J.S. Bach ~ Prelude & Fugue XVII in Ab Major, Book One
Even as some of the Preludes & Fugues were written in keys other than those in which they were eventually slotted in the chromatic catalogue, I’m going to venture a guess that the Ab Major Prelude & Fugue were synesthetically predestined for this symphonically celebratory Ab Major tonality. My 96-episode archive, Everything We Need To…
J.S. Bach ~ Prelude & Fugue XVI in g minor, Book I
The g minor Prelude shows Bach in full-blown Scriabin mode: trills as varied expressive, textural and generative instruments. On the piano, it’s possible to use a trill to radiantly generate an ambient sostenuto of home sonority, or a way of gauging kinetic energy, from the glacial and static to the floating and transcendent. The hurdy-gurdy…
J.S. Bach ~ Prelude & Fugue XV in G Major, Book I
Here’s my latest recording from my survey of The Well-Tempered Clavier. In response to listeners’ requests and suggestions about the recorded sound, I’ve shifted the AMT M40 down further away from the action, into the farther end of the frame. The M40 is a stereo, single-capsule condenser mic that mounts on the inside of the…
J.S. Bach ~ Prelude & Fugue XIV in f# minor, Book I
One of my earliest teachers described an Allemande as a dance between teacher and pupil. I’ve never found any historical basis for this description, but this all but strictly two-voiced Prelude does have that sense of voices emulative if not imitative of each other. I love the counter-subject of the Fugue, with it’s keening descending…
J.S. Bach ~ Prelude & Fugue XIII in F# Major, Book I
I love the Italianate buffo bounce of this Prelude and the way that Pulcinella comedia del’Arte high-spirited conviviality carries over into the Fugue. My 96-episode archive, Everything We Need To Know About Playing The Piano We Learn From The Well-Tempered Clavier, is now available at a special introductory rate of $20 for the first…
Gift Memberships Are Now A Thing
Thanks to the suggestions from friends and supporters for, I’m happy to say that you can now buy a membership to my educational online archive, Everything We Need To Know About Playing The Piano We Learn From The Well-Tempered Clavier, not only for yourself but for friends, family, or colleagues. The monthly membership will continue…
J.S. Bach ~ Prelude & Fugue XII in f minor, Book I
Such a rich panoply of perspective, of foreground/background voices and characters in this f minor Prelude. My favorite moment is The Birth of Robert Schumann @1.07. And I’ve adopted an open-source of decision as to which hand, or between what combinations of left and right hand result in the most successful statement of the opening…
Intro to Episode #18, Fugue IX in E Major, Book I
I’ve recorded Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier through Prelude & Fugue XIV. Meantime, I’ve just now started getting into a really good production schedule, going from one episode of my educational archive, Everything We Need To Know About Playing The Piano We Learn From The Well-Tempered Clavier, per week to one nightly. I’m becoming…
Intro to Episode #17 on Prelude IX in E Major
I just wrapped this episode last night. Had in mind to do a very circumscribed talk about this Pastorale, but as usual ended up in all kinds of interesting musico-philosophical by-ways, and now that I’ve left just a soupcon of my stammerings, this one runs about 17min. My favorite part, though, is the excerpt I…
Welcome to the Archive!
My 96-episode archive, Everything We Need To Know About Playing The Piano We Learn From The Well-Tempered Clavier, is now available at a special introductory rate of $20 for the first month of 10 episodes (that’s 2 /1/2 hours of material on the first 5 Preludes & Fugues), with at least 10 more episodes a…