Bach on the harpsichord, lute-harpsichord, clavichord

[Mandryka]

I never thought that the "Affectlehre" could be applied strictly to Bach. If you look at his compositions in b-minor eg. you will find many different affects "portrayed". Take the WTC book I with the consoling prelude and the fugue with the heart-breaking chromatic writing. Or book II with the dramatic prelude and the light playful fugue. And how to explain that the French Ouverture from CÛ II originated in a c-minor composition which was transposed to b-minor. Which affect does has this piece display? The b-minor organ prelude (BWV 544) is extremely dramatic with an air of Good Friday, but its fugue is very balanced and harmonic even in the last and more compact part.

Well I'd have to know more about the affects associated with c minor and d minor to answer that!  I thought the application in the violin sonatas sounded good (Agsteribbe and Neve), and indeed I like Cera's French  Suites (especially when he's being moody in the early suites - something original there) and Egarr"s English Suites.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Interesting about single, particular emotions. In contrast, blues- African American folk/modern music- tend to convey ambivalent emotions and states. Blues is joyous AND sorrowful, elegant and vulgar, sacred and profane at the same time. Probably these ambivalent states are just effect, rather than intended goal, of the music. It seems to me, Tango and Flamenco are similar. 

[premont]

Well I'd have to know more about the affects associated with c minor and d minor to answer that!  I thought the application in the violin sonatas sounded good (Agsteribbe and Neve), and indeed I like Cera's French  Suites (especially when he's being moody in the early suites - something original there) and Egarr"s English Suites.

It seems as if the idea of the affects of the different keys has changed with time and even in the baroque age different composers had different ideas as to this. And the key isn't the only thing to determine the affect of a piece of music. Others are eg. tuning, tempo, rhythm, character of figurations and instrumentation. But also the affect different people associate with different keys is entirely subjective and most often it is difficult to put it into words. As to Bach's compositions I do not find a standard affect of the different keys. And with the many examples of transpositions made by himself he seems to contradict any standard no matter what Mattheson means about the subject. 

[premont]

Interesting about single, particular emotions.

It was a typical baroque way of thinking. And regardless of what we think determines the affect of a piece of music, we have to state that different movements in a piece of music can describe different affects, but within the individual movements, the affect is usually the same throughout.

[vers la flamme]

Thoughts on Wolfgang Rübsam's recent recordings of the French Suites, English Suites and Partitas on the lautenwerck for Brilliant? I like his Goldberg Variations on Naxos very much, though my appreciation for that recording was a long time coming; my revisitations of it, followed by an initial negative reaction, were encouraged by comments by Mandryka and a few others here who were extremely enthusiastic about it at the time. But I've heard very little about these more recent Brilliant recordings.

[Mandryka]

Thoughts on Wolfgang Rübsam's recent recordings of the French Suites, English Suites and Partitas on the lautenwerck for Brilliant? I like his Goldberg Variations on Naxos very much, though my appreciation for that recording was a long time coming; my revisitations of it, followed by an initial negative reaction, were encouraged by comments by Mandryka and a few others here who were extremely enthusiastic about it at the time. But I've heard very little about these more recent Brilliant recordings.

I think they're reissues of his previous lute harpsichord recordings. Are you sure there are English Suites?

[vers la flamme]

I think they're reissues of his previous lute harpsichord recordings. Are you sure there are English Suites?

Ah, it was the Toccatas that I saw, not the English Suites. I seem to recall that he had self-released some lute harpsichord recordings that were available on his website, is this what these are?

[Mandryka]

Ah, it was the Toccatas that I saw, not the English Suites. I seem to recall that he had self-released some lute harpsichord recordings that were available on his website, is this what these are?

I think so.