A double canon from Bach?s Orgelbüchlein! A bit late, but Bach?s take on this Christmas tune is really wonderful. See how both melodies combine to make a double canon:

German mystic, Heinrcih Seuse, author of ?In Dulci Jubilo?

English composer R. J. Pearsell?s setting of the melody.

Spread the Love, Doubly Canonic:

N.B. I?ve been wanting to make this rebrand for a while: The title of this podcast is no longer ?The WTF Bach Podcast? but simply, ?WTF Bach? ? I hope this doesn?t cause any problems, if you run in to any issues as all, please alert us! Thanks!

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I had the great pleasure of speaking with Mr. Paul Jacobs. On the 250th anniversary of Bach?s death, July 28th, 2000, Jacobs played Bach?s complete organ works in one giant 18 hour concert? he was 23.

Our conversation spans how to memorize, scholars vs. performers, pianists playing the organ, pop music, music for consumption, ?social media musicians,? music as a substitute for God, The Art of Fugue (harpsichord or organ?) and more?

Become Your Best Buxtehude:

Some links mentioned in the chat:

Organmaster Shoes

The Robertsbridge Codex

Schumann?s advice for young musicians

and of course, Paul?s website.

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Update: Just got five promo codes to download Time Guru (the cool metronome app mentioned in the episode.) Send me a message or let me know down below you?re interested and I?ll share the codes! Happy Practicing

Let?s get our good new habits in early in the year! In this episode, I read practical advice from three organists/organ method books. The organ method books are in a class of their own? highly entertaining reading.

We begin with Francis Routh?s Teach Yourself The Organ (1958.) His asterisk marking the complete works of Buxtehude as ?fairly easy? is representative of this amusing book:

Harold Gleason?s method book of 1962 makes up the bulk of this episode, the complete advice is pasted below.

We feature some of Fayth Freese?s excellent article from The Diapason. I recommend the full read.

And here is the advice to teens I made for the Harrison School for the Arts in Lakeland Florida. I cannot emphasize enough how music should be a joyous process at this age, never an abusive one.

From Gleason (bold type is my emphasis)

HOW TO PRACTICE:

* Make a schedule for daily practice. Devote a definite amount of time to technique, to new music, to perfecting music already studied, and to memorizing. Devote at least one hour a day to piano practice. Later the student will need to reserve time for perfecting the many skills required for playing the church service.

* Practice as if the piece were being memorized (see the section on Memorizing).

* Study the music before beginning to practice. Note the key signature, time signature, note values, fingering, pedaling, structure, special problems, and general style. If the fingering and pedaling is not given or is inadequate, it should be carefully worked out according to the principles given in the sections on Fingering and Pedaling.

* Memorize and always use the same fingering and pedaling. Incorporate the articulation, phrasing and interpretation into the practice.

* Try to avoid playing wrong notes or incorrect time values from the first time an exercise or piece is practiced. If a wrong note or rhythm is played, do not immediately correct it. Go back to the beginning of the phrase and repeat the passage correctly a number of times.

* Concentrate on the work at hand and avoid mechanical, unthinking practice and repetition. Always practice after a lesson.

* Practice slowly in the following sequence: right hand; left hand; both hands; pedal; right hand and pedal; left hand and pedal; both hands and pedal. Begin the slow practice of short sections for both hands and pedal while working on separate parts.

* When the phrases and sections of a composition have been mastered at a low tempo, play it all the way through. When this has been accomplished with complete muscular control and accuracy, the tempo may be gradually increased. Return to slow, detailed practice of sections which are not secure, and repeat this process at succeeding practice periods.

* Always practice at a steady tempo. Do not play easy places fast and difficult places slowly.

* Devote the most attention to difficult passages.

* In contrapuntal music, play one or more parts and sing another part.

* In passages of a technical nature, the practice of four-note groups in the various rhythmic patterns is helpful in developing speed and control.

* Stop practicing and relax for a few minutes at the first sign of tension.

* When practicing technical exercises for manuals and pedals, and when first learning a piece, use clear, quick-speaking stops of 8? or 8? and 4? pitch (Gedackt 8?, Principal 4?).

* As soon as the notes in a composition have been mastered, work out an appropriate registration.

* The drawing of stops and the use of combination pistons and reversibles should be carefully practiced and synchronized, in order not to interfere with the performance of the music.

* Above all, the student should learn to listen and hear that the parts are sounding together, are released together, and that the touch, rhythm, accents, and interpretation are actually being realized as intended.

How?s Your Contrapuntal Journey Fugueing?

HOW TO MEMORIZE:

The principal reason for playing from memory lies in the fact that it will result in a better performance, both technically and musically. The perfectly memorized work becomes a part of the performer and gives him complete freedom of expression.

When a piece of music is practiced correctly and efficiently, it is also being memorized, and good practice habits will lead to a continual improvement in the ability to memorize.

After a composition has been thoroughly learned with the notes, the complete process of memory should be undertaken. Concentration and interest in learning are indispensable to the memory process.

There are four types of memory which are used in music. Three of these types?aural, visual, and motor memory?depend on our senses or imagery. The fourth, and most important type, is known as cognitive memory. It is based on knowledge and is the memory we use in the analytical study of the music.

The memorization of music requires the combination and collaboration of the four types of memory. We all vary in our natural gifts and capacities, but all types of memory should be cultivated and can be improved.

Cognitive Memory

This memory is the basis of all study, from the time the piece is first practiced until it is performed from memory. Every detail of the music should be analyzed technically and musically, and be consciously known. Organize notes into patterns, groups, and phrases. Note all sequences and variations from the sequential pattern. Analyze harmonic progressions and relate them to each other. Contrapuntal lines, rhythm, and interpretative factors are all a part of analytical study. Study the form and relate the details to the whole.

Aural Memory

This memory is useful in enabling us to hear mentally what the next note or chord is, and it strengthens the other types of memory. The ability to hear accurately and retain what we hear should be developed until individual lines of the music can be played and sung without errors. Eventually a whole composition can be ?practiced? by going through it and hearing the sound mentally.

Visual Memory

This type of memory gives us a mental image of the way the notes look on the printed page, or the place of the notes and the shape of each passage on the keyboard. Visual memory may be developed by concentrating on a measure of music, consciously noting all its details, and then reproducing it from the mental image. Gradually more measures can be added, and a mental image of whole phrases and sections can be retained. Avoid using different editions of a composition during the learning process.

Motor Memory

This is one of the most useful and also the most dangerous types of musical memory. Motor memory involves the touch sensations and training of the muscles so that the movements in playing become automatic. They should, however, never be mechanical. In developing motor memory the same fingering and pedaling must always be used. Avoid repeating phrases endlessly without thought or purpose. Never depend on motor memory alone in memorizing a piece. The slightest interruption in the automatic process will inevitably lead to a breakdown.

Summary

* Begin to learn all the techniques of memorizing with the first lesson. The basic principles of position, manual technique, and practicing should be memorized. Analyze the exercises and studies and memorize the fingering. A few of the manual studies in which the student is particularly interested should be memorized after they have been learned perfectly with the music.

* Memorizing should continue throughout the organist?s career and be made a part of every practice period.

* Memorize when the mind is alert and the power of concentration is strongest. Do not attempt to memorize when fatigued.

* Always begin with analysis and then introduce the other memory techniques. The more thoroughly the music is learned the longer it will be retained and the more positive will be its recall.

* Memorize phrases or short sections at first and gradually develop the ability to learn longer sections. Always be sure the sections are connected in the mind and make a unified whole.

* Work on at least one new section of music each day and then review the previous sections.

* Memorize landmarks at cadential points and practice beginning at any one of these landmarks.

* Memorize and be able to play the parts for each hand alone and the pedal part alone.

* In reviewing a work previously memorized always consult the score and repeat the original memory process.

* Do not think of difficulties ahead, or the association of chord to chord and phrase to phrase will be lost.

* In performing from memory, the subconscious mind will function if it is not interfered with by fear.

* The fear of forgetting can be eliminated by the knowledge that every detail of the music and its interpretation has been engraved in the mind and that the aural, visual, and motor senses have been well trained.

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This famous piece:

saw quite a few revisions between its conception and the version we know. For starters, note the earliest version?s key signature, and the E-flat in bar 2:

The most striking feature of the early version is the abrupt end:

No presto? No adagio? No allegro?

The fugue (in 3 voices) is a fugue with two countersubjects. See them here, the first on top, the second below. Both countermelodies occur with every entrance of the main theme:

Become your best Buxtehude.

We also have a brief look at the c minor invention, BWV 773. The piece is almost entirely a canon.

I also mentioned the issue of ?stemming? at the beginning of the episode. Here is the chord I mentioned (BWV 867.) Note how Bach?s nine individual stems imply nine separate voices, whereas the print reduces them to only four:

N.B. Most of the episodes of this podcast have been newly catalogued according to genre or theme or BWV on my Substack. Yet another reason for you to join the platform! You can now browse according to BWV, instrumentation, et cetera. Have a gander at wtfbach.substack.com

Thanks to all my listeners for supporting me in 2025! Thanks to Romain Villet for reminding me to make this episode. Best of luck to him and to all brave enough to transpose Bach in 2026!

