Fugue and Allegro J.S. Bach BWV 998

[Hermeterec]

from Jose' Sepulveda, the Hermeterec.......Craig I, too, am a guitarist and I admit to lstening to and watching other guitarists on youtube to "steal" little technical tips and phrasing helpers wherever I find them. I've been stealing from YOU since I started playing.......I hope you don't mind.....if you DO, I promise I'll stop.....it's just that I admire the way you play!

[craigalake]

@Hermeterec Of course I don't mind. I'm honoured that anyone would want to "steal" from the way I play. Thank you Jose.

[pacodegarcia]

Great playing Craig, love the smooth transition into the Allegro..reminded me of Paul Galbraith. just a Quick question...how come you don't play the repeats in the Allegro?

[craigalake]

@pacodegarcia Can't remember why I didn't repeat. Maybe to keep it under 10min? Anyway, I would normally perform it with repeats.

[MUmetsu]

Bravo!Bravo!Bravo!

Mario Umetsu, brazilian pianist.

[doel002]

Amazing, nice conducted the different voices

[linkusei]

Cricket Vs Craig !!!

[paulandlesson]

Great performance. There will always be other noises, or opinions in phrasing etc... That is the essence of music. You nailed it, and BTW I love going from the Fugue straight into the allegro. Great work, thanks for the post.

[untl01]

well played, but don't include the annoying cricket next time - Bach doesn't need any supplementary sounds to sound good ;)

[gipcarp]

What right-hand fingering du you use for the allegro? Can´t get no good sound from my ringfinger so i just use what feels most practical and sounds best.

[yordinator]

HAHAHAHAHAHA.... HAY UN MALDITO GRILLO EN EL SALON TOCANDO CON EL HEHEHEHEHEHEH.

[r1d2r3a4]

@yordinator

JAJAJA el grillo le sirve de metronomo, se nota que toma en cuenta el tempo del grillo

[kowalsky111]

as its ment to be played. a pitty that there are these annoiyng backgroundnoises. is it from the camera?

[craigalake]

@kowalsky111

It's a cricket chirping in the background.

[kowalsky111]

@craigalake a now i get it, haha well then it's mmore romantic not annoying

[craigalake]

@kowalsky111

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[kowalsky111]

@craigalake yes im enyoing it very much. if i can critizise only one thing, it is that sometimes the phrasing are too hard for my taste, or sometimes only one note. while most of the time it is played with very much feeling

[Samoriah]

@craigalake

You must be awfully boring in concert. Just joking, you're amazing. 

[B5guy]

Excellent.

[Honghaguitarist9]

Beautiful!...Masterfully played! Congrats!

I wish you a Merry Christmas and Healthy & Happy new year.

[Pluckmaster]

Hi Craig, I too would love the transcription for this and would be very grateful if you could send it.

[vanessbio]

It´s cool to have the cricket as a background. Excellent play

[leevkp]

Thank you for posting this. A joy to listen and to watch! Please don't take this negatively... regarding going to the source, it would be better to look at the Neue Bach Ausgabe in the library... the splice between the ending of the Fugue and the Allegro comes from John Williams' earlier recording. I prefer his later 70s one, where the two movements are separated, but it's now out of print.

[craigalake]

@leevkp Thanks! No I don't take it negatively. I know the original score doesn't run straight from the fugue to the allegro but at the time I liked it so I did it. My transcription isn't written that way however, it was just a choice at the time of performance. BTW the Paolo Cherici urtext edition "Johann Sebastian Bach: Opere complete per Liuto" is just as accurate a source for the lute works as the "Neue Bach Ausgabe"

[darkNiGHTS0]

@leevkp

It may not be in the original, but you have to keep in mind that performing Baroque pieces is not supposed to be completely strict to the score like Classical music is.

[leevkp]

Thank you for posting this. A joy to listen and to watch! Please don't take this negatively... regarding going to the source, it would be better to look at the Neue Bach Ausgabe in the library... the splice between the ending of the Fugue and the Allegro comes from John Williams' earlier recording. I prefer his later 70s one, where the two movements are separated, but it's now out of print.

