Tonebase Bach Stage

This thread is dedicated to J.S. Bach keyboard music. We would like to renew the inspiring spirit of the old thread "Group-Journey through J.S. Bach" based on the inventions and extend to the entire Bach repertoire: inventions, preludes, fugues, toccatas, dances of the Suites and Partitas...

This is for everyone who wants to join!

We can enjoy Bach music together and motivate each other in the process of learning and practicing it!

 

"I begin every day with Bach - usually for about an hour. I used to torture myself with Czerny, which of course wasn't exactly stimulating for the mind. On the other hand, it teaches you the fingering for a B flat major scale, chromatic thirds, and so on. The daily grind of learning. Later, I discovered that I could get my 'training' under way better with Bach - a refreshment for the body, soul and spirit". (András Schiff, Music Comes Out of Silence, p. 21)

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  • A quick version of P&F in A minor from WTC II. It still needs direction and shaping.

    https://youtu.be/EU6WsanuymE?si=dxezceae72-JOsZX

    Like 6
      • Monika Tusnady
      • The Retired French Teacher
      • Monikainfrance
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Harriet Kaplan thank you for that! I love the controlled and unhurried feeling of this performance. 

      Like
    • Juan Carlos Olite
    • Philosophy teacher and piano lover
    • Juan_Carlos
    • 4 mths ago
    • Reported - view

    My Bach of this month (it would be a real challenge to make a video every month..., at least... 🤔). Prelude and Fugue in Ab of Book I.

    Like 6
    • Juan Carlos Olite A huge Bravo to this as well! I especially love how you play the Fugue, making all levels beautifully audible. Gorgeous!

      Like 1
      • Peter Golemme
      • Piano Player with Day Job (for now)
      • Peter_G
      • 4 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Juan Carlos Olite really nice Juan Carlos. Seems like just the right tempo for both pieces.  You bring out the sense of violin-figurations (or that's what it sounds like to me anyway) in the Prelude, relaxed but fully a tempo , making it sound reminiscent of a Vivaldi concerto. In the fugue, I agree with Andrea, I'm hearing all the voices very clearly.  And all memorized to boot!  well done!

      I read somewhere that Bach didn't write anything in Ab outside of the Well-Tempered Clavier. Well, he seems quite at home with that key here!  Such a beautiful little piece, built out of very basic building blocks.  The more I study the WTC, the more in awe I am of Bach.

      Like 1
      • Juan Carlos Olite
      • Philosophy teacher and piano lover
      • Juan_Carlos
      • 4 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Andrea Buckland Thank you very much, Andrea! I like the serene atmosphere of this Fugue.

      Like 1
      • Juan Carlos Olite
      • Philosophy teacher and piano lover
      • Juan_Carlos
      • 4 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Peter Golemme Thank you very much, Peter! I didn't know that information about Bach and Ab key; fortunately we have Book 2 (but, I think prelude and fugue are quite difficult...).

      Like 1
    • Juan Carlos Olite Bravo! Enjoying hearing your exploration of Bach! 

      Like 1
      • Gail Starr
      • Retired MBA
      • Gail_Starr
      • 4 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Juan Carlos Olite Your interpretation sounds so fresh and new!  I admire the rotation of your wrist without too much finger movement.  That is something I need to learn, so I always love seeing AND hearing you play.  Did you memorize as you went along or after you knew all the notes?  I'm FINALLY not so scared to memorize.  But I still keep the music on the stand!

      Like
      • Juan Carlos Olite
      • Philosophy teacher and piano lover
      • Juan_Carlos
      • 4 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Gail Starr Thank you so much, Gail! I memorize step by step while I am practicing, not after playing the entire piece with the score. It's a long process with the fugues and sometimes you have the temptation...; but, you know, never give up! And, in the end, it's a very good way to go deeper in the knowledge of the different voices. Of course, the result is very gratifying.

      Like 1
      • Gail Starr
      • Retired MBA
      • Gail_Starr
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Juan Carlos Olite You have inspired me to start TRYING to memorize!  That is my #1 goal for 2024.  In fact, I'm going to try to memorize the Bach P&F I'm learning now...which is something I would not have attempted until I met YOU.  

      Like
      • Monika Tusnady
      • The Retired French Teacher
      • Monikainfrance
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Juan Carlos Olite Bravo! The prelude is charming and the fugue maintains  a wonderful contrast between the subject and the countersubject, the ends with a beautiful smile!

      Like
    • Juan Carlos Olite bravo, Juan Carlos! The prelude lifts my spirit and makes my heart smile, with such lively articulation, and the fugue is expressed so well with your usual exquisite phrasing! 

      Like
    • Juan Carlos Olite
    • Philosophy teacher and piano lover
    • Juan_Carlos
    • 3 mths ago
    • Reported - view

    Can you imagine a better way to start the new year than dancing with Bach? (Gigue of the French Suite n5 in G major).

    Like 9
    • Juan Carlos Olite What a lively and joyful start to 2024! I love every dance in this French Suite. 

      Like 1
    • Juan Carlos Olite This is going to be such a happy New Year with such joyful music and playing! Thanks for sharing! 

      Like 1
      • Michelle R
      • Michelle_Russell
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Juan Carlos Olite So full of joy and life! Thank you, Juan Carlos. This was the first piece of music I listened to in 2024, and  it put a smile on my face. 

      Like 1
      • Juan Carlos Olite
      • Philosophy teacher and piano lover
      • Juan_Carlos
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Vidhya Bashyam Andrea Buckland Michelle R Thank you very much! You know... I'm trying to follow Brahms' advice: "Study Bach, there you will find everything".

      Like 2
    • Juan Carlos Olite Bravo, and thank you for this, Juan Carlos! A joyful start to the new year, just what’s needed right now. 

      Like 1
      • Juan Carlos Olite
      • Philosophy teacher and piano lover
      • Juan_Carlos
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Sindre Skarelven Thank you very much, Sindre!

      Like 1
      • Gail Starr
      • Retired MBA
      • Gail_Starr
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Juan Carlos Olite This makes me so happy!  Believe it or not, this one of the first pieces of Bach I learned as a kid, so it brings back lovely memories of the teacher who inspired me to spend time at the piano.  (I'm sure I did a terrible job on the piece back then!).

      Like 1
      • Peter Golemme
      • Piano Player with Day Job (for now)
      • Peter_G
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Juan Carlos Olite what a joyous, lilting way to kick off the new year. and memorized to boot.  JCO, I don't know how you do it, but keep it up!

      Like 2
      • Monika Tusnady
      • The Retired French Teacher
      • Monikainfrance
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Juan Carlos Olite well, that sure sets the right tone for 2024! You will sparkle and radiate great energy all year long. 

      Like
      • Juan Carlos Olite
      • Philosophy teacher and piano lover
      • Juan_Carlos
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Gail Starr Peter Golemme Monika Tusnady Thank you so much for your kind words! And Gail, I'm sure you played this piece so well as the Haydn Sonata we could listen to in your old recording 🙂!

      Like 1
      • Gail Starr
      • Retired MBA
      • Gail_Starr
      • 3 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Juan Carlos Olite Alas, I can't locate any more recordings.  The old magnetic tape that we used when I was a child literally broke apart.  But, that's OK because I love listening to YOU much more!

      Like
    • Juan Carlos Olite that's such a joyful number, and puts me in such a happy mood! Thank you so much for sharing your playing!

      Like
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