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Concepts Covered:

This podcast episode discusses Johann Sebastian Bach?s Well-Tempered Clavier, book 1, (1722) the second prelude and fugue in C minor. Including revisions, fugue structure, and contrapuntal technique, with a few hints at BWV 773 and BWV 867. There is a double countersubject, canonic writing, BWV 847a, and the earliest versions before source P. 415

We?ve traveled halfway through the chromatic scale and Bach celebrates this victory with one of the more complex fugues in the collection. The subject is somber, full of half-steps and even a cross. It foreshadows the true finale at the close of all 24 pieces:

This is one of the only fugues to make strict use of the countersubject, occurring in all but one (!) appearances of the subject.

This motif, which we call the head of the countersubject, dominates all the episodic material both right side up, and upside down:

Got Bach?

The prelude contains some interesting revisions. Here is one I thought would be too subtle to hear, but I think it?s quite audible in the episode:

The latter represents a rare simplification of harmony and texture in revision.

The biggest addendum of all is the additional measures at the end of the piece. See how abruptly the early version ends:

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Concepts Covered:

J.S. Bach?s Well Tempered Clavier, Tuning, Revisions, Early verisions. The f minor prelude and fugue BWV 857, with its countersubject, analysis and study. Organ and harpsichord performances, Chromaticism, tone-rows,

YouTube These Days....

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Anyone else feel like we don?t have enough fugues in F major?

In the last of Bach?s four layerings to the fair copy of The Well-Tempered Clavier, we see some beautiful details that would have been lost had Bach not made this last series of revisions in the 1740s. It makes you wonder if Bach would have made even more, should he have lived as long as Telemann!

Bar 42 reads like this in A1-A3 into the 1740s:

Then, in A4, Bach found expression in the tie and 32nd notes:

Such a revision physically looks like this on fair copy:

This particular revision may not be immediately clear to the naked eye, but some are (see the e minor revisions at the bottom of the post.) I believe it was X-ray technology that led to such breakthroughs in the scholarship, but some layers might be a sort of ?white-out? or paste that physically would stand out on the paper? any expertise would be appreciated in the comments! We know that in the Saint Matthew Passion, Bach quite literally ?layered? smaller pieces of paper onto the manuscript, but I think that has to do with repair, not necessarily revision. One famous layering in A4 looks as if it?s been pasted onto the manuscript? but it could be my imagination. From the first fugue, BWV 846:

WTF Bach is free to all! Let?s spread the awareness of contrapuntal mastery. However, if you support financially, you?re much less likely to write parallel 5ths.

There are a number of revisions also in the F Major prelude. Interestingly, the length of both prelude and fugue remains unchanged between earliest versions and the fair copy. Bach had the general harmonic rhythm right, but smooths out the insides of some measures:

(Early versions, followed by the fair copy)

And so on? (more demonstrations in the episode.)

I finish the episode with four beautiful revisions to the e minor prelude (covered in Ep. 114) again made in A4. These are typical of his final revisions to the WTC1, bursting with 32nds. Here, one can somewhat plainly see the difference between inks:

Before these revisions, the melody was as follows:

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Concepts Covered:

J.S. Bach?s late A4 revisions to the Well-Tempered Clavier I (BWV 846?869) in the F-major fugue BWV 856, the F major prelude, the discant adjustments that earlier manuscript stages (A1?A3) lack. The late embellishments in the E-minor prelude BWV 855, The genesis of WTK I, variant readings, fair-copy corrections, Harmonic analysis, contrapuntal rules, and the general genius of Bach.

Giving thanks to all my listeners today! Why do you listen to this podcast?

The original Spanish of the Borges poem, as read by my good friend, Andrea Profili.

Otro poema de los dones

Gracias quiero dar al divinoLaberinto de los efectos y de las causasPor la diversidad de las criaturasQue forman este singular universo,Por la razón, que no cesará de soñarCon un plano del laberinto,Por el rostro de Elena y la perseverancia de Ulises,Por el amor, que nos deja ver a los otrosComo los ve la divinidad,Por el firme diamante y el agua suelta,Por el álgebra, palacio de precisos cristales,Por las místicas monedas de Ángel Silesio,Por Schopenhauer,Que acaso descifró el universo,Por el fulgor del fuego,Que ningún ser humano puede mirar sin un asombro antiguo,Por la caoba, el cedro y el sándalo,Por el pan y la sal,Por el misterio de la rosa,Que prodiga color y que no lo ve,Por ciertas vísperas y días de 1955,Por los duros troperos que en la llanuraArrean los animales y el alba,Por la mañana en Montevideo,Por el arte de la amistad,Por el último día de Sócrates,Por las palabras que en un crepúsculo se dijeronDe una cruz a otra cruz,Por aquel sueño del Islam que abarcóMil noches y una noche,Por aquel otro sueño del infierno,De la torre del fuego que purificaY de las esferas gloriosas,Por Swedenborg,Que conversaba con los ángeles en las calles de Londres,Por los ríos secretos e inmemorialesQue convergen en mí,Por el idioma que, hace siglos, hablé en Nortumbria,Por la espada y el arpa de los sajones,Por el mar, que es un desierto resplandecienteY una cifra de cosas que no sabemosY un epitafio de los vikings,Por la música verbal de Inglaterra,Por la música verbal de Alemania,Por el oro, que relumbra en los versos,Por el épico invierno,Por el nombre de un libro que no he leído:Gesta Dei per Francos,Por Verlaine, inocente como los pájaros,Por el prisma de cristal y la pesa de bronce,Por las rayas del tigre,Por las altas torres de San Francisco y de la isla de Manhattan,Por la mañana en Texas,Por aquel sevillano que redactó la Epístola MoralY cuyo nombre, como él hubiera preferido, ignoramos,Por Séneca y Lucano, de Córdoba,Que antes del español escribieronToda la literatura española,Por el geométrico y bizarro ajedrezPor la tortuga de Zenón y el mapa de Royce,Por el olor medicinal de los eucaliptos,Por el lenguaje, que puede simular la sabiduría,Por el olvido, que anula o modifica el pasado,Por la costumbre,Que nos repite y nos confirma como un espejo,Por la mañana, que nos depara la ilusión de un principio,Por la noche, su tiniebla y su astronomía,Por el valor y la felicidad de los otros,Por la patria, sentida en los jazmines,O en una vieja espada,Por Whitman y Francisco de Asís, que ya escribieron el poema,Por el hecho de que el poema es inagotableY se confunde con la suma de las criaturasY no llegará jamás al último versoY varía según los hombres,Por Frances Haslam, que pidió perdón a sus hijosPor morir tan despacio,Por los minutos que preceden al sueño,Por el sueño y la muerte, esos dos tesoros ocultos,Por los íntimos dones que no enumero,Por la música, misteriosa forma del tiempo

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Something?s missing:

The fact that this piece was conceived independently of its solo line is a marvelous insight into Bach?s compositional process. Somewhere along the way, Bach revisited the piece and added the upper line:

Here is a link to the video where Schiff talks about the Well-Tempered.And don?t miss the Kurt Vonnegut moment at 32:45!

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Concepts Covered:

BWV 854 and BWV 855 in the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One, two-voice fugue, the early versions, Bach?s revision. A look at finding the right character, as seen in the Christmas Oratorio, where motivic cells show a consistent compositional logic. Bach?s improvisation, or at least improvisatory style while writing a solo line over a preformed prelude, and predetermined harmonic rhythm. We also see Bach?s use of parallel octaves in Bach, and parallel octaves in the Well-Tempered Clavier. Contrapuntal analysis, study.

Just a few moments ago, two newly christened works were connected to Bach?s name for the time after 320 years. Exciting news, have a listen! Many thanks to the Bach Archive in Leipzig for the production. (Sorry for any glitches in the production, episode made in haste!)

Know someone who?d enjoy hearing about this joyous discovery?

A link to the source of d minor Chaconne, BWV 1178A link to the source of the g minor Chaconne, BWV 1179

The live stream link (English overdub.)

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?More matter with less art. (Hamlet, II.ii)

Got friends who speak English? Spread W.T.F.

P.S. The music at the end is a taste of a forthcoming W.T.F. Bach album: arrangements of the Orgelbüchlein. Album title suggestions welcome!

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?Whoever has once felt this wonderful tranquility has comprehended the mysterious spirit that has here expressed all it knew and felt of life in the secret language of tone, and will render Bach the thanks we render only to the great souls to whom it is given to reconcile men with life and bring them peace.? -Schweitzer, Vol. 1

W.T.F. Bach wants YOU to subscribe

A prelude in E-flat minor, with a fugue in its enharmonic other. The image attached to this episode is from the Czerny edition, who felt the need to dispense with the enharmonic intrigue, and publish the fugue in E-flat minor.

Is the prelude the most crushingly beautiful thing Bach wrote? The fugue, devoid of the sensitivity found in the prelude, displays the largest repertoire of fugal technique thus far: stretto, inversion, canon in all voices, augmentation? a veritable dictionary of thematic possibilities.

Here, for example, is a passage I find most striking: stretto and strict canon in all voices. First, the theme appears in blue, ascending in perfect fourths, and a moment later, in red, inverts into perfect fifths.

Bach seems to have been fond of this idea (and perhaps the shape of this subject as lending itself to fugal techniques) as he employs it in four voices ?nearly at the exact same spot in the fugue? in the fifth contrapuntus in The Art of Fugue:

We heard from Edwin Fischer, ukuleleist Herb Ohta (whose Ukulele Bach Playlist is a trip) and at the end, Pierre Hantai.

