Myra Hess Plays Jesu,Joy of Man's Desiring and Scarlatti

[rjdotorg]

She makes her transcription sound easy. It's really not; the balance, voicing, legato issues are fiendish.

[ernawoodward]

A beautiful performance of her own arrangement. I wish that I could play it with the peace and control that she does. I keep coming back to listen to her again and again.

[Altagraciadeorituco]

So many thanks for posting this jewel!



[paulostroff99]

Awesome.TY B for posting.

[Zyghnwyr]

Such subtlety; listen to what does with the lovely modulation back to the tonic round about 2.32. We have her to thank for this piece being now so widely known.

[meredith218461]

A serenely beautiful performance where her intense artistic integrity is placed completely at the service of the music. The Scarlatti serves as a lovely contrast with its great ebullience and complete technical control.

A legend deserving of greater recognition among present day piano scholars I fancy.

[Beckmesser2]

@meredith218461 I agree.

[CanadaPisces]

An excellent recording by a great pianist! Thank you Beckmesser2 for posting this delightful video!

[100110100]

How do I get the sheet?

[lsbrother]

@100110100

try the "Petrucci Music Library" - huge online music score source - nearly all out of copyright stuff is there - this certainly will be - probably more than one transcription

And it's free!

I'd put the web address - but that doesn't seem to be allowed - should be easy to search for

[easybeartx1]

I think her chamber music recordings at the Prades Festival are relatively overlooked. The Brahms B-major trio with Casals and Stern is one of the all-time greats.

[snappydance22]

i'll be bach

[uneedtherapy42]

Got Bach?

[swellshades]

@uneedtherapy42

--clever!

[47viviane]

thank you so much!!! I was totally unaware her being the author of this deeply moving piece of music. Usually I'm so not into Bach but this is so etheral and truely spiritual - when played by the right artist in the right tempo = not too FAST. For me she does it exactly right and so does Lipatti. I heard it played as an encore by Bernd Glemser - sublime doesn't begin to describe it!

Thanks again

[jahnssen]

I had never heard her before... she is the best pianist I ever heard.

[MrCapacitors]

Great playing.

[ggudding]

thank you.

[Booker42100]

This was the first piano recording that I ever bought. That was as long ago as 1959 (I think). Hess's phrasing in the Bach is second to none, in my view. Thank you for posting this. I enjoyed the performance just as much as when I bought the record!

[rj10man]

Her timing and tempo is amazing!! Many play it faster than this as Bach may have intended, but this is about the best I've head on the piano.

[vibraharp226]

The absolute pinnacle of musicianship. In a time of hyperbole and unjustified acclaim of mediocrity or worse (even Jerry Springer receives a standing ovation after every commercial break) Dame Hess' playing is the gold standard.

[Grandreaper201]

yohan sabastion

[featheredfriends1]

excellent

[Marianofrv]

She is an absolute lady delightful. Thank you for sharing

[bill76169]

Hey Everyone;

What is up with the skips? It sounds like they were intentional. They are not random. Someone say something. This is a white elephant in the living room. Is there a historical and/or academic rational for the odd meter? Those skips make the performance un-listenable to my ears. Any one else?

[D7272D]

@bill76169 Myra Hess' transcription stays true to the original score, and plays all notes that bach used himself, including in the countermelodies. If you look at her score there is a melodic line that includes a note that the left hand cant possibly play at the same time as the bass note. Myra hess doesnt leave this note out but instead brings the bass note in before the beat in order to keep the integrity of all of the countermelodies. In my opinion it also adds character and a lilt.

[bill76169]

@D7272D Thank you for responding. It's always been one of my favorite pieces due in large part to the delicate dissonance in the counter-melodies. I'm in no position to challenge Myra Hess, but that added bass note kills it for me. Does anyone have a version of Glenn Gould playing Jesu?

[D7272D]

This will always be the best arrangement of Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring.

[paulostroff99]

awesome

[haynet1962]

Myra Hess was the teacher of Stephen Kovacevich is his early years as Stephen Bishop. He carries the great woman's candle so well today...

[Katicooooo]

I knew I was listening to something special, the tears rolling down my cheeks, were the tip-off! ...Absolutely amazing!  Best Wishes, D.

[bill76169]

Is she tuned to A440? And did anyone hear "skips" ? Is that a you tube glitch or is that the way she played it?

[margariitaZ]

wow... deep

[thecrapshoot]

why is it labeled as K14 (as a mozart piece) in the description?

[Beckmesser2]

Ludwig von Kochel was a musicologist who catalogued Mozarts compositions in 1862. Ralph Kirkpatrick (1911-1984) was a harpsichordist who catalogued Scarlattis keyboard sonatas.

