Bach, Organ Trio Sonata III (BWV 527), 3rd movement

[dancetoska]

For some reason this piece makes me feel like I'm in a clown church.

[DeePhlat]

@dancetoska AKA, regular church

[Phonologie]

I WANT MORE

[Zoidle]

Sound like it would go well for a Zelda game

[Devilsnightforlife]

@Zoidle Rather a final fantasy one :)

[Zoidle]

@Devilsnightforlife True.

[Trinigoth]

Thinking of actually playing this blows my mind. How awesome was it that Bach basically played this stuff to himself inside of a church and not until around 100 years after he died did people find out he was awesome. :) That's dedication.

[awshucks]

MrTenonSaw...you will only confuse the children using this visualization...as they will not know the subtext or form upon which it is predicated.

That being said, It may pay off in other areas down the line a few years (personal awakening)

[robzombie954]

I could picture Bassoons playing this very well Bach had more power with his music then any political mastermind will ever have on the planet Earth.

[akudal964]

I'm a metalhead but i love Bach's music so much

[MrClosercloser]

@akudal964 metal came from classic music gendre

[akudal964]

@MrClosercloser I know that! Everything came from classical music. It's simple to say that ;)

[MrTenonSaw]

This will be really useful in class.

[smalin]

@MrTenonSaw What class?

[MrTenonSaw]

@smalin A class of children (aged 11) at the school where I teach; it will help them understand musical texture, i.e. counterpoint in this case.

[smalin]

@MrTenonSaw  Ah, perfect.

[RoyalGriffin123]

@MrTenonSaw Why not use the Kunst der Fuge? It's what Bach used to teach that to his students

[smalin]

@RoyalGriffin123 Is it? He wrote it relatively late in his life (in fact, he died before finishing it). I know that he wrote the organ trio sonatas for one of his sons to study, but I've never heard about him using the Art of Fugue for teaching. Do you have a reference for that?

[RoyalGriffin123]

@smalin He indeed wrote it rather late in his life, but he composed it earlier to teach it to his students at the Thomas Schule. I've read this in Bach's biography by Cristoph Wolff (A great book to have anyway).

[polymath7]

@smalin I'd also say if you're teaching eleven-year-olds, this is more appropriately lively and (I would think) more accessible than anything in Der Kunste Der Fuge.

[SquallIV]

Sounds like something from some old RPG game, lol. I like it! : )

[robzombie954]

@SquallIV I thought that too, it reminds me of Ginos Maze from super Mario RPG.

[OVG12]

:O what is this sound never inn my lifetime have i heard this shit

[SuperBabel2]

C'est la 3° sonate pour orgue de BACH? BWV 527 en ré mineur ! D.BABEL

[awshucks]

watch?v=TVyyhHFKI8E&feature=re­lated

[awshucks]

Addtionally, this visualization is fine...but does not highlight the overtones birthed by 4 rows of keyboard and multiple other settings on an organ of Bach's time...and tuning.

[awshucks]

@smalin You need to investigate Veda. Word (Mantra) is music and music is Word...and Math is a manu-factured language that attempts to clarify and dis-cover all. Part of an age old trade on ignorance...that there is any 'disctinction' necessary.

[auron570]

truly a master of polyphony. wow

[Drakopulous]

Awesome, thanks for your time.

[awshucks]

"if words could be a substitute for music, we wouldn't need music."

Invalid. Words that resonate for generations within the human psyche via mastery of composition ARE music.

[smalin]

@awshucks You can say that words are music if you like, but that blurring of distinctions doesn't clarify the issue.

[RoyalGriffin123]

@awshucks Music is the balans between Harmony, Melody and rithm. Words are at best just Melody and rithm. I.e. Just try to listen to 7 or so people speaking at the same time, but 7 people or so singing together (all different texts) and you can hear them all easily. That's the power of music.

