5 ms·

Sure! When I think of why I love Bach, I often think of works where he demonstrates an ability to express often conflicting emotions at the same time. For exam

by lordleft 11mo ago

Sure! When I think of why I love Bach, I often think of works where he demonstrates an ability to express often conflicting emotions at the same time. For example, in St. Mathew’s Passion, there’s a famous piece entitled “Mache Dich, Mein Herze” — it’s sung at a part where the followers of Christ are laying his body to rest, and somehow merges genuine despair with hope, representing the promise of resurrection. I think his ability to represent despair and hope at the same time is pretty extraordinary. Other pieces I love are the 3rd and 5th Brandenburg concertos, as well as “Wachet Auf”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgXL_wrSPF0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgXL_wrSPF0 No shade if he still doesn’t click with you. I’m just particularly ardent on the subject of Bach and baroque music!

lo_zamoyski 11mo ago
I presume you know Zelenka as well, a contemporary of Bach's (both knew each other and respected each other as composers).
- 1718627440 11mo ago
  There were a lot of these components in middle Germany at that time. Basically every reigning dynasty employed one, and there were a lot of those. They aren't famous now, but Bach wasn't famous at that time either. That he is famous now, is due to Mendelsohn.
  - 1718627440 11mo ago
    s/components/composers/
- inglor_cz 11mo ago
  Jan Dismas Zelenka wrote for the Saxon king, and many of his works were never released as a result. Then, they burnt to ashes in 1945. The only extant copies were caught in the bombing of Dresden. We tend to think of "lost works" as something that happened in Antiquity. Nope.
  - bombcar 11mo ago
    The number of silent movies that are lost forever is huge - but even “talkies” are lost, too. Media is very fragile.
  - 1718627440 11mo ago
    I think this is the real long-term harm the Nazis have done. Sure killing and murdering people is very bad, but after a century it amounts all to the same. What you can't bring back is the whole culture they destroyed. This is also one aspect why they absolutely hated the Jews. The Jewish culture emphasizes education and Christian were forbidden to take interests in the middle ages. So the Jews became the wealthy educated elite. They were the substrate for the German culture. So in some sense that hatred against the Jews was hatred against the educated and "the establishment". Also the cities and cultures a lot of famous people, like philosophers and also later statesmen, essentially the countries elite, came from is now destroyed and doesn't belong to Germany any more.
    - inglor_cz 11mo ago
      The city where I live, Ostrava, had mostly Jewish intelligentsia, as it was otherwise an industrial city with most people working in mines and steel mills. I don't think it ever came back, intellectually, from the Holocaust.
      - 1718627440 11mo ago
        Exactly what I mean. > I don't think it ever came back, intellectually, from the Holocaust. I also find that sad, but honestly why would they? There weren't exactly welcomed throughout the history in Europe. While there were phases when they were, the opportunity to have your own state with people just like you certainly sounds convincing. In addition a lot of people simply couldn't, since they were dead or for some deported/"emigrated". As for my home country, Germany, while we retained the cultures of the rich capital owners, we lost the cultures of the poor philosophers and smart statesmen. I think this is a deep hidden reason, why we suck now-a-days. Another culture, that wasn't as rich for philosophers and state men, but instead for entrepreneurs and competitive societies, didn't lost their landscape, but instead was destroyed by 40 years of socialism. I think we should stop blaming the social and political landscape on idioticity, but instead recognize it as the successful work of 60 years of dictatorial indoctrination it is.
cons0le 11mo ago
Here's a fantastic quality recording of suite 3 from BBC 1974 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EKanXXMkz8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EKanXXMkz8 Amazing musicality, but the cellist never made it big cause she was a woman
lovehashbrowns 11mo ago
This piece is my favorite: https://youtu.be/Piw53UPooYU?si=WJIjWDKJUJ8HrDPO https://youtu.be/Piw53UPooYU?si=WJIjWDKJUJ8HrDPO Können Tränen meiner Wangen Karl Richter’s version is my personal favorite but there’s lots of different recordings. IMO Bach’s St Matthew Passion is the best piece of musical art, maybe art in general too idk.

lo_zamoyski 11mo ago

I presume you know Zelenka as well, a contemporary of Bach's (both knew each other and respected each other as composers).

1718627440 11mo ago
There were a lot of these components in middle Germany at that time. Basically every reigning dynasty employed one, and there were a lot of those. They aren't famous now, but Bach wasn't famous at that time either. That he is famous now, is due to Mendelsohn.
- 1718627440 11mo ago
  s/components/composers/
inglor_cz 11mo ago
Jan Dismas Zelenka wrote for the Saxon king, and many of his works were never released as a result. Then, they burnt to ashes in 1945. The only extant copies were caught in the bombing of Dresden. We tend to think of "lost works" as something that happened in Antiquity. Nope.
- bombcar 11mo ago
  The number of silent movies that are lost forever is huge - but even “talkies” are lost, too. Media is very fragile.
- 1718627440 11mo ago
  I think this is the real long-term harm the Nazis have done. Sure killing and murdering people is very bad, but after a century it amounts all to the same. What you can't bring back is the whole culture they destroyed. This is also one aspect why they absolutely hated the Jews. The Jewish culture emphasizes education and Christian were forbidden to take interests in the middle ages. So the Jews became the wealthy educated elite. They were the substrate for the German culture. So in some sense that hatred against the Jews was hatred against the educated and "the establishment". Also the cities and cultures a lot of famous people, like philosophers and also later statesmen, essentially the countries elite, came from is now destroyed and doesn't belong to Germany any more.
  - inglor_cz 11mo ago
    The city where I live, Ostrava, had mostly Jewish intelligentsia, as it was otherwise an industrial city with most people working in mines and steel mills. I don't think it ever came back, intellectually, from the Holocaust.
    - 1718627440 11mo ago
      Exactly what I mean. > I don't think it ever came back, intellectually, from the Holocaust. I also find that sad, but honestly why would they? There weren't exactly welcomed throughout the history in Europe. While there were phases when they were, the opportunity to have your own state with people just like you certainly sounds convincing. In addition a lot of people simply couldn't, since they were dead or for some deported/"emigrated". As for my home country, Germany, while we retained the cultures of the rich capital owners, we lost the cultures of the poor philosophers and smart statesmen. I think this is a deep hidden reason, why we suck now-a-days. Another culture, that wasn't as rich for philosophers and state men, but instead for entrepreneurs and competitive societies, didn't lost their landscape, but instead was destroyed by 40 years of socialism. I think we should stop blaming the social and political landscape on idioticity, but instead recognize it as the successful work of 60 years of dictatorial indoctrination it is.

cons0le 11mo ago

Here's a fantastic quality recording of suite 3 from BBC 1974 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EKanXXMkz8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EKanXXMkz8 Amazing musicality, but the cellist never made it big cause she was a woman

lovehashbrowns 11mo ago

This piece is my favorite: https://youtu.be/Piw53UPooYU?si=WJIjWDKJUJ8HrDPO https://youtu.be/Piw53UPooYU?si=WJIjWDKJUJ8HrDPO Können Tränen meiner Wangen Karl Richter’s version is my personal favorite but there’s lots of different recordings. IMO Bach’s St Matthew Passion is the best piece of musical art, maybe art in general too idk.