@@kiren3168 @John Lesho Frankly what Bach was doing in these fugues was in a time of its own. He was behind the rest of the compositional era progressing into symphony and sonata writing, and was considered antiquated during his time. However, nobody since 300 years ago, during which was his prime, has any composer,except almost for Beethoven, had anybody actually achieved the same raw relationship between the prime subject and its many harmonies while never abandoning the first subject throughout the entire composition. That’s especially the case for modern rock bands who, like Beethoven and later romantic composers, always play to the same melody at the same time. Bach distributed that melody over the entire composition, not in a couple of places.
@@MandatoryArtistry Things that are beyond our own reach? The saddest thing about Bach is the fact that not one person ever thought for one second that “I could do that” under god. Do not compare ever a mortal human being to God. One can argue god punishes us for worshipping Bach by never encouraging someone to get to this level of musical mastery. But whatever the case, I hope someone tries and succeeds in achieving this as well. Then Bach won’t be alone in appreciating God from a different angle. 2:27 seems to comply to that, and coincidentally, 1 John 2:27.
You make me think of Who Bach is Bach's two parents died very early in his life He was put in a position where he had to care for his younger siblings And very much so He was put in a position where Either He would find immediate success in his music career or he would have to drop it If it wasn't going to make him enough money Point is He was put on the spot Where he had no choice But to find success in music Or drop the cause all together He rose to the occasion on then some...
4:37 - 4:55 Probably the most impressive Bach "cadence" I have ever heard. His ability to create "absurd", yet very meaningful melodic lines is unique. It reminds me of the slow movements from the keyboard concertos, especially BWV 1052, 1053, 1054.
Yes it is indeed impressive. Please check out one of my favorite "Cadences" from the Fantasia op.135b by Max Reger ua-cam.com/video/AhaYlycKKk0/v-deo.html Here is the Score to it: hz.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/d/dd/IMSLP06549-Fant_Fuge_op135b.pdf What a monumental Piece of Music, both the Fantasia and the Fugue.
From 8:50 to 9:33 there’s a slow modulation from G minor to C minor, building up to a really beautiful melody played by the pedals in the lower register which moves the modulation even further to Eb minor. Such a beautiful part.
Thanks for pointing that out! I also can't get over the strikingly gorgeous descending line starting on that high Bb just after 8:56, especially in conjunction with the ascending lines in the bass. It's so simple yet so incredible.
Yes it is indeed impressive. Please check out one of my favorite Organ Works: Fantasia & Fugue op.135b by Max Reger ua-cam.com/video/AhaYlycKKk0/v-deo.html Here the Score to it: hz.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/d/dd/IMSLP06549-Fant_Fuge_op135b.pdf What a monumental Piece of Music, both the Fantasia and the Fugue.
Bach will always be a inspiration.He inspired me at 14 years old and I am 60. By the way I still say and will always say Bach can be interpreted. Anyone in for a good discussion on that
I scrolled through the comments to see if anyone else felt the greatness of this particular section. It's nice to share something like this with someone else, so you just made my day...
Look up shepard tones. When I first heard this work I stopped breathing as the pedals got lower, and lower... and lower... Turns out its an auditory illusion, which is kind of lost here because you can see how its done. But, amazing. This, to me, is kinda the highlight, and thats saying a lot, of this fantasia. In the fugue, oddly, I wait for the high trill.
How on earth can anyone play this? Let alone write it in the first place? And know how to give those of us, who are lucky enough to listen to this fabulous music, so much joy?
Yes it is indeed impressive. Please check out one of my favorite Organ Works: Fantasia & Fugue op.135b by Max Reger ua-cam.com/video/AhaYlycKKk0/v-deo.html Here the Score to it: hz.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/d/dd/IMSLP06549-Fant_Fuge_op135b.pdf What a monumental Piece of Music, both the Fantasia and the Fugue.
As far as playing it, it takes years to learn to play a keyboard instrument at this level, and lots of time learning a particular piece on top of that. Organ most of all, since it gets the feet involved, and there are lots of switches and other controls besides. On the compositional side, fugue writing has particular rules to it that act as a guide. A fantasy (or fantasia, if you like) is, as its name implies, a very free-form genre, so a composer does pretty much what they like. But in both cases, it takes a lot of intelligence to do them well, never mind making them _expressive._ Bach was a genius, and it shows clearly in both parts of this work. Especially the wild modulations in the fantasia are just amazing.
