Wednesday, October 10, 2012

How to get Bach in a big way

A tip-off from James Rhodes just sent me over to a thing called Reddit and there, dear friends, I found this. An introduction to JS Bach for complete beginners. Someone going by the pseudonym of "voice of experience" who can explain exactly how counterpoint works, and does so with more clarity than the whole of certain music faculties I could mention, in language that not only reads easily but is, as you'll see, kind of contemporary. The response? A thread of comments that begs, nay gasps, for more. There's a hunger for explanations to put across what the masterpieces of music are all about, and no need for those explanations either to be the equivalent of chewing sawdust or to airbrush out the difficult bits. Give it a go.

1 comment:

The LondonJazz site said...

Jessica are you aware of Anner Bylsma's two books on Bach?

His website - follow link - has descriptions of them

I went to a masterclass he gave last week. He's quite frail, needing a frame to walk, but I found him completely mesmerising.

"A rest", says Bylsma "is not nothing. After a rest it is like you reach up in the air
for a fruit. And grab it."


"Bach could play. He knew what he was doing."

Amen to that!