Do check out Alfredo Sanchez? recording on guitar, he?s got a great feel for this music.

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Concepts Covered:

The Well-Tempered Clavier, J.S. Bach?s Prelude and Fugue in E-flat minor / D-sharp minor Expression vs. technical complexity. The prelude, written in E-flat minor, is introspective, harmonically rich. Its fugue, in the enharmonic key of D-sharp minor, moves from emotion to intellect, showcasing the most extensive use of fugal technique seen so far in the cycle: A survey of contrapuntal possibilities. Analysis, early versions such as BWV 853a, history, revisions, and study.

A most precious 15 minutes of audio. In improvised miniatures with different combinations of stops, Helmut Walcha gives invaluable insights into the world of improvising and the various colors on the organ. An assistant names the stops he will use before he plays? you can see the list of stops in the links. I recommend the first link in particular for its details on the restorations and the photos of cherubs, et cetera, but you?ve also got to admire an organ that has its own Wikipedia page. The organ, built in 1680, was made world famous by Walcha. Thanks, -e.s.

https://arpschnitger.nl/scappel.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_of_St._Peter_and_Paul_in_Cappel

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Continuing our study of The Well-Tempered Clavier, (hear the first episode in this series via this link) Bach begins the second quarter of the collection with a dramatic genre: a fugal prelude. Not only that, the fugue appears to be a double fugue!

The prelude begins more contrapuntally than the preludes we have met thus far:

After a few bars of this, Bach dashes our hope that the prelude will continue exclusively with this motif. A flourish of virtuosity vanishes into what seems to be a fugue? of completely unrelated material? nearly in stile antico:

Not content to remain a simple fugue, Bach doubles down by introducing a second subject derived from the opening gestures. Notice how the new subject contrasts with the first, moving not only quicker, but in stepwise motion rather than by leaps.

May This Baroque Resource ne?er be Broke! Help us thrive:

As mentioned in the episode, here is a chart illustrating the symmetrical placement of the two double fugues within Bach?s collection. Such symmetry, I feel, is not merely coincidental.

Supporting this show ensures its longevity. Long may WTF Bach endure:

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We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!

Concepts Covered:

In this analysis of J.S. Bach?s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 852, E-flat Major, Es Dur, we examine Bach?s contrapuntal design, double fugue prelude, and development. This new fugal prelude, Bach transitions from free texture to strict imitation, introducing a second subject derived from the opening motif. This new theme contrasts with the first, employing stepwise motion, Baroque counterpoint and architectural symmetry in the prelude and fugue. The episode also discusses Bach?s placement of the two double fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier as an act of structural balance. Early version, BWV852a, also covered.

?Cheever was a reasonably tormented man.? -Jerry Lowenthal

Enjoy this short story? one of the great American short stories? by John Cheever.

Thanks!-Evan

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How boring would this be?

Admittedly, I still find that beautiful, but Bach is one note ahead of me:

We have a prelude propelled by its instability. This might be something to pay attention to in The Well-Tempered Clavier ?if not all his writing in the early 1720s? ordinary melodic shapes that become more compelling when slightly offset.

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We are 25% of the way through this triumph of tonality. Now, for the first time in the collection, the fugue makes explicit use of inverted entrances. Here is the subject ?right-side up? at the opening:

Exactly halfway through the fugue, Bach brings the subjects in a second exposition, only now they are upside down:

He also inverts the order of voices in the beautifully expressive episode that occurred earlier, and makes explicit use of stretto in the second half. Other fugal techniques such as ?splintering? fragments of the subject in stretto or in parallel thirds make for a brilliant finale on the first quarter of his 1722 masterpiece. Have a listen to the episode for more analysis!

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Concepts covered:

Preludes and fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier, the D minor BWV 851 (and others, such as BWV 850) Bach?s compositional technique in revision. The early version, BWV 851a is a mere 15 bars long. Counterpoint, voice leading, and harmonic direction, inversion, (the first inversions in the WTK) and stretto in this fugue. Also, instability in melodic design and rhythmic offsetting. Bach marks periods of structure through the book by placing more complicated techniques at these symmetrical points. Also, articulation added to the revised versions, the autograph fair copy.

While the ?double-dot? may well have shown up during Bach?s lifetime, I?m not aware of him ever using it. To assume that his music never makes use of such rhythm would obviously be incorrect. Instead, we need to seek out where it might and might not be applied.

Continuing our tour through The Well-Tempered Clavier, in the D Major Fugue now, BWV 850, we see a possible implication of double-dots in the subject:

Playing the dotted 8ths as double-dotted 8ths, hence changing the following 16th notes into 32nds, might be considered correct? even stylish! But we are thrown into doubt when we meet the phrase:

If we are to play the 16th note chords together, double-dotting the motif would now not be possible. What to do? Separate the chords? Swing the 16ths? Play one phrase double-dotted and the other not?

In this episode we listen to 14 interpretations in an attempt to find the ?correct? answer.

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The following performers offer their solution:

Edwin FischerGlenn GouldRalph KirkpatrickTon KoopmanWanda LandowskaGustav LeonhardtSviatoslav RichterScott RossWolfgang RubsamAndras SchiffLouis ThiryRosalyn TureckHelmut WalchaZuzana Ruzickova

There is also a good wikipedia article on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dotted_note

Reminder!J.S. Bach: Complete Keyboard Works, Vol. 5- Musical Offering, Suite 823 is now available everywhere you listen to music? have a listen!

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Concepts Covered:

Double dotting in Baroque music remains one of the most debated topics in performance practice, especially when interpreting J. S. Bach?s Well-Tempered Clavier alongside the broader French style. French composers such as Lully and Rameau often used double-dotted rhythms in overtures and dances, creating a sharp long?short contrast that was part of their national style, while German composers absorbed and transformed these conventions. Bach, familiar with both Italian and French idioms, never notated double dots explicitly, relying on performers to apply the convention, leaving modern interpreters uncertain whether to play rhythms strictly (7:1) or with more flexibility. This ambiguity, double-dot, notes inégales in Bach, continues to challenge harpsichordists and pianists alike, making historically informed performance of Bach?s keyboard works, especially the Well-Tempered Clavier, a central field of research in Baroque interpretation. BWV 850 Prelude and Fugue, its early versions and revisions also explored.

(Rated PG)

Don?t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth

instamus tamen inmemores caecique furore,et monstrum infelix sacrata sistimus arce.

Aeneid, II.244-245

(Yet blindly we persist, forgetful in our fury, and we place the monster, unhappy, upon our sacred citadel.)

I like to think about the origins of phrases we use in English. Imagine you?re a foreigner and someone says, ?go on, spill the beans??

Here are a few idioms we use without thinking about them:

Bite the bullet. Here?s an actual example from the Cambridge dictionary of how this might be used today:

?I decided I had to bite the bullet and take a couple of math classes even though I knew they were hard.?

?But really, biting the bullet meant, ?No, it?s not algebra for you son, you?re going into surgery! It?s the 1860s so instead of a nice oxygen mask and a cute little countdown, you?ll calmly bite on a bullet while they saw something off. I imagine after a few minutes of that, the dentist will be on his way to see you as well.?

Let the cat out of the bag. ?Don?t let the cat out of the bag!?

This is one a butcher told me about. Really, you should let the cat out of the bag before you leave the butcher. He said a rabbit and a cat will look exactly alike when skinned except for a few signs. Hence you could fool someone hoping to make a rabbit stew by skinning a couple cats. ?Ooh, skin the cat, there?s another one.

Anyhow, you get home to the wife and kids, and instead of letting a delicious rabbit or piglet out of the bag, you let a cat out of the bag to show them just how badly papa?s been scammed at the slaughterhouse.

The whole nine yards. You ever hear that and think, ?but isn?t it ten yards to a first down?? Well, this one?s not football related folks, it?s war related! Machine gun related. Another gruesome one: ?Go on boy! Mow the lot of them down. Give it your all, chap! Feed the gun the whole nine yards? of bullets.?

Raining cats and dogs. Isn?t that a cute one? ?Wow, it?s raining cats and dogs outside!? Sorry? not cute. I quote Jonathan Swift?s famous poem, ?A Description of a City Shower,?

Drowned puppies, stinking sprats, all drenched in mud,Dead cats and turnip-tops come tumbling down the flood.

It?s raining so hard, dogs and cats are now washing up in the gutters.

And, saved by the bell, ?Gee! I?m sure glad I was saved by the bell!? Well, this might be related to boxing, but it also could be related to a device they put in coffins? only a few hundred years ago, mind you? where, should you just happen to be buried alive, naturally after your funeral and after your many days of exhibiting no pulse or breathing, should you just happen to be buried alive, instead of frantically clawing on the back of your coffin without any dignity, you could simply pull on a little string connected to a small bell six feet above. Caution: upon waking in a coffin to total darkness you previously hadn?t been able to conceive, remember not to pull too hard and break the string. Remain calm. Ring daintily. A nearby gardener, whistling while trimming the flowers on a surrounding tombstone, will hear your patient plea and dig you up again. You?ll be back at the pub in a few hours? saved by the bell. Phew!

So you see, most of these expressions come from gruesome, if not downright morbid backgrounds. ?But I think that gives our language its special grit, don?t you?

?

Today anyhow I want to talk about a proverb, not an idiom. Proverbs are supposedly rooted in folk wisdom, rather than sentences that no longer make literal sense.