Playing is easy. I just noodle around and get about 70% of what I want to get out of it. Playing it well, however, would take a lot more practice. But I can see how one could get there easily enough. Maybe a month of heavy practice? Writing would be much harder. But even there, I'm starting to see how stuff like this is put together. But what you leave out is the third leg of the stool - how can people LISTEN to it? To hear everything that is going on in a work like this is very hard work that requires practice and training. If you relax, it just turns into a mush of noise (try typing a reply while the music is playing, and you'll see what I mean). This music requires hard work from composer, player and listener. Without all three, it doesnt work. Imagine Bach playing for himself at his organ; now he IS all three. He can understand everything that is going on - because he wrote it, and is playing it, and hearing it. What an experience that must have been.
Ho conosciuto la fuga sentendola suonare da un fisarmonicista e sono rimasta FOLGORATA. È qualcosa che va oltre, non mi stanco di risentirla ogni volta e la voglio studiare, voglio imparare anche io a suonarla. Grazie Bach!
This is really great.When someone give me the opportunity one person (alive or not alive) to met it would be Bach. His creativity and craft is not from this world.
I've always though that the piano is a like a computer of the instruments it can cgi an orchestra, but the organ is the source super computer in backs case it can cgi and orchestra,a mass choir and the conversations of the angels.
Actually, I rather agree with you. "His creativity and craft are not from this world," but he was. Which leads me to say, "Get off your ass and start writing your stuff down." Remember, not all ideas or dreams stem from the World of Necessity. Did you know that Ravel and Debussy really like Edgar Allen Poe's works?
Buy or get a free music notation software, and learn to write your own music. At the beginning, you'll move amazingly fast, and can write a piece of music within a few weeks, most likely. Then you just add on more and more tricks (craftsmanship) and you'll be amazed how far you can get. It's like climbing a mountain. You can sit in the valley and think "nobody could get there", but if you start going on walks in the hills, you get slowly fitter, and if you push yourself, you might get to an Alp, where you can look down at the Valley and marvel how high you climbed, and you can look back up at the peak, and now you see it, not as unattainable, but as simply a lot of work. Then you have to decide if the amount of work involved is worth it or not. But it stops being mystical. Bach once said himself, "Anyone can do what I did, if they put in the work". And he's right. With practice, everything becomes easier. Practicing is the hard part. Putting in the hours. It gets boring, hard, tedious... so sticking at it is the difficult bit. If you want to write this stuff, you can. There's a lot of music composing channels out there. This guy makes it all look so easy: ua-cam.com/video/XF3VU_c9cFc/v-deo.html The piece above uses a lot of suspensions - you can see a lot of tied notes that then drop, which is a good clue to where they are. This is a simple trick to add tension and drive to any piece. Like salting a stew, or adding chilli. And decent cook can add the right spices to a dish, that can change a dish from that which a bad cook would make to that which a good cook would make. The trick is to know when to use each spice, and in what amounts, so as not to overpower, and so on. But then there are other tricks - at 5:18, the music has climbed to a high G. Usually, right before the end, the tension reaches its peak - the highest notes are reached; the rate of change of harmony is fastest, and there is often a pedal point in the bass, which causes a lot of dissonance. In Bach's organ music, watch what the pedal is doing. You'll start to see how he creates the magic. What makes Bach great, is that he was able to use all these tricks, and for proper effect, and all against great chord progression (although he didnt think of it that way), and a perfect handling of dissonance. He knew when to lighten the texture for relief, and when to increase it again. He was a superb craftsman, but also with a great sense of taste and not afraid to let it rip. My point is that you can do it too, if you want. But it would take a lot of hard work. Most people who study composition are taught counterpoint, and they hate it, because its difficult. Actually, its not that hard in principles, but if you learn it by rote (rule of the octave) as shortcuts, yes, I can see how it would be awfully tedious. My point, as a lazy amateur, is that if you want to write a piece like this, and you have 20 years of life to dedicate to it (say, 4 hours per day), it should be possible. With a good teacher, who can point out the tricks, maybe 5 years would do. I think a really good start would be to aim to emulate Bach. It's far easier to do what he did, than to try to do something new, which is where most modern composers go wrong. They aim at "art" and "novelty" and laugh at writing in someone else's style. But Bach showed us how to create great music. Lets do that. It's what he did. He wanted to be another Buxtehude or Pachelbel, but on the way, ended up doing his own thing too.
At 9:48, the pedal announces a moment of majesty (beginning with that B-E-D-E), with beautiful answers between voices. But at the third round of this inctricate game, the majesty is chocked by a sudden and disorienting F minor, which opens the way for a classic harmonic progression, masterfully conducted, bringing out the best of baroque style. I find this one of the most astonishing moments in all of Bach's repertoire. Magnificent.
