SONGS in this podcast episode:

M1 NUN KOMM DER HEIDEN HEILAND, JS BACH, 1714, BWV 61 (5:21)

M2 TOCCATA & FUGUE in C MAJOR M.2 ADAGIO, 1710-1717, BWV 564 (4:20).

M3 TWO-PART INVENTION in F MAJOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723 (0:40).

M4 TWO-PART INVENTION in B-FLAT MAJOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723 (1:30)

M5 TWO-PART INVENTION in D MINOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723, (0:55).

M6 PRELUDE & FUGUE No. 5 “Le Clavier Bien Tempere” D-Major, JS BACH, 1722, BWV 850 (3:06).

M7 JESU, JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING, JS BACH, 1723, BWV 147 (2:56)

M8 CHORALE PRELUDE “WACHET AUF”, JS BACH, 1731, BWV 140 (3:37)

PROGRAM NOTES

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist from the late Baroque period. He was born in Eisenach, in what is now central Germany. Bach lived from 1685 to 1750, The Baroque period was a 150-year period in music, dating from 1600 to 1750. Baroque music is Western Classical Music that followed the Renaissance period. Baroque music features drama, ornamentation, major and minor tones, and was presented in new ways – – like the Opera, Concerto, and Sonata, Baroque composers included BACH, HANDEL, VIVALDI.

M9 AIR ON A G-STRING, JS BACH, 1730, BWV 1068 (2:27).

Bach probably used the CLAVICHORD to compose most of his music. The Clavichord is small, lightweight and would not disturb people. The clavichord was very temperamental, because it required tuning before each play, just like a violin or guitar.  The keyboard instruments of the day were referred to as a general category: the “KLAVIER”….these included HARPSICHORD, CLAVICHORD, ORGAN and PIANOFORTE. Bach’s favorite KLAVIER instrument was the LAUTENWERK or LUTE HARPSICHORD with animal gut strings. 

The writing of music was in support of GOD and KINGS. Over time, Baroque Music evolved into what is today known as the modern Orchestra. Bach was a prolific composer, writing hundreds of pieces for solo instruments, particularly the organ. He also wrote pieces for orchestra and choir. Bach is MOST known for writing two or more  melodies or voices against each other. Also called point against point, or, Counterpoint.

Bit Bucket

A BWV catalog number is a unique identifier for musical works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, standing for Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue). 

Today I will present 9 compositions, dating from 1710 to 1731, during the time Bach was about age 25 to 45.

Our first piece — TOCATA & FUGUE in C MAJOR , the 2nd movement (ADAGIO).

an ORGAN COMPOSITION.     It is taken from a 1959 album of BACH ORGAN WORKS   . The movement is called ADAGIO ….which indicates “At Ease”, or “Slow and Stately”. Tempo is only 66-76 BPM. like the resting heart rate for many people.

Great liner notes. HERE IS AN  excerpt from the liner notes on that album – –

QUOTE

“OUR BACH” said the obituary notice, “was the greatest organ and clavier player that ever lived”. Though it may seem strange to us now, Bach’s genius during his life was recognized only as a master of the organ—not as a composer. It was actually over a hundred years after his death that his works revealed him as a unique and mighty composer. His reputation as an organist brought many invitations to test new organs and advise on the construction of them.  UNQUOTE

As with most of his organ works , there is no autograph or manuscript score from Bach, his organ work manuscript copies are lost. 

This song has a CONCERTO style and rhythm.  We will hear the 2nd or ADAGIO movement. . It is all very calm and beautiful and pastoral and serene…until Bach pulls out all the stops in the last minute of this ADAGIO movement. He is really rocking the walls and windows of that church.

Without any further adieu, here is TOCATA & FUGUE in C MAJOR , the 2nd movement (ADAGIO).

PLAY M2

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M2

MUSICAL CREDIT:

This Bach organ work  was recorded on the Luneburg Organ at St. Johanniskirche, in the town of Luneburg, in northern Germany, the organist is Professor Michael Schneider.

This LP was produced and released on the SOMERSET label here in the US in 1959

The album title is BACH The Majesty of the Luneburger Organ.

Our next piece is the most famous church cantata written in 1714 for THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. NUN KOMM DER HEIDEN HEILAND or in English “NOW COME, SAVIOR OF THE HEATHANS” A HEATHAN is a person with no religion, i.e., a PAGAN. In this chorale, Jesus is asked to …  come and save the pagans. 

In 1714, Bach would have been 29 years of age. It turns out that this song goes back almost two centuries before BACH’s time.  It’s based on a LUTERAN CHORALE with words written by Martin Luther for the 1523 first Advent Sunday.  For centuries, this was the first hymn for the first Sunday of ADVENT. 

What I will play next is an arrangement for as modern symphony orchestra (the Philadelphia Orchestra) and it is definitely JS BACH heard in those phrases. But it is a large orchestra – –

Conducted by Leopold Stokowski.  This is an extremely restrained, demure, and understated interpretation of a Bach piece the most restrained I have ever heard.

The recording you will hear next is performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, with conductor   Leopold Stokowski. This recording is on a Vinyl LP titled THE SOUND OF GENIUS, produced by COLUMBIA MASTERWORKS, in 1960. It was one of many records that were shipped by mail to members of the Columbia Record Club. My parents were enthusiastic members. A new disc would arrive in the mail every month, such as this LP of classical music.

