J.S. Bach: Two-part Invention No. 1 in C Major BWV 772

[mapleleaf771]

I don't eat hay.

[missmusiclover388]

Most baroque period music by bach is more majestic and deeper rather than at a fast tempo.

[ftwong1948]

鄭通兄:

非常意外，在這裡聽到您彈巴赫!

我也正在練此曲呢!

您彈得比我好得多!

[Alguemsemnome1]

i think you couls play a little faster, but you are the artist!

congratulations, nice work,

Alguemsemnome1

[30inventionman]

This was pened in cpe bachs

[yanespar]

it's a torture

[ufespeter]

Play the staccatto! Where is the staccatto???

[1234567ladygaga]

@ufespeter there is no staccato in the invention no.1!

[agger382]

@ufespeter It is called portato. There was no staccato during the Baroque era!

[mikeisapro]

@agger382 Thank you for saying this! I have been playing the inventions and actually thought they were staccato! Now I know, portato has dots underneath slur marks, staccato has dots with separate notes.

[usertyfoon]

хоть и медленно( я сам так начинал)), но мне понравилось.

[maplemasters12]

isnt it supposed to be faster

[leodlll]

the pedal isnt good here, but its a good way to play that

[Firewreath]

That was great

I am learning this right now

and my teacher wants me to play at this tempo.

Thanks for posting

[wackdakzach]

0:22

[Chaconne07]

To all of you who have left gracious comments, thank you and Happy New Year!

[LittleMountainLion]

@Chaconne07 - I liked the tempo in your rendition of Bach's Two Part Invention No.1, and would like to know what tempo you used. My sheet music shows Allegro, but, I am just learning to play this piece. I am beginning to see it is a song that is played with feeling, and thoughtfulness. Thank you for posting this on here.

[Chaconne07]

@LittleMountainLion Thanks for stopping by. Tempo chosen for Bach's music is subject to the performer's own interpretation. I don't believe Bach stipulated "Allegro" for his work. It's the editor's choice. You should play at a tempo you're comfortable with and for good reason. I don't think this first invention should be played too fast, despite the semiquavers that run throughout the piece. You might want to get familiar with world's renowned BAch scholar Rosalyn Tureck's renditions of Bach.

[josedavms13]

@LittleMountainLion It says =120

[wolfgango1991]

bravo!

[HerrWarja]

I ove how you translat Bach right. All the people hear on Youtube say "Bak" :-P

Great playing. Love how it's a bit slower. I played it quite fast in my clip. It's good to really work one ALL the notes. Instead of just hasting threw the music.

[luckey312]

Very nice phrasing, but work on practicing with a metronome. The tempo IS up to you, but there is no rubato in Bach.

[1113agm]

Says who?? Many world class interpreters of Bach, such as

Glenn Gould, would strongly disagree.

[luckey312]

Glenn Gould had tempo... this player's tempo fluctuates because of awkward fingerings, not because of musical genius...

[1113agm]

On the viedo, his fingering doesn't appear awkward and, at least in some parts, his rubato is clearly intentional. So was Gould's.

[yangmckitrick]

WOW THAT WAS AWSOME! OMG!

[LutzKranenborg]

Beautiful phrasing. I would love to hear more from you.

[adagio27sostenuto]

I love that it was a little slower than normal. Sometimes when people play Bach too fast it can go from beautiful to almost frantic. At this tempo you can really hear the counterpoint in the piece.

[HoradrimSage]

I also agree that it should be a little bit faster, but it was beautifull anyway.

[Apsan18]

this is supposed to be played on allegretto. very good playing though, but should be faster in my opinion

[moonrockndari]

i give it to you because i play this really fast and its so hard for me to play it slowly and clam like you.

congratulations.

[akinderreality]

I like the fact that you interepeted this piece rather than the way that we normally hear it, its not bland, so thanks for posting this.

[Farhadalmani]

very good.

[AntispeedTV]

I've watched of ton of renditions of this piece.. and yours, good sir, is by far- the best. I believe it was meant to be played like this.

[DrFou1]

Very good ... and just the good rythm ... A lot of people play bach as fast as possible ... this is a non sense. Just play it as heart beat rythm so around 70/min ! perfect thank you (what about about some articulations in the theme ?)

[Barpianistin]

5 Sterne für die schöne Interpretation von Bach, die ich auch spiele. Lieben Gruß von Barpianistin !

[ictiopat]

Wounderful performance.

Congratulations!!!!

[DocMeurman]

not fast but good enought :p btw I love the smile at the end :)

[LeafBoy1]

Loved this performance. The tempo was perfect -- so many people have a tendency to rush Bach... as it happens,semiquavers etc were generally played a little slower in Bach's time... things got faster much later.

[abarber02]

Now here's a guy who gets it. Very nicely done!

[MutareDragon]

I've played this before

[willyhog]

excellent performance, and I agree that the light from the window is very nice! Also, all you bitching about the tempo, that is your interpretation of this piece, everyone has their own, please respect here lol!

[canman5060]

There are actually two versions to this invention.

