For questions about the composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Do not use the tag for just his works.
Questions tagged [j-s-bach]
157 questions
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Learning the musical concepts in the book "Gödel, Escher, Bach"
I am reading the book "Gödel, Escher, Bach", in which the author tries to present concepts in mathematics, drawings and music as instances of a certain "pattern", that he calls "strange loops". He makes several comments about Bach's music, in…
Otavio Macedo
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Has the Bach Compendium been completed?
The Bach Compendium (BC) is a multi-volume attempt by renowned scholar Christoph Wolff and others to replace the traditional but obsolete BWV numbering system. It is my understanding that the first four volumes (work groups A through H, T, and V,…
giobrach
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7
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4 answers
Having significant difficulty with Bach's two part inventions for piano
I'm wondering if there are any pieces I could look at before attempting the inventions. Im working through invention 1 in c major and it's quite challenging for me. I suspect the problem is that I need to play... Two parts... and there is lots of…
Michael Stachowsky
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What are the "slight changes" Gounod made to Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier when he wrote Ave Maria?
The Wikipedia page for Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod) says:
The piece consists of a melody by the French Romantic composer Charles Gounod that he superimposed over an only very slightly changed version of the Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I…
I Like to Code
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3
votes
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Relationship between "Erwäge" aria of St John Passion and final Chorus of St Matthew Passion
The "Erwäge" aria of Bach's St John Passion is harmonically extremely similar to the final Chorus of Bach's St Matthew Passion (to the extent that when listening to the former, I keep waiting for the chorus to break out in the latter). Is there any…
Passionate
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"Eli Eli Lama Asabthani" in Bach's Matthew Passion
In Bach's Matthew Passion, Jesus cries "Eli Eli Lama Asabthani". The text I'm most familiar with says "sabachthani" instead. Where does this difference come from?
Felix Fourcolor
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2
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Nina Simone "Love me or Leave me" and Bach
When listening to Nina Simone's version of "Love me or Leave me" (this version), I have a feeling that she incorporates some classical music into her solo (around 1 minute to 2:20) - googling I found some references claiming she put Bach parts in…
Maverick Meerkat
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0
votes
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Inconsistency in mood between music and libretto
In Bach's St. Matthew Passion there a bass aria named "Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder". The situation and the libretto are distressful, but the music doesn't seem to reflect this feeling. What am I missing here?
Behzad
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