The WTF Bach Podcast

Here we are on a new chapter! The stretto fugues have begun. We uncover the extensive use of stretto at various 'lengths:' 12 beats, 6 beats, 4 beats, 2 beats even down to a single beat. Entrances are now flying both upside down and right-side up without warning. Topics covered: Bach's cousin taught a 12-year old prince about fugues? 'Fleshing out' our Art of Fugue theme, Canons within fugues, The Art of Fugue orchestrated E.H. Gombrich's 'Little History of the World' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_History_of_the_WorldThe Art of Fugue arranged for Instagram: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGUnOx6hfBE--Find a playlist of the music here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Ha250UDFktGqZjpt1hk7L?si=fIqZwtTUQJmzB9SYwskeYAFollow Evan on Instagram for even more content about Bach: www.instagram.com/WTFBachSupport us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Suggestions? Want Evan to analyze a specific piece of Bach? Have other questions for Evan about music or anything at all?Write us:bach@wtfbach.com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

This is an interview with pianist/composer/arranger Brad Mehldau. Our conversation on May 12, 2020 spanned many diverse topics from what he is reading at the moment, what he keeps on his piano, when and how he practices, the connection between bebop and Bach, his favorite video game and more.Bach's Table of Ornaments: http://www.pennuto.com/music/jsb_ornm.htmHear the music mentioned (in the order we mention it) here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5iP9EMbyCBoB6hEyK5waK4?si=ukZQ0wy2T62vjGImM_OkfwRead the literature from our discussion here:Book of Jeremiah: (New American Bible translation) http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__PPE.HTMThe Upanishads: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UpanishadsDoctor Faustus by Thomas Mann: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Faustus_(novel)Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_to_a_Young_PoetGeorge Bernard Shaw music criticism: https://www.abebooks.com/Shaws-Music-Complete-Musical-Criticism-Bernard/30253564275/bdBrad's favorite video game: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millipede_(video_game)Musicians/Bands mentioned (Alphabetically):Bach, Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms, Jon Brion, Wendy Carlos, Chopin, John Coltrane, Critters Buggin', Nick Drake, Fauré, Gershwin, Glenn Gould, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Haydn, Fred Hersch, Wynton Kelly, Jacques Loussier, Jerome Lowenthal, Lightning Bolt, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Willie Nelson, Phineas Newborn, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Charlie Parker, Murray Perahia, Oscar Peterson, András Schiff, Schubert, Schumann, Wayne Shorter, Nina Simone, Art Tatum, Tom Waits, Ween. --Follow Evan on Instagram for interactive content: www.instagram.com/WTFBachSupport us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Suggestions? Want to sponsor an episode?Write us:bach@wtfbach.com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Rather than moving on to the fifth fugue, we have a brief visit to the first of four canons from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach:Canon in Hypodiapason (Canon at the octave). Topics covered: What is an octave? Who is 'The Great One'? Why do musicians love Bach so? So... you can play a canon with a delay pedal?  Find a playlist of the music here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Ha250UDFktGqZjpt1hk7L?si=fIqZwtTUQJmzB9SYwskeYAFollow Evan on Instagram for even more content about Bach: www.instagram.com/WTFBachSupport us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Suggestions? Want Evan to analyze a specific piece of Bach? Have other questions for Evan about music or anything at all?Write us:bach@wtfbach.com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

This is the second bonus episode.In it, you will hear the first three fugues from “The Art of Fugue” in their 'early versions', meaning, the versions which Bach conceived before he sent them to be published. This is a rare moment to observe Bach making improvements or corrections on his own compositions. Noticing how Bach revises his own work is a pretty rare and- may I say?- exclusive look into the mind of the great genius. The 'Original Print', as I said, is found here: https://imslp.simssa.ca/files/imglnks/usimg/2/21/IMSLP23444-PMLP05843-Bach_Art_of_Fugue_1st_edition.pdf (DOWNLOAD IT! look at page 17 and 20, and 30! 30 has 'Bach's seal'... another podcast is in oder)An important topic covered is the 'source tradition' of The Art of Fugue, and how the two principle sources differ. We also discuss what an autograph is, and what it means to have a composition 'published' in Bach's day.I play the first three fugues in the original versions, expose the slight variants, and dissect these slight variants and how they came to become the printed version. I have not yet promoted this, but I will in my next 'regular' episode: I 'instagramed' the entire art of fugue, and wrote in the 'stories' important facts: just google: Art of Fugue Instagram -- obviously I am the only one. This could help ye who are zealous with visuals to get inside this great work. Therefore, follow me on IG!: @wtfbach-evan   Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Dive into the intriguing world of Bach's fourth fugue, where humor meets complexity. Learn about a blind organist from Leipzig and the unique Latin terms tied to the music. Discover how a subject can thrive with just a two-note motif. The discussion also unpacks the elusive golden section, blending music with math. Personal anecdotes about the host's early piano journey add warmth, while a tantalizing performance of the fourth fugue leaves listeners hungry for more. Get ready for the upcoming twists in the fifth fugue!

We discuss the second and third fugues from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach.We hear them played on a clavichord and a piano, then both arranged electronically with some new insights. Topics covered: How quiet is a clavichord? So... what's the vibe in general of The Art of Fugue? Countersubjects, inverted entrances, and the subject beginning to change. Find a playlist of the music here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Ha250UDFktGqZjpt1hk7L?si=fIqZwtTUQJmzB9SYwskeYASupport us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Suggestions? Want Evan to analyze a specific piece of Bach? Have other questions for Evan about music or anything at all?Write us:bach@wtfbach.com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

This is the first bonus episode. In it, you will hear the first contrapunctus from “The Art of Fugue” (which, by now, you can tell your friends is called, ‘Die Kunst der Fuge’ in German) in eleven different ways. Eleven is an important number in ‘Die Kunst der Fuge', and this first counterpoint- or fugue- or contrapunctus has eleven entrances. If you hear the entirety of this bonus episode, you will have mastered the first counterpoint and could recognize it even if you heard an ice-cream truck playing it passing you at 70 MPH. That would be the day.Also, if you haven't followed: wtfbach on instragram Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

We discuss the first fugue from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach. We hear it played first on a harpsichord, then on a piano with 'voice-over analysis' then by a computer with the voices panned hard left/right.Topics covered: How does a harpsichord work?, Must one bring out, or even hear every entrance of the subject?, What about authenticity vs. modern approaches to Bach?, Was Evan really called Slim-E? Find a playlist of the music here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Ha250UDFktGqZjpt1hk7L?si=fIqZwtTUQJmzB9SYwskeYAAnd the 16 year-old Evan Shinners' fugue is found here: https://soundcloud.com/emigrationposse/14-fugaSupport us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Suggestions? Want Evan to analyze a specific piece of Bach? Have other questions for Evan about music or anything at all?Write us:bach@wtfbach.com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

The introduction to baroque composer J.S. Bach. Also, what is a fugue? What is counterpoint? We answer these questions and prepare ourselves for a journey into Bach's great work, 'The Art of Fugue.'-- Find a playlist of the music in this podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Ha250UDFktGqZjpt1hk7L?si=fIqZwtTUQJmzB9SYwskeYASupport us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Suggestions? Want Evan to analyze a specific piece of Bach? Have other questions for Evan about music or anything at all?Write us:bach@wtfbach.com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe