A thread (there isn't one already?) for all things Bach-Family, but not (mainly) J.S.B.
(https://blogs-images.forbes.com/jenslaurson/files/2017/09/Forbes_Classical-CD-of-the-Week_JCF-BACH-Miserere-MDG_Laurson_960.jpg?width=960)
Classical CD Of The Week: Wake Up To Bach Beyond "J.S." (https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2017/09/01/classical-cd-of-the-week-wake-up-to-bach-beyond-j-s/#773a4a041ac7)
(https://blogs-images.forbes.com/jenslaurson/files/2017/07/Forbes_Classical-CD-of-the-Week_Johann-Bernhard-BACH-Ouvertures-Overtures_Ricercar_Laurson_1200-1200x469.jpg?width=960)
Classical CD Of The Week: Who Is Johann Bernhard Bach? (https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2017/07/26/classical-cd-of-the-week-who-is-johann-bernhard-bach/#735a7d4f297d)
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Dip Your Ears, No. 47 (Bach Family Matters) (http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2005/09/dip-your-ears-no-47.html)
Bach Family et al., Lamento, MAK, R.Goebel, M.Kožená
Archiv
Haven't watched this yet, but I plan to.
let's focus on the lesser known Bach family members
We all listen to CPE Bach and JC Bach but does anyone have any favorite WF Bach recordings?
Quote from: luk on November 26, 2023, 07:45:50 PMlet's focus on the lesser known Bach family members
Apologies if there is a better thread which did not occur to me.
Well, Johann Christian had long been a favorite of mine (perhaps I'll post favorite albums in a bit) but I must admit that until today I've completely ignored the output of the eldest, Wilhelm Friedemann. However, this studio recital of solo piano work has been sitting in my Spotify queue for a while. I found the initial fantasia intriguing and wanted to hear more but never got around to it.
(https://i.discogs.com/el5nEsIR4BLhCAdDmFPN5o4rmJa2TFlGllwRyS_4r4w/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:316/w:321/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTE1MTE2/NTY5LTE1ODY4ODUy/OTQtNDM2MS5qcGVn.jpeg)
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Anthony Spiri Three Fantasias • Three Fugues • Three SonatasSpotify Edition (https://open.spotify.com/album/1By3llmxKwCelo1pTpmUl8?si=UR26-EMSTBueiEmMSGZw_Q) YouTube playlist
(https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_muMrXdwTR5a15EfZsv2LHCFmOT1b34O1M&si=j-Yb77MkKg5QB1rV)
Quote from: DavidW on November 27, 2023, 06:05:28 AMWe all listen to CPE Bach and JC Bach but does anyone have any favorite WF Bach recordings?
Robert Hill, polonaises. And Leonhardt too on a Philips CD.
@SonicMan46 requested here ASAP! I'm sure he has heard lots. ;D
(https://i.discogs.com/vc-YTEBV9URVBbQcxAg0Jj9lvT7PJmpRmFoBdN27GIc/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:350/w:350/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTEwNzQ2/OTE5LTE1MDM1Njkw/NDItMjQxNS5qcGVn.jpeg)
Johann Christian Bach Six Sonatas, Op. 17 (2014, BC)
Bart van Oort, fortepiano
(https://i.discogs.com/Ew6FbHYZMrf6M0xMPR5RCTSgcKkmfykWS0BWkdO2uKA/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTE0NDQ3/MTczLTE1NzQ2OTkx/MDEtMTg3OS5qcGVn.jpeg)
Johann Sebastian Bach Bach 333 The New Complete Edition (2018, Deutsche Grammophon)
Just thought I'd mention this edition of Papa Bach's work. It's a superlative collection of artists and interpretations and for all the bad mouthing Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4jjc7SCCeXZ0PmvnKZgjpx?si=03185ca5786c40bb)has received they're the only service streaming collections like this free of charge (w/ads, of course). The Premium tier is obviously the better option but for students and other cash strapped folk it's a blessing.
Good luck with securing a copy of the actual box set!
;D
Thanks Ando, the box set looks incredible. btw the set is easily available on Amazon. And it looks like DG curated recordings and artists even outside their record label family. It is an absolutely incredibly set even though it costs $500. It even has a Bach after Bach section.