[3NUNS]

@thecrapshoot : Kirkpatrick, Kirkpatrick.

[Dreyman2]

@thecrapshoot Kochel was the guy who cataloged Mozart's music in order of which was written first. He put the first letter of his last name "K" and the number of the song in which it was written chronologically.

[bigmouthfrog2009]

During the Second World War, Dame Myra Hess, Solomon, and other British pianists gave lunch-time recitals at the National Gallery all during the terrible bombing. The concerts were attended by Londoners and by servicemen and servicewomen to whom this beautiful music was such a support in the very dark hours of the war.

[javierdf03]

Beautiful piece..... thanks!!!!

[dMaN42108]

what a transcription :O

[CrazyyMonkeyy12]

beautiful

[uhartchristian]

Dinu Lipatti reached this level of interpretation when facing death. Myra Hess did reach that level when being a solid rock in a difficult time where she gave joy and hope to thousands of people....

[uhartchristian]

this version of jesus que ma joie demeure is as hearttouching as the one Dinu Lipatti did us leave on the recording of his last recital in Besancon.

[CrazyyMonkeyy12]

this song gets me high

[chsgdss]

***** BEAUTIFUL *****

[terryread]

I know nothing of piano technique, just that Jesus himself sat by Bach when he wrote this. "To the glory of God alone"

[Pischnaholic]

Miraculous!

No one has ever played Scarlatti with more vivacity, sparkling clarity, perfect control of tempo and sensitivity to phrasing than this.

Jesu Joy is sublime. Those who understand the intricacies of piano technique realize that this is -- in its own way -- is as demanding as any of Chopin or Liszt's études. To play with such tonal balance, control of voicing, beautifully shaped phrases and sense of momentum without exaggeration or distortion of any kind is a rare achievement.

[MmeRomy]

@ Pischnaholic

Your comments are very helpful for my son who will soon preform this piece. It gives some guidance into the interpretation of it. MERCI!

[hoof2001]

This just can't be beaten, now, can it?

[frogafoot]

no it can't

[schmelz5]

I want to hear this when I am on my death bed....it would make me feel as if all is good with the world and everything will be okay.

[kingofwalzer]

wonderful!!!

[CanadaPisces]

That marvelous Myra Hess touch! The music seems to float in the air! Beautiful!

[Brianmystic2]

Scarlatti was done so perfectly, and Jesu was gorgeous.

[Uruguruh]

Thank you, dear Myra!

Absolutely beautiful.

[yasminx16]

This sends shivers down my spine- just perfect.

[Rotwatcher]

A sublime version of a sublime piece of music. I'm learning it right now - first page nearly finished - but it will never sound as beautiful as this.

[Pianistasullabotte]

ones again. there another pianist really wonderfull (the best for me) and it's Cornelia H. Find she out in youtube and them say me...

[bionic505]

This is what I call divine music....

[ytfarmer90]

... lucky

[Brianmystic2]

No...hard working

[ytfarmer90]

....?

[paulostroff99]

Awesome! Bravo! TY.

[ellandelachapelle]

You are sure she is playing alone here? It sounds like 3 hands! :-D (and definitely more notes than in the Lipatti version.)

[KennYWooD2]

Lol, it's her arrangement, so if there's more notes then I'd say she's right. Yes, she's playing alone...the idea is for all 3 voices to be heard distinctly, just as they are.

[paulostroff99]

Glorious! She was up there with the very best ever! Brava! TY.

[ScottZirpolo]

Simple, beautiful, and moving.

[soami2u]

I think Beckmesser2's recording date is incorrect. I believe this was recorded in the early 1950s--maybe 1952 or 1953. It was released in the US several years later on the ANGEL label, in 1957. I have the original LP--it contains Schumann Symphonic Etudes on 1 side and "Request Program" on the other--2 Scarlatti sonatas, a Mendelssohn Song Without Words, Granados Maiden & the Nightingale, Brahms Intermezzo & Waltz, and Jesu. I think it was Dame Myra's last commercial recording.

[Pischnaholic]

I'm familiar with that recording, Soami, but never heard it until 1960. How good you still have it! The Symphonic Etudes always struck me as perfect but rather restrained. However, no one will ever play The Maiden and the Nightingale more beautifully -- or give a more spirited, delightfully good-humored rendition of the C-Major Brahms Intermezzo. I believe she recorded Opus 109 and 110 around the same time.

