It's sounds odd, but listening to TAOF was the first time I understood the idea of a fugue. In 1963 an a cappella jazz vocal octet from Paris, The Swingle Singers, put out an album of Bach preludes and fugues, sung exactly as written, usually in 4 parts, with the addition of bass and drums to give jazzy feel. Apparently they began singing short contrapuntal Bach pieces as a way to sharpen their pitch accuracy and improve their ensemble coordination. One of the tracks, Contrapunctus IX from TAOF made it onto the pop charts. I heard it on a pop music radio station that generally played groups like The Beach Boys, The Chiffons, and Bobby Vinton. I was electrified. Until then, my exposure to Bach had been limited to the short pieces that every beginning piano student studies, and I wasn't excited. But Contrapunctus IX, even though a double fugue, was perfectly clear to my 13-year old ears, because each line in the fugue was sung by a separate voice--the fugue's tenor line by the 2 tenors, etc. I instantly became a Bach devotee, and remain one to this day. When Ward Swingle, founder of the group, died a few years back, I wrote a note to the current members telling them that Contrapunctus IX had changed my life.
What a great story - another commenter a few months ago mentioned that he knew of certain Bach pieces because of the Swingles. It was fun to check them out -- not a record I'd likely play again, but a great entryway into the music for so many!
The Swingles' jazzy treatment often captures the dance-y feel in Bach better than the original scoring. For example, the Bouree from the English Suite No 2 sounds OK on the keyboard, but more lively in the voices: you hear the glitter and the movement, and you understand why Bach called this a suite (of dances). Other keyboard works that I think work better in the Swingles' vocal treatment are the Preludes in E and F (no 9 and 11) from WTC Bk 2, and the Fugue in B-flat (no 21) from WTC Book 1. And the Swingle version of Contrapunctus IX has a rhythmic drive that makes the piano version sound dull and pedantic--and I won't even mention the harpsichord version. Bach didn't specify instrumentation for TAOF so that gives performers a lot of leeway.
I am not a musician, I am only love to listening to music. And I love Trifonov's playing so much that I forget about place, people around me; I can look at his hands infinitely, or close my eyes and immerse deeply in his translation of music , in his sound. I didn't recognize him in your photo! Never saw him so disheveled. I have a photo of his on my book shelve. I think he is the best artist in the world now. I am not talking about Bach because he is too serious for me, but I believe that it was unnerving performance because pianist was Daniil Trifonov!
The Y has the grumpiest crowd in the USA and only crowd in NYC that coughs more than Lincoln Center. Was your show good? I’ve heard he has good and bad nights.
A friend — a Bach scholar — told me the “missing conclusion is because JSB died” version of things may not be true, though of course we all want to believe it. Unfortunately I forget the details (this was a few months ago).
Regardless it’s the most tragic missing ending in music history.
It's good to know I'm not the only one who has trouble digesting this piece. I've been listening to it in anticipation of this post and, unlike in Musical Offering, find the main theme hard to impossible to pick out in most of the movements. I plan on making my way through some lectures on it for a better understanding. Thanks as always for sharing!
That's the idea. I must humbly admit the faults in my own hearing, possibly my attention level while listening. Do you know how many times I heard MO before I memorized the theme? I will give Trifonov's a listen!
I’ll never forget, back in a college theory class, hearing a recording of the final fugue that faded into silence with Bach’s final notes. (Can’t for the life of me remember which recording.) Oh the shiver that ran up my spine!
As a fan of historic tunings I don't often check out new piano versions of Bach works (harpsichord and clavichord recordings usually use more interesting tunings so the piano ends up sounding bland to me) but this one is definitely worth spending some time with!
