Tribute to J S Bach

I sat down yesterday at my piano to play through two or three pieces from J S Bach's second book of the the Well-tempered Clavier (48 preludes and fugues), while waiting for some cooking to complete (I was making the supper as usual).  I had already drunk a couple of small glasses of whisky – more than usual and perhaps too much, for when I came to play these amazing creations I kept bursting into tears at the sheer beauty and rightness of them. Prelude number III in C# (BWV 872) is one of my favourites, and it's not difficult to play.  At first it doesn't seem much but you soon begin to realise the delicate lacy tapestry of sounds, the patterns and progressions alternating between bass and treble, the unexpected yet apparently inevitable figures appearing and disappearing.

I absolutely agree with Glenn Gould (famous Canadian pianist) that Bach was “beyond a doubt the greatest architect of sound that ever lived.”  I consider myself highly fortunate to be able to read, play and enjoy some of his creations three centuries after he committed them to paper.  The ability to hear and understand, and even to play for myself in some cases, Bach's music is one of the greatest blessings with which I have been blessed in this life.

Here you can find two different recordings of Glenn Gould himself playing this prelude and the paired fugue as well, which I have not yet learned to play.  The first one shows Gould in action (video stuck for about the first 30 seconds); the second one, which I prefer because slower, has better sound for my ears but no video. (If your browser warns you about redirection, ignore that, it's OK).  Gould was regarded as a master of Bach's music, and there's no doubt about THAT; but I find him a little heavy, and he uses a piano, whereas these pieces were written with harpsichord in mind, which is altogether a lighter and less dominant instrument.  Pianos had hardly been invented and were still a novelty by Bach's time.

Glenn Gould had a habit of humming to himself while playing, making things difficult for his recording engineers, who often did not manage to avoid recording that too.  I like it, personally; I do it myself a lot, I would not like to be compelled to remain silent while playing.  Playing this music for yourself is an awful lot better than listening to someone else playing, however much more skilled they may be!