So, sure, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, this makes sense to me, but I still have no idea why I can?t put all my eggs in one basket. I?m not going to the coop with two baskets. Can we just save some time here and make the proverb, don?t drop the basket!

The proverb I want to dissect is ?Don?t look a gift horse in the mouth.?

It generally means something like, when your uncle gifts you a snow globe from a city you?ve never visited, don?t remind yourself that he shares only 25% of your DNA, just pretend to be thrilled, hug him and say thanks. Don?t look the gift horse in the mouth. You may, however, throw the gift horse straight in the garbage.

You probably don?t hear many people saying that anymore? the horses have all disappeared? but when ?driving? meant riding on a horse, and not turning the ignition, there was horse wisdom, and one piece of wisdom was that you could tell how healthy a horse was, by looking at its teeth.

So imagine how this phrase originates: your neighbor comes bearing the gift of horses, but you?re not supposed to check if they?re healthy.

The nerve of these people, bringing you horses that are soon your problem!

?Honey, Ol? Shadow?s looking pretty weak, and I don?t have the nerve to put him out of his misery. What d?ya say I bring ?em round to the Campbell?s? I think that daughter of theirs had a birthday last week??

Get real. If my neighbor comes with marmalade I?m checking it for mold. If he comes with a horse? I?m going straight for the mouth. ?Well, as a pianist I personally am not sticking my hands into a horse?s mouth, but if Farmer Joe, who previously has brought me no gifts, suddenly shows up with a cheeky grin and a horse with a bow on its head that appears to be tied just so it?s clamping the horse?s jaws shut? I'm gonna make sure an equine dentist is on staff.

?Oh hey, Farmer Joe! To what do I owe this pleasure? I see you?ve brought your horse. He?s looking a bit? is he alright? What?s that? You want me to ha? a horse? For me? Farmer Joe, Wow! I don?t really ride hor? I shouldn?t ride him? Oh, well I suppose I?d better get some hay anyho? oh, he?s not eating much. I see? well, is he, perhaps? I should look in his? no? Honestly, you?re looking a little tense, Farmer Joe. Look, if you just prefer if I pay the knacker and we forget the whole thing, I?ll pretend you wouldn?t let me look your gift horse in the mouth. You know, Farmer Joe, I?m starting to think you?ve invented a pointless proverb because you?re out of bullets and your shovel is broken.?

Always look a gift horse in the mouth. That?s what I say.

A friend bearing gifts requiring medical attention is a terrible friend. How?s that for a proverb?

You know who didn?t look a gift horse in the mouth? The Trojans.

Note:The outro music is one of the movements Bach cut from his Magnificat during its transposition from E-flat into D. You can find it, and a few more movements not included in the later version, listed under BWV 243a.

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J.S. Bach: Complete Keyboard Works, Vol. 5- Musical Offering, Suite 823 is now available everywhere you listen to music? platform specific links below? have a listen!

A Musical Offering (Ein Musikalisches Opfer) BWV 1079, is one of Bach?s late mono-thematic masterpieces. When Bach visited his son and King Frederick the Great in 1747, he was challenged to improvise upon the following, extemporaneously:

Bach did so to the amazement of all. Two months later, already engraved on copper plates, The Musical Offering was ready. It included two fugues on the theme, a trio sonata and ten ?puzzle canons.?

See here the permutations of the ?royal theme? as they appear in the canons alone. Altering a melody so imaginatively is already fascinating? and this doesn?t even speak of the ingenious canons he fastens to them. (This is a ridiculously detailed image, so it?s available for download.)

I hope you enjoy this episode and the album! Thanks to Yamaha Artist Services in New York, especially Bonnie Barrett, Aaron Ross and Shane Hoshino.

Available Here (Spotify)

And Here (Apple Music)

https://music.apple.com/nl/album/j-s-bach-complete-keyboard-works-vol-5-musical-offering/1837359653

And Here (YouTube)

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k2wf1S1hboQzMDL-4SYawCQDCuaBE9bH4&si=N4M3U_jlDrwZVH0R

Finally, the episode dealing with more in-depth history of BWV 1079:

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Concepts Covered:

J.S. Bach?s Musical Offering (1747) stands as one of the most profound works of the Baroque era, composed after his famous meeting with Frederick the Great in Potsdam. At its core is the celebrated crab canon, a musical palindrome that exemplifies Bach?s fascination with mathematics in music, loop canons, Möbius stips, and intricate contrapuntal design. Alongside the ricercare in six voices and other canons and fugues, the so-called Prussian Fugue, the Musical Offering illustrates the height of Bach?s late contrapuntal style, where intellectual puzzles and spiritual depth converge. We analyze the work and its canon riddles, Bach?s fugues and canons, its role as the composer?s mastery of counterpoint. We see its mathematical structure, admired for its late Baroque complexity, and celebrated as a true masterpiece of canonic writing, revealing why Bach remains central to discussions of music theory, musical palindromes, and the art of fugue.

Enjoy this powerful story (1953) by Karen Blixen.-Evan

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?Bach the master surgeon leaves no scar.?

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There are only two five-voice fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier, and only two triple fugues. This fugue is both? a five voice triple fugue. Should I be tempted to add some (perhaps too convenient) theological rhetoric to this fugue, an analysis might read like this:

Three subjects in one fugue? Why yes, the trinity in music! The themes enter, Son, Holy Spirit, and God the Father. See first God the Son, a man, very nearly B-A-C-H:

The first entrance of the Pentecostal waves comes, aptly, from the top down. The Holy Spirit is rendered:

God the Father finally makes an appearance, with his perfect interval, and three repeated notes:

On the final page, the Holy Spirit vanishes, leaving father and son in an impressive stretto:

N.B. I?m not convinced Bach had any of this in mind. At least since Schweitzer, however, people have seen the image of the triune God in Bach?s triple fugues. I believe at this time in Bach?s career, he had not quite codified his theological word painting, so if in fact Bach was thinking of the trinity, it is in any case represented more clearly in the triple fugue from Book Two, in f-sharp minor. There, the themes enter in order (as they do in the ?Saint Anne?s? Prelude and Fugue BWV 552) Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Biographical and theological readings aside, this is a striking and important fugue. Its prelude is no less beautiful. A most interesting revision comes at bar 14. The earliest version reads:

Only two bars, dominant to tonic. In revision, Bach seamlessly adds an additional two bars, stretching (and perhaps smoothing) out the harmonic rhythm. Bach the master surgeon leaves no scar:

People Mentioned:

Albert SchweitzerMieczys?aw HorszowskiShirley PerleSeymour LipkinPierre Hantaï

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Concepts covered:

The Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846?893) is one of the great monuments of Baroque music, counterpoint with theological tone painting. A remarkable triple fugue: the C-sharp minor fugue from Book I (BWV 849) (another triple fugue is the F-sharp minor fugue from Book II BWV 883). The C-sharp minor stands out as a five-voice fugue and triple fugue, an extraordinary rarity in the keyboard literature. Some interpreters have seen theological symbolism in the three subjects?Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?Bach?s mastery of structure, harmonic rhythm, and Bach in revision. The development of contrapuntal technique, musical spelling, such as the B-A-C-H motif

?It seems that classical musicians ? and as I now understand, jazz musicians at conservatory? are trained to forget the purpose of the music right at the point they start interpreting it.?

In this short episode (11 minutes of talking + 10 minutes of music) I read an entry from my practice diary which may be interesting enough to ponder?

As it was passed around during covid, the ?Coronavirus Etude? looked something like this:

Hopefully you?ll enjoy the lesson I got out of the few ?performances? made of such a meme.

Meanwhile, Rosalyn Tureck is featured for the first time on this show. Here is a picture of her at a Moog. (I didn?t mention that one of my favorite facts about her is that she espoused this instrument as a perfectly valid way to capture Bach?s music.) Her personal ?revelation? about Bach, as related in David Dubal?s Reflections from the Keyboard is read in full.

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In the beginning was the arpeggio, and the arpeggio was in C major, and the arpeggio was C major?

To which ill-tempered friend will you send this?

We are lucky Bach bothered writing out his arpeggio preludes. Here, for example, is what would later become the C-sharp Major prelude, from Book 2:

Who, without the aid of Bach?s revisions, would be so bold to turn that into:

So too, in the early versions of the opening of the Well-Tempered Clavier, Bach loses little time writing out the figures. He even stops writing half-notes toward the end:

Only 24 bars in its conception! A further revision in W.F.?s notebook sees a 28 bar version of the piece? the fair copy of 1722 is 35 bars (not 36! Listen for my discussion of the Schwencke measure.)

Some other pieces in this style:

The fugue also underwent revisions, especially to its theme. Layers A1 and A2 have:

Landowska recorded this version and wrote program notes about her decision (heard in the episode.) The 32nd notes of the subject were added in the third ?layering?. Finally, Bach makes the finest revision in A4? in the 1740s(!), changing the bass in bar 15:

to this:

Finer and finer. Curvier and curvier. The image of Bach in the workshop with the chisel is a fascinating one.

Links mentioned:

The earlier episode covering this prelude (inverting it chromatically and other fun tricks)

Regarding the 2nd note each arpeggio in the earliest version of the prelude, see Legato playing and hidden polyphony on the harpsichord (Thanks to Erzdorf for sharing this, highly recommended.)

