 35, Bach at 50, BWV 831, BWV 903, BWV 971, CD 2-10, French Overture, Glenn Gould, Harpsichord, Italian Concerto, Italian Concerto in F major Allegro, John William Waterhouse, Miranda the Tempest, Pieter-Jan Belder
If it’s possible, the first composition on this CD is even more recognized (and loved) than the Brandenburg Concertos. It’s so Bach, so Baroque. I know. I know. I’m making a big claim. But listen to it and you’ll see what I mean. I refer, of course, to Italian Concerto in F major (BWV 971), […]
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Day Thirty Two: Keyboard Works, Part Three (CD 2-9)
August 28th, 2011 · 9 Comments · 1703, 1711, 1714, Authenticity Doubtful, Bach at 18, Bach at 26, Bach at 29, BWV 820, BWV 821, BWV 832, BWV 909, BWV 950, BWV 955, BWV 989, BWV 992, CD 2-9, Christiane Wuyts, Concerto E Fuga in C minor, Henri Hemsch, Jacques Goermans
Another CD of very old, miscellaneous Bach compositions (often of dubious origin), once again performed by Christiane Wuyts, a Belgium-born harpsichord known particularly for her performances of Bach’s music, as well as for her use of period instruments. The two harpsichords she’s playing on this CD were made by Henri Hemsch (1754) and Jacques Goermans […]
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Day Thirty One: Keyboard Works, Part Two (CD 2-8)
August 27th, 2011 · No Comments · BWV 822, BWV 923, BWV 946, BWV 949, BWV 951, BWV 951a, BWV 959, BWV 966, BWV 967, BWV 993, CD 2-8, Christiane Wuyts, Glenn Gould, Henri Hemsch, Jacques Goermans, Keyboard Works Part Two, Leonard Bernstein, Yngwie Malmsteen
Another CD of very old, miscellaneous Bach compositions, once again performed by Christiane Wuyts, a Belgium-born harpsichord known particularly for her performances of Bach’s music, as well as for her use of period instruments. The two harpsichords she’s playing on this CD were made by Henri Hemsch (1754) and Jacques Goermans (1774). BWV 923 (“Praeludium […]
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Day Thirty: Keyboard Works, Part One (CD 2-7)
August 26th, 2011 · No Comments · BWV 823, BWV 833, BWV 917, BWV 922, BWV 947, BWV 948, BWV 954, BWV 958, BWV 963, BWV 965, CD 2-7, Christiane Wuyts, Harpsichord, Henri Hemsch, Jacques Goermans, Keyboard Works Part One, Period Instruments
Not that this should matter, but it’s something I noticed about today’s performances: They’re by a woman. Unless I’m mistaken, this is the first time I’ve heard a woman play harpsichord on a Classical-music CD. Her name is Christiane Wuyts, a Belgium-born harpsichord known particularly for her performances of Bach’s music, as well as for […]
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Day Twenty Nine: Six Partitas, Part Two (CD 2-6)
August 25th, 2011 · No Comments · 1726, Bach at 41, BWV 827, BWV 828, BWV 829, CD 2-6, Flemish harpsichord, Harpsichord, Period Instruments, Period Instruments vs. Contemporary Instruments, Pieter-Jan Belder, Six Partitas Part Two
They say one should confront his/her fears so that they can be overcome and life can be lived with joy again. To that end, I’m reading about the harpsichord on Wikipedia, an excerpt from which tells me this: The harpsichord was most probably invented in the late Middle Ages. By the 16th century, harpsichord makers […]
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Day Twenty Eight: Six Partitas, Part One (CD 2-5)
August 24th, 2011 · No Comments · 1726, Bach at 41, BWV 825, BWV 826, BWV 830, CD 2-5, Glenn Gould, Harpsichord, Pieter-Jan Belder, Six Partitas Part One
If I have one complaint regarding the Brilliant Classics Complete Bach edition it’s this: Too much harpsichord! Or, to put it another way, this edition relies too much on period instruments. Would it have killed anyone to use a contemporary piano to perform The Well-Tempered Clavier? Or the Six Partitas? Unless one is a music […]
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Day Twenty Seven: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II (CD 2-4)
August 23rd, 2011 · No Comments · Bach at 57, BWV 871-893, CD 2-4, Leon Berben, Three-Instrument Rule, Well-Tempered Clavier Book II
Proving once again that the enjoyment of music is purely subjective, even though today’s CD violates the Three-Instrument Rule, I like it. There’s probably some scientific or musicological reason why I like today’s CD when I haven’t really enjoyed the last couple of CD. Maybe these compositions are more complex. Or maybe they’re performed in […]
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Day Twenty Six: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II (CD 2-3)
August 22nd, 2011 · No Comments · 1 Corinthians 13:1, 1742, Bach at 57, BWV 871-893, CD 2-3, Dennis Brain, French horn, Harpsichord, Leon Berben, Well-Tempered Clavier Book II
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, starts off with a more robust and complex Prelude & Fugue (in C major), which is understandable since Book II was published in 1742, some 20 years after Book I. Bach was now 57 and presumably had more command of his craft. So the difference between Book I and Book […]
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