It's sounds odd, but listening to TAOF was the first time I understood the idea of a fugue. In 1963 an a cappella jazz vocal octet from Paris, The Swingle Singers, put out an album of Bach preludes and fugues, sung exactly as written, usually in 4 parts, with the addition of bass and drums to give jazzy feel. Apparently they began singing short contrapuntal Bach pieces as a way to sharpen their pitch accuracy and improve their ensemble coordination. One of the tracks, Contrapunctus IX from TAOF made it onto the pop charts. I heard it on a pop music radio station that generally played groups like The Beach Boys, The Chiffons, and Bobby Vinton. I was electrified. Until then, my exposure to Bach had been limited to the short pieces that every beginning piano student studies, and I wasn't excited. But Contrapunctus IX, even though a double fugue, was perfectly clear to my 13-year old ears, because each line in the fugue was sung by a separate voice--the fugue's tenor line by the 2 tenors, etc. I instantly became a Bach devotee, and remain one to this day. When Ward Swingle, founder of the group, died a few years back, I wrote a note to the current members telling them that Contrapunctus IX had changed my life.
What a great story - another commenter a few months ago mentioned that he knew of certain Bach pieces because of the Swingles. It was fun to check them out -- not a record I'd likely play again, but a great entryway into the music for so many!
The Swingles' jazzy treatment often captures the dance-y feel in Bach better than the original scoring. For example, the Bouree from the English Suite No 2 sounds OK on the keyboard, but more lively in the voices: you hear the glitter and the movement, and you understand why Bach called this a suite (of dances). Other keyboard works that I think work better in the Swingles' vocal treatment are the Preludes in E and F (no 9 and 11) from WTC Bk 2, and the Fugue in B-flat (no 21) from WTC Book 1. And the Swingle version of Contrapunctus IX has a rhythmic drive that makes the piano version sound dull and pedantic--and I won't even mention the harpsichord version. Bach didn't specify instrumentation for TAOF so that gives performers a lot of leeway.
I will check these out again. Thanks for the pointers.
Correction: Preludes in E major and F minor (no 9 and 12) from WTC Bk 2
I will. Like you, I admire Bach, but don’t always like him. Sometimes the heavy things feel like a weight on my mind.
Thank you so much for this. I’m off now to listen with fresh ears.
Enjoy and let me know your new impressions
You might enjoy a pantoum I wrote about The Art of the Fugue: https://stpeter.im/writings/fire/fugue.html
The form fits the piece so well! Nicely done.
I am not a musician, I am only love to listening to music. And I love Trifonov's playing so much that I forget about place, people around me; I can look at his hands infinitely, or close my eyes and immerse deeply in his translation of music , in his sound. I didn't recognize him in your photo! Never saw him so disheveled. I have a photo of his on my book shelve. I think he is the best artist in the world now. I am not talking about Bach because he is too serious for me, but I believe that it was unnerving performance because pianist was Daniil Trifonov!
This is great! It's wonderful to find an artist whom you can connect to like that.
Trifonov was the last concert I saw too, a couple months earlier, at the Y...
The Y has the grumpiest crowd in the USA and only crowd in NYC that coughs more than Lincoln Center. Was your show good? I’ve heard he has good and bad nights.
Beyond good… transcendent
A friend — a Bach scholar — told me the “missing conclusion is because JSB died” version of things may not be true, though of course we all want to believe it. Unfortunately I forget the details (this was a few months ago).
Regardless it’s the most tragic missing ending in music history.
Too good a story to check.
Yes.
“Se non è vero, è ben trovato.” “If it’s not true, it’s well invented.”
It's good to know I'm not the only one who has trouble digesting this piece. I've been listening to it in anticipation of this post and, unlike in Musical Offering, find the main theme hard to impossible to pick out in most of the movements. I plan on making my way through some lectures on it for a better understanding. Thanks as always for sharing!
Once you hear it, you'll find it everywhere in the piece - Trifonov does an especially good job making it sing through.
That's the idea. I must humbly admit the faults in my own hearing, possibly my attention level while listening. Do you know how many times I heard MO before I memorized the theme? I will give Trifonov's a listen!
I’ll never forget, back in a college theory class, hearing a recording of the final fugue that faded into silence with Bach’s final notes. (Can’t for the life of me remember which recording.) Oh the shiver that ran up my spine!
Yeah... 'what now?!'
Dinu Lipatti’s Jesu breaks my heart every time.
He died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Untreatable in 1950. Very curable only a few decades later. Tragic.
Magic in that recording!
As a fan of historic tunings I don't often check out new piano versions of Bach works (harpsichord and clavichord recordings usually use more interesting tunings so the piano ends up sounding bland to me) but this one is definitely worth spending some time with!