Quote from: DavidW on December 27, 2023, 10:04:54 AMThanks Ando, the box set looks incredible. btw the set is easily available on Amazon. And it looks like DG curated recordings and artists even outside their record label family. It is an absolutely incredibly set even though it costs $500. It even has a Bach after Bach section.
The 333 box is beautiful.
If I hadn't secured a copy of the bootleg complete Hänssler version that they pulled from rotation years ago I might sprung for it. :P
(https://i.discogs.com/u5VBvDGoo1__aHKp7l_oKMLOHJVQzVm3VuqSulrRBxU/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:270/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTI5MjUx/OTIxLTE3MDMwMzI0/NzQtMTU2NS5qcGVn.jpeg)
However you can get it, the more Bach the better. Course, not everyone feels this way:
(https://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0794881852925.jpg)
C.P.E. Bach Symphonies & Concertos Alperman, Bruns, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (2001, Harmonia Mundi)
Currently streaming on several platforms this disc (https://www.amazon.com/C-P-Bach-Symphonies-Concertos/dp/B0012OQZZ2) is a good introduction to C.P.E. and contains a fine sampling of symphonies and concerti with splendid sonics but at a decidedly brisk pace. The
Symphony in E Minor Wq. 178, a favorite, benefits from this approach (imo):
Quote from: DavidW on November 27, 2023, 06:05:28 AMWe all listen to CPE Bach and JC Bach but does anyone have any favorite WF Bach recordings?
The 2cd set of his cantatas conducted by Hermann Max on Brilliant Classics was superb, imo.
Edit: and I see now that those make up the last 2 discs of the 14cd WFB "Edition".
https://www.brilliantclassics.com/articles/w/wilhelm-friedemann-bach-edition/
There is/was one pretty good Sony Vivarte disc with the Tafelmusik Ensemble that had the best known orchestral works by WF. IIRC Brilliant Classics had a 2fer with all? WF keyboard concerti, incl. the f minor that seems to be by Johann Christian. There is also a 2 harpsichord concerto by WF that is sometimes found as filler on a disc with CPE 2 keyboard concerti.
Quote from: SimonNZ on December 27, 2023, 07:31:04 PMThe 2cd set of his cantatas conducted by Hermann Max on Brilliant Classics was superb, imo.
Edit: and I see now that those make up the last 2 discs of the 14cd WFB "Edition".
https://www.brilliantclassics.com/articles/w/wilhelm-friedemann-bach-edition/
Ah, it's streaming on AM (https://www.amazon.com/Wilhelm-Friedemann-Bach-Edition/dp/B07BHNMN8P?tag=Edel_lf_edelme-21&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&ascsubtag=d49c677ecc64805453a8d98e1fda4379&ref=dmm_acq_soc_us_u_lfire_lp_x_d49c677ecc64805453a8d98e1fda4379) (though I wouldn't pass up a CD purchase at the right price). Thanks!
Boy, the recording quality is mud, but wow, to be an audience member at this performance! It's one of the things I miss most about living in New York City. My Wednesdays at 1 free performances at Tully outings simply can't be replaced. But C.P.E. Bach competently played
anywhere is worth a sitting. Here's his
Cello Concerto in A Minor performed by students at Schola Cantorum (https://www.fhnw.ch/en/about-fhnw/schools/music/schola-cantorum-basiliensis#:~:text=The%20Schola%20Cantorum%20Basiliensis%20is%20the%20best%20known,millennium%20%289th%20to%2019th%20century%29%20back%20to%20life.):
I'm listening to this interesting podcast on the family; it's more of an introduction than deep dive but making a nice breakfast accompaniment.
And I'm revisiting D. Hurwitz' discussion of C.P.E. Bach's music, including the big Hänssler box set which is indeed stunning -
A live performance of J.S. Bach's
Concerto A, BWV 1055 Gunther Rost, Leitung & Orgel
Back to Wilhelm Friedemann; here's a fine performance of his
Adagio & Fugue in D minor, F.65. allmusic.com's Joseph Stephenson provides a nice capsule review (https://www.allmusic.com/composition/sinfonia-in-d-minor-adagio-and-fugue-f-65-br-c7-mc0002364465) of the composition. The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Ensemble-In-Residence performed the work live at their concert hall in Singapore on 18 February of 2023:
(https://i.postimg.cc/28QTVCTL/wfb1.jpg)
Incidentally, BC's now out-of-print
Wilhelm Friedemann Edition is available for streaming on YouTube (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDbow7BjfyH3dG-QtqsCbrb9KO99xk7H1&si=4p9I5RrLPf41yf8z), Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/wilhelm-friedemann-bach-edition/1369910181) and Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/3oVvTqyvklxYwt0B5TQ3Il?si=i6ob1MzFRbyOPlzIybB5_g).
