Classical 21: Johan Sebastian Bach’s Harpsichord Concertos

(A) Introduction

I just realized that I hadn’t done anything on Bach yet!

 

It’s been a while since I listened to a good old-fashioned concerto.  Something nice and simple, without the drama of an opera.  So, I’m going to start off my Bach explorations with some concertos.

On a side note, the original singer for the metal band Skid Row took the stage name “Sebastian Bach” as a reference to this composer.  Skid Row put on a helluva show (particularly when opening for Guns ‘N’ Roses in the early nineties).  But I suspect the similarities between Sebastian and the original Bach end there.

 

(B) Johan Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Johan Sebastian Bach was born and raised in the great-metal-name town of Thuringia, Germany.  This is the same town where Luther translated the New Testament into German about two centuries before.  He was the eighth kid in a family of musicians, so the environment and genetics were perfect for the creation of a gifted composer.  At the age of nine, he lost both his parents in less than a year.  That sucks!  He moved away from Thuringia, living with relatives and becoming a renowned kick-ass organist while still in his teens.

 

He went on to become one of the (some consider him the) greatest composers of Western music.  He was exacting and precise, and like to play with numbers in his music.  He was also really good at the large-scale organization of musical themes and ideas, something which hadn’t been done to such an extent before.  At the time, it was common for a composer to lay down a structure and let the individual musicians improvise to varying extents on top of it.  Not so with Bach – he filled everything in, leaving little room for improvisation.  His stuff is so dense and complex that everything has to be planned out in detail.

 

Because of his command of complex structure, pattern and precision, he’s considered to be one of the ubergeniuses of Western civilization – even by people who aren’t into music.  Apparently lots of people find his stuff offputting – too rigid and complex and soulless because of all the mathematical depth.  In other words, they claim he doesn’t rock.  Sounds to me like he was the original prog rocker.

 

Most of his stuff is overtly religious, and even his secular pieces can be interpreted that way (kinda like Stryper).  After all, he was employed as a church organist most of his life.

 

Bach’s works occur mostly in the Baroque period – the precursor to the Classical period.  Baroque music features a lot of elaborate musical ornamentation, and increasing complexity in composition.  And they loooved counterpoint.

 

Bach’s main claim to immortality seems to be his keyboard works, particularly the organ.  He’s also known for his chamber music and choral stuff.

 

(C) The Harpsichord Concertos (1052-1065)

I figured I should start on Bach with something vaguely familiar.  I’ve listened to some concertos before, and Bach is particularly famous for his chamber and keyboard music.  Roll all those factors together, and you get the Harpsichord Concertos.

 

Like Haydn and Mozart, Bach was so huge that he gets his own classification system outside of the usual “Op. xx” format.  His works are categorized with BWV numbers, meaning “Bach Werke Verzeichnis” (Bach Works Catalogue).  This catalogue was compiled by Wolfgang Schmieder, a German musicologist, and published in 1950.  Here’s another twist: the catalogue is organised thematically rather than chronologically: BWV 1–224 are cantatas, BWV 225–249 the large-scale choral works, and so on.

 

The harpsichord concertos fall under the orchestral music category, BWV 1041–71.  There are five harpsichord concertos on this particular Naxos recording.  As a reminder, I’m listening to this classical stuff on the Naxos Music Library online, which has been pretty damn cool.  The concertos on this recording are:

-Concerto for Flute, Violin, Harpsichord and Strings in A minor, BWV 1044, “Triple Concerto”

-Concerto in D major, BWV 1050a, “Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, early version”

-Concerto in D minor, for 3 harpsichords, BWV 1063 

-Concerto for 3 Harpsichords in C major, BWV 1064

-Concerto in A minor, for 4 harpsichords, BWV 1065 

Following are highlights of this collection.

 

Concerto for Flute, Violin, Harpsichord and Strings in A minor, BWV 1044, “Triple Concerto”

The second movement, Adagio ma non tanto e dolce, sounds a little Asian – Japanese, maybe, with the flute and the plucking.  Just a little, though.

 

Concerto in D major, BWV 1050a, “Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, early version”

The harpsichord solo in the first movement is pretty impressive. 

 

Concerto in D minor, for 3 harpsichords, BWV 1063

This is all harpsichord all the time.  There are some strings, but they’re background instruments.  The first movement starts out really cool, with a descending prog-rock-like opening progression.  It sounds like the intro to an Yngwie Malmsteen instrumental.  The third movement, Allegro, sounds vaguely familiar.

 

Concerto for 3 Harpsichords in C major, BWV 1064

I’ve heard the melody for the second movement, Adagio, before.  It’s pretty nice, and melodic.  Bach wasn’t all math all the time, you know.  As usual, I don’t remember where I heard it before – all I know is it sounds familiar.

 

(D) Commentary

All the harpsichord action is too much for me.  It sounds too much like a wind-up music box.  It seems that, in the months since listening to Haydn, I still haven’t warmed up any more to anything even vaguely Baroque.  My first foray into Bach has been whelming at best.

 

I do appreciate the complexity and virtuosity of Bach’s music already, though.  It’s not the same kind of virtuosity as Paganini, who just shreds with an insane solo.  No, the whole piece is pregnant with depth and exactness.  There’s a million things going on at once, and each thing is linked to the next systematically.  It’s like a fractal.

 

(E) What I’ve Learned

-this wasn’t the best introduction to Bach for me.  I appreciate the composition, but I just don’t like the sound - I’ll have to find something else to listen to.  My interest is piqued enough to give him another try, though.  But please, no friggin’ harpsichords!