[soami2u]

Nobility, simplicity, spirituality...all combine in this performance of "Jesu" to make it the gold standard, as stephenTGV has said here. And her Scarlatti has wit and sparkle! Who today among performers has her musical integrity and purity? She does not have a large discography, but every recording she made is "precious above rubies". Thanks for posting!

[kishimenman]

I think her performance of Bach is full of love.

[wis1956]

Good, but Lipatti plays better.

[Noshirm]

The "Jesu, joy" is played with nobility of spirit and depth of emotion. Hess owned this work. But it is the Scarlatti that makes me yip with delight! How fantastically Dame Myra plays this piece; with what clarity, verve, and panache she makes it snap and sparkle. Scarlatti aficionados should sit bolt upright and take serious note of her playing of this master. Hess and Haskil both played Scarlatti beautifully, but unfortunately recorded far too little of this invaluable repository of treasures.

[skoobysnaxxx]

Dame Hess was wonderful for not only this. But this arrangement is still the best one out there. No one can beat it.

[stephenTGV]

This is the golden standard.

[touchanandmolestan]

Has anyone got an mp3 version of this they'd be willing to upload, I can never find it.

[goldberg72]

questa e' la su atrascrizione

[luvuall07]

Lovely piece that has a forever tendancy (as Messiah) In Bach's day of course, the foot pedals played a great part in making, sometimes, the left hand totally redundant. Here, Dame Myra has utilised the left hand in substitution for the organ pedals and done a marvellous job. Mike UK

[JupiterIV]

It was originally written for choir and string ensemble, not organ. A copy of cantata 147 can be found at IMSLP.

[Pischnaholic]

Thank you for reminding us that Bach did not write this for any solo keyboard instrument. It is, indeed, a choral work.

That takes nothing away from the beauty and integrity of this transcription, however. Myra Hess plays with a humble affection, sensitivity and expertise that transcend mere musicological authenticity.

[JupiterIV]

No problem, although I do have a few things to say about the quality of this recording: It hiccups quite a lot from 0:14 to 0:25, and then with each repeat of that section. It makes it sound like she added lots of unnecessary syncopation X-P.

[allegrissimo]

Gorgeous!

[JRWILDY]

PERFECT how it should sound not at 300 mph like some ov the people on here.i love this piece my favorite.

[jupiterdog]

This is beautifully executed, but don't hate on recent recordings.

Bach's original notation for this piece was every bit as bombastic as some modern interpretations.

[wormbarn]

So Sorry! I pressed the wrong hand! I completely agree with you on the tempo comment. Sorry.

[pangtjoff]

Yeah :) and still it's not too slow either.

[weikko79]

Beautiful!

[koyunbaba19]

It's very nice, but my most favourite version is the one from Naxos played by Eteri Andjaparidze

[suzettegm]

This is drop dead gorgeous, thanks!

[snaaptaker]

PS--I had the joy of hearing Dame Myra in person, c.1958, playing Beethoven's Emperor Concerto--Unforgettable!!

Also, two of my piano teachers were friends of hers, and one them actually studied with her teacher, Tobias Matthay, so I feel sort of a personal connection with her.

Thank you so much for this posting, Beckmesser2.

[encore2jour]

Thanks for your interesting comments. I also was fortunate to hear her in Amsterdam in the fifties, playing a Brahms Concerto! The score was in front of her but she rarely looked at it. She was such an extraordinary musician.

Herman S, Australia

[ellandelachapelle]

Oh yeah? Did you hear Irene Scharrer? She was mother-in-law of my Danish piano teacher Gunvor Callisen Lubbock! (Irene and Myra used to play four hands.)

[snaaptaker]

Myra Hess has been one of my three favorite pianists (along with Hofmann and Cortot--like night and day, go figure) for the past 50 years, and this recording of the Bach has been my favorite for just about as long. I just discovered the 1940 version on YT a couple of minutes ago. I had no idea it existed, and it, too, is a treasure.

And, yes, her recordings (1939 and 1958) of the Schumann Concerto are also my favorites of that work. In fact, just about anything she recorded is my favorite.

[billyguns2]

Gorgeous tone and exemplary musical taste have always endeared me to this great pianist; these are two fine examples of her art, especially the amazing Scarlatti! She also made my favorite recording of the Schumann Piano Concerto; I fancifully imagine that Clara Schumann herself is playing it.

[lochness11]

Wonderful.The 1940 recording was often on the radio during the war years.I have that one.

She started the National Gallery Lunchtime Concerts,London,in 1940,and Kathleen Ferrier's first London appearance was there in 1942.

[tHEnOOSEsWINGS]

Myrs Hess and even spontaneity, pace and quicken poise, that provides a beautiful rendering of this classical piece. Thank you for posting your video.