[annab1223]

Lovely, I liked the less frantic tempo,too. Also visually beautiful...love the light from the windoe on the piano...well done!

[beckerpwnsyou]

very nice!!! i liked the tempo.

[yenihrmn]

Who could realises this work so religiouse.

[cicillokakace]

Why should Bach have wrote it in 16Th notes if you play it like the notes were 8Th? Too, too, too, much slowly!

[gueuo]

16th doesn't always mean fast.

[cicillokakace]

yes, but if you play it for exemple at 60 bpm, (and it means very very very slowy as an ADAGIO and this for sure is not an ADAGIO)you should play 4 16th notes every seconds. He is playing at 30 bmp!!! It is a musical non sense! You sure have to study music a little more!

[gueuo]

don't worry about my knowledge level, pal!

and don't get too excited, maestro. :)

[lilasianboy193]

I'm worried about your knowledge... 30 bmp is Largo which is VERY VERY SLOW! It is second slowest to Larghissimo. The tempo he is playing is about 60 bpm would be Larghetto not Adagio.

[cicillokakace]

I'm italian. I really know the meaning of the words adagio etc. etc. but nevertheless, if he plays 16th at this tempo I wander how he shoulds play the 8th or the 4th or the 2th!?! one note at one half of houres?

[akinderreality]

Bach never wrote tempo markings, it was common in the Baroque period that the performers decided the tempo.

[MadCoSnareLine]

@akinderreality

Correct. Very well said. Some people, however, have come back and written in marking such as tempos and dynamics. I have some of both versions. I am not sure which on I like better, though: ones with or without markings.

[kleinromeintje]

I've also played this for my exames :-)

[LVB1770]

Hey Chaconne07,

Have you read Walter Gieseking/Karl Leimer's book called Piano Technique? It's Dover edition 0-486-22867-3. There is a whole section of the book dedicated the Bach's 1st invention. It's a great little book in general.

[Chaconne07]

I look forward to reading this book many pianists deem indispensable. Thanks for the alert! What's the gist on the invention? My most recent reading has been Barenboim's autobiography. I have just received Stephen Walsh's biography of Stravinsky today (huge volumes). Earlier, I finished Piano Notes (2002), a lighter and yet enlightening booklet by Charles Rosen.

[LVB1770]

Chaconne07,

Gieseking speak much about touch,execution,

relaxation, grace notes, singing tone,ect. I have read all of Charles Rosen's books. He is wonderful. Perhaps the most useful book I have ever read is, With your own two hands by Seymour Berstein who studied with Sir Clifford Curzon.

[Chaconne07]

Mr. Beethoven, Are you taking lessons with a teacher at the moment? By the way, thanks for posting the footage of Beethoven's house... sort of a preview for me until I make it there one day. Who's the pianist whose recording was used in the vid?

[LVB1770]

I take a master class every once in a while with a Professor from San Francisco State University. I am working on hooking up with a teacher who went to school with Murray Perahia and she tooks some master classes with him and one of her other teachers studied with Claudio Arrau. My last real piano graduated from the Royal Academy in London. The pianist on Beethoven's piano is Adras Schiff.

[Chaconne07]

How long did you study with the teacher trained at the Royal Academy?

[LVB1770]

Chaconne07,

Serious lessons with her for about 3 months. I did consult with her for a few years. She was a great friend but a brutal teacher in her seriousness. Her teacher studied with Martin Krause who studied with Liszt and taught Claudio Arrau. She use to play Schubert's G flat impromptu in G natural because of a story she heard at school that it was originally composed in G natural. Ouch! Serious pain comes to mind even thinking about that!

[Chaconne07]

Ludwig, you used past tense. So you and your teacher are no longer friends?

[LVB1770]

Hey Chaconne07,

Sorry about that. She moved to moved away a few years

ago and we lost contact. Most of my studying now is from constant playing, recording, sight reading, reading books, watching and listening to the thousands of CD's and DVD's I have of the great players of the past and present. I find watching the masters to be a great tool for improving my playing.

[Chaconne07]

I believe everthing you are doing is helpful. Your effort is very commendable. But I also believe the personal coaching of a bona fide teacher is irreplacable by any text or recorded materials. I know that a good teacher doesn't come by easily. Lineage is a factor, but one in a lineage is not necessarily a rightful disseminator of the essence of that lineage. simply put, a virtuosic performer may not be a good teacher, and vice versa.

[Chaconne07]

Another thought, LVB, there are both up- and downsides to frequent changes of a teacher. The advantage is that you get to be exposed to a variety of approaches and fresh ideas, but at the same time you suffer the interruption and disrruption in the congruity of a structured pedagogy meant to improve your technique and musicianship progressively. I personally believe one should stay with a teacher for years before moving on.

[Chaconne07]

I enjoy taking master classes myself. They are an excellent vehicle. But I don't believe they should be a staple for tuition. Piano pedagogy is a very systematic and structured art, done on a very personal level.

