The WTF Bach Podcast

This is the fifth bonus episode.Well folks, I had a hard time getting this out there. As I sat down to debunk "Evening in the Palace of Reason" by James Gaines, I found myself overcome with the sense of being a bully:This book, published by none other than Harper Collins (and probably more read than any book by a notable Bach scholar), initially had me enraged with its conclusions about the character of Bach and the reasons for composing such a noble work as 'A Musical Offering' BWV 1079. As I sat down to dismiss it however, I found that each sentence about Bach or the music was full of holes, so shrouded in pseudo-intellect, that I found myself overwhelmed with the task of cleaning up a mess far larger than the one about which I was enthusiastic.Still, while feeling a bit like I was 'taking shots at a toothless tiger', I offer you "The Truth About 'A Musical Offering' " and hopefully the clearest guide for all interested parties on how to identify phony Bach scholarship, pseudo wisdom, and modern narrative.  --Follow me on instagram: I am heavy into posting the solo works for violin and cello on a daily basis: @wtfbach Thank you, THANK YOU, for listening.-evan Support us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Get full access to WTF Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

This is the fourth bonus episode. Two episodes ago, I began with a quote from Aldous Huxley. That quote came from an article written in 1985. The article focused on Bach's relationship to words and various writer's relationships with Bach. The whole article is fascinating and, well, I read it to you.  A piece of what I consider 'good scholarship', it takes stabs at what Bach playing would be like today, in 2020, but sets the standard for the next episode, in which we will be de-bunking poor Bach scholarship. Here is the link to the article:https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/24/books/bach-at-300-words-notes-and-numbers.html And here is the link to the obituary of the James A. Winn, who wrote it (d.2019)https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2019/03/27/james-winn-writer-english-professor-and-flautist/ZFGI9AJa9pvRcU13TyuOmJ/story.html Follow me on instagram: Each day I am posting the cello complete suites on a portable clavichord: @wtfbach As always, thanks for listening, -evan Get full access to WTF Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

This is the third bonus episode. You know how at the end of every episode, Gaby says, "Want to have evan analyze a specific piece of Bach... just for you?" Boom: Listener's choice volume one.  Three pieces you requested were: Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV855 (Book one)Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV849 (Book one)Capriccio on the Departure of the Beloved Brother, BWV992 --Forgive my delay in getting this to all of you: I have a noble undertaking regarding a popular Bach book which is doing nothing but leading you further from the truth about the master! But have no fear, in a few weeks I will unleash an attack and clear up this confusion: meanwhile please enjoy my brief analysis of these three pieces which, in their own right, could take up many episodes each. Also: Lament Aria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lament_bass Follow me on IG! Right now I am instagramming inner movements of the cello suites on a portable clavichord: @wtfbach As always, thanks for listening,-evan Get full access to WTF Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Rather than moving on to the compound fugues, we have a pleasant visit to the second of four canons from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach:Canon alla Decima in contrapunto alla Terza (Canon at the Tenth in counterpoint at the Third)Topics covered: Aldous Huxley said that Bach is a manifestation of God? How does this second canon differ from the previous canon? What is a 'Cadenza'? So, you can play a canon with a delay pedal, but to what extent? Check out a picture of Bach's 'gift canon' here: NEXT EPISODE IS LISTENER'S CHOICE: DM EVAN WHAT PIECES YOU WANT TO HEARFind 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  Get full access to WTF Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

This is the last fugue of what we could call 'Chapter two' in The Art of Fugue: this is the third and final 'stretto fugue,' and the most complicated. Whereas in the previous episodes I mentioned in which direction subjects enter, inverted or not, or at which beat they overlap, in this episode, I disregard all of that in favor of trying to hear the three different speeds in multiple voices at once. I also ask the listener to imagine what this could sound like before the music is played. This is related to a technique called 'Audiation' which eventually will deserve special mention.--Find a playlist of the music here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Ha250UDFktGqZjpt1hk7L?si=fIqZwtTUQJmzB9SYwskeYAThe Art of Fugue arranged for Instagram: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGUnOx6hfBEFollow 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

Guest Interview: Robert Hill, HarpsichordistI had the privilege of speaking to Robert Hill, one of the foremost harpsichordists alive. Our discussion spans many different topics including harpsichord tuning and repair, clavichords, piano actions, lute-harpsichords, early Bach, old Bach, figured bass, inaudible sounds, metronomes, partimento, and anything else listed here: People / Topics Covered:Keith Hill (Instrument maker, Robert’s Brother)Jaap Schröder (Dutch violinist Hill heard in Michigan)Fernando Valenti (American Harpsichordist)Charles Burney (English Music Historian)Lute Harpsichord: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LautenwerckGustav Leonhardt John Dryden (the poet Leonhardt Quoted)The Goethe Haus, Weimar (paint color)Andreas Bach Book (french text only) https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Bach_BuchAndreas Staier Harpsichordist with whom Hill recorded BWV1080David Stanwood https://www.stanwoodpiano.com/ (Piano Technician)The Squiggle on the title page of the Well Tempered Clavier"Bach's face reconstructed""Bach's Seal"Partimento (Reduction Technique): --Randy Rainbow (comedian) Madame de Villedieu (authoress), novel of note: "Desordres d'Amour Follow Evan on Instagram for even more content about Bach: www.instagram.com/WTFBach--Find a playlist of this episode’s music here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1xyzZShf0RrAx75nvF1zUb?si=xRgHdqtNRtmogsUfvhlf7Q Support us: https://www.patreon.com/wtfbach https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://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 second ‘stretto’ fugue: “Contrapunctus 6, in the French Style” now gives us the theme flying at two different speeds in both directions. We see the theme overlapped, coming both inverted and ‘rectus’, and now at 1x AND 2x speeds! Where will Bach go from here?! Topics covered: What does it mean to play in the ‘French style?’ What does ‘diminution’ mean? Pianists mentioned: Zoltán Kocsis, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Pierre-Laurent Aimard,Harpsichordists (organists) mentioned: Helmut Walcha, Davitt Moroney, Robert Hill, Gustav Leonhardt, Isolde Ahlgrimm, Follow Evan on Instagram for even more content about Bach: www.instagram.com/WTFBach--Find a playlist of the music here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Ha250UDFktGqZjpt1hk7L?si=fIqZwtTUQJmzB9SYwskeYA Support 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

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