J.S. Bach: Touching a Mystery Part One

Finally available to international audience, MV Productions presents S. Gordeevtseva's essay: "Touching a Mystery" A New reading of Clavier Works by J.S. Bach Pedagogical Application to Children's Music School Repertoire.
This essay is based on the book by Evgeni Teregulov "Forgotten Rules: Problems of Articulations and Agogics in Clavier Works of J.S Bach", Kompositor Publish House, Moscow, 1993, and a series of lectures by the late Professor Alexander Alexandrovich Alexandrov of the Gnesins Russian Academy of Music where this leading research is being developed.

The rules of Articulation give the key to reading Bach's Clavier urtext scores that otherwise display no indications of tempi or articulation (that is when to play notes together or separately). The rules are related to string articulation principles, to musical rhetoric and protestant chorals. They define what is called "small speech-like" articulation manner of playing that gives each voice a clearer relief in polyphonic texture. Thus, the symbolism often related to religion and carried by musical motives and their combinations comes to life. The rules were known by Clavier players then and as a result never written on the score. Only exceptions were written for specific effects but were often misinterpreted later by editors of Bach's music as general rules. So to play Bach in style means to make his music intelligible and meaningful.


Her essay offers children and their music teachers an invaluable insight into the basic rules of articulation in clavier Baroque music and J.S Bach's works in particular. A selection of Bach's pieces from children's music school repertoire, edited by Gordeevtseva, is included in this edition.


A former student of both Alexandrov and Gordeevtseva, Svetlana Ponomarëva latest CD Schnittke/ Bach includes J.S. Bach Prelude and Fugue in C sharp Minor BWV 849 from the Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 and the French Suite # 5 in G Major (BWV 816).

As Alexandrov said: "Bach is the foundation one cannot dispense with"!

www.ponomarevapianist.com

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Bach
• Clavier
• Music
• Education
• Baroque

[pianistvesta]

Thank you!

[AndrewNorton11]

great post! This was very informative.

[tocalpianix]

Excellent, thank you for posting.