[LVB1770]

Thanks Chaconne07,

I totally agree with all 3 of your comments. I am going to start searching for a good teacher. Most of the one's I have been interested in have waiting lists of more than a year but I will keep searching. Thanks for your feed back!

[Chaconne07]

LVB, Good luck on your search. You deserve a good teacher. You have the makings of a really good pianist one day because of the dedication you have shown towards the art. Try to build your technique that will eventually award you the freedom of grander musical expression, instead of spending too much time on crafting a few pieces that you feel connected to. Tureck was out of the public arena for many years and when she re-emerged, she was one the world's foremost Bach scholars and interpreters.

[LVB1770]

My teacher had long fingers but not me. I can only reach an 11th on the white keys and a 12th on the black keys.

[Chaconne07]

LVB, When I played Schubert's Moment Musicaux in F minor as a boy, I did it in G minor. But once I played the original score, I never wanted to go back to G minor I guess it had to do with the fact that I have perfect pitch, which can be torturous sometimes.

[Chaconne07]

LVB, I am not sure of the G natural tale. First time I heard of this. I once tried it on G natural, but it simply didn't sound right.

[LVB1770]

I watched her play it many times in G natural and you are right, it does not sound right. It changes the whole

mood.

[LVB1770]

Hey Chaconne07,

What music edition do you use? Nice piano!

[Chaconne07]

It's one of my favorite editions by Willard Palmer, based on good researches on several sources: The Clavier-Buchlein vor Wilhelm Friedemann Bach; the Autograph of 1723, which is the final and complete version out of J.S.'s own hand; in addition to several manuscript copies by J.S.'s pupils, which help identify Bach's original markings of slurs and ornaments. It's a modern edition, yet well researched.

[LVB1770]

Thanks Chaconne07,

My first piano teacher gave me the Palmer edition of Bach's inventions and she swore by it. I own many of his editions and I love them. I have facsimile versions of Bach's inventions and the WTC books 1 & 2. Bach's hand writing is so neat and clean. I collect any edition I believe gives real insight. Cortot, Arrau, Paderwski, Mikuli, Joseffy, Schenker,ect.

Henle & Peter's editions are always a great choices too.

[Chaconne07]

I didn't completely follow the fingering where I found my own to be better suited to my personal hand physiology. To your second question: I have a Yamaha C3 (like yours). One final note: I found many video clips on several masters in your library to be excellent and thank you for letting me keep them in mine. Also, I like the musicality and seriousness in your approach to music.

[LVB1770]

Chaconne07,

Fingering is personal. What ever makes your body comfortable, as the sound does not suffer. I pay particular attention to my breathing and how my body feels. Yamaha C3's rule! Thanks for the kind words and I look forward to more of your posts. Try playing Scriabin. His rewards are endless!

[Chaconne07]

Scriabin is inexplicably beautiful, especially his earlier works that bear such semblance to Chopin and yet distinctly Russian. His later works are an unearthly spiritual journey that has intrigued me for many years. I am touched by each of his notes, sad that such a genius didn't live beyond 43 to give mankind more (He sure had given enough)...

[LVB1770]

Well said, Chaconne07!

As Scriabin himself once said, " I once was a Chopinist, then a Wagnerist, now a Scriabinist.

I love Ashkenazy's recording of Scriabin's Preparation for the Final Mystery aka The Mysterium. Very cosmic, aquatic, gigantic futuristic and shockingly stunning music. None like I have ever heard in my life time!

[Chaconne07]

I was quite amused at your "gigantic" string of adjectives to describe your reverence for the performance. Alas, I haven't heard that rendition. I do love Ashkenazy's reading of Scriabin's Concerto though. Among Scriabin's propagandists, I'd say that Sofronitsky's work takes my breath away. It's utterly other-worldly (perfectly suited for his compatriot who seemed to have lived in another planet) It makes you fly... Yes, cosmic.

[LVB1770]

Chaconne07, LOL! The Ashkenazy Scriabin's Concerto

is great recording. Did you know Sofronitsky was married to Scriabin's daughter? Scriabin's 1st wife had the highest praise Sofronitsky's playing.

[Chaconne07]

Very colorful tidbit...

[music7564]

I think you hit it just right. Nice job.

[Chaconne07]

Thanks so much.

[speedstick77]

Very sensitive rendition; good technique, accurate ornamentation. Old Bach would smile; pleased that you chose to study his music. Thank you for sharing!

[Chaconne07]

Old Bach is eternally young... (on the frontier of future as Rosalyn Tureck put it.) Thanks Speed.

[DeMars3]

Will do.

[DeMars3]

A little slow and mundane, but otherwise, very nicely done.

[Chaconne07]

Thanks much. A piece played faster doesn't necessarily sound more interesting. I enjoy Gould's 1955 recording of the Goldberg Variations (when he was 22) as much as his 1981 release weeks before his death at 50. Tempo choices often reflect personal perception, taste, appreciation, understanding and expression. I assume you've also played this piece. Have it recorded when you get a chance and wait for two decades (when you become 37) to record it again and see how you might play it differently.