A Moment of Bach
Welcome to A Moment of Bach, where we take our favorite moments from J. S Bach's vast output—just a minute's worth or even a few seconds—and show you why we think they are remarkable. Join hosts Alex Guebert and Christian Guebert for weekly moments! Check wherever podcasts are available and subscribe for upcoming episodes. Our recording samples are provided by the Netherlands Bach Society. Their monumental All of Bach project (to perform and record all of the works of J. S. Bach) serves as source material for our episodes. https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/allofbach Artwork by Sydney LaCom
Episodes
What good is a centerpiece but to add to the pomp and pride and beauty of a ceremonial occasion? The Polonaise is historically such a centerpiece for such an elegant, lavish affair. Chopin is the natural figure for the Polonaise, a stately dance for pairs, but it was known much earlier to the Baroque composers. Bach was no stranger to Polish style, as shown in this centerpiece Polonaise to the Menuet of the Brandenburg Concerto No....
Oboe talk today!
Mastering this instrument is almost unreasonably challenging, but the juice is worth the squeeze -- the baroque oboe, when played truly well, is one of the most rewardingly beautiful instruments.
Musical examples, as always, are courtesy of the Netherlands Bach Society. Check out their "All of Bach" project.
Referenced in today's episode:
Brandenburg Concerto No. 1: Trio I (2 oboes and bassoon) - performance by N...
The three instrument families in this big baroque orchestra leads us to speculate that Bach represented three social classes: the royal elite (elegant strings, one leader), the aristocratic nobles (horns, for upper-class hunting expeditions), and the common people (reeds, as for outdoor bands or shepherding). Bach concludes the concerto with the elegant and grand menuet (note his spelling; not "minuet"). The French dance exudes cla...
The "rule of three" is in full effect here, as Bach carries us along with this jaunty dance, rhythmic triplets and triple sets of musical sentences abounding with life and energy. This eloquent piece can be considered a precursor to the later "sonata form" of the Classical period, along with Bach's other Brandenburg concertos.
Performance of movement 3 of Brandenburg 1 by the Netherlands Bach Society
A far far cry from the happy hunting horns of the first part, the second part of Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 is a bitter adagio. To modern ears, its aesthetic of dark gangster drama is less galant, and more "Godfather."
(Look at our past seasons to find episodes covering Brandenburg Concertos 3, 4, 5, and 6.)
Performance of Brandenburg 1 by the Netherlands Bach Society
"Horns, horns, horns, in dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the north wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last." (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King)
It's time for our yearly miniseries celebrating the famous Brandenburg Concertos! This year: Brandenburg 1.
The horn call has an undeniable power. Here, Bach uses it to great effect at the opening two measures of this rousing piece. We explore the baroque h...
-The second part of our look into Cantata 78, where we look at the opening chorus.
For an overview of this cantata and a deeper look at the wonderful duet and the rest of the parts, see the episode previous.
For this lamentation hymn about Christ's anguish used as ransom for our salvation, Bach chose to accompany the tune with a "lament bass." To start, he sets up this sad descending bass line as a repeated pattern under a varying...
In this year's Leaving Certificate for students in Ireland, the music exam consists of examples from Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, Irish composer Gerald Berry's Piano Quartet, and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Also in the exam is this chorale cantata composed in 1724 in Leipzig for a church service in which the biblical story of Jesus healing the lepers was read.
The hymn Bach based this work on was flexible enough for a dramatic s...
Welcome to A Moment of Bach, where we sometimes zoom in so close that our targeted moment consists of only one note! But Bach leaves us no choice but to pick this moment from BWV 4, where the music screeches to a halt, almost cartoonishly fast. One thing's for sure: when ever the word "nichts" comes up, Bach can't resist giving us some interesting text-painting.
Performance of BWV 4 by Netherlands Bach Society, conducted by Rene ...
Here is, almost certainly, Bach's last composition for voices.
"Et incarnatus est" is the short choral movement in the Mass in B minor which precedes and sets up the central "Crucifixus." Being not quite yet Christ's death, the "Et incarnatus est" depicts the sighing descent of Christ being made man. A mournful coincidence: this music also imminently preceded Bach's death. He likely finished it in 1750, the year of his death, to co...
Today: we talk about Nokia ringtones, how Bach is the best at bass; Bach's French wordplay, and "Bach can be played at any tempo".
This week's moment of Bach is a blissful ascending sequence in the fast final fugue movement of this keyboard toccata, which reminds us of the audacious repeating steps up and up (and down and down) of Monteverdi's "Si ch'io vorei morire."
Does this fugue opening sound familiar? Its subject is ALMOST another much more famous one. The fugue's ending is no less spectacular.
Fugue from Toccata in E minor BWV 917 as performed by Bart ...
"Complex" is Bach's default setting.
On this 300th anniversary of the Easter Oratorio, which was premiered in Leipzig on Easter Sunday 1725, we talk about duet recitatives, recorders and bassoons (shout out to Benny Aghassi), and Bach's marvelous trumpet writing.
After witnessing Christ's death, we experience a frozen scene -- an aria -- which is a space for reflection that Bach so often gives us in his cantatas and passions. But this time we also experience some harsh tonal whiplash as first we hear Christ's head falling in death, then a dancing, hopeful aria. This aria with interspersed chorale is filled with questions, and the positivity of one final answer.
Bach produces an innovative ...
"It is finished." This falling melody, sung by Christ at the moment of His death, is followed by the pivotal alto aria "Es ist vollbracht". We explore the musical texture, the dramatic contrasts, the foreshadowing of the "vivace" middle section, and the way that silence can speak louder than words or music. We also uncover a truth about the word "finished" in this biblical passage.
Why, at number 25 of 30 variations mostly in sunny G major, is here one of the most profoundly sad things he ever wrote? This one gets at something deep. He certainly knew suffering; was it his personal experience? Bach's full range of expressions is at play in the Goldberg Variations, here including sorrow.
Dubbed the "Black Pearl" by keyboardist Wanda Landowska, the long and wandering variation retains its structure, yet takes u...
"For me, Bach is the greatest of preachers. His cantatas and Passions tune the soul to a state in which we can grasp the truth and oneness of things, and rise above everything that is paltry, everything that divides us." -- Charles-Marie Widor, from the Preface to the biography J. S. Bach by Albert Schweitzer
We all know that Bach is a technical wizard. Counterpoint might be what he's best known for. But if you want to convince s...
At the beginning of our podcast seasons, we always look at a new part of BWV 61. This week Christian chooses what may be the most pure, unassuming aria of total soul transcendence. The aria "Öffne dich" is the 'heart' of this regal Advent cantata, and offers an opposite effect of the other parts while we hear a plead (from us) to our own heart: "Open yourself, my whole heart; Jesus comes and enters."
A simple cello bass line and or...
Welcome to season 5 of A Moment of Bach!
We kick off the season with a suggestion from Charles Raasch -- the Great Fantasia and Fugue. Does Bach know where he's going with this one? Of course he does, but, it's still fun to get lost in the music. Come with us as we wander into the complex harmonies, built mostly on fully-diminished dissonances, until Bach finally leads us home to a supremely sonorous G major ending.
Our fourth season was the best year yet for our downloads. Thank you for your listenership! And we still welcome your listener "moments" of Bach as ideas for future episodes.
For this season closer, we invite Reverend Eric Clausen, a Lutheran pastor, to help us unpack the background of BWV 80 (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God). The bold and powerful text of the source hymn comes directly from Martin Luther. Bach's cantata incorporates...
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