The WTF Bach Podcast

Though this episode starts with quite the extended introduction, this is in factEPISODE THREEIn a four-part study into the 14 additional canons on the back of the Goldbergs, BWV1087.Here in this video, we dismiss a popular Bach video, and examine which videos are in fact Möbius strips. Here is the disproven crab canon video.Here are two studies which don't quite go far enough:One. I love this channel, don't get me wrong- they just didn't quite examine the consequences of chromatic inversion.Two. The American Mathematical Society publishes similarly.Both studies miss the technical inversions that I have pointed out in this episode.--And now the blurb from the other two episodes studying BWV 1087:On the back of his own personal copy of the 'Goldberg Variations', Bach notated an additional fourteen canons. These were discovered only as late as 1974(!) and are among the most interesting compositional exercises we know from the composer. From eight bass notes (the first 8 notes of the 'Goldberg' Aria- the structure in a sense,) Bach creates, yes, fourteen other canons. In this episode, we discuss engraving and canons 5-9.Here is what they look like as seen on the back of Bach's own copy:and HERE is the link to engraving- you can see how Balthasar Schmid (I accidentally added an 'S' to his name in the episode) engraved Bach's BWV988.Support us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachIdeas? Wanna sponsor an episode?Write us:bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Finally! The influential Joshua Rifkin guests on the WTF Bach Podcast. Rifkin made Bach fame with his groundbreaking (and controversial!) theory that Bach’s vocal works (and other 17th & 18th century) composers’ works were sung with only one singer per part. He recorded the b minor mass, several cantatas, and other Bach works in this format. We spoke for almost three hours about ragtime, the Beatles, PDQ Bach (my distant uncle), even crossword puzzles, coffee and meditation. For this episode, though, I culled it quite severely to only that which deals with Bach’s music. It’s fascinating to hear him talk about his scholastic endeavors dealing with first-hand examination of source material. Do you agree with Rifkin? Do you like the sound of one singer per part?- -Follow Evan's instagram, because... well... it's the only one you should follow.- -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... anything at all?Write us: bach@wtfbach.com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Q: What if those really slow interpretations of the cello suites from the 30s and 50s could be sped up?A: Exactly. https://www.jsbachcellosuites.com - check out this website! It's a great source on the history of the recordings of these pieces. Thanks for all your feedback, donations, ideas, everything. Please follow @wtfbach on instagram for (almost) daily Bach content. We thank YOU for supporting us!https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Write us:bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Thanks for supporting us through 50 episodes! What makes Bach, BACH?!As a special celebration, the 50th episode of The WTF Bach Podcast is a live lecture presented by Tonebase.The topic is the ever looming one: why is Bach's importance so great? Studying the ideas behind a few of his instrumental collections, we see that Bach's ideas are always expanding outward, perhaps lending to his all-pervasive influence. Learn more about Tonebase. Support us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Ideas? Wanna sponsor an episode?Write us:bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE TWO: On the back of his own personal copy of the 'Goldberg Variations', Bach notated an additional fourteen canons. These were discovered only as late as 1974(!) and are among the most interesting compositional exercises we know from the composer. From eight bass notes (the first 8 notes of the 'Goldberg' Aria- the structure in a sense,) Bach creates, yes, fourteen other canons. In this episode, we discuss engraving and canons 5-9.Here is what they look like as seen on the back of Bach's own copy:and HERE is the link to engraving- you can see how Balthasar Schmid (I accidentally added an 'S' to his name in the episode) engraved Bach's BWV988.Support us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Ideas? Wanna sponsor an episode?Write us:bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

I was recently asked to explain chromaticism, so I thought I'd give it a try here.Bach's fugue based on a theme by Tomaso Albinoni in B minor, BWVs 951, and 951a: the subject itself contains a chromatic descent (B, A#, A, G#, G, F#) and though Albinoni himself wrote it, it was Bach who brought the ideas behind such chromaticism to the next level. HERE is the recording which I was not able to credit. If you know whose recording this is, please write me, I'll fix it!and HERE is the version (BWV 951, not BWV951a) which I played on the MIDI harpsichord, highlighting the chromatic lines on one of my favorite youtube channels. As always, thank you for your support, your feedback, your passion! -esSupport us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Ideas? Kvetches?Write us:bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

On the back of his own personal copy of the 'Goldberg Variations', Bach notated an additional fourteen canons. These were discovered only as late as 1974(!) and are among the most interesting compositional exercises we know from the composer. From eight bass notes (the first 8 notes of the 'Goldberg' Aria- the structure in a sense,) Bach creates, yes, fourteen other canons. In this episode, we introduce the history, the idea behind the canons and the first four canons.Here is what they look like as seen on the back of Bach's own copy:and here are the Handel variations on the Chaccone of which I speak in this episode:https://youtu.be/X_Lp9ZWWI-Q?t=73 Support us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Ideas? Kvetches?Write us:bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

This episode was inspired by my recent discovery and purchase of an Encyclopedia Britannica. It's a fascinating collection of knowledge and I highly recommend finding some volumes and reading them. This is the Bach article appearing in the EB from as early as 1926 even until the 1960s, written by D.F. Tovey. We also listen to fugue BWV 959, very early, very wild, very W.T.F. in unequal temperament. More episodes on the way! Spread the love!--LINKS:The text of the Borges story I mentionedDonald Francis Tovey (author of the article I read)The archived scan of a 1926 Encyclopedia Britannica volume containing, "Bach, J.S.Homepage of the EB: https://www.britannica.com--Support us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Complaints? Confusions?Write us:bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

More than simply, “in tune” or “out of tune” a temperament is a solution to the ancient problem of creating a circle out of a spiral. By the time Bach had his shake at this problem, the musical world had advanced far enough, setting the stage for his great mind to create a well-tempered solution that allowed him to compose in all 24 keys. Not all keys sound the same in the vast majority of temperaments, in fact, in only our modern equal-tempered one do we find all keys equal. Does our insistence on this system destroy the whole point of temperament? Or is it the most perfect arrangement of tones? Plus: -Actually listen to a pythagorean comma, the root of the problem...-The circle of (pure) fifths-Bach chorales in different temperaments-The Art of Fugue, 6th fugue in a funky temperament Try the frequencies experiment yourself! Pull up multiple windows on: https://onlinetonegenerator.com Support us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Complaints? Confusions? Want to sponsor us?Write us:bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com  Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

How much more famous can music be than that one Prelude in C?The Prelude BWV 846, the first prelude in the Well-Tempered Clavier, is heard everywhere, but why? How? What purpose could such a piece have served in Bach's day?We discuss two early, shorter versions of the prelude, and one erroneous version with an inauthentic bar (the 'Schwenke measure' - be on the look out if your copy has 36 bars and not 35!)Answering, "How has this prelude influenced musicians even today?" we explore modern versions by John K. Stone, Elaine Comparone, my challenge to Brad Mehldau, and invert this prelude (and a few others) note for note to hear the 'photo negative'. Links:'Jesu Joy' in a Japanese Forest (Cell Phone Ad)John K. Stone's 'Fantasy on a Bach Prelude'Elaine Comparone's version of the same prelude As always: Thank you for listening!Support us:https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbach Got suggestions? Complaints? Confusions? Want to sponsor an episode?Write us:bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe