What the world needs now is Bach, more Bach
OrchestrasThe baroque violinist Tekla Cunningham has founded a Bach festival in Seattle, gateway to the new.
It opens next weekend in at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral , moving on to Lynnwood and Tacoma.
Tekla says: ‘We want to offer high-level performances of baroque masterworks that support musicians in our community and bring people together. That means hiring artists who live and work in our region and paying fair wages. It also means creating a culture that values these fabulous musicians who make their home in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.’
What a positive and worthy initiative! All good wishes for a successful festival!
Why does the music of JS Bach ‘speak’ to so many people in modern times? It should not be possible according to 20C ideologies of progress. And he was a member of a suppressive strict Lutheran society, a stubborn conservative himself and a fanatic believer, who nonetheless was prepared to betray his faith and write an immense roman catholic mass to get a job at a catholic court. His music is relentless (according to even the most tolerant critic David Hurwitz of Classics Today) and very complex, excluding music lovers with complexity-challenged perception systems, and pieces that are much too long for modern-day’s attention spans. Also he made his two wives suffer by his procreation needs with 20 children. So, he is the best possible bull’s eye for liberation on all fronts.
Excellent questions and excellent irony, and even more ironic is the relative position of Georg Philipp Telemann, who seemingly wanted only [for his music] to liked. He wrote more of it than anybody can possibly come to know, so it should appeal to a sense of discovery. It is fun and rewarding to play.
Perhaps we instinctively admire Bach’s stubborn pride in dealing with the Human Resources Departments of his era, while Telemann reminds us too much of those obsequious toadies we hated to work with? Or is it because liking Bach, and making it known that we like Bach, has a bit more snob appeal? Like people who loudly state that they will eat only Irish butter …
What’s with the Irish butter comment?
If you lived here, you would quickly realise that Irish butter..like Irish whisky ..surpasses all other brands.
I am having a Jameson’s as I sign off.
That Bach guy and Irish butter make me ill. It’s too thick and too fat. The one makes my head explode and the other my tummy.
Sally
Irish whiskEy. Whisky is made in Scotland
I knew this was comedic when Hurwitz was mentioned as “tolerant” LOL.
But I certainly enjoy JS Bach and I’m certain countless others do as well.
Perhaps the simplistic strawman you have set up to have a tilt at is …errr… a simplistic strawman?
I beg to differ. I much prefer Handel to Bach. More Handel please.
To be honest I find much of Bach’s music boringly academic compared to Handel’s great humanity and entertainment, especially in his operas and oratorios.
Yes. More Bach!!