J. S. Bach - "Mache dich, mein Herze, rein" BWV 244

[trevjr]

I am not religious but I find the genius of Bach and the way the music caresses the words just amazing.This music has such tenderness and longing it is becoming my favorite piece very quickly.

[mendenge]

Richard Dawkins sent me here.

While I enjoy any good music, I have to say this particular piece does not rock my boat. Rockin choon for that epoque I guess :/

[LittleBabyBum]

I came here because of Richard Dawkins :) (The Four Horsemen: Hour 2 of 2 - Discussions with Richard Dawkins, Ep 1 if anyone's interested) xx

[skidude777]

Ahh! Richard Dawkins' favorite piece of music!

[edeneye808]

Great piece of music, but did you seriously include Serrano's "Piss Christ" at 1:16 in the slide show!

[Croilir]

@edeneye808 Yeah! I think he misunderstood the picture! LOL

[Raydienz]

One can appreciate the value and importance of fiction without ever believing in it.

[Majlor70]

DEFINITIVAMENTE LA MEJOR VERSIÓN DE ESTA ARIA, CON LA HERMOSÍSIMA VOZ DEL BAJO MAESTRO CORNELIUS HAUPTMANN. GRACIAS POR SUBIRLO. BELLÍSIMO!

[AthiestsOnTheMove]

Watched this after seeing "The Four Horsemen" on richard dawkin's UTube channel.  Much to my surprise they love this piece, and wish for the preservation of christianity's stories so that its art can be appreciated. It is a great piece of music, thats for sure.

[jeanhartely]

One of my favorite arias, and fantastic imagery (including the infamous one, which is quite beautiful). Thank you for presenting this!

[TripleMirror]

@jeanhartely What is that infamous imagery you are speaking about? I'm just wondering...

[PEPEDEBARRO]

Hit the road, World! lol. Who said that beauty is truth and vice-versa?

[Feroal2]

fun fact, Richard Dawkins Favourite Song

[ethositachi]

@Feroal2

one of his favourites.

[KingLewcifer]

@Feroal2

Not completely accurate. He stated this was one of his top five favourite albums he would take to a desert island, not his favourite song. I feel as if Mr.Dawkins, a man who is quite strident with his belief in truth and fact, deserves to have himself quoted correctly.

[Feroal2]

@KingLewcifer I cannot agree more. Sorry about that.

[BrendanIsCool]

@The30YearOldVirgin I wanted more piss christ, please.

[sinopesphilosopher]

@The30YearOldVirgin No thanks, fool. Your video is garbage.

[BrendanIsCool]

@sinopesphilosopher there is no god you silly goose. now have his video censored like you'd like to and establish a theocracy without rationality or justice, like you'd like to.

[MrDyogomaia]

rude

[sinopesphilosopher]

What fool put an image of "Piss Christ" on this video at 1:15?!

[TripleMirror]

I think this is the most beautiful version of "Mache dich mein Herze rein."

[marcellny]

why must good baroque music be sung by bad english singers?

[Croilir]

I'm an atheist but I love this music a lot.

[James3940]

I searched for this piece after I heard Richard Dawkins praise it on 'the Four Horsemen' video. I'm quite new to this type of music but will definitely be listening to more so any recommendations from more learned people are most welcome. =)

[british123able]

@James3940 air on a g string. thats a good song

[Consciousish]

@James3940 If it is Bach you want, then

Badinerie, Prelude No. 1, Concerto No. 3, No. 5, and No. 7, And the list goes on and on. Bach really made a masterpiece out of everything he ever wrote, and he composed about 1,127 pieces...

Look at Haydn, and Prokofiev, and Liszt, and for sheer complexity listen to Rachmaninoff, or the little-known composer Kaikosru Shapurji Sorabji, his Opus Clavicembalisticum is the longest piece ever written, about 484 pages of music long...

[JoaquinaWyros33]

hmmmiau piep wer hat mich lieb , bin so einsam heute , jmand lust zu chilln

[DonVueltaMorales]

I love how at 1:15 the video image is Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ." Brilliant subversive move on your part! Or is it your ignorance?

Terrible recording, however.

[SpeciousGwa]

LOL!

