Three-hundred years ago today, Frederick the Great, King of Prussia,
was born. Frederick was obsessed with music, and modern culture owes a debt to
his passion. He played the flute skillfully and composed over 100 pieces for
the instrument, but he made his greatest mark on the musical world as a patron.
In addition to establishing the Berlin Opera, he employed some of the most respected
and prolific composers of his era, including Johann Joachim Quantz and Carl
Philipp Emanuel Bach.
Frederick also inspired perhaps the greatest keyboard
composition in history — "The Musical Offering" by J.S. Bach. Today I'll celebrate Frederick’s life than by remembering the best present he ever
received. I’ll defer to Charles Rosen’s passionate advocacy. Read
his New York Times article to learn more about the piece, then watch the video
below to hear Rosen bring Bach’s masterpiece to life.
Showing posts with label Bach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bach. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Fischer or Fidelity? (Part 2 of 2)
Asking readers to hear the difference between a harpsichord and a piano, as I did in Friday's post, is one thing. Asking them to hear tiny distinctions in musical phrasing is another. I still think my readers will be up to that task, so if you want to test your auditory mettle, read on.
Once again, you'll need to open this playlist in Spotify to hear today's examples. The last two tracks in that playlist are recordings of J.S. Bach's Fugue in F Major from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I. Close listening reveals the significant differences between the interpretations of the two performers, Edwin Fischer and Bob van Asperen.
The fugue begins with a distinct musical phrase played in only one voice. Musicians call this phrase the subject of the fugue. The following excerpt from the composer's manuscript (courtesy of imslp.org) shows the subject in the score.
Listen to track four, Asperen's performance, first. Hear how the first five notes are all separate from one another. You might almost imagine Asperen's fingers bouncing over the keys as he begins the subject. Listen for a while longer, noticing the distinct articulation of the subject each time it repeats.
Now listen closely to Fischer on the third track. When he plays the subject, he slurs the first two notes together, and he plays the second note louder than the first. This interpretation is also distinctive, but it's not very Baroque.
If you look at the excerpt from the score, you'll see that the first two notes are separated by a bar line. Bach rarely indicated phrasing in his music, but when he did, he wouldn't connect notes across bar lines. Bach's phrasing conventions were closely tied to the physical limitations of his instruments. If Fischer tried to transfer his interpretation to a harpsichord, his playing would sound muddled. By slurring the first two notes, he would hide the downbeat. On the piano, Fischer can and does emphasize the downbeat by accenting the second note of the subject, but he wouldn't be able to make that note sound any louder on a harpsichord. Without a clear downbeat, Bach's already complex texture would become even more dense, and the entire piece would lag.
Textual and musical evidence shows that Asperen is more faithful to Baroque style than Fischer. Nevertheless, Fischer's recording demonstrates lively playing and a creative use of pianistic resources. I'll leave it to you to decide which performance is better. Tell me what you think in the comments, and come back soon for a celebration of an important musical birthday.
Once again, you'll need to open this playlist in Spotify to hear today's examples. The last two tracks in that playlist are recordings of J.S. Bach's Fugue in F Major from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I. Close listening reveals the significant differences between the interpretations of the two performers, Edwin Fischer and Bob van Asperen.
The fugue begins with a distinct musical phrase played in only one voice. Musicians call this phrase the subject of the fugue. The following excerpt from the composer's manuscript (courtesy of imslp.org) shows the subject in the score.
Listen to track four, Asperen's performance, first. Hear how the first five notes are all separate from one another. You might almost imagine Asperen's fingers bouncing over the keys as he begins the subject. Listen for a while longer, noticing the distinct articulation of the subject each time it repeats.
Now listen closely to Fischer on the third track. When he plays the subject, he slurs the first two notes together, and he plays the second note louder than the first. This interpretation is also distinctive, but it's not very Baroque.