[shmaxss]

Oops! Yes it`s G#. :))

[shmaxss]

It`s a very good advice - to go to the source, but it can be a little bit impossible, if you live in Lithuania :) On 7:09-7:10 you play normal G, but everybody plays G#. In my score it`s G#(some Hungarian edition). So which note is correct? Regards Max.

[craigalake]

@shmaxss

Hi, I live in Perth, Australia, which is the most isolated city in the world, so if I found it in Perth, I'm sure you can find the lute music in Lithuania;-) Look for Paolo Cherici "Johann Sebastian Bach: Opere complete per Liuto".

Anyway, it is a G# (your asking about bar 24?) and I'm fairly sure that's what I'm playing. In fact every G is G# from bar 17 until the end of the 1st section because it finishes in the Dominant A Major (or B flat in the original).

[melomane49]

@shmaxss

In fact, from a theoretical point of view, your question is quite relevant. At bar 24, some editions have a G natural and not sharp, for baroque music frequently "swings" from one to the other. And in fact, you have a G natural again at bar 30 which is just the second bar before last of this 1st section, and more, just before the G sharp of bar 31. My version which contains G natural at bar 24 is from "Lautenmusik", published by Verlag Friedrich Hofmeister.

[Miganiya]

I have to tell you, one notices alright, that you've been playing piano as well...it is most common that guitar players crown their career just by improving technique, and nobody questions such successes, since guitar is a tough instrument to play. I liked your recording very much, congratulations, keep up, you have a very good ear!

[farzamgt]

tanx

[RickNPhx]

CHRIST is the source of life. This piece, your guitar, and how you play it brings Glory to HIM. Best Regards.

[MrLucaRanieri]

questi sono chitarristi!!!! Bravo. studio da 4 anni e spero di riuscire a suonare tutto questo 998(per il momento faccio solo il preludio). complimenti

[jcrlaw2811]

Remarkable playing. Bravo.

[yodasKameltoe]

Amazing technique, tone production, and projection. You do this piece perfect justice. Well done :)

[pepitho]

lo que está bien hecho parece fácil

este tipo es un genio

exquisita y estremecedora interpretación

[MrRolando68]

Vraiment magnifique, claire et irrésistible tel un fleuve!

Bravo encore une fois!!!

[min7b5]

Goosebumps good

[PierluigiColangelo]

bravo!

[craigalake]

Grazie!

[blueknight1976]

Excellent Performance, congratulations!

[deperim]

you are fascinating Craig, as usual....Bravo!

[Kraviotho]

¡Bach siempre será el mejor!

¡Éste intérprete es ya lo havía escuchado antes!

Es muy buen guitarrista y siempre es un placer ver sus videos :''D

[facundomaidana]

Muy bueno, también me gustan los ruidos de los grillos, le da un ambiente solitario!!

[manolohui]

gran maestro!genialmente interpretado, me encanta

[gipcarp]

I´ve read a "little,little "bit about counterpoint,and it´s fun because i understood that in bwv 997 the second voice starts in bar two,but "backwards" that is from (f)e down to a.Also interesting to read about f-ex. parallel movements(is that the word in english?)side movements and so on.

[giorgiopicker]

molto bello!

tnx!!

[melopheas]

Es un bellísimo ejemplo de cómo se debe interpretar ésta música.Bravo!

[GuitarOfTruth]

Very nice.

[PetrucciIsMyGod]

Amazing playing! I'm trying to play this "suite", and I'm studying the C. Nelson edition, but I don't like the way it's arranged. What edition are you playing on this video? (sorry for my English, I'm Argentinian)

[JacarandaMusic]

Try the Koonce edition... still very highly regarded after all these years.

[craigalake]

Your English is fine. I'm playing my own transcription taken from the Paolo Cherici urtext edition "Johann Sebastian Bach: Opere complete per Liuto". If you're really serious always best to go to the source. Jerry Willard edition is ok. Pretty true to the original.

