And....this is how to play Bach

Conrad

RobbieZ

Beautiful!

shaundtsl

Very nice! thanks for sharing.

Conrad

I am trying to get the transcription. Very glad someone liked it ?

AlanRatcliffe

I never skip on listening to a rendition of a Bach piece. Still hoping to find a guitarist who does him justice the way Wanda Landowska does on harpsi or L. Power Biggs does on organ. ?

Conrad

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: I never skip on listening to a rendition of a Bach piece. Still hoping to find a guitarist who does him justice the way Wanda Landowska does on harpsi or L. Power Biggs does on organ. ?

Oh hehe cool. I often feel it is difficult to do any of Bach's music justice? ? It would take quite a bit of convincing for me to even perform one of his pieces in front of someone hahaha

Of course that is difficult since the only instrument resembling a guitar at his time was the lute which he did write for. Have you given his lute (transcribed for guitar) suites a listen?

Here is one I quite like.

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AlanRatcliffe

Conrad wrote: I often feel it is difficult to do any of Bach's music justice? ?

Yup. For me there is a fine balance between the technical precision and the emotiveness. I've always found players like Williams sacrifice the emotiveness, while others like Bream sacrifice the precision.

Probably my favourite performer for Bach is Ben Bolt. Unfortunately he doesn't do have a lot of JSB in his repertoire:
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Of course that is difficult since the only instrument resembling a guitar at his time was the lute which he did write for. Have you given his lute (transcribed for guitar) suites a listen?

Natch! Both Em and Gm. ? Bouree FTW. Used to play it myself, but very badly (but then, it's easy to impress a rock audience ?).

Conrad

Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
Conrad wrote: I often feel it is difficult to do any of Bach's music justice? ?
Yup. For me there is a fine balance between the technical precision and the emotiveness. I've always found players like Williams sacrifice the emotiveness, while others like Bream sacrifice the precision.

Oh yes. I think the player below walks that tightrope between the two things you mentioned but that might be subjective. The 1st video being a transposed cello suite that you are probably familiar with but that I just can't get enough of.

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lindsmuse

Beautiful thanks for sharing

deefstes

that is magnificent! I daresay you will struggle to get that transcription down though seeing as one half is for a left handed guitar ?

Conrad

deefstes wrote: that is magnificent! I daresay you will struggle to get that transcription down though seeing as one half is for a left handed guitar ?

Hehehe yes :rolleyes:

I'm glad you like it though

[deleted]

Conrad wrote: Oh hehe cool. I often feel it is difficult to do any of Bach's music justice? ? It would take quite a bit of convincing for me to even perform one of his pieces in front of someone hahaha

In my experience with Bach and the cello (can't speak for guitar), his music is simultaneously impossibly difficult and utterly sublime to play... It took me many years to learn most of his Cello Suites, and they're like Beethoven in that the better you can play them (technically) the harder they become musically, because there's just SO much you can do with the music.

I've performed a fair bit of Bach in my day, but it's always hellishly nerve-racking... Of course, with the Cello Suites it's particularly difficult, because every audience member has their favourite, famous recording, and knows the music really well... Eek.

Nonetheless, recording them all one day is definitely on my bucket list!

Edit: These vids are great by the way... I'll even admit the Cello Suite transcription ain't bad ?

[deleted]

An example of a man who is The Boss of the fine line between technical ability and emotiveness when playing Bach:
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(I saw Mischa Maisky playing the Bach Suites live in 2007, I think it was... The single most sublime concert I've ever been to)

Conrad

MoreCowBell wrote:
Conrad wrote: Oh hehe cool. I often feel it is difficult to do any of Bach's music justice? ? It would take quite a bit of convincing for me to even perform one of his pieces in front of someone hahaha
In my experience with Bach and the cello (can't speak for guitar), his music is simultaneously impossibly difficult and utterly sublime to play... It took me many years to learn most of his Cello Suites, and they're like Beethoven in that the better you can play them (technically) the harder they become musically, because there's just SO much you can do with the music.

I've performed a fair bit of Bach in my day, but it's always hellishly nerve-racking... Of course, with the Cello Suites it's particularly difficult, because every audience member has their favourite, famous recording, and knows the music really well... Eek.

Nonetheless, recording them all one day is definitely on my bucket list!

Edit: These vids are great by the way... I'll even admit the Cello Suite transcription ain't bad ?

I could hug you! Have you read The cello suites by Eric Siblin? http://www.ericsiblin.com/pages/cello.html

I have 2 recordings of the cello suites. One YoyoMa and one Pieter Wispelwey.

Conrad

Oh here is an excerpt from one of the cello suites. I found the transcription when I just started classical.

The guitarist in this video is apparently wonderful ?

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[deleted]

Conrad wrote:
MoreCowBell wrote:
Conrad wrote: Oh hehe cool. I often feel it is difficult to do any of Bach's music justice? ? It would take quite a bit of convincing for me to even perform one of his pieces in front of someone hahaha
In my experience with Bach and the cello (can't speak for guitar), his music is simultaneously impossibly difficult and utterly sublime to play... It took me many years to learn most of his Cello Suites, and they're like Beethoven in that the better you can play them (technically) the harder they become musically, because there's just SO much you can do with the music.