[awshucks]

@RoyalGriffin123 That you cannot easily distinguish the harmony in base speech is no proof that it does not exist, regardless of the number of speakers. In order for there to be harmony is singing, it must exist as an underpinning of base speech/word. Just as for Geometry to be possible, all base numbers must embody their own individual geometry. Maha Gyatri is what it is.

Exposition of the harmony underpinning, with a musical instrument as accompaniment only watch?v=0M3YFK3sJ54

[smalin]

@RoyalGriffin123 Words are just melody and rhythm? How about meaning?

[simjonowitsch]

Really nice piece, tho it sounds a little fast here

[mauson1963]

The divine architecture of Bach... it´s the first time I see this visual thing... great work!

[yassag0]

This 'organ' sounds a little bit like Legend of Mana soundtrack. Fuckin' awesome.

[champiforest]

Sounds like a legend of Zelda song xD

[thegoddescomposer]

@champiforest Dude i was really thinking the same

This piece does me think back in the middle ages : )

[NSProductions1432]

@champiforest Same, though did you ever play Chrono Trigger for SNES? Sounds like that game.

[aldoreshgaramok]

@NSProductions1432 I think its more like "Chrono Trigger sounds like Bach" than "Bach sounds like Chrono Trigger" ;)

[NSProductions1432]

@aldoreshgaramok Haha, yeah!

[amadeus5889]

Watching your videos never fails to remind me how amazing Bach was. Each line of counterpoint simultaneously competes against the other lines while at the same time harmonizing them. They even finish each others' musical phrases. Even when the phrases are inverted or reversed, they remain in perfect harmony with the voices that have not been altered. Wowza...Bach really is the God of mortal music.

[RoyalGriffin123]

@amadeus5889 If bach wasn't heavenly send then he must have known somebody high up over there who whispered heavenly music in his ear.

[menoziinrevoltado]

I may be the first one to ever notice this but I just realized how similar "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite" is to this. In particular, at 02:12.

[cremno]

Which one is it that has the same theme, just... Like a little different? I can't find it! I'm gonna die if I don't find it, lol, please help.

[OVG12]

wow didint know bach was the best of them old klassical music ballet to this would be awsome itl be relly fast! :D

[OceanderTethyseus]

@LostInTime87

you must tell her!!

(unless she's your sister or your dog or something weird like that)

[OceanderTethyseus]

utter madness

certainly the greatest musical genius in the history of the world

[spongebobsqa7]

It's very good for BM - Backround Music (of a video game), especially in the start!

[DemonKittenz]

Simply wonderful

[Surtak]

I have to admit, the organs I hear in churches over hear sound a lot more like the "phantom at the opera" fugue, I forget the name. I suspect the confusion arises by mixing up PIPE organs and THEATRE organs.

I mean they're got to be a significant difference between them right? It would certainly explain the differences.

[BorysPomianek]

Absolutely Lovely - I am addicted to these visualisations for a few years now and just keep coming back.

[smalin]

@BorysPomianek Thank you. I hope to do many more in the future.

[NimbleTurtle13]

@smalin This is the best interpretation of this piece I have ever heard. I believe it is because of the distinguishable voices and clear bass line. The potential of Bach's music is endless...

[1a2b3cdf3]

this is my favorite piece of bach on the net that iv found, love the organ sound, i dont care what anyone says.

[locomotifx]

Well done. Thanks!

[ahaahaWALRUS]

beginning sounded kind of LoZ

[joelhhh]

0.44 - 0.54 is the best.

[UncagedCardinal]

I think the sound of this organ is quite cool.

Lots of 'mixture' sound lends itself well to this piece.

[NPorganist]

Super! Pedal part has nice fullness and "grip". Contrasting manual voices very crisp and clear. Great version. Love it. Thank you.

[jpstenino]

This performance is loads of fun. Thank you.

[Dnomasorneiluj]

The sound of the Organ is abominable;

nothing to do with a true Organ.

but nice try.

[smalin]

@Dnomasorneiluj I'm surprised you posted this comment here, and not on the Toccata and Fugue in D minor --- this is much closer to the sound of a true organ (since the notes are from a recording of a true organ) than that is (it was based on many sounds, none of which were from a true organ).

[Dnomasorneiluj]

@smalin i have just listen the Toccata and F. in Dm.

i don't like the sound to;

and here when the 3rd voice come (red one ), it's like a medieval flute on a bad Synth.

you should record them on piano.

BUT Debussy, Arabesque °1 Piano Solo (animation ver. 2) is exelent.

bye.

}}

[smalin]

@Dnomasorneiluj I wonder what you'd say if you heard the organ that this pipe sound was recorded from. To me, that reed stop sounds pretty much like they do on real organs.

[Gonnakillyou]

@smalin To me too. :S

[Bojangulz87]

@Dnomasorneiluj wouldn't a piano be an even further departure from the sound of a true organ? Plus it looks debatable wether it would even be possible, you would have to encorperate the pedaled notes into the left hand somehow and both the left and right hand seem to be playing in very close quaters and with different voices which would imply that they are likley played on different manuals at the same point on each keyboard, both hands would be ontop of each other.

[AEFic]

@smalin Actually, I find the tone of this piece fantastic. In fact, some actual organ recordings are too washed in natural reverb for the lines to be as distinct.

I began to love Bach for the Brandenburg Concertos, but as I grow as a composer, I find myself constantly returning to these, his later works; particularly his late fugues, canons, and trio sonatas. The intricacy of these three-voice pieces seems to surpass even the complexity of most of Brandenburg's movements. Exceedingly beautiful.

[polymath7]

@smalin My own reaction was contrary to that of Dnomasorneiluj. The synthesizer used for the video of BWV 565 does indeed sound terrible, but I was quite surprised at how convincingly this sounds like an actual organ.

In fact, to be perfectly honest, I must admit this is my favorite performance of this piece on Youtube, if only because the voices are so beautifully clear.

[chenierchenier]

@smalin you right as alway... your a true master of music

[afffred]

@Dnomasorneiluj you've obviously never heard a lot of "real" organs in your life. This sounds VERY convincing.

[reinehcreinehc]

@Dnomasorneiluj your a newbies

[majetteduncan]

Wow...I don't think that at the moment, I can even get my fingers to move as fast as some of those parts, let alone play them accurately...this is amazing!!!

[einootspork]

I kind of like minor-key waltzes... there's something almost cheerily sinister about them.

[KaeruGaman]

bloody heavy lines... but your visualisation really helps. thnx.

[mjpeagles98]

Don't try to outsmart smalin he knows what hes talking about... hehe :)

[deadzior]

haha now thats counterpoint

[Ragensu64]

this remind me of those stupid mmorpg song

[robertgift]

Wonderful!

Excellentempo!

Love the "chiff" in the stops of the right hand.

Brings such clarity and crispness.

[Gutelimpa]

It sounds a bit pirate-esque.



[rafaelsodredecastro]

8- | !!!! Great!! Ave Bach!

[locomotifx]

i really like this heaps.

[fabio79ification]

quando si ascolta l'arte i commenti dovrebbero èssere tolti ma che razza de gente ma io dico come si fà a scrivere ascoltando mozart e poi questa c...........e? BOH!

[daniel15671]

I like the bright registrations employed here. 

[JOEFRO2]

I think that I speak the truth when I say that this is the best channel on Youtube. Good work.

[PudoozaTheConquer]

i adore this song! it makes me think of childeren at a circus watching clowns and trapees doing stuff =)

[GABBROCOMPANY]

just a question: "organ trio" means there are 3 organs at once playing this piece?

or is it just a form of canon... like "canon triplex"

[smalin]

@GABBROCOMPANY It means there are three distinct parts: one for each hand, and one for the pedals.

[PlayMoreLoud]

@smalin Althought true, that description doesn't capture each parts relationship with the other to make up a unique whole.

[smalin]

@PlayMoreLoud If words could be a substitute for music, we wouldn't need music.

[PlayMoreLoud]

@smalin That's true. I should have put definition rather than description :)

[dolofonos]

@GABBROCOMPANY You're actually correct for the most part. As your instincts tell you, _trio_ implies three instruments (at minimum). With the trio sonata, we see more than merely three individual parts, but rather: two melodic voices with basso continuo . The popular choice would be two violins and harpsichord with some violone playing the continuo. However, since the organ may employ two keyboards and pedalboard, it can yield the same texture as a trio sonata played by an ensemble.

[maxikpo147]

es mas groso que maradona

[Layouts4Facebook]

desirable video

[serraniumxetra]

omg the begining sounded like a game i played ages ago :O

[koelnerwutzmann]

die Klänge der Muslime sind anders. Gott schütze uns.

[Mooke1312]

yum

[jopie2727]

Bach is the best!!! The one and only.

[jmixplizik]

very progressive, no rules attached, still sounds as counterpoint should sound like

[HUGEPENlS]

woah

[DYLAN102001]

No offense, this piece reminds me of the old Sege " Sonic the hedge hog games "

thumbs up!

[AEFic]

Fantastic how, in that canon-like bit at 2:10, the voices switch off so seamlessly when leading the canon.

[RenegadeExpressVideo]

Mindblowing.

[hinno95]

0:22 and so on until the main piece comes again sounds a bit weird, is that me? or bach? or the player of that piece

I like the main sound very much.

Bach is aw3s0me. Kesha not ;)

[Pegasusxy]

More, more, more!

[b0ttomzone]

What happened at 2:04? Two middle voices?

[tutanktunak]

Music for the Gods

[paripe]

Cada pieza de Bach es una Obra Cumbre de la Composición Universal. Tan solo hay que echar un vistazo a este trabajo de orfebres para darse cuenta. ¿Era de este planeta este divino Genio?

[Isolusthewise]

Oh god.. why is everything moving to the right >_<

[Tyronethe24th]

@Isolusthewise It's a reaction to the current administration.

[pondeflauers]

Бах и Перселл - лучшие композиторы мира.

[JaredtheJaredLong]

Then it's still incredible that he could comprehend all the different levels and make them work together so well

[beradification]

I read in a book about Bach that he once challenged someone to a duel for playing the bassoon like a monkey.

[JaredtheJaredLong]

I've always wondered, how did Bach know this would sound good while he was writing it? Today we have things like Finale and Sibellius that let you hear what you're writing, but stuff like this seems almost impossible to play.

[smalin]

@JaredtheJaredLong Bach could hear music in his head before he wrote it just the way you can hear words in your head before you write them. This is part of becoming musically literate.

[dolofonos]

@smalin If I may say something: Mozart himself, at least, wrote that he required a keyboard to compose. I believe the Masters were great and composed much in their heads that mediocre men cannot, but as close to gods as we may see them, they were not gods. . .they were not omnipotent and worked hard in their art. I do not believe their abilities are quite what the romantics say; in this way, their accomplishments have more worth. A god can do anything, but a man--when a man does such things!

[b0ttomzone]

@smalin I can never stop thinking about how that process went for him. Did he instinctively hear exactly what notes were in the piece and coincidentally develop good counterpoint that way, or did he follow certain rules in his melodic construction and handling of dissonance, etc? Probably a mixture of both?

[smalin]

@b0ttomzone Once you're fluent at writing counterpoint, the technical aspects are largely intuitive. Just as you don't have to think about where a verb goes in a sentence, Bach didn't have to think about "following rules" or "handling dissonance." He knew the rules, of course, but when he was writing music, he was thinking about what he wanted to express, not the nuts and bolts of musical syntax.