Without further delay here is NOW COME, SAVIOR OF THE HEATHANS

PLAY M1

SHOW PLUG – SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! !

That was…M1

NOW COME, SAVIOR OF THE HEATHANS”

MUSICAL CREDIT:

BIT BUCKET

This piece also is based on a song listed in the ZAHN Lutheran chorales catalog. ZAHN 1174

The next three pieces are called TWO PART INVENTIONS, composed by JS Bach around 1720  

The inventions were composed for use in instruction of Bach’s oldest son WILHELM FRIEDEMANN BACH who was 12 years old. Today, these inventions are introduced to music students in school grades 4-7. Learning the Two-Part Invention requires ROTE learning, practicing over and over until the two hands work completely independently of one another. The inventions teach, among other things, the use of COUNTERPOINT. Bach is MOST known for writing two melodies against each other. Also called point against point, or, Counterpoint. That is the feature of these inventions, in each one there are TWO PARTS, left and right hand parts.

COUNTERPOINT is found mostly in Bach’s FUGUES and in his INVENTIONS.

Perhaps a brief demonstration is in order.

Here is an excerpt from one of Bach’s inventions.

In some of Bach works, the roles reverse,

I will now play  WENDY CARLOS’s rendition of three BACH TWO-PART INVENTIONS from her 1969 recording titled “SWITCHED ON BACH” .. I will play all three, back-to-back. Each one is short – – average length ONE MINUTE EACH!

PLAY M3

PLAY M4

PLAY M5

Credits:

HOLD ON READING THE CREDITS UNTIL ALL THREE INVENTIONS ARE PLAYED

And now…..

PLAY M4

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M4

MUSICAL CREDIT:

HOLD ON READING THE CREDITS UNTIL ALL THREE INVENTIONS ARE PLAYED

PLAY M5

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M5

We heard three inventions – –

Each invention is very different than the other. Not just a key change like the work title would suggest ! Bach stated that he wrote his inventions “to be models of composition” in other words, to enable the student to form ways of developing musical ideas and “acquire a strong taste of composition”

Bach wrote the inventions, one for of the notes A to G and one for each minor and major key. Today these inventions are over 300 years old !

MUSICAL CREDIT:

BIT BUCKET

Next is Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier” written in 1722. He was 37.

The title page to the Well-tempered Clavier song book reads :

“The well-tempered Clavier, or Preludes and Fugues, through all the tones and semitones, both the [major] and [minor]. For the profit and use of the studious musical young…”

Bach wrote these preludes and fugues in all keys in the chromatic scale … 12 major and 12 minor keys

I have the version in D MAJOR.

It’s two sections – the prelude, and the fugue

And now….PRELUDE & FUGUE No. 5 D-Major fromThe Well-Tempered Clavier

PLAY M6

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

 That was…M6 

PRELUDE & FUGUE No. 5 D-Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier

MUSICAL CREDIT:

Our next song is Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

This song was also composed by JS Bach in that same year of 1723 – – prolific at age 38.

This was written for the Christian Feast of the Visitation- celebrated at the end of May in Western Christianity. The song is a Lutheran hymn. … a CANTATA and it has a CHORALE or chorus piece repeated twice within this cantata. There are many arrangements and versions because this song is one of Bach’s most beautiful, well-known, and popular.

The version we will hear next is arranged for SOLO PIANO.

the pianist is Leon Fleisher.

And Now,

Here is

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – Bach       1723

PLAY M7

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M7 

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

MUSICAL CREDIT:

Here is another Chorale recording titled Chorale Prelude VACKET OFF “Wachet Auf”, which translates to SLEEPERS, WAKE!

This hymn was transcribed from a Lutheran hymn written in 1599 by written by Phillippe Nicolai.

This Cantata is truly a work from the middle ages.

In 1731, Bach took this hymn and created a 7-movement cantata, we will hear the first movement or PRELUDE”.  This cantata is sung in church on the Trinity Sunday. Today this piece is very popular piece in general…it is POPULAR CLASSICAL MUSIC.    J.S. Bach wrote 46 of these cantatas for church, in all.

ODD FACT  about this song… it was performed only once by Bach, in Leipzig that year.

And now the FIRST MOVEMENT  from  VACKET OFF …the Prelude

PLAY M8

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

that was M4   

The Chorale Prelude “Wachet Auf”, also known as SLEEPERS, WAKE!

Song credits M4

Credits:

Our next AND LAST piece is from the Switched-On Bach album and s titled AIR ON A G-STRING.

This title comes from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major,  written almost 300 years ago.  

So what is the meaning of the song title Air on a G-String?

Well, Bach composed this as an orchestral suite in 1730. 141 years later, August Wilhelm arranged the second movement for SOLO VIOLIN and he did something unique.

He transposed the song down from D so that the entire piece could be played on one string of the violin, the G-String, which is the lowest register on that instrument.

Here is an example of what this sounds like on the Violin G-String, thjs example with piano accompaniment—pardon the scratchy sound, is from an old 78 RPM disc in 1935.

Play example  – Jacques Dumont (Violin) Bach Air On The G String with Andre Collard (piano)

We went from Bach’s orchestral piece, to Wilhelm’s transcription for solo violin, to Wendy Carlos modern interpretation with her MOOG Synthesizer.

Now here is Wendy Carlos’ arrangement of Air on a G String, from her debut album, SWITCHED-ON BACH, in 1968.

PLAY M9

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M9 

MUSICAL CREDIT:

END OF PROGRAM VV-031