Members of the Bach Mailing List (BML)
Discussions - Part 22: Year 2021

Continue from Part 21: 2020

Introducing Myself - Ich stelle mich vor

Bill Fischer wrote (March 5, 2021):
For more than ten years I have sung (bass) with the Portland (Oregon, USA) Bach Cantata Choir. We toured the Bach area of Germany in June 2018 and were invited to perform at the Leipzig Bach Festival in June 2020. That appearance, combined with performances in Berlin, Prag and elsewhere, has been rescheduled to June 2022.

My first systematic musical activity, though, was lower brass: trombone, then baritone horn, then euphonium. I didn’t sing seriously until my wife, small children (now grown), and I resumed church attendance in 1990. Straining my voice to sing the melody of the hymns, I realized that I could easily play the bass line on my horn. So why not sing it? Not long thereafter I was in the Portland Opera auxiliary chorus and eager for more.

My other approach to Bach was through my background as a teacher of German and scholar of German literature. That experience served me well as I wrote my recent book “When God Sang German: Etymological Essays about the Language of Bach’s Sacred Music.” It is available through Amazon, but message me first before you buy it directly from them. I donate all the Amazon royalties to our Bach Cantata Choir, but our choir gets even more money per copy from sales of author copies that I have Amazon ship. In either case, I receive no money from sales of my book.

Bitte schreiben Sie mir auf deutsch, wenn Sie wollen!

Français: I can read your messages if they are in French, but will have to reply in English.
Español: I can read your messages if they are in Spanish, but will have to reply in English.

William B. Fischer, Ph.D.
Professor of German, Emeritus
Department of World Languages & Literatures
Portland State University
PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751
email: fischerw@pdx.edu <mailto:fischerw@pdx.edu>
williambfischer.com <http://williambfischer.com/>
Amazon Author Page <https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KIXFPI>

WELL TEMPERED / Temperament

Sara Manobla wrote (April 7, 2021):
I am a new member of BML - so let me briefly introduce myself. I have played the piano from age 7, and fell in love with Bach starting with the Anna Magdalena notebook. Wanting to play with other instrumentalists I took up the flute at age 15 and enjoyed playing chamber music and in amateur orchestras for many years, at an intermediate level. My working career was in broadcast journalism. Then at age 65, on retirement, I took up the cello. Playing the piano I had never given a thought to playing "in tune" or "out of tune": all I had to do was to call the piano tuner. But playing a string instrument opened up for me a whole new world of tuning and temperament. Open strings, octaves and fifths - no problem. But what about thirds and fifths and leading note sevenths? Perfect pitch and relative pitch? Equal temperament, well-temperament, mean temperament? And what was this pythagorean comma that I came across? After some serious arguments with my piano tuner I began googling and soon found Bradley Lehman and his work on Bach and the spiral image on the title page of the Well Tempered Clavichord. It seemed very reasonable and answered a lot of my questions. But was this the answer to my question about playing in tune with other instruments. It seemed that equal temperament would apply in essence only to an instrument played solo, or perhaps to an ensemble where all the instruments are tuned to the same temperament. There's no way a piano organ could be tuned anew each time in order to play a different piece of music, or with a different instrumentalist, or in a different key. Equal temperament was clearly the answer for modern performance. Bradley Lehman's insights are indeed thought provoking and helpful, but leave a lot of questions unanswered. Perhaps there is no one answer. Perhaps it's all a matter of compromise. Your thoughts!

Introducing Myself

Jen wrote (September 16, 2021):
Good morning. What are your favorite Bach pieces, and why? My favorite J.S. Bach pieces are:

* all his piano fugues - the way both hands echo each other is amazing
* "Jesus, Joy of Man's Desiring" because of the melodies and triads, even if I don't understand a word of it
* the Brandenburg concertos
* the C major section of "The Well-tempered Clavier" - to me, this piece is what life sounds like

Background - I have been totally blind from birth and am a pianist and singer-songwriter. I was in chorus for a long time. Since I can't / couldn't read music, I memorized it.

Zachary Uram wrote (September 17, 2021):
[To Jen] Welcome, Jen! I adore all Bach's keyboard music, the Brandenburg Concertos, the Musical Offering, the cantatas, the Magnificat, the Mass in B minor, the passions! My very favorite Bach organist, Helmut Walcha, was blind also!

Jen wrote (September 17, 2021):
[To Zachary Uram] Another thrilling piece. I don't know the name, but it starts with an organ, is in a minor key and is really spooky! But in a good way.

The thing about all Bach's vocal music is - it doesn't matter if you can't understand the language - it's still beautiful. And I think that's a mark of great music.

Zachary Uram wrote (September 17, 2021):
Jen wrote::
< Another thrilling piece. I don't know the name, but it starts with an organ, is in a minor key and is really spooky! But in a good way. >
Yes!

< The thing about all Bach's vocal music is - it doesn't matter if you can't understand the language - it's still beautiful. And I think that's a mark of great music. >
I agree! His music transcends language!

Sara Manobla wrote (September 17, 2021):
[To Zachary Uram] I've been playing Bach's keyboard music since I was 6 years old - starting with Anna Magdalena's Little Book through to the 48 et al. Now - aged 87 - I recently discovered the Organ Preludes and Fugues, arranged for piano 4 hands. My friend (she is 90 plus!) and I play them every week. \\

On piano you can hear and appreciate the counterpoint, and playing ensemble with another person adds to the enjoyment. Bach was the best organist ever, and for me these works are the best of his music. I would imagine he wrote them for himself. If you've never heard or played the organ preludes and fugues don't wait till you're my age - go for it now! There are 14 of them, arranged for 4 hands by Gleichauf, edition Peters, or International Music. And of course if you are an organist with access to an organ then you'll know these wonderful works - 2 hands, 2 feet!

Zachary Uram wrote (September 17, 2021):
[To Sara Manobla] Wow that's great! Sadly I never had the opportunity to learn to play the keyboard!

Continue on Part 23: 2022

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