@@BachTheAnimatedSeries I would think you played the piano solo too. What a talent! I would prefer your version over Gould and S. Richter on piano, the two opposite extremes, if you can record complete sets.
Ottima spiegazione! chiara e semplice! L'unica cosa è che, quando ho provato a seguire i pallini delle varie voci nell'esempio finale, mi sono perso perché continuavano a cambiare colore. Non so se ci sia un motivo per non aver mantenuto uno specifico colre per ciascuna voce, comunque io non l'ho colto. Il video resta comunque interessante e godibilissimo. Bravissimo Peter! (Andrea, il tuo amico astrofilo)
Il motivo perché ci sono 3 colori diversi è perché indicano tema (rosso), risposta (arancione) e contrappunto (verde). 😆 Sono gli stessi colori che ho usato nello spartito sotto. Però concordo che può sembrare un po' troppa confusione. Grazie mille però per i bellissimi commenti! Sei molto gentile! 😊
Thanks! 😊 The problem is that if I had given Bach a German accent, all of the other characters in the series would've had to have a similar accent as well. This would have made it less understandable and perhaps a bit pedantic. Or perhaps too much 'Allo 'Allo... 🤣
@BachTheAnimatedSeries well I for one would have no problem understanding the thickest german accents. But that's just me. I love the german accent! But anyway thank you for showing Bachs brilliance! I also learn from these being a musician(Harpsichord, ocarina) myself and a deeply appreciate that! You are doing great work!
Bravo! Probably one of the best explanations I’ve encountered of what a fugue is all about. I understand the musical form fairly well, but I’m not able to clearly articulate exactly what is going on in a fugue the way you have. BTW, I suspect Bach himself would have had difficulty in explaining a fugue to anyone with little to no exposure to music theory. Understanding something and being able to explain it to another are quite different. It is indeed the most complex of musical forms! With that said, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is the art of fugue was propelled to a lofty pinnacle by Bach-his status as the apex master of contrapuntal writing will likely never be challenged.
Comments like yours are the most dear to me as trying to explain something in a way that everyone can understand is a very difficult task. About Bach... he managed to transform those poor orphan boys of the St. Thomas institute in such a way that in less than a year they were able to perform his St. John's Passion. This is an incredible achievement and therefore Bach must have been a formidable teacher, someone who could inspire others to excel and to achieve greatness. I wouldn't even deserve to stand in his shadow. 😊 Thank you once more!
Yes, I know. But if I had given Bach a German accent, all of the other characters in the series would've had to have a German accent as well. This would have made it less understandable.
the subject notated in "C Major" at 2:35 is actually being played/sounded in the key of "B Major" FREQUENCY-POLICE HEREBY ISSUE YOU A CITATION FOR ERRATIC TRANSPOSITION 🚨🚓 (only a half-step so no points on your license, let this be a warning) 💖🎶
No, it is really being played in C major. Mind you, in the baroque era, instruments were tuned half a note lower than in modern times (432Hz instead of 440Hz). You should have known that so I'm giving you a citation for having forgotten. 😁
Kellner is one of the best tunings to use for Bach. The one to avoid at all costs is Lehman, nothing sounds good in this tuning - even chopsticks! Regardless of whatever the squiggle at the top of the WTC may or may not mean.
Where it all started and started so well too. A question, Mr Fielding, what is the piece playing at 2:20 ? Magnificent use of Erbarme Dich right afterwards too. Thank you very much for this whole project.
Thank you so very much! Yes, it's been quite a journey and it still is. 😊 About that violin piece... I'm terribly sorry but I've forgotten. For the first episode I still didn't leave many notes about how and what... I'm pretty sure that it's Corelli, probably from one of his concertos, but I can't tell you exactly which piece... 😓
There is absolutely no objective reason why a performer MUST keep to the composer's initial "intention" when playing his music. The significance of the dispute around this question is similar to the one about how one should make the sign of the cross - left side first (the Catholics) or right side first (the Orthodox). Enough with it already! In all ages, purists and proponents of the "sole authorized" way of doing things, "by official appointment" if possible, were a royal pain in the whazoo and an impediment to creativity. It it is no different in this case. Whether Bach "meant" for his music to be played on this keyboard instrument or another (there is even evidence that some of his famous keyboard concertos were initially written for a string instrument) is a secondary issue at best, one I wouldn't waste any time on. The brilliance of Bach's music is such that it can be played on any instrument, including a plastic recorder.
