The Tenth Fugue at the Tenth: Also... What is a Key?

What is a fugue? Who was J.S. Bach? Introductory podcast: The introduction to baroque composer J.S. Bach. Also, what is a fugue? What is counterpoint? We answer these questions and prepare ourselves for a journey into Bach's great work, 'The Art of Fugue.' -- Find a playlist of the music in this podcast he... by The WTF Bach Podcast

23 min listen

The 2nd/3rd Fugues in The Art of Fugue: What is a Clavichord? Our first countersubject!: We discuss the second and third fugues from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach. We hear them played on a clavichord and a piano, then both arranged electronically with some new insights. Topics covered: How quiet is a clavichord? So... what's the vibe ... by The WTF Bach Podcast

37 min listen

The Tenth Fugue at the Tenth: Also... What is a Key?: Two fugues in original print are essentially the same: these are both this 10th contrapunctus. This fugue is a double fugue with counterpoint at the tenth (alla decima) Topics covered: What does it mean when music is in a 'key' what keys did Bach of... by The WTF Bach Podcast

38 min listen

The 7th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: One theme at three different speeds?: This is the last fugue of what we could call 'Chapter two' in The Art of Fugue: this is the third and final 'stretto fugue,' and the most complicated. Whereas in the previous episodes I mentioned in which direction subjects enter, inverted or not, or... by The WTF Bach Podcast

35 min listen

Bonus: How to Detect B.S. (Bad Scholarship): This is the fifth bonus episode. Well folks, I had a hard time getting this out there. As I sat down to debunk "Evening in the Palace of Reason" by James Gaines, I found myself overcome with the sense of being a bully: This book, published by none ot... by The WTF Bach Podcast

49 min listen

The First Canon in The Art of Fugue: Where do these pieces belong, and how do they get much more complicated than this?!: Rather than moving on to the fifth fugue, we have a brief visit to the first of four canons from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach: Canon in Hypodiapason (Canon at the octave). Topics covered: What is an octave? Who is 'The Great One'? Why do musician... by The WTF Bach Podcast

27 min listen

The First Fugue in The Art of Fugue: What is a Harpsichord? Eleven entrances?: We discuss the first fugue from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach. We hear it played first on a harpsichord, then on a piano with 'voice-over analysis' then by a computer with the voices panned hard left/right. Topics covered: How does a harpsichord wo... by The WTF Bach Podcast

31 min listen

Special Guest: Brad Mehldau. Why does he like Bach?: This is an interview with pianist/composer/arranger Brad Mehldau. Our conversation on May 12, 2020 spanned many diverse topics from what he is reading at the moment, what he keeps on his piano, when and how he practices, the connection between bebop ... by The WTF Bach Podcast

65 min listen

Bonus: Contrapunctus I: all screwed up... 11x: This is the first bonus episode. In it, you will hear the first contrapunctus from “The Art of Fugue” (which, by now, you can tell your friends is called, ‘Die Kunst der Fuge’ in German) in eleven different ways. Eleven is an important number in ‘D... by The WTF Bach Podcast

36 min listen

The 4th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: Where is the golden section? Exchanging the Dux and the Comes: The final piece in the first 'quartet' of fugues from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach: Contrapunctus 4. With this episode we have covered all of the 'simple fugues' in this sprawling work. Topics covered: A blind organist from Leipzig... Helmut who?... by The WTF Bach Podcast

37 min listen

Special Guest: Robert Hill. How does he play Bach?: Guest Interview: Robert Hill, Harpsichordist I had the privilege of speaking to Robert Hill, one of the foremost harpsichordists alive. Our discussion spans many different topics including harpsichord tuning and repair, clavichords, piano actions, lu... by The WTF Bach Podcast

96 min listen

The 8th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: Three Themes, Three voices.: Back to it! Opening a new chapter in The Art of Fugue, this new chapter is one based on compound fugues, that is, our beloved ‘Art of Fugue Subject’ will now began to be combined with other new and unique themes. Instead of going from a ‘simple’ t... by The WTF Bach Podcast

51 min listen

The 6th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: ’In Stylo Francese’: The second ‘stretto’ fugue: “Contrapunctus 6, in the French Style” now gives us the theme flying at two different speeds in both directions. We see the theme overlapped, coming both inverted and ‘rectus’, and now at 1x AND 2x speeds! Where will Bach ... by The WTF Bach Podcast

31 min listen

The Second Canon in The Art of Fugue: A canon functioning at two simultaneous intervals!?: Rather than moving on to the compound fugues, we have a pleasant visit to the second of four canons from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach: Canon alla Decima in contrapunto alla Terza (Canon at the Tenth in counterpoint at the Third) Topics covered: Al... by The WTF Bach Podcast

31 min listen

The 5th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: Our theme finally overlaps itself!: Here we are on a new chapter! The stretto fugues have begun. We uncover the extensive use of stretto at various 'lengths:' 12 beats, 6 beats, 4 beats, 2 beats even down to a single beat. Entrances are now flying both upside down and right-side up wit... by The WTF Bach Podcast