[dem24utube]

nice that you give so much information, but none about this particular performance

[marcellny]

i can't believe this glorious music could be played and sung so badly...

[mariekesehrjon]

@marcellny This isn't the best version, indeed!

[albets]

Uskomattoman juustoinen video kertakaikkiaan!

[polish1985]

Jonaggod calls it demeaning when someone defines religion as "silly superstitions", simply because billions of people believe in it. People who blindly believe in a supernatural deity for whom there is no evidence demean themselves.

[NaturalBornHedonist]

Beautiful !!!

[issalarzon]

I thought that was Cornelius Hauptmann.... not Andreas Schmidt

[davyiu]

Very beautiful music, though of course God has nothing to do with it.

[sageSPH]

sorry, i did not mean to put the negative. but what do you mean by your statement?

[davyiu]

Oh, I was only saying the beautiful music doesn't mean there is a God. Instead, it is beauty of the human mind in its pinnicle.

Hope I didn't digress too far.

[sageSPH]

no probs

[kingofwilton]

I'm with sage SPH, but will go a step farther: possibly the summit of human creation

[sageSPH]

definately.

[nicodagger]

No one expressed, in human musical terms, a great glory to the almight G-d!! Hearing Back is like hearing the very voice of the Divine.

[sageSPH]

possibly the greatest composition of music of all time.

[littlegirl751]

Setting such a beautiful piece of music to images of God, and Christ....well, It just makes you want to believe so badly. Then the song ends. And you remember that those silly superstitions, images and stories never moved you the way Bach does. :)

[jonaggod]

Ironic that you chose to express your atheism in such demeaning terms while listening to Bach. Forget the video. I think of Bach, writing an unsurpassed volume of music of unsurpassed beauty and complexity, averaging 15 pages a day totalling works in the thousands, and each one inscribed with the words "A Deo Gloria" (to the glory of God). Thank God the genius Bach didn't see his faith as "silly superstitions!"

[littlegirl751]

Well, I'm not at all sorry that he did not see them as silly superstitions. I don't think my comment was demeaning, either? I was just saying that this piece of work moves me so much that it actually makes me want to believe something that I find totally illogical. I was simply explaining how powerful his music was to me. But you know, had it not been inspired my religion, somehow I believe he would have written something else equally as beautiful.

[littlegirl751]

continued: Just like Michael Angelo would probably have painted something equally as beautiful on another building had it been inspired by something else that moved him. Perhaps a love?

[jonaggod]

You call the beliefs of over 2 billion people "silly superstitions", but don't think you were demeaning?! Wow. That's a bit scary, no? You coulda just said it's totally illogical to you, as you later said.

[littlegirl751]

well, unfortunately not enough things transfer well in to type. Had this been in person, it would not have been so blown out of proportion. Especially when you only get a certain amount of letters to explain on youtube.

[scratch8d]

hey, everyone used to think the world was flat and they were wrong!

just because many people believe does not mean its right.

[SpeciousGwa]

2 billion people, what utter nonesense, more like 1.5 billion people scared to admit anything else in fear of reprisal. And half a billion fundamentalist loonies. I'm sure there are devouts, but if they want to believe in mythology, thats upto them, but in public, no, should be viewed as silly, or eccentric.

[firebreathone2]

littlegirl has seen Richard Dawkins's interview during which he praises this piece of music but denies G_d's existence and she now thinks it's fashionable to praise this music whilst denying the DEITY's existence

[littlegirl751]

actually, I have not. And I don't think of my beliefs as fashionable. I am however surprised everyday by the amount of pretentious assholes on youtube.

[jonaggod]

Did you catch your own hypocracy here? You feel demeaned by someone's (firebreathone2) quick take on you. Sound familiar?

[camilocuesta]

You can't say that if you don't know the person you are talking to. There is a fair ammount of non supersticious people who appreciate this music.

I like this music, I even have a Bach tattoo on my arm, and I'm atheist.