Such wonderful use of WTC I Fugue in C Minor at the start, starting with a delicate metallophone-like tone then going to the gravity of organ; showcasing the intrinsic range of the piece and your musicality. (This fugue is dear as it’s one of the few of Bach’s that I can somewhat play, haha.) Mr Fielding, this whole series is an absolute gem and I so admire and appreciate the consistent use of Bach’s music throughout, for a huge range of moods and situations. It has led me to enjoy pieces of Bach that I hadn’t heard of before or in different ways and also better appreciate his life and journey. Plus constantly more sophisticated animation and cinematic craftsmanship as well as the separate educational segments (e.g. tuning and musical forms) that are just as amazing. So much thanks to you and the whole team 😄.
Dear Stephen, thank you so much for taking the time to write and for your generous comments. It's so wonderful to know that this series means something to other people and that you appreciated it so much. Hopefully the next episodes won't disappoint, though there's still a lot of work to be done. Keep trying the fugue in C minor, you'll see that soon you'll be able to play even more daunting pieces. I hope so for you anyway and that playing gives you as much joy as it does to me. All my best regards, Peter
🤣 Yes, I'm sorry about the accent, but if I had given Bach a German accent, all of the other characters in the series would've had to have a similar accent as well. This would have made it less understandable and perhaps also a bit pedantic. Thank you very much for the lovely compliment!
😂 The accent is fine. A little poetic license, one may say. Just like the fact that one would never ask His Grace if he could keep a secret... One would imagine such question to be highly disrespectful, especially in the Germany of that time. But then again, poetic license for great work!
After watching the last episodes, it becomes uncomfortable for me to see the St. Thomas Church garnering so much claim and credits over Maestro Bach having worked for them...
Well, life for a composer was hard in those days. Bach got lucky during his first years in Weimar and Köthen, but many others didn't get so lucky. That's why in the classical period many composers tried to break free and become independent, such as Bach's son Friedemann and Mozart. Composers were the servants of their masters and had to obey their every whim. It wasn't just Leipzig but most of current-day Germany was extremely puritan back then. You know, I don't know if it's the same for you, but when Bach's on the radio I instinctively have to stop doing whatever I'm doing and I feel compelled to listen. It probably wasn't any different in Bach's day and when Bach performed his music, the people were listening more to him playing than paying attention to their prayers. This certainly didn't go down well with the authorities with the results that we know. At least Bach eventually received the recognition he deserves and his name now shines so much brighter than the names of Lehmann, Ernesti or even King Frederick the Great. Nowadays, who on Earth knows about mayor Conrad Lehmann anyway?...
A lot of assumptions about Bach's views. Bach took a keen interest in organ design and maintenance, where tuning is an important consideration. He showed that how even-temperament could be more generally accepted to resolve the say G# vs Ab conundrum on a keyboard. . Does this mean he preferred the tonal distortions of even- tempered tuning ? No, he simply demonstrated it allowed a full range of music keys to be played on any keyboard for only a small degree of dis-harmony.
Bach didn't use equal tuning, he used "just" tuning. The whole point of writing his 2 books of the WTK was to demonstrate the advantages of just temperament through which all of the 24 keys became playable without re-tuning and through which every single one of those keys got its own "mood". Equal temperament is an abomination invented in the early 20th century.
Oh my sir.... this episode is stunning. This series, along with your fugue video inspired me to write my own fugue and it is going nicely! Thank you so much!
Thank you very much! It's so lovely to hear that this series could be an inspiration. Please let me know when you finish your fugue, I'd be interested in hearing it.
@BachTheAnimatedSeries Sir I would be so humbled to play it to you when finished, again many thanks for this wondrous inspiration. Genuinely, thank you so much.
Thank you! Well, it's perhaps a bit premature for a 15 year old Bach, but it's a perfect example of how Bach was always thinking out of the box. I can imagine that it were constructions like this which drove his teachers in puritan Ohrdruf mad.
@@BachTheAnimatedSeries I'm interested in perhaps helping in anyway I can, perhaps voice acting or some form of management help? This is an amazing project
I did! 😁 Personally I believe that it doesn't really matter what instrument you use for Bach, but that it does matter playing it in the key that Bach intended. 😊
Bach wrote beautiful music. At the time, the harpichord ŵas the most popular instrument. Bach wanted to sell music? So why not appeal to the widest potential buyers.
Bach couldn't really sell his music. In Weimar and Köthen he was in the service of a patron and he had to write exclusively for them. Then in Leipzig he had to write for the church, though later in his life he tried to break free from his obligations. Unfortunately he only managed to have a few of his works printed. 😥
