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Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

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Re: Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

#111

Post by 1718627440 »

xav_authentique wrote: post #45
lordleft wrote: post #7

Bach is the greatest composer and perhaps the greatest artist in human history. Full stop. He is able to condense so much complexity into his works, and he speaks to the heart as equally as he speaks to the intellect. He is proof that the mind and the heart do not have to be at cross purposes, but can be wholly engaged together when stimulated by sublime works of art.

Interesting to read that the complexity in his music is praised and seen as speaking to the intellect, whereas that is not the case when it comes to complexity in software.

That kind of complexity, which means attention to detail, quality, concordance and consonance between different components, is also praised in software. This is however not what we mostly think of when talking about complexity in software.

Re: Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

#112

Post by nobodyandproud »

jawilson2 wrote: post #104
lordleft wrote: post #7

Bach is the greatest composer and perhaps the greatest artist in human history. Full stop. He is able to condense so much complexity into his works, and he speaks to the heart as equally as he speaks to the intellect. He is proof that the mind and the heart do not have to be at cross purposes, but can be wholly engaged together when stimulated by sublime works of art.

Something I have always been interested about, but sort of afraid to ask because it is a VERY small jump to unintended racism... Are there any composers from other cultures that come close to doing what Bach (and Mozart, Beethoven, Stravinsky, etc) did? Like, I want to hear the Japanese equivalent of the Brandenburg Concertos or Mass in B Minor, all guns blazing. Don't tell me "well, it's the space between the notes…

I’m a poor student of music and history but my opinion:

Europe was a civilization in a perpetual state of war with power rarely concentrated, so even concentrated wealth was local and therefor still distributed amongst different kingdoms and nobles.

This means more opportunity and support: One village/patron/noble/king doesn’t like your style? Go travel and find someone else to sponsor you.

I don’t think this was possible elsewhere. East Asia for example—thanks in part to Confucianism—had China dwarfing most of the region, with a stifling top down meritocracy.

And today, China and the United States have incredible sway over the globe I imagine things are stalled.

Re: Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

#113

Post by 1718627440 »

jawilson2 wrote: post #104
lordleft wrote: post #7

Bach is the greatest composer and perhaps the greatest artist in human history. Full stop. He is able to condense so much complexity into his works, and he speaks to the heart as equally as he speaks to the intellect. He is proof that the mind and the heart do not have to be at cross purposes, but can be wholly engaged together when stimulated by sublime works of art.

Something I have always been interested about, but sort of afraid to ask because it is a VERY small jump to unintended racism... Are there any composers from other cultures that come close to doing what Bach (and Mozart, Beethoven, Stravinsky, etc) did? Like, I want to hear the Japanese equivalent of the Brandenburg Concertos or Mass in B Minor, all guns blazing. Don't tell me "well, it's the space between the notes…

Different cultures have different florescences. Where are the other cultures when Egypt invented hieroglyphics, where were the other cultures, when the Greek were philosophizing, where were the other cultures, when the Mayas flourished. Where were the other cultures, when the Romans played with rethoric. What were the other cultures doing when the Chinese culture flourished.

Also these are not really competing, but more like morphing into another. During the Antique there was trade with India and China, subsahara parts of Africa. The Arabian mathematics was preserved in Greek literature. This was then rediscovered and translated into Latin, which kick-started European philosophy and sciences.

The same is true for religion. Christianity is the mix of Jewry and Greek philosophy. The Greek were heavy influenced from the Egypt culture. The Jews took their knowledge from the Arab peoples in their regions and also part from Egypt. This Monotheism came from earlier Polytheism and earlier natural religions.

Re: Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

#114

Post by telesilla »

prmph wrote: post #103
lordleft wrote: post #7

Bach is the greatest composer and perhaps the greatest artist in human history. Full stop. He is able to condense so much complexity into his works, and he speaks to the heart as equally as he speaks to the intellect. He is proof that the mind and the heart do not have to be at cross purposes, but can be wholly engaged together when stimulated by sublime works of art.