[grobbledonk]

@littlegirl751 - The more pertinent point is surely that had they not moved Bach then we wouldn't have the music. Even if the story is untrue, that doesn't make it "silly". Nor are the images silly, unless the bulk of art history is to be scorned as such. How convenient for modern scientific man to dismiss so smugly the beliefs of his ancestors - modern man, who has produced nothing of comparable aesthetic beauty

[TripleMirror]

@littlegirl751 But they certainly moved Bach. And setting the music to pictures of God and Christ is just appropriate, because the theme of the music is a christian one (the burial of Jesus).

[TripleMirror]

The best interpretation in my opinion!

[simplic10]

Beautiful, beautiful song. Now a subscriber.

I keep singing it out of the blue and having to stop myself. Yesterday out walking I got as far as Mache di - - before I noticed some guy walking behind me, who of course looked at me with that "you're a serial killer, aren't you?" look.

[simplic10]

I think every human generation is more or less the same as the last, when you get down to brass tacks - but where is our Bach?

[The30YearOldVirgin]

LOL! I had a huge laugh reading your first comment! Thank you! :)

As for your question... I hope he isn't spending his days masturbating and playing computer games, like many 20 to 30-something year old folks do these days...

[simplic10]

Hear, hear!

Start sublimating those sexual urges, people.

It won't be better for you, but art demands sacrifice!

[BrendanIsCool]

@The30YearOldVirgin yes I am. it's fine for me fapfapfapfap

[mynewdogtiger]

I don't need evidence to believe in our spiritual existence. The spiritual part of us is what differentiates us from mere animals. People like Jane Goodall who say that 'there is a very thin line between humans and animals, if there is a line' has apparently forgotten that a chimp never created anything of aesthetic value and never will. Chimps may be able to mimic human traits, but will never paint a picture for purely aesthetic reasons.

[Trekkiebucket]

And they will never create music of this caliber.

[hyphboy]

But I think we can all agree that if there is a god, the music of Bach is evidence to the fact.

[billyguns2]

I DO NOT THINK THIS IS A JAUNTY LITTLE DANCE; NO, NO, IT IS A GREAT SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE when performed correctly. This is awful.

[Mjhavok]

What does spiritual mean?

[billyguns2]

"spiritual' is a uniquely personal experience dealing with forces of an unseen energetic world; science is already beginning to try to prove this (e.g., "string theory." ) Anything related to bringing us to a higher realm of experience, such as the many magnificent musical performances of "spiritual" musicians is something that moves my emotions deeply. These performances exhibit no earthbound characteristics such as downward accents, subdivided beats, etc.

[Mjhavok]

If it is uniquely personal how do you know it is dealing with anything external. The mind can be easily fooled and can self-deceive.

[billyguns2]

That of which I speak doesn't resonate on my mental center.

[Mjhavok]

Incorrect.

[billyguns2]

Who are you to judge and analyze MY personal experience? I would never be so presumptuous as to do the same for you. All discussion of spiritual versus mental aside, I detest this performance: I find it unmusical and workmanlike, not inspired or lofty in any sense. Perhaps we should confine this discussion to what you can understand; are you a musician? Are you a scientist? I work as a highly respected and well known professional musician.

[Mjhavok]

I wouldn't really say I am a scientist yet. I am in the 4th year of an Honours degree in Microbiology. I do science for my project but I don't know if I would call myself a scientist yet. It is my main area of interest though and I read widely. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so abrupt with my answer "incorrect". What I mean is that what you think doesn't resonate in your mental centre probably in fact does. Even if you don't think so. To be clear I am not trying to judge you.

[Mjhavok]

You are free to believe whatever you want as I assume you know. However I like evidence for my beliefs. I want them to be as accurate a reflection of reality as possible. I genuinely don't understand when people talk about the supernatural when I know they have no evidence other than subjective experience which by its very nature is unrealiable.

[billyguns2]

Not that you care, but after reading your many YouTube statements and quotation citations, I find that we are in agreement on many things; foremost of these being the absolute idiocy of organized religion.

[billyguns2]

It is very difficult for me to explain something of which you have no personal experience; e.g., if you had never tasted coffee, how could I explain to you how coffee tastes? sometimes in life a person will have a spiritual awakening and epiphany; I know I did. I therefore respond to music-making that has this quality. Some people play violins, others beat drums.

