The Daily Bach: week 3 summary
Bach, the father of Jazz, and celebrating the Year of the Rabbit.
What have you discovered in Bach Club’s daily selection of JS Bach’s music?
Bach, the father of Jazz, and celebrating the Year of the Rabbit.
Make sure you bookmark and regularly visit The Daily Bach page that we curate for you, sometimes from a slightly unusual perspective. Listen to our playlist at the bottom of this page.
Monday, 16th Jan
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Ich ruf zu dir, BWV 639 (Orgelbüchlein)
André Isoir
“Lord, hear the voice of my complaint” from the Little Organ Book, with deep meaning and emotion. A walking bass-line and a 16c. chorale melody (from Johannes Agricola) are peaceful, but the middle voice meanders anxiously, sometimes with uncomfortable leaps – this is call full of hope out of anguish. This tenor line has a traditional viol-like texture, referencing an old instrumental tradition (that Bach also used in St John’s Passion).
Tuesday, 17th Jan
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Allegro assai from Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047
Wynton Marsalis
English Chamber OrchestraIt’s a little known fact that Bach was a precursor of jazz. Well, no. But he was writing walking bass lines all the time, and figured bass is an improvisation upon harmony drafted in numbers. Not a big surprise then to have the director of Jazz at Lincoln Center play a Brandenburg Concerto.
Wednesday, 18th Jan
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Dolce for violin & organ from Sonata in A major BWV 1015
Richard Tognetti, Neal Peres Da Costa
Obbligato harpsichord part sounds superbly intimate on chamber organ, and this 2nd of the violin sonatas gains a new, slightly archaic, but also cozy, domestic dimension. Some warmth, very welcome during this cold snap in London, from the musicians of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Thursday, 19th Jan
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Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582
Marie-Claire Alain
Laconic, yet lush. So much imagination shines through this masterpiece, a ground bass repeated with obsession, as if infinitely. Bach’s might be the ultimate passacaglia, least because it’s far from the usual descending 4-note motif.
Friday, 20th Jan
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Gloria Patri from Magnificat in D major BWV 243
Solomon’s Knot
In this sparkling, live performance, Solomon’s Knot present the piece in their signature chamber setting. Bach, a word-painter, starts the last movement with the powerful “glory” contrasted with the voices rising from our lowly Earth to Heaven. He then re-introduces the musical material of the 1st movement, literally referring to “as it was in the beginning”. The final brushstroke is when the vocal parts unite in an extensively long note: to mark the Glory lasting “throughout ages and ages.”
Saturday, 21st Jan
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Es streiten from Cantata BWV 134a
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Ton Koopman
„In the future there is strife and victory, In the past there is strife and splendour.” Written as a birthday piece for the Royal House of Anhalt-Köthen, this ‘serenata’ was premiered on the New Year 1719. Tomorrow it’s the first day of the Chinese New Year, the year of the Rabbit.
Sunday, 22nd Jan
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Week 3 Summary
Bach, the father of Jazz, and celebrating the Year of the Rabbit.
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Go to summary: https://bach.club/dailybach-week3/
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