JS Bach's six-voiced Ricercar, appendix

November 23, 2005 -- informal practice session by Bradley Lehman with a play-through of Bach's six-voiced Ricercar of the Musical Offering. Taylor & Boody organ opus 41 at the Rieth Recital Hall, Goshen College, Goshen Indiana USA.

Since the hall had some open time and there were some compositions I wanted to hear later for my own reference, I took along the videocamera for an informal recording. This is the 16-minute "take" of the Ricercar a6. The first 10 minutes are uploaded separately as the main attempt at it, and then these are the last six minutes where I tried the final two pages again. Self-deprecating comments are interspersed as subtitles on the screen, showing what I remember thinking as it went along.

More often I play this piece on harpsichord and clavichord, but I wanted to have a reference recording on organ (in this tuning, which I believe was Bach's own) for my own further study. Here it is, for any who might find it interesting. The registration here is simple 8+4, for clarity.

Disclaimer: condenser microphone on a cheap video camera, not the greatest sound! We used real mikes on the CD recording of this instrument, earlier in 2005. See http://www.larips.com for details.

A better photograph of the organ, and notes about the acoustic of its hall:
http://tinyurl.com/36f7wn

This performance also answers a 1985 article by Mark Lindley asserting that this Ricercar almost has to be done in equal temperament. It doesn't, but merely requires temperaments like this that treat the A-flat and D-flat major areas more smoothly than Lindley's do. Equal temperament merely renders it less interesting, less beautiful, and less dynamic: like a long and relatively aimless piece.

The main recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0wd0EN2rBA

Category:

Music

Tags:

• bach
• ricercar
• musical
• offering
• goshen
• college
• taylor
• boody
• organ
• bradley
• lehman
• tuning
• temperament
• johann
• sebastian

[debartzen]

Larga vida al Sr.Lehman.Gracias por ésta joya.

[debartzen]

Es lo mismo que sea informal,improvisado o como sea.Un hurra para Bradley Lehman.A mi me parece grande,muy grande..,Bravo Bach.Bravo Lehman.