A Moment of Bach

Vivid and subtle, this cantata follows the spiritual journey of the soprano soloist who carries the weight of sin on her shoulders. The journey is one from darkness into light, and our moment, sent in by listener Dave, comes at the cathartic middle movement, where hope is found in patience.

Soprano Julia Doyle delivers a heartfelt rendition of this stirring cantata, one of Bach's most openly emotional.  We discuss how Bach's choice...

On the last note of Mozart's "Kyrie eleison" in his requiem, he chooses a stark and intense open fifth instead of a triad. What happens when a composer finishes...not correctly? Is this allowed?

When using old melodies which start and end on scale degree 3 (relative to major), Bach adapts this old Phrygian mode to his idiom, but this does create an unexpected ending. Even more surprising is the wild hellish chromaticism of the fina...

We take a suggestion from listener Bruce, and jump into the "other" Nun komm cantata, BWV 62.  Yes, BWV 61 is admittedly the one we prefer, having talked about it several times on this podcast over the last four years.  But sometimes it's good to shine some light on the facets of a hidden gem.  The opening movement of BWV 62 contains multitudes.

Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (BWV 62) performed by the Netherlands Bach Society, direct...

Yes -- the famous one!

One of Bach's most universal melodies, the melody in the strings opens a profoundly perfect setting of a verse of the hymn "Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying" in the central movement (4th of 7) in the beloved masterwork "Wachet auf" cantata. Here is the exceptional performance by the Netherlands Bach Society.

Why does this opening string melody stick with just about all listeners? There are secrets hidden in t...

In four notes, Bach reframes our idea about what is possible in common practice harmony.  This is one of the weirdest moments of Bach, coming from one of the weirdest openings to a hymn tune.   But as always, it makes sense in the context of the text.  It even makes sense harmonically, as we see when the hymn tune closes on four much more normal-sounding notes... and Bach repeats these, adding closure to the text "es ist genung" (i...

A textbook "moment" of Bach -- in a charming setting of the three verses of the German song "O Lamb of God, Most Holy," suddenly near the end of the third verse Bach finally heeds the text and shows us the strange despair we are praying for mercy to avoid. He employs several musical devices in this sudden moment: a change in meter, a suggestion of a distant tonality, and a barrage of harsh chromaticism (notes outside of the key).

F...

One of Bach's most famous works, and one of the greatest melodies of all time -- this comes to us by way of an almost impossibly good performance/recording by the Netherlands Bach Society.  By having the first violin part played by a section rather than a solo, they give Bach's wandering melody more purpose than it has in the famous version for solo violin, "Air on the G String", which is actually a re-arrangement of this original ...

This delightful jig closes out our miniseries on Brandenburg 6.  Here we speak about the third movement's jumpy beats. and how these rhythmic anticipations give the whole piece a bouncy energy.  Bach, the expert violist among so many other things, gives the two viola parts the most intricate material, playing off each other and passing along the musical line.  Yet, in the ritornellos, he always doubles them, allowing for a rich, sw...

Welcome back to our yearly miniseries on the Brandenburg Concertos of J. S. Bach! This is part two of three. Today we look at the languid and luscious slow movement of Brandenburg Concerto No. 6.

Music is (often) a setup of expectations, and then the satisfying fulfillment of those expectations OR the clever subversion of those expectations. Bach is especially good at this principle. We focus first on the unusual written-out cello ...

Welcome to our yearly miniseries on the Brandenburg Concertos of J. S. Bach!  Here we jump into Brandenburg 6, delighting in the weirdness that results when Bach decides to omit violins, preferring a dark, low sound of violas, violas de gamba, cello, and violone.  This brings us to some more examples across Bach's oeuvre, as well as some others by Brahms, Bruce Broughton, and John Williams.  As any creative person knows, setting li...

Today we return to the 7th of the Goldberg Variations, the "Canary Jig." We discuss that peculiar name, and then we get into some smaller moments. Soaring flares up the keyboard, surprising altered tones, and crunchy grace notes are all over. Pushing forward into the ending, a high note leads us to the finish. We discuss why the contour of the hands makes this ending so satisfying.

Goldberg var. no. 7 as performed by Jean Rondeau f...

Just after Good Shepherd Sunday, we settle in to this comforting pastorale.  Not the famous opening movement -- no, this is another beautiful sicilienne-type dance, a bass aria, in which Bach gives a masterclass on melodic writing in just 5 seconds of music.  Melodic shape, sequence, pedal point, and effective parallel motion in triads -- these are all showcased in the first few measures.  Then, Alex points out his favorite moment,...

In our second look at the monumental Goldberg Variations, Christian selects the beginning of the sprightly and innocent "gigue" (jig), a particular dance set here for an interplay between two hands. The jaunty rhythm of the dance is rather uneven; this leads us into a discussion about how music is naturally not even in this way (and when it is, it's too square). We discuss the Goldberg bass line which underpins the whole sequence o...

Just as the three wise men brought their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the young Christ, so also this trio brings their soprano voice, viola da gamba, and theorbo (a lute variant) as musical gifts.... and we, the listeners, are the ones who are lucky enough to receive these gifts.  Here we discover the plain serenity of this original hymn tune by Bach, set to simple accompaniment, and paired with a tender Christmas text...

The Mass in B minor is a well which never runs dry; we return to it year after year, and this time to celebrate Easter Monday we jump into the splendid "Sanctus" section. Christian uses the fugue subject on the text "Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria ejus" (heaven and earth are full of thy glory) to describe one of the best text paintings in history. This blossoming motif doesn't just leap to heaven and fall to earth; it then covers...

Here we do a full "Bach-n-talk" runthrough of the famous "O Mensch, bewein" chorale fantasia which ends the first half of the St. Matthew Passion, which happens to end on Alex's favorite moment.  Join us as we unpack a moment of mode mixture here, at the choir's closing cadence.  The borrowed minor modality gives the necessary spice to give a more complex flavor to the otherwise light and airy music.  But don't be fooled, listener,...

Welcome to a moment of something different for once! 

We take a momentary diversion from our regular programming to give you a "moment of Vivaldi."

In Shunske Sato and the Netherlands Bach Society's rendition of Vivaldi's "Winter" of the "Four Seasons," Sato stuns with innovative solo violin timbres which embody the icy cold themes of the season. We don't normally hear such sounds when we hear baroque music whatsoever!

Christian fo...

In this gem of a sonata, played on an original instrument, Bach hides the simplest musical theme in plain sight: one note.  Alex looks at the end of movement 3, where Bach gives a pedal point E to the viola da gamba, asking for over 30 seconds of one sustained note on this instrument.  Simple, yes, but perfectly aligned with the notes around it.  It's just another gem in the sea of jewels that is Bach's oeuvre.

Performance of this ...