34 min listen

Bonus: Bach in Revision: How does Bach improve upon himself?: This is the second bonus episode. In it, you will hear the first three fugues from “The Art of Fugue” in their 'early versions', meaning, the versions which Bach conceived before he sent them to be published. This is a rare moment to observe Bach mak... by The WTF Bach Podcast

24 min listen

The 11th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: A Triple Fugue &... A Possible Anti-Golden-Section?: The closing of our chapter on compound fugues, contrapunctus eleven, a powerful, complicated, and long fugue. Two expositions of the first theme? One in inversion? And wait, this is a triple fugue where all themes come in inversion and… also not in i... by The WTF Bach Podcast

43 min listen

Bonus: I Uploaded a Bach Album as an NFT: I don't know if you are already hip to it, or if you're just catching on, but it seems like releasing music as 'NFTs' could be in our futures. I wanted to have the first NFT version of The Art of Fugue. Check the auction out here: https://mintable.... by The WTF Bach Podcast

4 min listen

The 9th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: Two Subjects Combined at Two Intervals... Too much?: Back to four voices! Bach begins yet again another fugue with a unique theme. The fugue will become a double fugue with our well known ‘Art of Fugue’ theme. The counterpoint then begins to appear in two ways: either on the same note or at different n... by The WTF Bach Podcast

22 min listen

The Third Canon in The Art of Fugue: Counterpoint at the fifth? Or just a bunch of parallel fifths?: Rather than moving on to the twelfth fugue, we have a brief visit to the third of four canons from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach: Canon alla Duodecima in Contrapunto alla Quina (Canon at the twelfth in counterpoint at the fifth). This canon is ver... by The WTF Bach Podcast

26 min listen

Bonus: Listener’s Choice: You asked, I talked.: This is the third bonus episode. You know how at the end of every episode, Gaby says, "Want to have evan analyze a specific piece of Bach... just for you?" Boom: Listener's choice volume one. Three pieces you requested were: Prelude and Fugue... by The WTF Bach Podcast

43 min listen

Bonus: A Bach Article from 1985: This is the fourth bonus episode. Two episodes ago, I began with a quote from Aldous Huxley. That quote came from an article written in 1985. The article focused on Bach's relationship to words and various writer's relationships with Bach. The whol... by The WTF Bach Podcast

25 min listen

The Fourth Canon in The Art of Fugue: Upside Down, Slowed Down... How Much More Down?: Rather than moving on to the final fugue, we have a brief visit to the final canon of the four canons in "The Art of Fugue." Canon per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu (Canon in augmentation and contrary motion [inversion]). This form of this canon ... by The WTF Bach Podcast

32 min listen

The 12th Fugue in The Art of Fugue|euguF fo trA ehT ni euguF ht21 ehT?: Question: If a piece of music is perfect both on its head and also its feet, which one is the inversion? A few important things I neglected to mention in the 11th counterpoint, but where to go after that 11th fugue anyhow? Into the mirror… Look int... by The WTF Bach Podcast

42 min listen

The 13th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: also fugue this mirror a is?: Question: If a piece of music is perfect both on its head and also its feet, which one is the inversion? In the previous fugue, fugue twelve, we saw Bach took four voices, a turned everything upside down: 1234 became 4321 and what went up came crashi... by The WTF Bach Podcast

37 min listen

Special Guest: Jack Stratton (Vulfpeck). Down in a big way... with Bach? by The WTF Bach Podcast

76 min listen

Did Bach Compose the Sixth Brandenburg to Get Fired? (History of the Brandenburg Concerti): In this episode, we will look at: The genesis of the Brandenburg concerti, What Bach’s job was like when these compositions came about, Who his employer was then, How much music Bach was composing at that time, Why a Baroque composer writes anything ... by The WTF Bach Podcast

32 min listen

Bonus: The 13th Contrapunctus - in another way (for TWO harpsichords!) by The WTF Bach Podcast

24 min listen

What Did Bach Have for Dinner May 3, 1716? (And Other Documents...): This week I chose to read experts from the 'New Bach Reader', a compilation book of documents from Bach's life or shortly thereafter. These documents are sometimes letters, receipts, or newspaper notices, but might be a dinner bill for an inn where B... by The WTF Bach Podcast

21 min listen

That‘s a Wrap on The Art of Fugue. (Season one finale 2/2!): So! We've done it: Looked in depth at every fugue, every canon, solved the mysteries, busted the myths, sent the Bach heretics back to whence they came. And now? Let's just enjoy... Topics covered: The golden sections in other Bach pieces and how th... by The WTF Bach Podcast

38 min listen

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The Tenth Fugue at the Tenth: Also... What is a Key?

The Tenth Fugue at the Tenth: Also... What is a Key?

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