[Mjhavok]

I probably get the same feeling from certain pieces of music as you do but I understand physiology and neurology and don't attribute that feeling to anything supernatural.

[billyguns2]

As I said, scientists are working on bringing the "supernatural" into explainable terms. People who were far ahead of their time in many areas were later proven correct by science. I think we will live to see the "spiritual" proven.

[Mjhavok]

That's just not true.

Please cite a paper.

[billyguns2]

There are many papers that can be cited: Michael Green and John Schwarz were the fathers of it with their revolutionary paper presented at Aspen, CO in 1984; this was shortly followed by Philip Candela's paper from Oxford U.; Gary Horowitz, Andrew Strominger, and others followed with their papers. Now about a thousand scientists at top universities throughout the world are working to prove the existence of the unseen. Space does not permit me to list them all; look it up!

[Mjhavok]

The unseen doesn't equal supernatural. The wind is unseen. Certain wavelengths of light are unseen. Dark matter is unseen. A lot of people who believe in new age woo and the supernatural try to clinge to mysterious concepts in science like dark matter and quantum mechanics. The generally don't understand these concepts.

[dochmbi]

Ah so this is the song Dawkins mentioned in TGD.

[rewtgh]

The man has a good sense of taste, hasn't he?

[chanteurdirecteur]

zo hoort deze prachtaria gezongen te worden. door een echte bas /bariton met ruimte onderin.

[andreinadasart]

God be praised for this music!

S.D.G.!!!

:>

[Mjhavok]

The undiprovable Manbearpig be praised.

Hallowed are the Ori.

[essex36]

I heard this music for the first time watching the film "The Talented Tom Ripley". I was completely taken aback by it, not only for the beauty of the music by itself, but also how it was used in the film. There it signals a new beginning, a new adventure, an opening up of Tom's world. Sadly, Tom is a tragic character. The music has consumed me ever since. Great to see it on Youtube. It is now 3 years since that day and I now declare it the most glorious music I have ever heard.

[miguelucho20008]

Hey, me too. I heard of it watching the Anthony Minguela film on DVD. Funny how "popular culture" can show us other so-called "deeper" forms of art.

[ctrinks]

...oder wohl doch ein Bariton, aber wenigstens keine so unpersönliche helle Farbe, wie man das leider heute überwiegend hört.

[ctrinks]

Endlich mal KEIN Bariton! Schöne dunkle Bass-Farbe. Wer weiß, wer hier singt und musiziert?

[qwertyzealot]

And Jesus said he didn't come to change or reject any of the OT. He came to promote it. The point is that if you interpret the bible literally a lot of the OT is immoral so you have to cherry pick. So by what criteria do you do this? Your natural good judgement. Your natural empathy for the suffering and well-being of others. You have that anyway. SO its not God. Even the NT is NOT exactly the most moral thing there is. The golden rule was around well before Jesus its called empathy.

[flipscratch81]

I'm sorry that you have brought the Christian Bible into this discussion. I have mentioned nothing of Christ, the Torah, OT or NT.

It seems we should let this lie. It's clear that you would like to bring your own views on christianity into this discussion, which has, to this point, been strictly philosophical. I would challenge you to rethink your naive overconfidence on your own "goodness" and predisposition to empathy. It is not a "shame" that man might need direction and help.

[qwertyzealot]

I was just using the bible as an example that morality doesn't come out of holy books. Because there's a lot of horror in there too. But how do you pick the good from the bad in the first place? Natural empathy.

[Mjhavok]

Evolved morality from biology and society, culture.

[qwertyzealot]

Yep. Our natural empathy we are born with (some more than others I guess)....so that's the evolved morality (from biology) right? Just as Chimps feel empathy that they are born with and they don't get it from their Chimpy culture.

'Evolved' (in the original sense of the term, not talking about biology now) morality from society and culture - develops through the evolution and progress of Ideas I think, what Dawkins would call memes - and consciousness often seems to be raised over time.....

[qwertyzealot]

(abolishment of slavery, rights for women votes, etc) - what Dawkins would call the Shifting Moral Zeitgeist.

When I said earlier that God is over 99% imrobable and you said "it depends how you define God" and how you thought the Christian God is surely absurd.

