Like Plato and Aristotle, who were reputed by later followers to have had certain doctrines which -- owing to their "radical", non-intuitive, content -- were taught only to their most devoted pupils, and in secret after some initiation, I have some radical thoughts too, which I would like to share with you since you have come this far. Let me say, though, that if you as a Bach lover feel you are not ready to confront totally heretical notions about Bach's music, you ought to leave now.
For those others, read on.
In re-creating the sounds of Bach's music from the music scores that he left us, I have tried to follow certain guidelines. The intention was to get as close as possible to what Bach actually wrote without adding anything. We should strive to Let Bach be Bach:
(1.) Bring to a common denominator all the thousand pieces he wrote, i.e., use a standard assignment of instruments to voices, choosing this standard to emphasize the separation of voices and the music's contrapuntal aspect. Use vibes, piano, flute, French horn, chamber organ, plucked double bass, massed brass choir. Free each piece from its identification with, say, chamber music or orchestral music, with church-organ or harpsichord, with human voices or instruments, etc. Free it also from its usual social context. Cut through all that and let the voices have their own life.
(2.) Eliminate the "heavy breathing" introduced by the Nineteenth-Century romantics. Stop the tyranny of the performer. Let the notes as written on the score be primary without additions. No heavy-handed rubato. Let Bach be the star, not the "interpreter". Let Bach speak directly to us.
(3.) Emphasize the bass line. Bach was a cello player and directed his family's concerts from the cello (or harpsichord). Let the bass line lead and hold things together. The bass line establishes the harmony and the basic rhythm, so it has to to be heard, and it has to "bounce," just like the rhythm section of a Jazz group. If the end result sounds like Jazz, so much the better.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Below is a feast all prepared. My aim is to make the music be in the highest degree intellectual -- and when that is done, Bach as musician and as person shines through.
[ The pieces are in a meaningful sequence, but play them randomly if you wish. When a given midi-file has several variants listed (A, B, C...), the one I consider best is the last, but you may prefer one of the others. The duration of the music in each "Part" is 60 to 72 minutes, just right for putting onto a CD. ]
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Part 2
BWV 0000 zzzzzzz - BWV 1067 Suite for Orchestra #2 (Overture) - BWV 0566 Toccata & Fugue - BWV 0546 Prelude & Fugue - BWV 0887 WTC-II, 18 - BWV 0565 Tocatta & Fugue in d minor 1706 BWV 0829 Partita #5 - BWV 0539 Prelude -
Part 3
BWV 0544 xxxxxx - BWV 1067 Suite for Orchestra #2 (Overture) - BWV 0566 Toccata & Fugue - BWV 0546 Prelude & Fugue - BWV 0887 WTC-II, 18 - BWV 0565 Tocatta & Fugue in d minor 1706 BWV 0829 Partita #5 - BWV 0539 Prelude - Fugue BWV xxxx Prelude & Fugue - BWV 0537 Prelude - Fugue BWV 0243 Magnificat in D Major 1723
Part 4
BWV 0542 Prelude & Fugue - BWV 1067 Suite for Orchestra #2 (Overture) - BWV 0566 Toccata & Fugue - BWV 0546 Prelude & Fugue - BWV 0887 WTC-II, 18 - BWV 0565 Tocatta & Fugue in d minor 1706 BWV 0829 Partita #5 - BWV 0539 Prelude - Fugue BWV xxxx Prelude & Fugue - BWV 0537 Prelude - Fugue BWV 0243 Magnificat in D Major 1723 BWV 1080 Art of the Fugue, Inversion 1 1749
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