I disagree; I find many of Bach’s compositions to be devoid of heart, just intellectual in some mathematical way. Now don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy many of his compositions for what they are. The thing about music and many other arts is that it is a fools errand to attempt to give them a total ordering; there are things to enjoy about wildly differing styles of music that I think people do a disservice to themselves…

https://youtu.be/Ve8MuxS58kQ

https://youtu.be/ILKJcsET-NM?t=3m51s

https://youtu.be/nZb7FcP84CM

https://youtu.be/aAJ4Be5cMWY

and so many more

Re: Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

#115

Post by scns »

poly2it wrote: post #13
hodgehog11 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any particular pieces in mind when you wrote this? Bach is impressive, no doubt, but to each their own perhaps. I acknowledge that I have not received the appropriate training to fully appreciate the complexity in his works, so I wish I could hear what you do. To my ear, (and this isn't a novel opinion in the slightest), I think the Baroque era was more limited in expression due to the inherent limitation…

You should listen to Hilary Hahn's renditions of Bach's partitas and sonatas. She brings out the subtleties of Bach's composing beautifully, and the purity of his music is easy to appreciate in these solo pieces. https://inv.nadeko.net/playlist?list=PLor_18TcpRrxQmne5_SKRy... (YouTube proxy)

> You should listen to Hilary Hahn's

Absolutely

> renditions of Bach's partitas and sonatas.

Don't think so. Her recordings of his violin concerts on the other hand are able to clearly show his genius due to the more complex orchestration and interplay between the different instruments.

Re: Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

#117

Post by poly2it »

scns wrote: post #115
poly2it wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should listen to Hilary Hahn's renditions of Bach's partitas and sonatas. She brings out the subtleties of Bach's composing beautifully, and the purity of his music is easy to appreciate in these solo pieces. https://inv.nadeko.net/playlist?list=PLor_18TcpRrxQmne5_SKRy... (YouTube proxy)

> You should listen to Hilary Hahn's Absolutely > renditions of Bach's partitas and sonatas. Don't think so. Her recordings of his violin concerts on the other hand are able to clearly show his genius due to the more complex orchestration and interplay between the different instruments.

I mean, I enjoy them too. Good mention. I had a feeling the parent wasn't a fan of the baroque counterpoint, and the violin concertos feature more of that.

Re: Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

#118

Post by reactordev »

vixen99 wrote: post #89
reactordev wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When someone gushes over Bach, I tend to go off. Glad that others are just as knowledgeable as I am in Baroque.

Don't give up on him. You may surprise yourself one day.

I’ve heard everything Bach and still choose to not accept him on the upper shelf.

Re: Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

#119

Post by inglor_cz »

1718627440 wrote: post #110
inglor_cz wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jan Dismas Zelenka wrote for the Saxon king, and many of his works were never released as a result. Then, they burnt to ashes in 1945. The only extant copies were caught in the bombing of Dresden. We tend to think of "lost works" as something that happened in Antiquity. Nope.

I think this is the real long-term harm the Nazis have done. Sure killing and murdering people is very bad, but after a century it amounts all to the same. What you can't bring back is the whole culture they destroyed. This is also one aspect why they absolutely hated the Jews. The Jewish culture emphasizes education and Christian were forbidden to take interests in the middle ages. So the Jews became the wealthy edu…

The city where I live, Ostrava, had mostly Jewish intelligentsia, as it was otherwise an industrial city with most people working in mines and steel mills.

I don't think it ever came back, intellectually, from the Holocaust.

Re: Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

#120

Post by InitialLastName »

Tokkemon wrote: post #40

I spent a long time on a Bach project that didn't really sell well, but I was very impressed with the final result. A system for buying arrangements of the Well-Tempered Clavier for any combination of instruments: welltemperedconsort.com

If you don't want it, I'll take that name for my stoic-forward dating service.
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