[inaclouds]

wow...perfetto!

[alienmig23]

hi nice playing!a somewhat stupid question .How much time would you need to learn a beethoven sonata on the piano having all this guitar knowledge?

[craigalake]

It's not a stupid question but it is a strange one. Although I have some experience in this. The answer is a long time. Actually I stopped playing guitar for a period of about 5 or 6 years and played piano especially to play Beethoven sonatas. I learned the first two movements and most of the third movement of the "Moonlight" but my fingers just couldn't quite do justice to the third movement so I gave up!

[melomane49]

To alienmig23

I think there are at least two very different aspects to your question: technique of the instrument and memory.

As far as technique is concerned, it does take a good number of years to try Beethoven's sonatas (except the slow movement of the Moonlight which is relatively easy).

As for memory, usually pianists (soloists) and guitarists learn and play by heart. This is less "important" to (essentially) melodic instrumentalists like flautists. Memory training is the key word.

[gamergeek3000]

How much is a concert bench such as the one you are using. I imagine it is super expensive...over 300...500 US?

[craigalake]

Probably more, but I don't know. It came with the Steinway you see behind me and that was over $150,000.

[RickNPhx]

I've watched many top performers do various Bach pieces. I believe this to be the best performance I've seen/heard yet. It's wonderful. Craig these particular Bach pieces, the performance, the guitar, the tone, volume, and texture changes, the room, everything; even the crickets-just wonderful. VERY Inspiring! It's Christ Honoring. Do you teach in the Phoenix area? If so, would like to have you help me with learning it.

[craigalake]

Thanks Rick. Sorry but I'm in Perth, Australia.

[soniameh]

quite well played

[emfis3]

bravo!..

[melomane49]

Just to follow with the "scordaturo".

In the case of the Bach 5th Cello Suite, the written notes of the top string do look "out of tune". For example, Ab instead of G (if my memory is correct). This is not the case of the guitar scores. The notes are written normally.

However, the case of the lute may be different. I haven't looked into that. It may well be like the Cello suite. One has to check if it is not similar to tablature writing.

[craigalake]

Almost all lute music is tablature. Bach being the exception but his so called "lute suites" were really written on a keyboard and are impossible without modification or bizarre scordatura.

Koyunbaba is simular to the Bach you described in that it has two staves, one with the actual notes (but a semitone higher as it is played in c# minor) and the other as if you were reading standard tuning but with the guitar tuned to a c# minor chord.

[GuitarOfTruth]

#cough#( ..on a violin.)

[melomane49]

Excellent performance. Thanks

[gipcarp]

I´ve watched a little "Mr.Bean" but personally for the moment i like "black-adder" most.I´ve got "Not the nine o´clock news" on dvd wich is Atkinsons best performance ever in my taste.

[gipcarp]

Strange,i can play the first part of this fairly well(if i´m really concentrated)but feels like i´ll never learn f.e. gigue bwv 996(or "allegro")Do you have any tips for practising these fast tunes?

[gipcarp]

I read that you also study Theorb,i´ve seen the instrument in a book,"the baroque guitar",i think.What tuning has it? is it very hard to play?Seems hard to even have on your knees.

[gipcarp]

Thanks for the tip,do you possibly know what tuning "scordaturo" means,and would you say i´m right about the voice entries in bwv 997,there is of course a dominant "E" in bar two.Anyway,it´s Lindbergs fugue bwv 998 i go by when practising.

[craigalake]

Scordatura just means any non standard tuning. "A term applied largely to lutes, guitars, viols and the violin family to designate a tuning other than the normal, established one." Groves online.

[melomane49]

Scordatura litterally means discord. The 's' in Italian is like the 'dis' in English.

[craigalake]

Thanks melomane49, I didn't know that. So in the context of non standard tunings I guess it kind of means "untuned"?

[melomane49]

I suppose it just means that one (or more) string(s) of the instrument does not "sound" as in the standard tuning.

Some baroque pieces in fact are easier to play with the 3rd string tuned to F# instead of G, for instance.