I am defining God as any SUPERNATURAL God or gods...I believe all supernatural God's are surely over 99% improbable....some may be a bit closer to 100% than others ;) (I don't believe any are 100% through, can't prove a negative).

[Mjhavok]

You should check out Marc Hausers book Moral Minds and also a book called The Moral Animal by Robert Wright.

[weepingforbrunnhilde]

Whoa!!

Is the conductor trying to catch a bus?

It's so brisk! Like Mozart or something!

[Klemperer]

Well, taste and approach to music is much a matter of taste, but I completely agree to you here; I love the performances that give the aria MUCH more time, like my nickname suggests anyway ;-)).

[Klemperer]

...this was meant as an answer to weepingforbrunnhilde, but I seem to have posted it to the wrong place :)

[pixape]

Ohh, you aren´t spanish, just like me!:) yes, it was basque and I was congratulating you for this lovely aria. You have understood it! You deserve a monument in Cais de Sodré!! :))I´m very moved when I listen to it. I´m not surprised that it´s a portuguese the one that has uploaded this video. Your lovely country has such a nice popular music -lovely fados and folklore- that I suppose it is normal you to be so musical. Agora en porugués, moito obrigado por o teu video!!

[flipscratch81]

I see nothing besides what I believe and what I must do. (which does not involve controlling what anyone else believes or does) My question is: why not believe? True or not, which cannot be proved, it's a great concept and does not necessarily mean religious control. It's doctrine that involves love, afterlife, beauty, etc. why not? (to make a salient point: power, control, and rhetoric remain even if religion is abolished)

[Mjhavok]

"My question is: why not believe?"

Some people care if their beliefs are accurate reflections of reality. Putting it crudely, I care if what I believe is true. Also you don't control what you believe really. It is not a matter of will.

Some people care if their beliefs are true and some belief what makes them feel good.

[qwertyzealot]

After reading Dawkins' latest book: The God Delusion...I share with thim the belief that God cannot be disproved...but he is over 99% improbable. That makes me a De Facto Atheist nearing on strong atheist (which would be the idea that God is disproved). Which means I am agnostic - like Dawkins - only to the extent I am with faries unicorns or the Flying spaghetti Monster.

Or my own favourite the undiprovable Manbearpig.(From south park).

[flipscratch81]

funny. I'm an agnostic and I believe in God. Belief does not equate proof and vice versa.

[flipscratch81]

I have not read the God delusion and I do not intend to make presumptions about its content, but I've always felt that people really mean something else when they say that they are agnostic. The basic tenets of agnosticism include the idea that one cannot prove something without physical proof. I believe in God and I agree with this wholeheartedly. I mean, who wouldn't? It is BELIEF that separates us, not a religious person's aversion to scientific proof. False dichotomy.

[qwertyzealot]

Yes thats true....I guess the rule is if you're 50% or you refuse to put a probability on God, you're agnostic, And the smaller the degree of your agnosticism either way the stronger you are an atheist/theist. If you're 100% belief/0% belief in God you're not agnostic. I am 99.9.9.9 etc, sure God doesn't exist.

[flipscratch81]

I liked your second "refuse to put a probability on God" statement. Using a percentage implies that you feel you DO have some adequate proof, akin to a scientific theory that is almost a law. I have no percentage. I simply really really believe that their is a God.  Your claim is much more authoritative than mine.

[qwertyzealot]

Well the improbability of God is not due to proof that he doesn't exist. You can't disprove his existence. But its not about disproving God, because if you understand the burden of proof you will realise that it is up to the believer to PROVE God not up to the disbeliever to disprove it. If I merely proclaim that the Flying Spaghetti Monster exists I have to give evidence of its existence. Its not up to you to disprove it. The only way out is for me to just say "I have faith", which is blind.

[flipscratch81]

haha. You're completely wrong about the burden of proof. In fact, you couldn't be any more wrong. Only one who claims to have physical proof is burdened with evidence. An intellectual with Faith in God would never say that they "knew" that God existed. And, if they did, you must not take it literally. It means they "believe". What is it about this philosophical concept (philo 101) that you do not understand? Must I articulate it through metaphor?  or something else?...

