You can call me Johann. But don't expect me to answer to that.
Although this is fine music, well played by Leon Berben, I’m just not diggin’ it. Don’t get me wrong. It’s clever music. I like the Fuga pieces from each composition as they twist and turn and tie knots around the theme. However, overall, I prefer the Preludes & Fugues on the first CD of The […]
Entries from August 21st, 2011
Day Twenty Five: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (CD 2-2)
August 21st, 2011 · No Comments · 1722, Bach at 37, BWV 846-870, CD 2-2, Glenn Gould, Harpsichord, Praeludium, Prelude & Fugue No. 15 in G major, Prelude & Fugue No. 21 in B flat major, Well-Tempered Clavier
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Day Twenty Four: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (CD 2-1)
August 20th, 2011 · No Comments · 1722, Bach at 37, BWV 846-870, CD 2-1, Glenn Gould, Harpsichord, Leon Berben, Prelude & Fugue No. 1 in C major, Well-Tempered Clavier
Harpsichord. An entire CD’s worth of harpsichord. I’m back to the “Pedal Steel Greats” CD I joked about a week or so ago. For the first 10 minutes (okay, maybe five), this is okay music. But after 30, 40, 50 minutes, the harpsichord sounds like an assortment of trash can lids banging together. It loses […]
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Day Twenty Three: Violin Sonatas, Part Three (CD 1-23)
August 19th, 2011 · No Comments · Bach Ensemble Heidelberg, BWV 1021, BWV 1023, BWV 1038, BWV 1039, CD 1-23, Ensemble II Quadrilfoglio, Mitzi Meyerson, Monica Huggett, Sarah Cunningham, Trio Sonnerie
Ahhhhh. Violin without harpsichord. These pieces of music — said to have been composed between 1714 and 1721 (or thereabouts), during a time that Bach said were the happiest years of his life — are extremely listenable and enjoyable. Performances by Trio Sonnerie (in 1987, at the time of this recording, it consisted of Monica […]
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Day Twenty One: Violin Sonatas, Part Two (CD 1-21)
August 17th, 2011 · No Comments · 1717, Bach at 32, BWV 1017, BWV 1018, BWV 1019, BWV 1019 1st version, BWV 1019a, CD 1-21, Harpsichord, Luis Otavio Santos, Pieter-Jan Belder, Three-Instrument Rule, Violin Sonatas
An interesting observation: whereas yesterday’s Violin Sonatas (with its accompanying harpsichord) grated on my nerves, today the music seems more mournful than hurtful. This work definitely violates the Three-Instrument Rule (when a harpsichord is involved, it takes two other instruments to balance out that distinctive-sounding keyboard). And, for my tastes, I think the recording mix […]
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Day Twenty: Violin Sonatas (CD 1-20)
August 16th, 2011 · No Comments · 1717, Bach at 32, BWV 1014, BWV 1015, BWV 1016, CD 1-20, Luis Otavio Santos, Pieter-Jan Belder, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Snakes, Three-Instrument Rule, Violin Sonatas
There’s a line in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark in which Indy (Harrison Ford) outruns a pack of bloodthirsty natives, jumps into a river full of crocodiles, and climbs aboard a water plane that narrowly outruns the poison darts and spears thrown by his pursuers. As the plane takes to the sky, Indy […]
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Day Nineteen: Musikalisches Opfer (CD 1-19)
August 15th, 2011 · No Comments · 1713, 1734, 1747, 1749, Bach at 28, Bach at 42, Bach at 62, Bach at 64, BWV 1072-1078, BWV 1079, Candy Thompson, CD 1-19, David Jansen, Deest, Floris Mijnders, Krijn Koetsveld, Marieke Schneemann, Musical Offering, Musikalisches Opfer, Netherlands Bach Ensemble, Three-Instrument Rule
Once again, I have to claim ignorance. What’s a Musikalisches Opfer? If that’s another way of saying Monstrous Instrument or Bane of Bill’s Existence then I completely understand. For this CD begins with harpsichord. Solo. Played at a pace that makes a funeral procession seem hasty. Need I say more? There’s an old joke about […]
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Day Eighteen: Viola da Gamba Sonatas (CD 1-18)
August 14th, 2011 · 1 Comment · 1708, 1720, 1721, Bach at 23, Bach at 35, Bach at 36, BWV 1027, BWV 1028, BWV 1029, BWV 894, CD 1-18, John Dornenburg, Malcom Proud, Viola da Gamba
Huh? What’s a Viola da Gamba Sonata? This is another example of why I enjoy taking these musical excursions. I learn something new every day. According to a Wiki page, viola da Gamba is Italian for viol of leg: A viol, usually much larger than the violin, played while seated and supported between the legs. […]
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Day Seventeen: Lute Works, Part Two (CD 1-17)
August 13th, 2011 · No Comments · 1720, 1725, 1740, Bach at 35, Bach at 40, Bach at 55, BWV 1000, BWV 1006a, BWV 998, BWV 999, CD 1-17, Jakob Lindberg, Lute, Lute Works, Suite in E major Gavotte en rondeau
This CD is amazing. It, and the one preceding it, are wonders to behold. The Lute — especially as played with such feeling and precision as Jakob Lindberg demonstrates — is a marvelous instrument. It looks to be difficult to master. And it may be. But those who do scale its heights reward those who […]
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Day Sixteen: Lute Works (CD 1-16)
August 12th, 2011 · No Comments · 1708, 1727, 1737, Bach at 23, Bach at 42, Bach at 52, BWV 995, BWV 996, BWV 997, CD 1-16, Jakob Lindberg, Lute, Lute Works, Michael Lowe
This is my favorite CD — Brandenburg Concerts notwithstanding — so far! I’ve always loved the sound of Classical guitar. The Lute is related, and sounds much like the Classical guitar. (Only it has a lot more strings. A. Lot. More.) Today’s CD is Lute Works performed by Jakob Lindberg, a brilliant player. The instrument […]
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