Dear list, but then to Reg Boyle, a bit.
I used to accept the received wisdom that Bach wrote absolute music,
capable of being played on the anything that could get the notes. Then I
heard a performance of a Bach violin sonata with baroque violin and
haprsichord at A=415. The way in which the timbres of the two instruments
combined and served to carry through continuities of ideas which wouldn't
have existed if it had been modern violin and modern piano made me realise
that there was a whole dimension to his music that we had completely
ignored, since the residue was so complete.
No, Bach was a still greater composer than we usually think and timbre was
important to him, even although he must rarely have had ideal circumstances
to realise it.
Take the examples of Cantatas BWV 56 and the Bass version of BWV 82:
CLearly he had a definite singer in mind who had great sustaining powers,
considerable ease across the passagio and was effective through much of his
range, though much stronger in the upper half. He had this singer only
occasionally touch low G, and sustain that note only twice. I've made a
study of Bach's vocal writing, partly because I, a baritone, want to sing
all the Bach I can, and partly because I've been working on an oratorio
which I want to be effective, not just clever. I noted again and again
Bach's deft handling of the orchestra so that the voices would always be
audible and effective. I think of him as one of the pre-eminently GREAT
(yes I do mean to shout) composers for voice, and his manifest sensitivity
to timbre is but one sign of it. Listen to any recording of the 3 or so
different versions of "Schlummert ein" from BWV 82 and you will hear
writing for the voice that has never been surpassed.
I've been working on this music for years now, and I can still get this
excited about it! Suffice to say that Bach's alto writing would work
superlatively well, no matter who sung it, but there is probably a
particular timbre which would give it that extra something. Rant over. john
John Blyth
Baritono robusto e lirico
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
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| | Replies | Name/Email | Yahoo! ID | Date | Size | | 1987 | Re: Bach, Baroque and Countertenors | Reg Boyle | | Tue 5/30/2000 | 5 KB | | 1991 | Some Bach, some vibrato, was: Re: Bach, Baroque a | John Alexander Blyth | | Tue 5/30/2000 | 4 KB | | 1996 | Re: Some Bach, some vibrato, some support | Reg Boyle | | Wed 5/31/2000 | 4 KB | | 2014 | Re: Some Bach, some vibrato, some support | John Alexander Blyth | | Wed 5/31/2000 | 5 KB | | 1997 | Re: Bach, Baroque and Countertenors - and castrat | Joel Figen | | Wed 5/31/2000 | 4 KB | | 2037 | Re: Bach, Baroque and Countertenors - and castrat | Reg Boyle | | Thu 6/1/2000 | 3 KB | | 2050 | Bach and Basses | Joel Figen | | Thu 6/1/2000 | 3 KB |
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