In a well known piece, the 5th Cello suite by Bach, there are two music scores, one with the standard tuning, and another with (I think, but I don't have the score in front of me just now) the top string "untuned". So the music is written accordingly and looks "out of tune".

[gipcarp]

Anyway,i´´ve read that Bach was a great inventor who managed to stay within the realms of traditional harmony rules,and then came Schönb,,,,Anyhow,I

Just got hold of Jakob Lindberg´s "Lute music" . Bach on 13-course Lute,a mystery to me how you could play tuned:f-d-a-f-d.But then,he uses"Scordaturo" on the e-minor and e-major suites.

[craigalake]

Most of the Bach "lute" suites were composed on the Lautenwerk anyway (or transcriptions of solo violin and cello works) and probably very seldom played on the Lute because thay are not idiomatic. I have the Lindberg Bach and I think it's really good. If you can get the Robert Hill Lautenwerk recording it's as close to what it would have sounded like when Bach wrote it.

[gipcarp]

I have the Frank Konce edition and it´s in a-minor.A second voice starts,don´t remember what bar,on the high e and repeats a similar structure as the intro theme,a third starts on the low tonic,but can there really be so many bars between each voice entry?

[gipcarp]

Thanks a lot,i´ve also tried a bit with the fuga from bwv 997.The second voice as i understand entries here in the third bar(i think)with the note c/f# a d7 chord lacking the tonic.but i must be wrong here,from your info about voices entring on dominants or tonics.

[craigalake]

BWV 997 is different. I think the second entry is in the second bar but Bach has flipped the subject upside down. It does start on the dominant however. Like all great composers he knew how to break the rules (or at least bend them to the limit) What key is the edition you are looking at?

[gipcarp]

i`ve studied a bit the second voice wich starts with an a and then it`s f# _g_a_g# and so on sounds like an imitation of the introducing fugue them am i right?

[craigalake]

Yes, that's the way all fugues work. The second entry is always an (aproximate) transposition of the 1st in the dominant (in d major that's a). The third entry is back to the tonic (d) and the 4th, dominant etc. The second entry is a-f# -g-a-d-f#-g#-a.

[thebones]

Lovely playing Craig, as someone else has pointed out you play with great 'fluidity' - your legato playing is great - I've just returned to playing BWV 998 after a lay off for a few years and it easy tp practice for hours without losing impetus. Always something to think about musically, I particularly like the way you 'dive' into the Allegro, I might have to steal that idea........lol

[craigalake]

You are right, you could keep playing this forever and not get bored. I stole the idea from galbraith and williams anyway so by all means (the less time thinking about the allegro before you start the better i think).

[ROCDR88]

Bravo my friend.

Where do you teach?

[craigalake]

Thanks, I like your Bluesette too. I teach at high schools and primary (elementary) schools in Perth, Australia.

[raiphdude7]

Absolutely flawless, I have learned a boatload from just watching this.

THANK YOU CRAIG

[gipcarp]

Hi!

I don´t wanna use you,but could you give me some information about fugue bwv 997,like:where does the second voice enters(is it on the "f" or the "e" after the first introducing five or six ascending notes.How many voices does it have(my guess is three)

Anyway,i saw your interpr.of "Autumn leaves".Orchman must be meaning a dm7 with the "fifth" lowered one half step eh?

Thanks anyway!

[gipcarp]

I understand,i don´t know much about counterpoint,except basics,that is what i´ve learned from studying the process in Bach´s music(voices chromatic versus diatonic and so on)wich always amazes me,I Love trying to play this a little bit,without having any prestige.

Anyway,the intellectual bit is not that important to me,although it´s there.I just love this one and never get tired listening to it,becausse it affects me deeper than most other music i`ve heard

thanks anyhow!

[gipcarp]

O.K. I suppose there are three voices simultaneously when the third enters?

Is it absolutely necessery to first play them all separately to know how each one sound and then play them together?

Seems like hard work,like a baroque-painting with about 50 people or something.Anyway,really nice of you to answer.