I didn't realize this fugue was a part of a Prelude and Fugue. Truly amazing. Thank you for the effort you put into this. This truly is a "Great Fugue."
The beginning of the fugue sounds like fairy lights twinkling. It's my favorite part of this piece (although of course I love the whole thing)! This is beautiful. Thank you!
The fugue is absolutely Zen when dux and comes interact complementarily to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts. The beauty is both human and divine!
Same! Especially the descending sequence at 10:39 til 10:43 when this section you mentioned repeats later in the piece always stuck out to me because the parallel thirds and tenths with these organ stops sound like biting into something sour to me and I love it!
Потрясающее произведение! Еще узнал о нем, когда обучался в колледже Искусств. До этого играл 4 произведения Баха, в том числе " Великую органную Прелюдию и фугу" а-moll. Теперь пришло время выучить и это грандиозное произведение. Уже прослушал его десятки раз и не могу насладиться. И.С. Бах ВЕЛИЧАЙШИЙ Композитор всех времен, многие меркнут на его фоне. Изумительное произведение, одно из самых его красивых и музыкально сложных произведений.
Oh my god, what's extra insane is that the last time we even hear a tonic was at 2:54. The next time we'll get a tonic is at the end of the fantasia at 5:37. Bach managed to evade an authentic cadence for almost 3 minutes. Damn.
The theme of the fugue itself is extremely impressive as a tune but the things Bach does with it is absolutely inhuman and out of this world. Thanks J.S and Geru!
The fugue is so powerful and compelling. After 1 bar the piece thunders towards the end, swirling and forcing, as if it had no other option. It's like an engine that you turn on and doesn't let anything stop it from reaching the end in a compelling pulse.
JOHANNES BRAHMS: " I always find Beethoven's C Minor concerto {the Third Piano Concerto} much smaller and weaker than Mozart's. . . . I realize that Beethoven's new personality and his new vision, which people recognized in his works, made him the greater composer in their minds. But after fifty years, our views need more perspective. One must be able to distinguish between the charm that comes from newness and the value that is intrinsic to a work. I admit that Beethoven's concerto is more modern, but not more significant! I also realize that Beethoven's First Symphony made a strong impression on people. That's the nature of a new vision. But the last three Mozart symphonies are far more significant. . . . Yes, the Rasumovsky quartets, the later symphonies-these inhabit a significant new world, one already hinted at in his Second Symphony. But what is much weaker in Beethoven compared to Mozart, and especially compared to Sebastian Bach, is the use of dissonance. Dissonance, true dissonance as Mozart used it, is not to be found in Beethoven. Look at Idomeneo. Not only is it a marvel, but as Mozart was still quite young and brash when he wrote it, it was a completely new thing. What marvelous dissonance! What harmony! You couldn't commission great music from Beethoven since he created only lesser works on commission-his more conventional pieces, his variations and the like. When Haydn or Mozart wrote on commission, it was the same as their other works. " "I asked Chopin to explain what it is that gives the impression of logic in music. He made me understand the meaning of harmony and counterpoint; how in music, the fugue corresponds to pure logic, and that to be well versed in the fugue is to understand the elements of all reason and development in music ... As Chopin said to me, 'Where Beethoven is obscure and appears to be lacking in unity, it is not, as people allege, from a rather wild originality - the quality which they admire in him - it is because he turns his back on eternal principles. Mozart never does this. Each part has its own movement which, although it harmonizes with the rest, makes its own song and follows it perfectly. This is what is meant by counterpoint, punto contrapunto."' -Eugene Delacroix "Beethoven was not a great melodist. ua-cam.com/video/OuYY1gV8jhU/v-deo.html What he was interested in was seeds, motives, things out of which he could breed melodies. This is one of the most unremarkable melodies ever written, but the most famous, but you couldn't call it a melody, could you? [Plays main 7th theme.] So far, what have we got? One note. [...] There's no aspect of Beethoven in which you can say: Beethoven is great, as a melodist, a harmonist, contrapuntist, a tone painter, his orchestration. You'll find fault with all of them. If you take any one of these elements, separately, you find nobody. There's nothing there. He spent his whole life trying to write a good fugue. And he himself admitted he never succeeded. And as far as his orchestration is concerned, you could have it. I mean, it is bad, it has trumpets sticking out, the same not drowning everybody else." -L. Bernstein
Just imagine the music we could have today if Bach had modern medicine and lived to age 90 or even older. What a damn shame things like this get me worked up sometimes.