And, as mentioned in the episode, Wanda with Leo Tolstoy:

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Concepts Covered:

We discuss the prelude as a possible invitation to check the new system tuning, the famous pieces of Bach, and the Minuet in G being not by Bach but by Petzold. Explore the evolution and historical significance of Bach?s Well-Tempered Clavier, a landmark in keyboard literature and tuning theory. This episode traces Bach?s compositional development of key preludes and fugues, such as the C-sharp Major Prelude (Book II) and the C Major Prelude (Book I), BWV 846 analysis, revealing how Bach expanded brief sketches?some only 24 bars?into fully realized works through meticulous revisions. The Schwencke measure- his mistake. Discussions of simplifying Bach, also we examine counterpoint in detail, including changes to fugue subjects, rhythmic diminution, and voice leading, with examples from layers A1?A4. The discussion includes the function of the preludes as tools to demonstrate well-tempered tuning, their pedagogical role, and Bach?s workshop-like revision process. Also covered: authorship controversies, authentic Bach, such as the Minuet in G, long attributed to Bach but now credited to Christian Petzold. An in-depth look at how Bach's compositional process shaped one of the most enduring works in Western music.

It?s high time we delve into what Schumann called a musician?s ?daily bread.? The Well-Tempered Clavier is one of the collections closest to the composer?s heart?and to the hearts of countless other musicians throughout history.

The episode on temperament I mentioned.

I think of the two books of this collection as having only outward similarities. The music in both parts are as separate as The Art of Fugue and the Inventions? even more so. Book One, incidentally the only part to be called ?The Well-Tempered Clavier? was written in a condensed period of time, whereas its counterpart was ?assembled,? as it were, over some twenty years.

We begin not quite at the beginning, (a special episode will be devoted to the C Major pair) but with the third prelude and fugue, in C-sharp Major, BWV 848. Compare the earliest version which I play in the episode:

to the version which we know:

We?ll discuss Bach in revision, the four ?layerings? in the first part, as well as the source tradition of both books, the stylistic differences between Book One and Book Two.

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Concepts Covered:

This is an introduction to the Well-Tempered Clavier. Explore the depth and legacy of J.S. Bach?s Well-Tempered Clavier, a collection that Robert Schumann famously called a musician?s ?daily bread.? This post examines the differences between Book I and Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier, focusing on their distinct compositional histories and structural identities. The Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp Major, BWV 848, comparing its earliest version to the final form familiar today. Along the way, we?ll unpack Bach?s process of revision, the layered construction of Book I, and the source tradition of Book II, offering valuable insight for students of Bach analysis, keyboard music, and Baroque performance practice.

PG-13 Warning. This isn?t the norm?just testing the cult of Shinners. Future episodes stay true to our Bach tradition. Enjoyed this? Do you want some more of my originals mixed in with your weekly Bach?

Literally Can't Thank You Enough in Advance

I try to ?bear the burden of bitterness which experience forces on us with as much uncomplaining dignity as strength will allow? as restaurants around me tell me to eat beautiful, as any person who pockets their phone to listen is crowned empathetic, as those who literally died walk among us. Language evolves. Oh well.

Still, there has got to be something to the way we shift around our words, carefully wringing any sentiment out of the last remaining fabric of a once powerful tongue. We no longer feel with our words. We miss out on basic communication. We?ve lost even the ability to thank and receive thanks:

Once, we said, you're welcome. Now we say, no problem. I don?t really mind: other languages have de nada, de rien. But something happens in our psychology when one goes from feeling welcome, to not a problem. Once, we were welcome, now we?re ?simply not a pest. Fine, can you blame us? What modern human has time to make anyone feel welcome? I just feel bad for the re-printings of all the phrasebooks, textbooks, tourist maps, dictionaries, flashcards, everything that now has to change you're welcome to no problem. Surely, the truest way to show you?re a foreigner is to say you're welcome.

That?s receiving thanks, how about giving it?

For starters, there?s thank you in advance. Have you ever been thanked in advance? How did that feel? I recently got a request from someone asking to stay at my house ? thanking me in advance. I wonder if she was equally thankful when I said, no thanks. Thanking people in advance is holding them hostage, so when someone thanks me in advance I tell them to get f****d on short notice.

Then there?s, I can?t thank you enough. This has got to be one of the weakest sentiments ever uttered. When I hear this, I note the lack of any real thanks in the first place. I can't thank you enough reminds me of that eerie phrase in the business, said just before you agree to play for free, ?And you know, Mr. Shinners, we just couldn?t possibly pay you enough??

I can't thank you enough.Really? Have you tried?Tried what?Thanking me.?thanking you?Yeah, sure, go ahead and try.?oh? thank you?Okay. That's enough.

You can't thank me enough? What am I, a sultan? I can't thank you enough is an outgrowth of our desire to over-blow sentiment to the point where anything? especially a meal? could be compared to the profound. Amazing brunch. It?s the same sentiment as the best thing ever. So many people I know have experienced the best thing ever. Poor folks? if I had experienced the best thing ever, my life would thereafter seem empty, down-hill, constantly in pursuit of that once happier moment. Going immediately to the superlatives in our language leaves no room for improvement, and once again, we?ve exhausted our expressive power on lunch.

Having an occasion where one couldn?t thank enough seems to be reserved for the Cherokee Chief who pulls your drowning family out of a freezing river and nurses them back to health. Maybe then you couldn?t find enough thanks.

? in the room, dim light and steam. Under his dark hair I could see his hands, working tirelessly, deftly. My daughter, blue around the lips and limp, lay at the man?s knee: it had been two days since she had moved. I had no hope, perhaps I already resigned her to a frozen fate. At last, as if cued by his movements, as if rising with the steam, she opened her eyes, restored to life. Tears flowed from her eyes, and then from mine. The Chief kept his gaze fixed on her chest, focused on her breathing. I was at a loss. Finally, he relaxed his hands and sank away from her, as if his own life had left him and became hers.

I turned my wet eyes to the Chief and uttered, ?Sir? my dear man, were I to thank you every day until I die, I would still feel that I cannot thank you enough.

No problem. Said he.

Notes:

The opening quote: ?bear the burden of bitterness which experience forces on us with as much uncomplaining dignity as strength will allow? is from one of the essays I live by: Phillip Lopate: Against Joie de Vivre: Personal Essays. Poseidon Press, 1986.

The closing music is my teacher, the great Jerome Lowenthal, playing Liszt?s Christmas Tree.

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A few months back I had the pleasure of interviewing Ton Koopman. If you?re at home in the Baroque, you?re no stranger to his work. Please enjoy this interview, marking the 100th episode of The WTF Bach Podcast! Thanks for your support, thanks to all those who make this work possible. Here?s looking forward to 100 more!

Topics Covered (Chronologically)

Works of doubtful authenticity (Violin Sonata, BWV 1025)Continuo playing (Figured bass, Improvisation, Ornamentation)Legato in the BaroqueWanda Landowska (?I play Bach his way?)Tuning (Meantone and Werckmeister)Student copies with different ornamentsTempo and the connection with ornamentationHeinrich SchützBach?s repertoire in concertsPedal harpsichord and pedal clavichordBach?s toccatas on organ without pedalsBach ?counting? bars (Kabbalah and numerology in Bach)The ending of ?The Art of Fugue? BWV 1080The Fuga a 3 Soggetti?s inclusion in ?The Art of Fugue?Koopman as pianistThe touch on piano vs. harpsichordBeginning organist repertoire (pianists learning organ)Pedal techniqueGustav Leonhardt (also as organist)?Touch? on harpsichord and organ (quick and slow attack)Performing and musicologyEarly fingeringMy Lady Neville?s BookBook collecting (and indexing)L'art de toucher le clavecin (Couperin)Roger North?s comments on musical performance practicePrefaces by FrescobaldiN.B. BWV 1025 was played by Robert Hill and Reinhard Goebel. The charming piece around min 39 is Giles Farnaby?s (1560-1640) ?Up Tails All.?

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Listen to the new album here:

https://modernclassicalx.lnk.to/BachCompleteKeyboardWorksVol4PartitasPtOne

Today I?ve released Volume 4 in my ?Complete Keyboard Works? of JSB. This album contains three pieces by the master:

Partita no. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825Partita no. 2 in c minor, BWV 826Partita no. 3 in a minor, BWV 827

Bach?s Opus One?the six Partitas of Clavier-Übung I?were first issued individually from 1726, with the complete set published in 1731. Bach pays homage to his Leipzig predecessor, Johann Kuhnau, who established the model in 1689 with his own Neuer Clavier-Übung. Even the title pages show Bach?s awareness of Kuhnau?s legacy:

Here is (an edition based on) the all-interesting source G 25, with its crucial revisions to the 2nd and 3rd partitas. These tempo indications, for example, withheld from publication in the Neue Bach Ausgabe, greatly affect this transitional passage in BWV 826:

Finally, the episode covering the most dramatic revision in this source:

Many thanks to Bonnie Barrett, Aaron Ross, the YASI team in NYC, and Armand Hirsch for their help in this release!

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Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com)

Would you object to the comparison of Messiaen and Borges? I see both 20th century giants deeply steeped in the masters of the past, throughly conversant in the antique, and yet they bring something uniquely modern? magical. Borges? stories have the ability to stun, to make one wonder, or in the case of the story I read today, elicit tears.

After Shakespeare?s Memory, (1983) which I believe is his last published story, I offer my somewhat chaotic rendition of the Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel Hoch, BWV 769.