[russ486]

@smalin It's much the same in any aspect of music, or indeed the arts. Carlos Santana was once asked how much he thinks about the technical aspects of his improvisations. He replied "I don't think about scales or chord progressions when I'm playing a solo. I think about my daughter." It's not that he doesn't know about scales and such, it's that he knows them so well that playing a "wrong" note is far more difficult than playing a "right" one.

[jmixplizik]

@smalin

well, he made many of the rules that are now considered as standard prosedure

[smalin]

@jmixplizik Oh, really? Can you give a specific example of such a rule?

[Kn0wnTooWeLL]

@smalin I believe he is talking about the rules when one is writing in the classical/baroque era style. In that case many, basics being no parallel 5ths 8ves or unisons, etc. But these are all not standard procedure anywhere, stand procedure is usually having a melody, then making variations off of it, if you are going to even try to write in the classical style the sonata form is probably what you are going to see the most of. :)

[smalin]

@Kn0wnTooWeLL The rules about parallel fifths and octaves were not made by Bach; they were standard practice long before he was born.

[cr1901]

@smalin I'm pretty sure naming the keys A through G# can be attributed to Bach.

[smalin]

@cr1901 Nope.

[Enix5548]

@smalin Great register for this piece. You can really hear that this piece is meant to be "vivace" like Bach wrote. Other interpretaions I've heard are downright boring.

[danielkirk1]

@cr1901 I think that may be attributed to a monk named Guido d'Arezzo, or Pythagoras.

[locomotifx]

@cr1901 Isn't G# actually called 'H' in trad Germanic notation (hence Liszt's fugue on BACH) or something like that? Just a bit of trivia anyway.

[smalin]

@locomotifx No, B-natural is called H.

[locomotifx]

@smalin That'll teach me (not) to discount my first thoughts (B was my initial recollection- "I knew that!")- no seriously, thank you for the reminder!

[b0ttomzone]

@smalin I still wonder... before he ever wrote the piece and got a chance to play it (or listen to his son play it), did he hear it in his head exactly the way we hear it right now, or did he just instinctively know how to write something that sounded "vivace," and let this be the result of that?

[smalin]

@b0ttomzone He knew exactly what it would sound like.

[wcbroccoli]

@b0ttomzone CPE Bach said his father did not compose at the keyboard, but he did try it out afterwards.

[JPastorius3]

@b0ttomzone He may have followed rules, but the majority of the time he followe drules AND broke them ,on purpose.

[jmixplizik]

@smalin

well, u have to be a geanius, too!

[DemonSlayerThe3rd]

@JaredtheJaredLong He hears the music in his head while writing it, just like Mozart would.

[IDidntComeUpWithName]

@DemonSlayerThe3rd True, Bach + Mozart didnt make any Corrections, its Beyond Insanity & understanding how can some1 Create so much Flawless Quality Music with no Corrections.

[smalin]

@IDidntComeUpWithName I don't know about Mozart, but Bach made lots of changes to his music. Several preludes and fugues in the Well-Tempered Clavier were improved versions of earlier pieces. When he was dying, he was working on a modified version of an earlier piece. He was a great composer, but if you had told him that his music was perfect, he would have laughed.

[IDidntComeUpWithName]

@smalin Atleast im sure that Mozart Didnt made Corrections. I heard from my mother ( Violin Music Teacher ) that Bach didnt aswell. I have to Mention to her about this matter. Thanky for the Information. And About my Praise... perhaps I got carried away by my Perfection-type word use .,...  but its just that J.S.B has influenced my life the Most in the Musical Area. He Combines Melody,Virtuosity & Logic which Makes the Music Just Perfect in my taste.

[AEFic]

@smalin Very true: several early drafts exist of the wonderful Brandenburg Concertos. Some of them remained the same, but there were a couple that he corrected almost obsessively for a while.

[wcbroccoli]

@AEFic You are confusing a draft (which means a work in progress) with a revision made for a specific occasion. Also, there were many copies made by Bach's circle. There are no less than 13 sources for Brandenburg Concerto #5.