I believe this piece is also referred to as "The Great" - this is alongside BWV 543 Either way, Many of these videos got me started learning those pieces myself...
I think that Bach felt what he composed as something that relaxed and calmed him even though he composed something terrifying and that could scare or create a feeling of fear, he felt this as relaxing, calm and happy. I can already imagine it: "I feel happy to compose something of terror" 😂😂😂😂
Comment from Claire Dixon, aka "Forest Green Organ Geek": I have synesthesia. The beginning of the fugue section sounds like *blinking fairy lights strung along the sides of a winding road in the forest. I am not kidding, it REALLY does sound like that*
I have synesthesia too! I have chromosthesia,and the theme's colors are primarily blue, light red, yellow, and white. It is very beautiful, one of my favorite Bach Fugue subjects
@@MusicSmith2 Cool! For me it is dark red, black, and there are parts that are dark yellow and off-white. Of Course, that's the Fantasia part. The Fugue is dark green, light green, and maybe some pinkish-red here and there.
Awesome piece of music....yet 13 thumbs down?? Why?? *People are weird!!* Makes me wonder why anyone would specifically come to a BWV 542 page in the first place if they were expecting anything other than magnificence of Bach's works such as this piece.
The deliniations between music styles and the various eras in music are more obscured then some would like to state. Counterpoint is what Bach[s genious does best and so his compostitons for organ stand out as the culmination as one of the styles of the 150 years of the Baroque Music.. Bach's ability to spin themes and subjects around his understanding of harmonic progressions is what makes his musical tapestry one of the most brilliant and most admired to date.
@@rayancharafeddine4982 I suppose I mean did he get the whole thing worked out before pen to manuscript or maybe constructed it bit by bit like musical building blocks? Also would he write it down or would he have a musical scribe penning as he played?
@@JongleurJ10 ohh, I think we know very little about his method of composing, I suppose it came naturally and easily to him à la Schubert given how prolific and consistent he is! And for the improv' I don't think there would be a scribe, he remembers it and writes it down, probably recomposing and editing as he goes
Wonderful performance by organist Michel Chapuis! (Wish they would correct the organ's wind defect, especially noticeable at 8:35 ) Thank you, gerubach, for sharing this and also for providing the music. (But I have difficulty with the notes jerking across the screen. Could the notes be displayed stationary with the stripe moving?
What a lovely recording of a wonderful piece, well played by Michel Chapuis with beautiful registrations. Every voice is clear, the pedal never overpowers or muddies the texture. I looked up the album online to find out what instrument is heard here. It’s the 1721 Schnitger organ, at Sint-Michaëlskerk, Zwolle, Nederlands. www.allmusic.com/album/release/mr0002850216
This reminds me of the wonderful recording of Ivan Sokol which like this has a crystal clear bell like sound. Found the CD in a bargain clearance bin. Is now on you tube
This should have been orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski and put into the DIsney film Fantasia as the first piece, instead of the now-famous BWV 565. Because Fantasia.
In the novel "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenshon, he describes the character Lawrence Waterhouse having an epiphany in the following way: "When Lawrence understood, it was as if the math teacher had suddenly played the good part of Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor on a pipe organ the size of the Spiral Nebula in Andromeda; the good part where Uncle Johann dissects the architecture of the universe in one merciless descending ever-mutating chord, as if his foot is thrusting through skidding layers of garbage until it finally strikes bedrock." This is the quote that brought me here, but I'm still at a loss as to determine which exact part of the song he's referring to.
"The good part". As if there are any bad parts. 😆 Though based on the description of a "descending ever-mutating chord", my guess is the part that starts at 3:36. But I suppose the only way to be sure would be to ask Stephenson.
This is insane. These chord progressions and resolves are two hundred years advanced. I'm crying.
I disagree. Bach beautiful treatment of all those chromatic notes is very Baroque. I suggest you listen to Buxtehude. Bach loved him
@@kiren3168
@John Lesho
Frankly what Bach was doing in these fugues was in a time of its own. He was behind the rest of the compositional era progressing into symphony and sonata writing, and was considered antiquated during his time. However, nobody since 300 years ago, during which was his prime, has any composer,except almost for Beethoven, had anybody actually achieved the same raw relationship between the prime subject and its many harmonies while never abandoning the first subject throughout the entire composition.
That’s especially the case for modern rock bands who, like Beethoven and later romantic composers, always play to the same melody at the same time. Bach distributed that melody over the entire composition, not in a couple of places.
