Bach in March WEEK 1: Practice Updates
Dear Pianists,
Welcome again to Bach in March! Bach is the composer closest to me and I can't wait to share this March with you in practicing Bach. This is the thread where we'll all be posting our biweekly updates for this month's community challenge.
For those who have been here before - you may post video or audio updates just as you did in Discovering Schubert Month! And for those who are new - uploading a video to youtube is often the best way to go! You can then post the youtube link to your video, or embed it directly in your reply.
The introduction and welcome to Bach in March will give you orientation for the community challenge activities, and provide you with a schedule of relevant livestreams, performance opportunities, and repertoire suggestions.
I'm always curious to hear about your practice experience and encourage you to write replies. If you can't think of where to start, here are some questions to jog your mind:
- What piece did you choose? How did you learn about it?
- What's a favorite passage of yours in the piece?
- What's one musical or technical decision you made while practicing your piece?
Feel free to make these updates as short or long as you wish!
Happy Bach Sounds!
Hilda
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I've been working on the Prelude and Fugue VII in E Flat, Well Tempered Clavier Book I, BWV 852. Every time I work on it (which is quite a bit) I learn something new about it. It's like a fractal- the closer you look, the more you see! It's very challenging for me, particularly the trills in the fugue- I have decided, at least for now, to play the trills on every statement of the subject. This will challenge me to improve my trills particularly in awkward places (see measure 27, subject in the bass, for example, where I'm trying to do a nasty 3-4 trill in the left hand and picking up the e flat and d with the thumb of the left hand-ugh). My favorite parts are the chromatic lines present at the end of both the prelude and the fugue. Anyway, I hope to upload a video of my work in progress soon. More importantly, thank you Hilda for your guidance and encouragement!!
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I am working on Bach-Kempff Siciliano from the Flute Sonata no.2. I have had this on my list for many years after hearing Evgeny Kissin play it on YouTube. I love the beautiful melody and steady pulse of this piece. Musical/technical decisions- bring out the melody, play the thumb softer, maintain the steady beat. Excerpt from my practice below. Hilda Huang and others, I welcome any suggestions for improvement.
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Hi, I love the idea of Bach month. I’ve been working on Prelude and Fugue in C sharp major from book 2 WTC. I often play preludes but run out of steam in learning the fugues but I am determined to learn both this time. Maybe choosing one with 7 sharps was a bit ambitious but am enjoying the challenge! The prelude reminds me of the book 1 Cmajor and the fugue in 3 parts is quite nice and tuneful. It’s far from perfect but here is my video of the C# major