Post by erik on Apr 17, 2021 17:13:22 GMT -5
Johann Sebastian Bach is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight with a concerto for the keyboard. In his day, it was the harpsichord; in ours (and in terms of this particular recording), it is the piano.
Bach: KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 5 IN F MINOR, BWV 1056
Johann Sebastian Bach remains one of the titans of Western music, with an output that is so jaw dropping. It can also be convincingly argued that his compositional style influenced the music of nearly every composer, especially those of his own time the Baroque, through the Classical, and even on into the 20th century, when a revival of his music, after a century of obscurity, bought him back to relevancy for new audiences. A lot of that had to do with the sheer number of instrumental concertos for various instruments, numbering in the hundreds. Of great importance are the concertos he composed for the harpsichord, the instrument normally used in a continuo role in his works for orchestras or choirs, but for these purposes used as a solo instrument; each of these harpsichord concertos, numbering six in all, were composed during his prolific time in Leipzig. The fifth of these, in F Minor, runs approximately ten minutes in length and is scored for a small orchestra of strings. As is very common with Bach, there is much in the way of contrapuntal and fugal writing, establishing a pathway for future keyboard concertos, where the harpsichord would be replaced by the fortepiano, and then the modern piano (in fact, these harpsichord concertos were found to be easily transferable to the modern piano). After Bach’s death, it would take until the 1920’s before another harpsichord concerto would find its way into the classical repertoire, namely the “Concert Champetre” by the French composer Francis Poulenc.
Piano: SIMONE DINNERSTEIN
Berlin State Chamber Orchestra/SIMONE DINNERSTEIN (Sony)
Included (Bach: A Strange Beauty):
CHORALE: “ICH RUF SU DIR, HERR JESU CHRIST”, BWV 639 (for solo piano)
ENGLISH SUITE NO. 3 IN G MINOR, BWV 808 (for solo piano)
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MINOR, BWV 1052 (for piano and small orchestra)
CHORALE: “JESU, JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING” (for solo piano)
Bach: KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 5 IN F MINOR, BWV 1056
Johann Sebastian Bach remains one of the titans of Western music, with an output that is so jaw dropping. It can also be convincingly argued that his compositional style influenced the music of nearly every composer, especially those of his own time the Baroque, through the Classical, and even on into the 20th century, when a revival of his music, after a century of obscurity, bought him back to relevancy for new audiences. A lot of that had to do with the sheer number of instrumental concertos for various instruments, numbering in the hundreds. Of great importance are the concertos he composed for the harpsichord, the instrument normally used in a continuo role in his works for orchestras or choirs, but for these purposes used as a solo instrument; each of these harpsichord concertos, numbering six in all, were composed during his prolific time in Leipzig. The fifth of these, in F Minor, runs approximately ten minutes in length and is scored for a small orchestra of strings. As is very common with Bach, there is much in the way of contrapuntal and fugal writing, establishing a pathway for future keyboard concertos, where the harpsichord would be replaced by the fortepiano, and then the modern piano (in fact, these harpsichord concertos were found to be easily transferable to the modern piano). After Bach’s death, it would take until the 1920’s before another harpsichord concerto would find its way into the classical repertoire, namely the “Concert Champetre” by the French composer Francis Poulenc.
Piano: SIMONE DINNERSTEIN
Berlin State Chamber Orchestra/SIMONE DINNERSTEIN (Sony)
Included (Bach: A Strange Beauty):
CHORALE: “ICH RUF SU DIR, HERR JESU CHRIST”, BWV 639 (for solo piano)
ENGLISH SUITE NO. 3 IN G MINOR, BWV 808 (for solo piano)
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MINOR, BWV 1052 (for piano and small orchestra)
CHORALE: “JESU, JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING” (for solo piano)