If you look at the excerpt from the score, you'll see that the first two notes are separated by a bar line. Bach rarely indicated phrasing in his music, but when he did, he wouldn't connect notes across bar lines. Bach's phrasing conventions were closely tied to the physical limitations of his instruments. If Fischer tried to transfer his interpretation to a harpsichord, his playing would sound muddled. By slurring the first two notes, he would hide the downbeat. On the piano, Fischer can and does emphasize the downbeat by accenting the second note of the subject, but he wouldn't be able to make that note sound any louder on a harpsichord. Without a clear downbeat, Bach's already complex texture would become even more dense, and the entire piece would lag.
Textual and musical evidence shows that Asperen is more faithful to Baroque style than Fischer. Nevertheless, Fischer's recording demonstrates lively playing and a creative use of pianistic resources. I'll leave it to you to decide which performance is better. Tell me what you think in the comments, and come back soon for a celebration of an important musical birthday.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Fischer or Fidelity? (Pt. 1 of 2)
I would imagine that several people who read my last post became curious about performance practice but weren't familiar with the interpretive styles I discussed. This post is for them and anyone else who might like to learn a bit more about the differences between Baroque and Romantic music.
If you haven't done so already, you should go to this website and download Spotify. It's absolutely free, it will give you access to millions of tracks, and it's the only way you'll be able to hear the recordings I'll discuss in this post.
Let's get started. Use Spotify to open this playlist. Its four tracks include two contrasting interpretations of a Bach prelude and fugue. After you've played the first two recordings and listened for differences, come back to the blog.
The first recording features Edwin Fischer playing Bach's 22nd prelude from the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier. Fischer was a Swiss pianist who lived mostly in the first half of the 20th century, and he plays in the Romantic style I mentioned last time. He coaxes delicate tones from his piano, which, depending on the mood of the listener, could sound either soothing or melancholy. He begins quietly but plays louder or softer to accentuate dramatic points in the music. If you listen carefully, you can hear the way certain tones seem to linger in the air when Fischer uses the sustain pedal.
Contrast Fischer's approach with Bob van Asperen's in the next track. Asperen is a Dutch harpsichordist who studied with Gustav Leonhardt, and his playing demonstrates the way many modern performers approach Baroque music. The timbre of the harpsichord gives the recording a different character from Fischer's. The brighter sonority of the harpsichord makes the repeated notes sound more persistent than reflective. The dynamic level remains constant throughout the piece because a performer can't use touch to make a harpsichord sound louder or softer. Finally, the notes die away when they are struck because the harpsichord has no sustain pedal.
I'll look at the next two tracks in my next post. Until then, leave me comments to let me know what other differences you hear in the pieces and which recording you prefer.
If you haven't done so already, you should go to this website and download Spotify. It's absolutely free, it will give you access to millions of tracks, and it's the only way you'll be able to hear the recordings I'll discuss in this post.
Let's get started. Use Spotify to open this playlist. Its four tracks include two contrasting interpretations of a Bach prelude and fugue. After you've played the first two recordings and listened for differences, come back to the blog.
The first recording features Edwin Fischer playing Bach's 22nd prelude from the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier. Fischer was a Swiss pianist who lived mostly in the first half of the 20th century, and he plays in the Romantic style I mentioned last time. He coaxes delicate tones from his piano, which, depending on the mood of the listener, could sound either soothing or melancholy. He begins quietly but plays louder or softer to accentuate dramatic points in the music. If you listen carefully, you can hear the way certain tones seem to linger in the air when Fischer uses the sustain pedal.
Contrast Fischer's approach with Bob van Asperen's in the next track. Asperen is a Dutch harpsichordist who studied with Gustav Leonhardt, and his playing demonstrates the way many modern performers approach Baroque music. The timbre of the harpsichord gives the recording a different character from Fischer's. The brighter sonority of the harpsichord makes the repeated notes sound more persistent than reflective. The dynamic level remains constant throughout the piece because a performer can't use touch to make a harpsichord sound louder or softer. Finally, the notes die away when they are struck because the harpsichord has no sustain pedal.
I'll look at the next two tracks in my next post. Until then, leave me comments to let me know what other differences you hear in the pieces and which recording you prefer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)