Composer 1/52 - Johann Sebastian Bach, The Remix

I was very pleasantly surprised to see that yesterday's post about Johann Sebastian Bach was republished on a website which calls itself, oddly enough, J.S. Bach News.

How did this happen? I tweeted, which is still a new and wondrous universe. My twitter account is m_w_bell . If you are also a twitterer, let's follow one another through the world of social media!

Composer 1/52 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Part 2

Well-fortified with a good cup of strong coffee, I return to Bach, and am pleasantly surprised. The first piece on my list for today is the “Well-tempered Clavier Prelude No. 1 in C Major” which sounds like an enthusiastic music box. It is vibrant but not too demanding. Is ear candy a phrase? If not, it should be, and this is an example. Good start!

I continue on to the “ ‘Little’ Fugue in G Minor” , which has an undertone of evil. This could be the background music of political mischief-making or other elegant terrors- nothing brash, just sinister, white-collar evil. This is music that demands your attention. If this were the song of a music box, there’d be an evil clown inside it.

Moving right along to “Passacaglia in C Minor” is like a progression into the circles of evil, a Dante’s Inferno of modern villainy. This is the music that should play when the audience knows bad things are going to happen but the characters in the movie/play are oblivious. This could easily be the theme music for the entrance of evil characters into a dinner party or a Washington D.C. reception or a gentlemen’s club thick with cigar smoke and glasses of sherry or brandy everywhere. Bach seriously had a dark side. I’m impressed.

I conclude my whirlwind romance with Bach with the famous (infamous?) “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” , which to me remains the epitome of scary music. We are at Dracula’s castle, the madman is scaling the fence to the old English estate, Rochester’s wife is ready to burn the whole place down!

Or maybe I just think the organ is inherently sinister. Either way.

My overall impression of Johann Sebastian Bach is that he is the composer of the soundtrack of places you don’t necessarily want to be. Whether that place is a wedding, a formal tea, in the company of lobbyists or hiding in the closet from the monster at the window, Bach has got the piece for you.

Composer 1 out of 52 complete. Next week: Composer 2/52 – Schumann.

Composer 1/52 - Johann Sebastian Bach

The first composer out of These 52 Composers, Johann Sebastian Bach, is a pretty popular guy. The composition “Air, on the G String” from Orchestral Suite 3 is nearly required by law for the pre-wedding sitting and waiting period. But- what else did this master compose? To paraphrase a movie/meme, I need to go deeper. In lieu of actual scholarly research, I turn to Wikipedia, putting my faith in the community braintrust.

Wikipedia does not let me down. Bach lived from 1685-1750, he was German, and his style was Baroque. That is an efficient, one paragraph trifecta of information! I really do love Wikipedia. It also has a list of his most famous pieces. I didn’t even have to scroll down at all. It’s as if they knew people would be interested in just the basic facts…

I will begin with the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, 1^st Movement, for no particular reason. The Brandenburg concertos were sort of “lost”. They were written around 1721, but not published until 1850. This is your standard classical music, very elegant and complex. My Starbucks House Blend (Medium) K-cup coffee in my Rainforest Café mug does not seem upscale enough for this moment. As I listen to the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, 3^rd Movement and No. 4, 1^st Movement, I find myself humming along. And then I try to figure out where I know this music from. Enter Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, and then I’ve got my answer!

My oldest son, who is 11 years old and autistic, has been watching the Baby Bach vcr tape/dvd since he was a wee little toddler. Lately it has fallen out of rotation, simply because he has been obsessed with Baby DaVinci, another movie in the series. I know more Bach than I realized, owing to the magic of Disney. At one point, I think I even owned the Baby Bach cd as night-night music for my little man.

The Baby Bach CD versions are not quite as lovely as full orchestral versions, but they do have the advantage of lulling children more easily to sleep, given the lack of soaring violins and startling trumpets.

Minuet in G Major is lovely, like something you’d perhaps expect to hear at a fancy tea. In Bavaria, of course.

Sleepers Wake is a very misleading title. The children were still asleep when I played this piece this morning. It did not wake them up, although the dogs were either barking along with the music or requesting me to change songs.

Sheep May Safely Graze is another gentle and lovely piece. It sent me running to my wedding album.

Thus far, the main conclusion I have about Bach is that this is not good background music. This music makes me feel like I should be wearing heels and hose, a dress and my good pearls either in a church, a reception hall or a fancy restaurant where they think cucumbers are an acceptable filling for a “sandwich”.

Later in the week I will go in search of pieces which do not make me feel underdressed and under-fancy.