Following this, Donald Barthelme, an exciting, quirky read: The School (1976.) The frontispiece of my Barthelme book is a painting by Kandinsky? perhaps this is the right metaphor.

June 13th, episode 99, sees the release of volume 4 in my J.S. Bach Complete Keyboard Works series. You can save the release here in eager anticipation:

https://modernclassicalx.lnk.to/BachCompleteKeyboardWorksVol4PartitasPtOne

The two tracks I made for this episode are available as a free download. Here you are!

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Yep. I based an entire episode on the pun. We study two works not usually heard in the organ repertoire, the Prelude (Fantasy) BWV 569 and the Prelude with Fugue BWV 551, both in a minor. These are not the best known pieces in the repertoire, but they command our attention?especially when you consider that one of them was written when Bach was just 14 years old.

BWV 569, composed around 1708 when Bach was 23, is a single-rhythm experiment in modulation?akin to his Fantasy, BWV 922. On the page, it looks repetitive, but harmonically it?s anything but:

I mentioned I?d link to my own recording of its sister piece, BWV 922 (this cover art: under appreciated.)

The second piece, BWV 551, recently dated to around 1700, shows stunning compositional command for a young teenager. If Mozart and Mendelssohn are the poster children of musical precocity, Bach must now be added to the whizz-kid list. As Schweitzer puts it:

?If ever a composer?s period of probation was short, it was his.? -Schweitzer, Vol. 2, p. 122.

This piece, based on the keyboard toccatas of Johann Jakob Froberger (1616?1667) is an absolute blast. For our purposes, we can call it a double fugue. Look to the pedal line to identify both subjects, and imagine tap-dancing the 16th-note theme:

The first time I played it, the ending is what had me cracking up (alone and in an organ loft.) Not only does the piece seem like it?s coming to a stop in d minor:

But on the last bar, Bach adds the raised fourth degree! Exceptional.

Performers in today?s episode:

Rübsam, Koopman, Preston, Walcha, Hans Fagius.

I read excerpts from:

Pirsig, Robert M. Lila: An Inquiry into Morals. Bantam Books, 1991.

Wolff, Christoph, and Markus Zepf. The Organs of J. S. Bach: A Handbook. Translated by Lynn Edwards Butler, University of Illinois Press, 2012.

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Concepts Covered:

In this episode on early Bach organ works, we highlight two lesser-known compositions in A minor: the Prelude (Fantasy) BWV 569 and the Prelude with Fugue BWV 551. These pieces, rarely featured in standard organ repertoire, showcase the astonishing talent of young Johann Sebastian Bach. BWV 569, composed around 1708, reveals experimental rhythmic modulation reminiscent of BWV 922. Bach enthusiasts, organ music lovers, and anyone interested in the early genius of J.S. Bach, will be interested in the fugal analysis, the discussion on double fugues, the influence of Froberger, and Bach?s copy of Frescobaldi.

The oldest surviving (ca. 1100) German church melody is centered around Easter and the resurrection: Christ ist erstanden. Luther adapted this into Christ lag in Todesbanden. Both texts culminate in a triumphant ?Hallelujah!?

What kind of music could Bach compose for such a joyous word? In every instance, it demands a distinctly exalted treatment.

We discuss the origins of the word Alleluia, and analyze the music when the word appears in his motets, cantatas and a four-part chorale. Plus, the story of the discovery of Bach?s personal bible, the Calov Bible.

Here?s the word in the autograph of Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (can?t you feel his joy writing this?)

Performers in today?s episode:

BWV 225, Vocalconsort Berlin, Daniel Reuss

BWV 230, Le Petite Band, Sigiwald Koken

BWV 140, Academy of Ancient Music, Choir of King's College, Stephen Cleobury

BWV 4, Pigmaleon, Raphael Pinchon

BWV 276, Chamber Choir of Europe, Nichol Matt

BWV 143, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton Koopman

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Concepts Covered:

This study explores the origins of the German resurrection hymn Christ ist erstanden, transformed by Luther into Christ lag in Todesbanden, and how Bach distinctively set the jubilant "Hallelujah" across motets, cantatas, and a four-part chorale. It examines the etymology of "Alleluia," its liturgical role in the tempus clausum?when festive music ceased?and its observance under the Rule of Saint Benedict. The discussion concludes with the discovery of Bach?s annotated Calov Bible, offering insight into his theological and musical mindset.

Today, Good Friday 2025, marks 300 years since Bach performed the St. John Passion in Leipzig. ? but it started like this:

But wait, I thought the St. John Passion was:

In this episode, beyond outlining the basic revisions between the 1724 and 1725 (and a few other) versions of BWV 245, we?ll study how people heard passion music, the purpose of a passion setting, and how Bach, by changing the opening and closing movements, or swapping an aria here and there, envisioned he might guide the listener into a different state of reflection to receive the same Gospel.

Today?s performers were M. Suzuki, H. Rilling and P. Herreweghe. Here is a link to the Weimar Passion theory I mentioned. Finally, the excerpt by Daniel Melamed comes from his excellent book: Hearing Bach?s Passions. Revised ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016, 73?74.

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Concepts covered:

Various versions of BWV 245, especially the 1724 and 1725 layers, analyzing changes in opening and closing choruses, aria placement, as well as theological emphasis. Topics include Lenten music practices, the music during tempus clausum, the Passion oratorio, Passion hymns such as ?O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß,? the liturgical and devotional role of chorales, and how Bach?s compositional decisions recalibrate the listener?s reception of the Johannine Passion text. We discuss changes in orchestration and the change in venue from St. Thomaskirche to St. Nikolaikirche in 1724.

The organ held a central role in the life of a baroque keyboardist. Not only was an accomplished harpsichordist or clavichordist comfortable playing with their feet, but the art suggests that the repertoire often called for ad libitum pedal additions.

In J.S. Bach?s second collection of chorale prelude for organ, he introduces obligato pedal parts. Below is an image from his Bach?s earliest chorale settings for organ, as preserved in the Neumeister Collection:

Whereas we do not see any explicit pedal markings, we imagine the adept player added them when tasteful. A decade or so later, Bach?s chorale settings look more like this:

Note the small staves on the left, indicating that the source still had two staves, but the counterpoint in the pedal is specifically called for. Here is the autograph:

That little ?P.? below the bottom staff is the clue. The title page of the Orgelbüchlein contains a flowery description, indicating its intended use:

Here is the text of Saint-Saëns? charming autobiography.

And here is the episode where I introduce the Neumeister Collection.

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Concepts covered:

This episode explores the rich tradition of Baroque organ music, focusing on J.S. Bach?s organ works and his chorale preludes. We examine historical performance practice, particularly the use of ad libitum pedal technique and the development of obbligato pedal lines in Bach?s compositions. A deep dive into the Neumeister Collection sheds light on early Baroque keyboard music, revealing how Bach?s pedal technique evolved over time. Finally, we analyze the Orgelbüchlein, its structure, and its lasting impact on organ repertoire.

A beloved cantata from Bach?s early 20s, the Actus Tragicus anticipates the future of opera more than it foreshadows Bach?s own later cantatas. Albert Schweitzer?s beautiful writing on Bach features heavily in this episode.

Here is the tuning video with chorale in question toward the end of the episode:

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Let?s have a look at BWV 106. I focus on the two recorders and their almost unison playing. The effect of one flute dropping a few notes from their otherwise identical melody is marvelous:

The theme of the cantata joins the Old-Testament ?fear of death? with the New-Testament ?joy in death.? Bach combines both testaments? text in multiple movements. This idea of the soul rising above the old world, ?as if hastening hither from another,? musically detached from the fugue in the lower voices, a soprano floats over the texture, quoting Revelations:

And who can forget this moment? It even looks striking to the eye:

We find a similar image of the comforted soul floating above the music in the duet toward the end of the cantata. Over Jesus? dying words, the alto slowly sings a Lutheran hymn:

Bach so carefully wants to paint the idea of peace in death, he gives one word (sleep) its own dynamic:

Performers today were: Masaaki Suzuki, Joshua Rifkin, Rudoplh Lutz. The additional organ chorale at the end of the episode is BWV 616.

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Concepts Covered:This episode is an Actus Tragicus, BWV 106 analysis, one of Bach's early cantatas. We examine the influence of Albert Schweitzer?s Bach research on our understanding of this work today. We also discuss Baroque cantata interpretation, and how Italian opera influence permeates Bach?s sacred compositions. The episode touches on historically informed performance, the comparison of recorder vs. flute in Bach's works and Cantata text interpretation. We spend time considering Bach Lutheran hymn settings and his chorale harmonizations. Additionally, we explore the symbolism in Bach?s music, examining the use of Bach musical rhetoric to convey deeper meanings, and how Bach?s sacred vocal music reflects both New Testament and Old Testament themes. The episode touches on themes of Revelation in Bach?s music, Baroque musical theology, and Bach?s death and peace themes, all within the context of Baroque counterpoint in sacred music.

The bard? not the brook, but don?t worry, this podcast isn?t going to become an English lesson.

Thanks for reading WTF Bach! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here is my reading of Shakespeare?s first publication, Venus and Adonis, a poem that is pure music. If I were to list my favorite lines, I might as well copy out half the poem. Just something that pops into my head would be a line like,

?Rain added to a river that is rankPerforce will force it overflow the bank.?