[flipscratch81]

hate to seem condescending here, but the level of absurdity here is reaching new levels. How on earth could the burden of proof be placed on someone who willingly admits not to have any proof in what they believe? Similarly, the burden of proof is not on an unbeliever who is agnostic. Perfectly valid stance.

[qwertyzealot]

What are you on about? You obviously completely misunderstand what I'm saying. Nobody HAS to prove anything of course. But there is indeed no proof of God so IF anyone is going to have to give proof then the believer is going to have to give proof of this God. He doesn't have to but its very unscientific and illogical for the unbeliever to have to disprove something that there is no proof of the existence of! However if indeed God is going to be treated as a scientific hypothesis...

[qwertyzealot]

Then obviously the theist must give proof. If God is just to be ignored then he's just to be ignored. It is totally illogical for an atheist to have to disprove God when there's no evidence of his existence. Just as its totally illogical for anyone to have to disprove the FSM. Like I said noone HAS to disprove anything. Just on a scientific level the burden of proof is on the theist because he's the one with zero evidence of the truth an absurd claim. I could "believe" in the FSM. But its nuts.

[Mjhavok]

Exactly.

[Mjhavok]

"I share with thim the belief that God cannot be disproved...but he is over 99% improbable. "

Depends how you define god but I'd say the Christian god is at best an absurd notion.

[fatbaldcunt]

I beg your pardon I correct my last post. The imagery was naff with the exception of the brief appearance of Giotto, (twice) Blake (once) Da Vinci (once) Piero (once) El Grecco (once) The Grunnewald Altarpiece (once) Eastern European Icon (once)

the rest of the images 19th/20th century cheese.

But I"m a dreadful art snob. Thank you for posting anyway because I thought the voice was lovely . WHo was he?

[fatbaldcunt]

what utterly naff imagery for such a sublime musical utterance. But what a supremely magisterial interpretation of this aria it was. One doesn't have to be a Christian to be moved by the incredibly human story of Jesus, one only has to be HUMAN. And one would have to be less than human to remain unmoved by Bach's demonstration of the human evolution of the act of empathy.

[pixape]

Zoragarria! Euskal Herritik zorionak aria hau jartzeagatik.

[flipscratch81]

You don't believe in God??!! Absurd!! (i'm serious)

What's wrong with believing?

[qwertyzealot]

What's right with believing? There is no morality or inspiration (and certainly NO TRUTH) from believing in God that you cannot get from disbelieving in him. Its not like thinking there is a supernatural order has magical miraculous powers on your moral system and inspiration. Thats just delusion. You can be moral and inspired without it. Its a shame that some people actually feel they NEED the "believe" to be inspired or even moral!

[flipscratch81]

I certainly don't deny that a man could act morally and inspired without a God. I simply share the idea that man was created and God created this morality. In a civilized world, it is very easy for morality and civility to share the same mask. In my opinion, morality can be quite counterproductive in a civilized society. In fact, it can be downright damaging to your career. Since you have no definitive source for a moral code, do you make up the rules as you go?

[qwertyzealot]

I have natural empathy for others. Noone ever gets their morals from God. Fearing God or thinking you'll be rewarded by him is not morality. If you think it is isn't that a more ignoble reason to be moral than to be moral because you feel empathy for others? you can't get your morality from God because 1 he almost certainly doesn't exist and 2 (more importantly) even the belief itself you cannot get morals from. Because if you look at the OT a lot of it is highly immoral.

[flipscratch81]

A "natural empathy"? There are many terrible men in this world that believe the same about themselves. I too believe this about myself. This supposed natural empathy, however, does not mean you are immune to immorality. (whatever that word may mean to you) You would think it sad that I believe even a good man's discretion is not strong enough in all circumstances. For you and I the difficulty is not racism, murder, or any obvious abominations, but the grey areas and lesser viles...

[qwertyzealot]

I never said that natural empathy was immune to immorality.

[Mjhavok]

"I simply share the idea that man was created and God created this morality. "

Why do you believe this? What is the reason?

[qwertyzealot]

This is one of Richard Dawkins' favourite songs...and he's been described as 'one of the world's most prominent atheists.'