I've performed a fair bit of Bach in my day, but it's always hellishly nerve-racking... Of course, with the Cello Suites it's particularly difficult, because every audience member has their favourite, famous recording, and knows the music really well... Eek.

Nonetheless, recording them all one day is definitely on my bucket list!

Edit: These vids are great by the way... I'll even admit the Cello Suite transcription ain't bad ?

I could hug you! Have you read The cello suites by Eric Siblin? http://www.ericsiblin.com/pages/cello.html

I have 2 recordings of the cello suites. One YoyoMa and one Pieter Wispelwey.

lol! I have the Siblin book, but haven't read it yet - definitely on my list. Both of Yo-yo Ma's recordings are sublime... Don't know the Wispelwey but I'm sure it's fab. (I've lost track of how many recordings I own TBH - all of them wonderful and very unique!) Get your hands on the Maisky recording if you can - well, well worth the effort.

Conrad

MoreCowBell wrote:
Conrad wrote:
MoreCowBell wrote:
Conrad wrote: Oh hehe cool. I often feel it is difficult to do any of Bach's music justice? ? It would take quite a bit of convincing for me to even perform one of his pieces in front of someone hahaha
In my experience with Bach and the cello (can't speak for guitar), his music is simultaneously impossibly difficult and utterly sublime to play... It took me many years to learn most of his Cello Suites, and they're like Beethoven in that the better you can play them (technically) the harder they become musically, because there's just SO much you can do with the music.

I've performed a fair bit of Bach in my day, but it's always hellishly nerve-racking... Of course, with the Cello Suites it's particularly difficult, because every audience member has their favourite, famous recording, and knows the music really well... Eek.

Nonetheless, recording them all one day is definitely on my bucket list!

Edit: These vids are great by the way... I'll even admit the Cello Suite transcription ain't bad ?

I could hug you! Have you read The cello suites by Eric Siblin? http://www.ericsiblin.com/pages/cello.html

I have 2 recordings of the cello suites. One YoyoMa and one Pieter Wispelwey.
lol! I have the Siblin book, but haven't read it yet - definitely on my list. Both of Yo-yo Ma's recordings are sublime... Don't know the Wispelwey but I'm sure it's fab. (I've lost track of how many recordings I own TBH - all of them wonderful and very unique!) Get your hands on the Maisky recording if you can - well, well worth the effort.

You have to read that book!

According to my cellist friends the Wispelwey interpretation is more faithful to the era but I wouldn't know. Subjectively more attracted to the YoyoMa interpretation but I know myself well enough to know this might be different again next week.

I'll look for the Maisky recording.

[deleted]

Conrad wrote: You have to read that book!

According to my cellist friends the Wispelwey interpretation is more faithful to the era but I wouldn't know. Subjectively more attracted to the YoyoMa interpretation but I know myself well enough to know this might be different again next week.

I'll look for the Maisky recording.

Maisky is on Grooveshark, for what it's worth... Listening to it now. One of the reasons why I love his version so much is that he's not faithful to the era. Apparently Maisky's thinking is that Bach was an innovator, and that instruments and times have changed, so it's ok to reinvent the Bach wheel instead of trying to replicate what happened 350 years ago (Which is more or less impossible with a modern cello and bow anyway). Works for me! ?

Conrad

MoreCowBell wrote:
Conrad wrote: You have to read that book!

According to my cellist friends the Wispelwey interpretation is more faithful to the era but I wouldn't know. Subjectively more attracted to the YoyoMa interpretation but I know myself well enough to know this might be different again next week.

I'll look for the Maisky recording.
Maisky is on Grooveshark, for what it's worth... Listening to it now. One of the reasons why I love his version so much is that he's not faithful to the era. Apparently Maisky's thinking is that Bach was an innovator, and that instruments and times have changed, so it's ok to reinvent the Bach wheel instead of trying to replicate what happened 350 years ago (Which is more or less impossible with a modern cello and bow anyway). Works for me! ?

Yes not to mention that he left very little stylistic instruction. Anyway one of Bach's musical properties that appeal to me is that he is so universal and timeless so limiting it to the likely interpretation of the time might very well be...limiting it...

The last thing one should do to a brain like Bach's is to try to reign it in but that is only my opinion.

[deleted]

Conrad wrote: Yes not to mention that he left very little stylistic instruction.

To the best of my knowledge, there is no original manuscript for the Suites. Current editions have been patched together from about 6 different copies. Hells - no one's even sure exactly what instrument he wrote them for!

Conrad wrote: Anyway one of Bach's musical properties that appeal to me is that he is so universal and timeless so limiting it to the likely interpretation of the time might very well be...limiting it...

The last thing one should do to a brain like Bach's is to try to reign it in but that is only my opinion.

+1. You need look no further than Glenn Gould's two recordings of the Goldberg Varations (fondly referred to as the "Gouldbergs"... haha). Chalk and cheese, and both totally fantastic. Yo-yo Ma's two Bach Suites are similarly different but wonderful.
As an aside, there's a brilliant documentary about Gould (with a killer Gould/Bach soundtrack) called "Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould". Get hold of that too if you can ?