Michael Barone reviews a summer selection of recent recordings of music by and related to Johann Sebastian Bach.
What a challenge it must have been, growing up in the household of the world’s foremost organist, and knowing Dad expected you to follow in his footsteps. On our next Pipedreams broadcast, we’ll listen to the music of four of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most gifted offspring, each of them rising to the challenge with capability and individuality. From Wilhelm Friedemann’s quirky fugues to Carl Phillip Emmanuel’s Sonatas, the chamber music of Johann Christoph Friedrich, and the concertos of trail-blazer Johann Christian, you’ll be amazed at the craftsmanship so skillfully displayed by this most unique family.
Like father like son? Well, almost, as you’ll discover when we compare the various musics of the four most talented Bach children with the example of their father. He set an incredible standard, which each boy worked hard to achieve in music Baroque and Beyond. It’s Sebastian and Sons, this week on Pipedreams.
On this week’s show, we’ll assess the not inconsiderable accomplishments of three talented offspring who made their own way in the world of music. Wilhelm Friedemann was considered Germany’s foremost organist. Johann Christian converted to Catholicism, studied in Italy, and ended up as the most celebrated import, after Handel, on the London scene. And Carl Philip Emmanuel, after a period of royal servitude, became music director for the city of Hamburg, a job his father lusted after but never himself achieved.
Boys will be boys, but when your father is Johann Sebastian Bach there are certain standards to be met, and a degree of individual independence to be sought. Hear the the works of three talented offspring the Sons of ‘B’ music by The Bach Boys, this week on PIPEDREAMS.
This week, we’ll reflect upon events form the past year and take a look at some projections for the future.
The Netherlands, beyond its eye-catching windmills and colorful tulips, is home to an incredible treasure of historic and modern pipe organs.
…reading notes from a page is one thing, but improvising something new, ‘out of thin air’, is a remarkable skill.
…an international sampler of instruments and players, all in recent recordings, commit to individual revelations of the spirit of the greatest of all composers for the organ, J.S. Bach.
…in recently discovered scores, unusual arrangements, or pieces forgotten in dark corners, the genius of Johann Sebastian Bach always delights, born March 21, 1685.
…music by offspring, pupils, and later enthusiasts for whom the music of Johann Sebastian Bach was both beacon and benediction.
…in their different ways, Bach’s eldest sons Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philip Emmanuel, made interesting contributions to the repertoire.
…a survey of music by the Lüneburg master Georg Böhm[1661-1733], whose exemplary shock-waves inspired, among others, the young Johann Sebastian Bach.
…the great master, Johann Sebastian, provokes our understanding of historic tradition as well as our sense of adventure.
…whether in recently discovered scores, unusual arrangements, or pieces forgotten in dark corners, the genius of Johann Sebastian Bach always delights (b. 3/21/1685).
…a visit with British well-rounded organist Margaret Phillips, including selections from her impressive Bach cycle and other examples from her extensive discography.
…these recent releases embrace intriguing repertoire covering six centuries.
…on this first broadcast of a new Pipedreams series, host Michael Barone surveys the musical and historic variety of the pipe organ, while sampling recent recordings. The emphasis is on the unusual and the unusually attractive, with wide-ranging choices covering many musical styles, performers, and instruments.
…A miscellany of music and musicians in homage to the greatest of all organists.
Divergent views on matters of interpretation illuminate the familiar repertoire of a great master.
…a program of mostly new, commissioned works recorded on the Casavant organ of Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, and recorded during the American Guild of Organist’s 1980 National Convention in Minnesota.