Modern editors have corrected "ungrammatical" passages which survive in all 18th c. sources.Simplications of some passages were made after Bach's time by Zelter.

[Forrester]

@JaredtheJaredLong Lots of ear training.

[Peaceize]

Omg! I can't stop listening to this pieces! It's just too wonderful to describe! o_o

[Beergut222]

Good God what wonderful music, a huge stress relief, and once again a reminder that Bach was simply a genius, bar-none.

[12345qazx1]

it is played so even and fast without any flaw that i wonder if the computer replayed your input.but very pleasant to listen to.and a complement for Ahlborn quality sound !

[smalin]

@12345qazx1 Oh, yes, certainly, I recorded the performance a long time ago (late 1980s?) and tweaked it much more recently (mostly to make it sound better on the A-G module, which I didn't have when I first recorded it, but also to fix the more obnoxious glitches in the performance; I am *not* this good an organist).

[DemonSlayerThe3rd]

This reminds me of the medieval times. I wish i had lived in that time. Such great music!

[NecroViolinist]

so beatiful! i want this in my funeral

[turbonelli]

@NecroViolinist That was also my first thought.

[vielendankegrandmoon]

could you please get a HD version ??thanks!

[jonas4236]

amazing!

where do you get all those amazing songs?

[smalin]

@jonas4236 I play them myself.

[TheMuzikHead]

Damn. This dude was amazing.

[monkeyfarman]

nonono the blocks that light up when a not is struck

[Kammerz10]

Bach is the only classical composer I like, the others make me depressed, altho I admire their great talent. So hauntingly beautiful.

[jpstenino]

@Kammerz10 Bach is a composer of the baroque period.

[Kammerz10]

@jpstenino What's the difference between the two? I always thought they were ALL "classical composers" per se.

[smalin]

@Kammerz10 See the Wikipedia article Classical_period_(music) for a discussion.

[EuphoniumPlayer01]

@Kammerz10 Classical begins the day Bach dies. You see, Bach was during the Baroque time period.

[Tyronethe24th]

@EuphoniumPlayer01 Wouldn't you at least give it until 1759 to cover Handel's lifespan? By then Mozart was three and already taking piano lessons.

[monkeyfarman]

i love the back ground is it your work if so what studio?

[smalin]

@monkeyfarman Background?  What background? It's all black.

[dmitrix]

@smalin ROLFCOPTER! LOLLERSKATES!

[IDidntComeUpWithName]

The more Music I have Listened & Played for the past 18 years, The more and More I have started Listening & Enjoying the Magical Unexplained No-Words to Describe J.S B :s Music. Its from Another Dimension, A logical path which Runs Symmetrical Threw the Space .

[magor665]

awsome! Bach is the best. Can i ask you what kind of program did you use to show the voices graphicly?

[smalin]

@magor665  see the FAQ

[wertstahl]

I always liked and respected Bach. But this makes his music so ultimately accessible! Thank you! Awesome!

[poweruman]

Great job

[sanphaka04]

Brilliant!

[piano361]

omg this is fantastic maybe i should change from beeing a pianist to an organ player :D

[mikkkeyman]

I think my ass just exploded

[antonima1]

when I listen to this I get this very vivid image of a bustling industrial era town.. awesome!

[kstanneart]

sounds like something from an older final fantasy.

[shonenfan1000]

sounds likle somthin outta zelda to me

or a weird kind of psycho carnival

[kempedkemp]

I'm glad I came across this. Very fine playing and registration... afraid I don't care for the A/G sound very much. I was wondering what their digital organs sounded like and now I know.

[FoliesEspagne]

Indeed nice to learn how to listen to the pedals.

Sounds very realistic and in a nice rhythm.

I guess this guy hates hpschd because none of the JS Bach pieces from the WTC are for that instrument.

[smalin]

I don't hate the harpsichord ... I'm just better on the piano and organ. I'll probably do something from the WTC on the harpsichord eventually.