[The30YearOldVirgin]

:) Really!? I had no idea!... I find this piece truly inspirational... and I don't have to believe in God to do so.

I guess it's just a matter of understanding the beauty of nature...

...and realizing that what we call God, is often something we carry inside of us, mankind, set free and running wild :)

[qwertyzealot]

Yeah really...Dawkins in youtube search for: bach dawkins...1:07 into the (pictured) audio he mentions it.

[The30YearOldVirgin]

I will! Thanks for the tip ;)

[qwertyzealot]

No problem...So are you atheist or agnostic?

[WolfgangSebastien]

Solemn,majestic and devotional!

Wonderful representations this monumental work secular who has won a place in the history of composition towards the divine office.

My congratulations!

[The30YearOldVirgin]

Thank you :)

[Max3851]

Joyfull, Bach I always feel like a benevolent father leading me through dappled mossy lanes, dark woods, painfull beauty of sunshine

[The30YearOldVirgin]

:))) Same here! All I can say is: Bach saved my life!

[ElGeneral09]

Nothing in today's array of noise can even begin to come near to the perfection of this wonderful music. 3:34 on is my favorite part. "Welt, geh aus...welt, geh aus,... lass Jesum ein, Welt, geh aus,lass Jesum ein."

[The30YearOldVirgin]

Indeed... it's amazing how modern music sucks big time :(

When I hear pieces like this one I find myself wondering what the hell happened to music in the last 50 years or so... what ever happened to its art? Where's the technique, the beauty, the expressiveness, the emotion?

...maybe I'm just old fashioned :)

[Mistfink1980]

I admire Bach, but also I admire Metallica, Queen, or Nirvana, no matter the Technique. With Bach, it is of course a matter of finnesse, but with modern day music it is also a matter of politcal statement. I dont think that Bach has ever thought of that in this sphere. Nor has he ever had the chance to do so. Enlightment (Aufklärung) was way away from mondern day acceptance.

[AsSomedayItMayHappen]

I think the point that was being made, and forgive me if I'm wrong, is that Bach's work has an innate, unparalleled beauty to it. It has a purity in and of itself that is truly unique. Having said that, I will say that there is plenty of modern music that doesn't "suck big time"; that is indeed a great generalization.

[The30YearOldVirgin]

LOL! Ok, I will concede that not all modern music sucks big time. But MOST modern music sucks big time! ;)

[Ruffiello]

Who is the singer with the warm voice and sensitive interpretation? Lovely.

[The30YearOldVirgin]

Andreas Schmidt (German Bass-Baritone), in a 1988 recording. :)

BTW, the orchestration credits go to John Elliot Gardiner, conducting the English Baroque Soloists :)

[ctrinks]

This is NOT Andreas Schmidt but thr German Bass Cornelius Hauptmann. Gardiner is correct.

[The30YearOldVirgin]

I had to check this again to make sure... you're absolutely right! It is Hauptmann!... Thank you for noticing it!

[ctrinks]

This is Cornelius Hauptmann, not A. Schmidt. I agree, I really love this recording!!

[BachLoveNat]

amazing....yes...thank you

[The30YearOldVirgin]

:) This is one of my favorite arias from BWV 244. The music arrangement is very similar to some of Bach's orchestral suites (like the air from BWV 1068 and the gavotte from BWV 1069), smooth and tender.

But the vocal part is the height of the piece for me, really expressive, like a cry of desperation and an hymn of joy at the same time... love it! :)

Like Bach himself said: "the aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul". :)

[BachLoveNat]

:)great words!where did you find that rare quote???!

St.Matthäus-Passion is my favorite from J S Bach.

I hope to listen to this one in Leipzig ... this is my dream!

:)

[The30YearOldVirgin]

At the "thinkexist" quote page! :)

I've been trying to post the website address, but it seems YouTube doesn't accept my comment when I include it in this reply message :(

Anyway, just perform an internet search for "Bach quotes" :) That should do the trick!

[BachLoveNat]

:(

I thought you found it on my page

:)

[The30YearOldVirgin]

LOL! I did see the comment on your page, and I noticed it when I first discovered your account... but I just forgot it! Sorry! :)

Speaking of Bach quotes, here's my favorite:

"It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself." ;)