[craigalake]

Not really necessary although it does help your understanding of the polyphony. If you already have a good understanding of counterpoint you can just play them normally. Some people are able to improvise fugues. Bach and Handel were famous for it. Bach could improvise 6 part fugues. One of my lecturers at uni can do it on harpsichord. It's astonishing to see but there are formulae or templates that they follow and once you understand it it's still amazing but a little more understandable.

[gipcarp]

I read about an organ piece by Bach with tree voices.Does that mean three voices simultaneously?

[craigalake]

Yes, simultaneously. But thats no big deal, this fugue has three voices simultaneously. His organ fugues often have twice that.

[sinestemusic]

Excellent !... Bravo !

[dregret]

Great technique and interpetation as usual. Thanks for the upload.

[dasgroover]

very enjoyable to say the least - great performance - yet too bad about the crickets in the background -

[dasgroover]

*****

[cgd62]

Impresionante!! Felicitaciones!!

[ubbddu]

bravo

[tolier97]

Fantastico!

[FrancisArief]

Awesome performance, I love this, thanks for posting :-)

[rodriguezclassical]

Bravo!! You are so good it's sick. I commend you on every level sir

[craigalake]

Thanks! I think you play Bach well too. You should post some more.

[flmgcarock]

bravo!!!

teach yamashita to play!

[LowKeyFloa]

remarkable

im stoked now

[peterhguk]

I just clicked a link and found a great performance, well played. Shame about the top your head though :-)

[erk1958]

Really nicely played-very enjoyable!

[ejtanner]

A pave of jewels.

[yourforte]

Sounds good

[Vreci]

Such clear voices !!!

great playing!

best regards,

wolfgang

[Cyrloud]

nice playing for this difficult piece

[pracpig]

Excuse me if I´m troubling you,concerning the fugue bwv 1000.There are so many voices here,right?Starts on the dominant and then the tonic enters in bar 2.Then later:is it a voice when a chord starts,i think it is a dm7 with the septima at the bottom?

Anyway,Where does the second voice in bwv 997 start?For sure an imitating one appears in bar 7 on the dominant

[mtrobulru]

without being a connoisseur, as I'm not a musician myself, I just like your interpretation. Bravo

[mtrobulru]

A good piece and nice playing. Congratulations !Regards from Bulgaria

[pracpig]

Very nice.I have not studied fugues very closely,but this one has such power and beauty,tell me,Where does the second voice actually start? an imitaion of the first two bars in my ears starts at the seventh bar.

[craigalake]

Thanks for your interest.

The subject starts on the tonic (D in D major)and the second entry is in the 3rd bar starting on the dominant (which is A in D major) the entry in the 7th bar is the 3rd entry and that is back to the tonic so you are right to say it is an exact imitation of the subject. Voice entries alternate between tonic and dominant in fugues.

[MNYCNY2000]

Wonderful, though I prefer a slightly slower tempo. Greetings from New York City.

[CezarCimpeanu1]

that was really great :). Wonderful job on the voices

[bzeliotis]

Great energy Craig.

Beautiful phrasing.

[TheSingingPine]

Hi Craig, Thanks for the reply. Beautiful set of work. I wish all the best on the competition. Btw, I play a guitar built by Darren Hippner, a luthier from Washington State.

Thanks again and Best to you from New York, TSP

[TheSingingPine]

Wonderful Playing Craig ! Thanks for sharing this beautiful music. I've played and listened to this Prelude Fugue & Allegro over 15 years, never get bored. I could listen to it over and over again!

Your Simon Marty sings beautifully, btw what's the scale length and its width at nut? I love the clarity. Best to you!

[craigalake]

65cm and 4.3cm from 1st to 6th strings. Yes it has beautifull clarity but incredible power as well. What do you play?

[elguitarolerno]

beautiful playing craig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[soniameh]

I love this suite Thx for Sharing

Take care Mate

Himanshu

[skadborg]

Very nice, you have made a great arr. here.

