A Bach year roundup
Miscellaneous items received (and collected) by the
Harpsichord Editor during the Bach anniversary year 2000:
* Advertisement for the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque
Music (London, 5 June'14 July): "For 74 years Lufthansa has been
moving people around the world. Now we'd like to commemorate a fellow
German who's been doing it for slightly longer. Bach's music has
been moving people for over 250 years. . ." [found in the publication
Early Music from the Early Music Network UK].
* Harpsichordist Bradley Brookshire presented
Bach's Art of Fugue at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City on the last
day of 2000. Unusual was the simultaneous projection of a computer-generated,
digitally projected score scrolled across a large screen at the rear of the
stage, above the harpsichordist. Supertitles (!) explained the contrapuntal
devices utilized by the composer ("Theme in Tenor in Inversion,"
etc.). These addenda to Bach's plan were conceived and executed by
computer specialist James McElwaine.
* A spate of Goldbergs: in England, Gary Cooper played
Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (Mar 4) at Tudeley Church, Kent, site
of twelve magnificent stained glass windows by Marc Chagall, and home to an
extensive early music concert series. At Oberlin (Ohio) Lisa Goode Crawford
presented the set in Kulas Recital Hall, Oberlin College (Feb 8). Larry Palmer
played half of them (Aria, 1-7, 14, 21-22, 25, 27-30, Aria) in Marvin Chapel,
Tyler (Texas) on Sept 21, a repeat from his 31st annual faculty recital at Southern
Methodist University, Dallas (Sept 11): music BY and ABOUT J. S. Bach,
including Schumann's Fugue III on BACH (played on the harpsichord),
Hindemith's Sonate II for Organ, March of the Night Watchman (from
Bach's Memento) of Widor, Ricercar on the Name BACH by Waldemar Bloch,
and Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV 547.
* In Savannah (Georgia) the exact 250th anniversary of
Bach's death (July 28) was commemorated at the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of the Ascension with this program played by Gene Jarvis: Italian
Concerto, BWV 971, Partita in B-flat, BWV 825 (harpsichord); Toccata and Fugue
in D minor, BWV 565, Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582 (organ). Dr. Irene Feddern
played three organ chorales (By the Waters of Babylon, 653; Rejoice Now,
Beloved Christians, 734; O Lamb of God, 618), and Quoniam tu solus sanctus from
the Mass in B minor was sung by baritone Christopher Roper, with Pam Titus,
horn.
* LARGELY BACH, three concerts of music by Bach, his
friends and family, played on 18th-century period-style instruments, took place
in Beloit (Wisconsin) at Beloit College (Sept 27, Oct 23, and Nov 8) featuring
the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, the Roosevelt-Fuerst Duo (violin and
harpsichord) from Freiburg, Germany, and harpsichordist Max Yount, professor of
music and music department chair at Beloit.
* Hundreds of compact discs celebrated Bach during
2000: among the finest, the continuing series of Bach cantatas in stellar
performances on period instruments, led by Masaaki Suzuki, with his Bach
Collegium Japan (available on BIS Records). Suzuki's performances are
consistently among the most satisfying to be heard on recordings, for they are
both intensely involved and historically-informed, presented without extremes
or dogmatism, yet securely based on scholarly foundations.
* Richard Troeger continued his engrossing and
rewarding traversal of Bach's keyboard works played on the clavichord
(Lyrichord) with volume 2 (the Seven Toccatas, LEMS 8041) and volume 3
(Inventions, Sinfonias, Little Preludes, LEMS 8047).
* Memphis organist and choral conductor John Ayer has
recorded The Art of the Chorale, An Organ Anthology (Pro Organo CD 7064, CD
7119), on which his superb choirs sing chorale settings (many by Bach) followed
by organ settings from various composers (Buxtehude, Hanff and Walther to
Mendelssohn, Reger, Langlais, Manz, Near, and William Lloyd Webber). Bach organ
works included are Komm, heiliger Geist (BWV 651), Aus tiefer Not' (686),
Vom Himmel hoch (606), Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (659), and Vor deinen Thron
(668).
* If transcriptions are your delight, Shawn Leopard
and John Paul have recorded the complete Bach Keyboard Trio Sonatas played on
two Lautenwerke (gut-strung harpsichords) built by Anden Houben (Lyrichord LEMS
8045).
* From his archives, Baltimore harpsichordist Joseph
Stephens has issued two compact discs of recital performances: Live from the
Cathedral Joseph Stephens, harpsichordist, Plays Bach (AMR 19971003) and Music
for Two Harpsichords (Stephens with Lloyd Bowers), available from Dr. Stephens
[email: [email protected]].
* Do not neglect to read Christoph Wolff's
up-to-the-year, state-of-the-art view of the composer in THE 250th anniversary
biography Johann Sebastian Bach, The Learned Musician (Norton; ISBN
0-393-04825-X).
News items and features are welcome for these columns.
Please address them to Dr. Larry Palmer, Division of Music, Southern Methodist
University, Dallas, TX 75275. Email:
HYPERLINK<mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected]>.