It bursts with melody and rhythm! And at least one moment, such as when Venus addresses Death,

'Hard-favour'd tyrant, ugly, meagre, lean,Hateful divorce of love,'--thus chides she Death,--'Grim-grinning ghost, earth's worm, what dost thou meanTo stifle beauty and to steal his breath,Who when he lived, his breath and beauty setGloss on the rose, smell to the violet?

'If he be dead,--O no, it cannot be,Seeing his beauty, thou shouldst strike at it:--O yes, it may; thou hast no eyes to see,But hatefully at random dost thou hit.Thy mark is feeble age, but thy false dartMistakes that aim and cleaves an infant's heart.

Why, this might well be compared with the later tragedies. Grim-grinning ghost! As Keats wrote in the margin of his copy of the Sonnets, ?Lo!?

I hope you enjoy this diversion. I?ve been toying with this for about a year now. I suggest reading along while listening to best absorb the poem. You can read the full text in modern English here, and as it appeared (with older spelling) in 1593, here.

Poor queen of love, in thine own law forlorn,To love a cheek that smiles at thee in scorn!

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UPDATE: One of my astute listeners pointed out that it is in fact Jones? review of Butler?s work in Music & Letters, and the original work by Butler is this book. Thanks for the correction!

Don?t miss the end of this episode where I play three of Bach?s earlier settings of the same tune, BWVs 700, 701, & 738!

We finish our study of this late masterpiece by reading some scholarship on the two different versions Bach made of his canonic variations on Luther?s 1539 melody. Whereas Wolff suggests both versions could be ?authentic,? Gregory Butler reveals that he believes the Original Edition was a mistake? one that prompted the handwritten fair copy.

As for the signature in the augmented canon? the finale in the fair copy? it is first spelled out in bar 19. See the top line, G, F#, A, G#:

These are not the same notes, but it is the same shape as B-A-C-H. The line that imitates this upper line is moving at half its speed. Therefore, it must repeat the spelling twice as slow later in the piece. See how it is joined by an independent line of counterpoint, now singing out the signature in parallel 3rds:

Two signatures in two different final movements!

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Concepts Covered:

In this episode, we explore Bach canonic variations, as well as other chorale setting of BWV 700, BWV 701, and BWV 738, and their connection to the Luther 1539 melody. We dive into Bach scholarship, focusing on insights from P. 271 and Gregory Butler?s Bach Research. You?ll also learn about Bach's original editions and the handwritten fair copy Bach created, as well as the significance of the augmented canon signature ? the iconic B-A-C-H motif. We examine Bach counterpoint techniques, analyze Baroque music in detail, and explore Bach's final movements in these canonic counterpoint studies. This episode serves as a gateway to understanding Bach's late masterpieces, with special attention given to the use of Bach?s signature in these variations.

Today, as we did in episode 5 of this miniseries, we?ll examine the revisions Bach made from engraving copy to handwritten copy. This is an important view into the composer?s workshop, and unlike clear ameliorations between layers in his other works, the two versions of BWV 769 present a unique challenge in seeking the ?best? version.

Changes like this (first beat, alto) are minute, yet fascinating:

(Top: engraving. Bottom: fair copy.) Bach made three revisions dealing with a similar leap of a fifth.

The most important revision in the inverted canon variation, is in this pedal line:

(Top: engraving. Bottom: fair copy.) Notice the ornament in the fair copy? we often see more ornaments in handwritten versions, but this is not consistently the case in this piece.

Heading over to the augmented canon, this revision (in the bottom line) seems to be the only one of major consequence:

(Top: engraving. Bottom: fair copy.) The need to change this canonic line stems from a revision Bach made 11 bars earlier? the lines being in augmentation with one another. Admire Bach?s brazenness as he changes what was D over B, to D over C#!

Here, as I mentioned, is a very early episode introducing the concept of Bach in revision:

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Show me a finale as densely packed with thematic material as this one. Here are the five bars ? the only five bars ? discussed in today?s episode. You might listen while looking at them:

Notice the finale comes in two stages, first diminution, then stretto. The signature in the final bar is noteworthy (though it should be mentioned that the letters are an addition by the editor.)

And here is a video of the Mandelbrot set fractal, as promised (with perfect background music:)

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Have a look at this. This is Bach beginning a canon in inversion. The follower is a 6th below the leader:

(If you can?t see that the shapes are inversions, hold up a mirror ? seriously!) Yet here, only a few bars later, the imitation seems to be at a different interval:

The follower is no longer a sixth below, but a third. How rare! And going on, something else:

(We?re looking at the lower two voices in this picture, the quarter notes.) We see the canonic imitation has shifted yet again, to the interval of a second. What is happening? Dare I say? W.T.F. Bach?

This type of composition is, I believe, completely unique. I?d love to see another example elsewhere in music. Bach writes the chorale melody four times, and in all four appearances, finds a different interval at which inverted imitation works.

The man?s capacity to combine a single shape with itself, to abstract the DNA of the smallest musical cell, to spin it, lengthen it, shrink it, to construct a world from a grain of sand; this is late Bach.

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Imagine composing an ornate melody, then stretching it out so it moves twice as slow, and somehow when you layer the stretched version onto the original, they match up beautifully: One shape, two different speeds. This is what Bach has done in this canon (but he also made sure that the consequence of both lines also blends into the harmonic implications of the chorale melody, which must also past through both lines?)

Let?s see what our augmented canon looks like on the page. Here is the opening of the ?quick? line:

And now see the same shape, moving in augmentation:

Those images are from the print, which as I mentioned is in open-score, and particularly difficult to read. The left hand is on the 2nd and 4th lines, the pedal sandwiched between them on line 3, and, did I mentioned? Four different clefs. Have a look:

We?ve seen this type of composition before on the podcast. Here is the episode from Season One about the augmentation canon (as well as in inversion) from the Art of Fugue:

Stay tuned for the final variation!

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The subject of the last several episodes has been Bach?s canonic variations on a Christmas tune by Martin Luther himself. A major inquiry into this work is its existence in two versions: engraved and handwritten. The published version (for reasons explained in the episode) doesn?t fully solve the canonic lines, as seen here:

Notice how the notes of the bottom line don?t continue after the fifth note!

See two other canons, each with the comes omitted:

Variatio 2 omits the follower after only three notes, while the last image shows the second voice dropping out after two full bars.

Because of such condensed notation, a copy working out the solutions would be necessary for anyone wishing to play the work; Bach himself made one? and couldn?t stop himself from making very minor changes. Those intriguing revisions are the subject of this episode.

P.S. In the episode I mention that for time?s sake, I cut three revisions from our comparative study of the canon at the 7th. For reference, they are found below. The staves show the pedals and left hand, engraving copy on top, followed by the handwritten copy:

Bar 7:

Bar 13:

Bar 22:

P.P.S. I received a notification that the featured recording of Stravinsky conducting his own arrangement is banned in certain countries in which I have listeners. Pardon me if the sound drops out at the end of the episode! If this happens, you?ll have to look the piece up on your own: it can be found searching Stravinsky?s music under the title ?Choral-Variationen? (or ?Chorale Variations? in other languages) with either W83, K087, or BH-2629 as the catalogue number.

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Let?s delve into a third variation from Bach?s 1747 masterpiece, ?Some canonic variations on the Christmas song, ?From Heaven Above? for the organ with two keyboards and pedal, by J.S. Bach.?

Two versions of this piece exist: the ?fair copy? and the ?publication? (Stichfassung), which present the variations in a different order. In this episode, we follow the publication, where the canon at the 7th appears as the third variation.

The previous two variations featured canons between right and left hands, while the pedals carried the slow moving chorale melody. This variation introduces something new: a canon between the pedals and left hand. On that page that looks like this:

Above those two lines, the right hand plays a quick-flowing accompaniment marked cantabile, but the chorale melody is missing?

Note the rest up top, and the downward-facing stems on all the notes. This implies a second voice is coming: the Christmas melody sung in half notes.

Together, the two voices of the right hand, combined with the canon between the pedals and the left hand, create a four-voice texture? the previous variations were in three voices. As we?ve seen in his other late canonic works, Bach will gradually increase the complexity of the canonic treatment toward the finale.

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I never knew the authentic version of the world?s most famous canon, having only known arrangements which conceal the fact that the music is indeed a canon in three voices. Here is what the ?real? canon looks like:

It continues for over 50 bars as a three voice canon at the unison. In my brief survey of this piece, I found one theory that suggests the 9-year-old J.S. Bach was in attendance at the first performance in history.

While the canonic treatment is clever and not worthy of our loathing? we blame its ill fate on others? Bach?s contributions to the genre outshine this example. We continue with Bach?s canonic art in the next episodes.

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Concepts Covered:

The musical canon has long been a cornerstone of Baroque music, with J.S. Bach canons exemplifying the height of Bach?s canonic art and canonic structure in Bach?s compositions. This episode explores Bach?s musical contributions, from his early compositions to his sophisticated fugue and canon techniques. We also discuss Pachelbel?s Canon in D, one of the most recognizable pieces in classical music, analyzing its compositional style, melody, and Baroque influences. Through Bach musical theory, Bach analysis and theory, and comparisons with Pachelbel?s influence, we uncover the lasting impact of these works on Bach music history and the broader canon of Baroque music masterpieces.

Continuing our mini-series exploring Bach?s canonic variations on the Christmas song, ?Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her? BWV 769, we listen to the second canon: a canon at the perfect fifth.