No one knows who in the Bach family wrote this one. But it was a delight to wake up to it this morning.
Sonata for Keyboard and Violin in G minor, H. 542.5 (presumably, CPE Bach)
(https://i.postimg.cc/FspxgxBJ/IMG-3037.jpg)
The Sons of Bach, Vol. 1: C.P.E. Bach Symphonies & Chamber MusicCello – Reinhold Johannes Buhl
Composed By – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Conductor – Günter Kehr
Flute – Klaus Pohlers
Harpsichord – Martin Galling
Orchestra – Mainzer Kammerorchester
Viola – Georg Schmid
Violin – Günter Kehr
Sometimes I think that in the circles Johann Christian moved and the patronage he garnered, not desiring to make a false step often resulted in making rather predictable ones. Of course, this is the hindsight of centuries. Beautiful as his compositions often are they don't exactly challenge the listener.
J.C. Bach's famous
Symphony No. 6 in G Minor
At the opposite end, of course, is Wilhelm Friedemann, whose music offers little reward if you're not attentively listening -
Sinfonia (for strings) in F Major (https://youtu.be/ZgPKkiv2RAA?si=kDHaGgb8V0LWTk_O)
Quote from: ando on January 27, 2024, 06:57:03 AMSometimes I think that in the circles Johann Christian moved and the patronage he garnered, not desiring to make a false step often resulted in making rather predictable ones. Of course, this is the hindsight of centuries. Beautiful as his compositions often are they don't exactly challenge the listener.
J.C. Bach's famous Symphony No. 6 in G Minor
Why should music always challenge the listener? J. Chr. Bach was a pioneer and devotee of the style galant, whose aesthetics was about charming and moving the audience, not about challenging it. Is an unchallenging beauty less beautiful than a challenging one?
Quote from: Florestan on January 27, 2024, 08:35:16 AMWhy should music always challenge the listener? J. Chr. Bach was a pioneer and devotee of the style galant, whose aesthetics was about charming and moving the audience, not about challenging it. Is an unchallenging beauty less beautiful than a challenging one?
Not at all. There's all kinds of ways to "move" a listener. I'll never suggest that music should "always" be anything - except interesting. Part of my point was to characterize one of the ways the music of J.C. differs from both C.PE. and W.F.; far from a dismissal. But his penchant to please audiences is clearly more evident than either of the other two.
Quote from: ando on January 27, 2024, 09:32:37 AMNot at all. There's all kinds of ways to "move" a listener. I'll never suggest that music should "always" be anything - except interesting. Part of my point was to characterize one of the ways the music of J.C. differs from both C.PE. and W.F.; far from a dismissal. But his penchant to please audiences is clearly more evident than either of the other two.
Thanks for clarifying. I agree, totally. Actually, CPE's and J.Chr.'s aesthetics and soundworld could not be more different, what with the inwardness of the former and the worldliness of the latter. I can't imagime J. Chr. writing the Wurttemberg Sonatas any more than I can imagine CPE writing the Vauxhall Songs. :)
FYI: The Bach Family Tree (from JS Bach's great grandfather, Veit Bach)
No one's mentioned the music of Johann Christoph Frederick. I'm not sure where he stands among the sons of J. S. in terms of talent as I'm just discovering his work now. This well regarded Camerata Köln recording of J.C.F.'s
Trio Sonata in E Minor is a nice place to begin.
More on JCF Bach by pianist, Jermaine Sprosse -
on his new CD of keyboard works
interview on the JCF project.
(https://prospero.8merch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/PROSP0074_4262353970331_JCF_Bach_Digipack-Front-1536x1280.jpg)
Apple Music
(https://music.apple.com/us/album/johann-christian-friedrich-bach-works-for-keyboard-solo/1692214414)
Came across this doc tracing the footsteps of J.S. in Thomaskirche, Leipzig with organist/conductor, Ton Koopman. Good one. The soundtrack is in Dutch, but the English captions are (unusually) good.