[lute323]

Wonderful Bach on the guitar. Your arrengements of these too well-known pieces sounds very fresh to my mind. It is a great idea to play Bach using our own arrangements. I try to play Bach on the guitar based on the different arrengemets besides Segovia nor the transcriptions influenced by Maestro's. Of course I highly respect Segovia as a guinious guitarist, though.

[craigalake]

Thanks! I agree. Actually I originally learnt this using the Segovia edition many years ago and found later (after looking at the original) that he butchered many of the voices unnecessarily. That was my main motivation behind transcribing it.

[howeworth]

Hi Craig. Is there any possibility to get your transcription? I'd pay for it :)

[DirrtyCraig]

Craig, Thats was fantastic. I wouldn't change a thing. I've been working on the Prelude and Fugue (Willard ed.) This is exactly what I'm going for in my own interpretations. To me this is what it should sound like and I'll use this video as a guide for my own progression.

[craigalake]

Thanks!

[ILikeClassicalGuitar]

Very nice Allegro.

I like your playing.

[AnDany138]

Dear YT, which publisher do you recommend to learn this set of pieces. Thank you kindly

[craigalake]

I went back to the original lute and transcribed it myself because I wasn't happy with the arrangement of voices in most editions that I have seen. Willard's complete lute works will do though but you should look at the original check things.

[crudosoy1]

Willard's Bach Complete Lute Works is fantastic Craig, i just bought it a few weeks ago and i really like it, the digitation is very good i think!

Awesome work as always my friend!!

[ClassicalGuitarUK]

Well done! I enjoyed that.

[ghostsatnight]

yeah, it's goin' well but this is hard to play so it doesn't go boring, maybe try doing more dynamic more piano going to Forte, more colors, bigger phrases and don't play it straight all the time, looking forward to the future to see you working on it:)

[11365socrate]

Good job Craig, well done.

Being a guitarist and a musician myself (I mostly play jazz nowdays but I was trained in classical music) I appreciate your performance.

I played the prelude fugue and allegro by JSB and I know they are amongs some of the all time difficult guitar score.

Your sound is very good and clear.

Regards from Italy

[craigalake]

Grazie!

[hxzsilhfslZBdls]

Man, sorry it's good but on some notes you need to not do hard accent, it doesn't sound plesant and more phrases there, it's just my opinion you don't have to agree with me good tempo though just right

[craigalake]

I agree with your criticism. I'm working on these aspects now and will post again sometime down the track. Thanks for the comment.

[nydude6009]

Continuing on this...

Honestly, I don't see why you aren't winning these competitions already. I much rather listen to you than many other of these people. But these things I mentioned may be what judges are holding you back by. I do not see what I just said just in this video but also in your other pieces. So generally, I feel you need a stronger sensitivity to different voices.

[nydude6009]

first, that is some performance. You have a quality that John Williams has- a technical fluidity. Most of these competition winners lack this but you have it. But, at times during the fugue especially, the melody is completely dominated by the base voice. And the other very small thing that I would comment on as a listener is your sensitivity to certain sections, voices, and melodies. If you can understand when to hold back and when to use your technical fluidity for power, then you'll win.

[sleazebee]

awesome, awesome job dude. clear and gorgeous playing. you should be very proud!! good luck in the competition!

[LutenistDeMari]

Your best playing so far to my mind. When is the comp?

[craigalake]

Thanks! December 13-14. The fugue is the set work along with Turina's Fandanguillo in the 2nd round. I'll play the Allegro as my own choice piece. This year I'm learning everything early and just going to play everything as much as possible leading up to it.

[BbMinor]

Beautiful Bach playing, craig. :)

[iCGClub]

I expect your playing....

Wow. Bach!!!

I Like Bach very, very, very much.

Your 998 is 5 Stars!

Thanks for your Playing.

Bye~

[Liranm89]

Perfect! Well done! I really enjoyed :)

[Liranm89]

Perfect! Well done! I really enjoyed :)

[crudosoy1]

Wow Craig!!! This is just excelent, and those are really tough pieces!!!

5 stars!

Stay well

Santiago