Here is what the initial shape looks like in the right hand:

So the same shape must be imitated down the perfect fifth. It appears like this in the left hand:

I briefly mention the difference between ?tonal? and ?real? answers. Although the majority of the imitating line appears a perfect fifth below the leader, several accidentals are changed to keep the overall tonality. Hence Bach here gives us a ?real answer.? (I.e. where the F# and G# appear in the left hand, find the corresponding notes in the right hand, note the resulting intervals are diminished fifths, not perfect.)

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The first variation in these late variations for organ, is a canon at the octave. The two hands, each on a separate keyboard, play the same shape, one octave apart, while the feet provide the chorale melody. It looks like this:

Those are the first three measures of 18 measures. That?s right: the shape is imitated note for note for 18 bars! If you?re having trouble seeing that the two upper lines are in fact the same melody, one octave apart, try this image:

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In this first of several related episodes, we will learn about Bach?s late contrapuntal masterpiece, the Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her, BWV 769.

The variations? although certainly not as familiar? should be considered alongside Bach?s other late achievements, the Goldberg Variations, The Art of Fugue, and A Musical Offering. They employ many similar ideas and highlight the composers uncanny ability to ?squeeze water from a stone,? making elaborate pieces with minimal material.

This first episode discusses the origins of the chorale melody and for what purpose Bach used this piece.

Drop me a note to tell me if you like this shorter episode length. Are you the type of listener who loves the hour long podcast? Or did this fit into your schedule better?

I mention the title page:

And the Wikipedia link to the chorale melody: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vom_Himmel_hoch,_da_komm_ich_her

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Since I was a child I?ve known the story of Bach pulling out a blade. What really happened? In this short episode, I read the contemporary reports from the Arnstadt Consistory Court, where this famous fisticuffs was first recorded.

About halfway through the episode (14 minutes), I?ve given you some ?chill? chorales, played over a drone. One of my listeners mentioned they wanted some Bach for doing yoga/meditation, so this is what I came up with. If you like the way it sounds, I?ll put a full hour-long track on Spotify for all my Bach enthusiast yogis.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for some cool episodes coming up during the holiday season.

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Concepts Covered:

In this episode, we delve into the Bach Zippelfagottist controversy, a fascinating chapter of Bach?s biography mysteries, where we examine the famous Bach dagger incident and the events surrounding the Arnstadt Consistory Court. We also touch on the historical Bach disputes that hint at Bach?s temperament and behavior, including the Bach and Geyersbach conflict. Bach?s fisticuffs story sheds light on Bach?s early years and his early career troubles. The episode also explores the historical records from the Arnstadt Consistory Court, providing a glimpse into Bach?s self-defense incident and the Bach Arnstadt brawl. Whether you're drawn to Bach's historical documents, his unusual stories, or his works for meditation, this episode offers a thorough exploration of Bach's personal life drama, his clashes with church authorities, and his early controversies that set the stage for his monumental legacy.

Last week I posted this piece on YouTube:

The most intriguing part of studying this piece was the overwhelming amount of differences between the three earliest sources of this work. Here is a list of the sources I reference in the episode , the copyists, and when they were made:

The ?Andreas Bach Book? (D-LE III.8.4) J. Christoph Bach; copyist, between 1705-1714

P 801 J. Tobias Krebs; copyist, between 1710-1717

P 804 J. Peter Kellner; copyist, before 1725

In the episode I simply refer to these as Andreas Bach, Krebs, and Kellner.

You will hear a great amount of textual variation between these sources. Part of any performer?s job of playing music from Bach?s era includes combing through sources, determining how and why certain discrepancies appear. In the Aria Variata, however, the discrepancies are inconsistent? and perplexing.

My current understanding of source tradition hasn?t led me to any conclusion, but were I bold enough to take a stab, I?d guess Andreas Bach is the most accurate source, Kellner made a very sloppy copy from which Krebs copied. Kellner?s copy is full of corrections, but these were probably entered at a later date, and Krebs didn?t get the memo. A taste of what this looks like:

That is Kellner?s copy. Notice the ornaments. Compare to Krebs:

Both have an E-flat in on the downbeat of the third bar (all three sources in this episode use soprano clef on top). Now here is Andreas Bach:

D-sharp in bar three! Also, the ornamentation is fuller.

There are many other details in the episode, so please, enjoy! Here are more images to stimulate your fancy:

Krebs? wavy hand.

Kellner making mistakes, corrected by? whom? Kellner himself?

The baffling passage in variation 4 in Andreas Bach. Notice what look like erasures on some of the notes.

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Concepts Covered:

In this episode, we explore the Bach Aria Variata sources and delve into the fascinating world of Bach manuscript discrepancies, specifically examining the Andreas Bach Book, J. Christoph Bach manuscript, and the works of J. Tobias Krebs and J. Peter Kellner. We discuss how Bach?s early keyboard works are presented in various historical music sources, uncovering differences in notation, ornamentation, and textual variants that shape Bach?s source tradition. Through a comparison of the Kellner manuscript errors and the contributions of Krebs vs. Kellner Bach, we gain insights into Bach?s performer scholarship and the challenges of interpreting Baroque music textual variants. Additionally, we explore the authenticity of Bach?s handwritten manuscripts and how these sources influence the understanding of his music today.

Yes, that recording at the end is none other than Jascha Heifetz with Primrose and Piatigorksy, who apparently recorded three of the sinfonias. The wonderful pianist with that golden sound playing before the string trio arrangement is (I think!) Marcelle Meyer recorded sometime around 1948.

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Today?s episode focuses on the ?black pearl? of the inventions and sinfonias. The f minor sinfonia is highly complex piece of passion music embedded within a seemingly innocent collection of music intended for the beginner. Here, rather than the more typical obligato upper voices with the bass occasionally joining in with a theme here and there, the f minor sinfonia relies on convertible counterpoint where all three voices are judged? and juggled? equally. Bach shows us this technique using different themes:

A lament bass:

Musical crosses:

And a wildly avant-garde motif, which I refer to as the wailing motif:

Writing certainly exists on these three motifs seen as ?God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.? Not for any particular reason, I refrain from making such an analogy in this episode.

As mentioned in the episode, Bach changed some of the enharmonics when transfering the piece from the Notebook for W.F. Bach into the Aufrichtige Anleitung. Here are some examples:

The E-double-flat (middle voice) in the notebook for his son:

is later changed to a D natural:

The B-double-flat in the top voice in the previous examples remain, but Bach will change the spelling in the bass voice of the same note (again, in the notebook:)

to an A natural:

There are a few other similar changes throughout.

Thanks for listening! Have you told your high-school band teacher you?re super into Bach?

N.B. My substack is about 1 year old, and in that time I released some 27 episodes and three essays. Should you decide to become a paid subscriber, that?s less than 3 dollars an episode (paying per year: about $3.70 paying per month.) Your contribution ensures the existence of this podcast. I really couldn?t? and wouldn?t be able to? continue devoting the time without your support. Thank you.

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Concepts Covered:

The F minor Sinfonia, BWV 795, stands out among Bach?s inventions and sinfonias, showcasing his counterpoint techniques and expressive depth. Elements like the lament bass, musical crosses, and the haunting wailing motif, this work reveals Bach?s ability to embed passion music into seemingly simple pieces. Through an analysis of enharmonic changes and Bach in revision, we gain insight into his intricate writing, preserved in the W.F. Bach notebook. Legendary musicians such as Jascha Heifetz and Marcelle Meyer have interpreted these works. Join the Bach fan community to continue to explore his legacy through Bach music scholarship, uncovering new dimensions of his sacred motifs and theoretical innovations.

Becoming familiar with Bach?s music is a never-ending process. First, there is the initial reading, which alone can occupy many happy years. What?s remarkable is that with each further reading, you?re astonished by the details you missed before?quite honestly amazed. You ask yourself: Where?or even who?was I during those earlier readings? You begin to measure your growth as a musician against the depth with which you can now understand the pieces.

One fugue, which I initially read with little interest, is the one featured in this episode: BWV 537. Suddenly, I?m struck by its raw power and its structural reliance on a chromatic line. Now that it has revealed itself to me, it will forever remain a favorite. I hope to share with you a glimpse of this experience in today?s episode.

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Concepts Covered:

The Fantasy & Fugue in C minor, BWV 537, exemplifies Bach?s musical complexity, combining a dramatic chromatic line with masterful fugue techniques. This episode explores the structural analysis of the piece, highlighting Bach?s intricate approach to fugue composition and his use of chromaticism to heighten musical tension. Through Bach music analysis, we gain deeper insight into his musical influence and the enduring power of his Baroque fugues. Understanding the Fugue in C minor reveals the depth of Bach?s structural ingenuity, offering a fascinating study in fugue performance techniques and the brilliance of Bach?s music.

In this episode, we?ll explore Bach?s constant involvement with weddings. Weddings and funerals occupied a weekly place in Bach?s life in Leipzig and we?ll shed light on the various ways in which he was involved musically.

[I forgot to credit the last recording in this episode to Rudolph Lutz and the J.S. Bach foundation.]

Here are (some of) the beautiful parts which make up the chorales, BWVs 250-252. They are beautiful examples of Bach?s handwriting ca. 1730. Note that all three chorales are on the same page.

Soprano:

Alto:

Tenor:

Bass:

And the second horn part I fondly discuss in this episode:

All the parts are viewable at:

https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00002475

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