@@topsecret1837 You clearly love to pretend to know things that are beyond your reach.
@@MandatoryArtistry
Things that are beyond our own reach? The saddest thing about Bach is the fact that not one person ever thought for one second that “I could do that” under god.
Do not compare ever a mortal human being to God. One can argue god punishes us for worshipping Bach by never encouraging someone to get to this level of musical mastery. But whatever the case, I hope someone tries and succeeds in achieving this as well.
Then Bach won’t be alone in appreciating God from a different angle. 2:27 seems to comply to that, and coincidentally, 1 John 2:27.
You make me think of Who Bach is
Bach's two parents died
very early in his life
He was put in a position
where he had to care
for his younger siblings
And very much so
He was put in a position where
Either He would find immediate success in his music career
or he would have to drop it
If it wasn't
going to make him enough money
Point is He was put on the spot
Where he had no choice
But to find success in music
Or drop the cause all together
He rose to the occasion on then some...
One of Bach’s most glorious, inventive, and profound organ works!
4:37 - 4:55
Probably the most impressive Bach "cadence" I have ever heard. His ability to create "absurd", yet very meaningful melodic lines is unique. It reminds me of the slow movements from the keyboard concertos, especially BWV 1052, 1053, 1054.
Yes it is indeed impressive.
Please check out one of my favorite "Cadences" from the Fantasia op.135b by Max Reger
ua-cam.com/video/AhaYlycKKk0/v-deo.html
Here is the Score to it:
hz.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/d/dd/IMSLP06549-Fant_Fuge_op135b.pdf
What a monumental Piece of Music, both the Fantasia and the Fugue.
Many thanks for this very interesting reference!
It's insane you're so right!
From 8:50 to 9:33 there’s a slow modulation from G minor to C minor, building up to a really beautiful melody played by the pedals in the lower register which moves the modulation even further to Eb minor. Such a beautiful part.
Thanks for pointing that out! I also can't get over the strikingly gorgeous descending line starting on that high Bb just after 8:56, especially in conjunction with the ascending lines in the bass. It's so simple yet so incredible.
God, in the fugue, that first transition to the alto voice is unreal.
Timestamp?
@@SP-qi8ur when the second voice comes a bit after 5:45
That G repeats twice right?
That fantasia is possibly the best piece of music I've ever heard
Ha ha! Very funny!
@@graeme011 why?
@@daveontheskies Because if he hears another Bach fantasy, he will think about it the same way. )
and(tonaly) the most complex u have ever heard
I find this one of Bach's most harmonically amazing pieces.
Yes it is indeed impressive.
Please check out one of my favorite Organ Works: Fantasia & Fugue op.135b by Max Reger
ua-cam.com/video/AhaYlycKKk0/v-deo.html
Here the Score to it:
hz.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/d/dd/IMSLP06549-Fant_Fuge_op135b.pdf
What a monumental Piece of Music, both the Fantasia and the Fugue.
Especially the Fantasia
Almost a Beethoven quality
@@acepounder don't disrespect Bach by comparing him to an inferior creature
@@tahaouhabi3520 Bach really was on another level.
Bach will always be a inspiration.He inspired me at 14 years old and I am 60. By the way I still say and will always say Bach can be interpreted. Anyone in for a good discussion on that
I don't think anyone would debate that
ascending descent from 3:36 min. - simply amazing!
I scrolled through the comments to see if anyone else felt the greatness of this particular section. It's nice to share something like this with someone else, so you just made my day...
Look up shepard tones. When I first heard this work I stopped breathing as the pedals got lower, and lower... and lower... Turns out its an auditory illusion, which is kind of lost here because you can see how its done. But, amazing. This, to me, is kinda the highlight, and thats saying a lot, of this fantasia. In the fugue, oddly, I wait for the high trill.
At the end of these I always feel like the whole world is scrolling right.
That's called motion after effect
Yes, because JSB is the world.
Jeffrey Soto ...it is...
In möbius.
How on earth can anyone play this? Let alone write it in the first place? And know how to give those of us, who are lucky enough to listen to this fabulous music, so much joy?
Yes it is indeed impressive.
Please check out one of my favorite Organ Works: Fantasia & Fugue op.135b by Max Reger
ua-cam.com/video/AhaYlycKKk0/v-deo.html
Here the Score to it:
hz.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/d/dd/IMSLP06549-Fant_Fuge_op135b.pdf
What a monumental Piece of Music, both the Fantasia and the Fugue.
John Melville A flood of celestial tears...
As far as playing it, it takes years to learn to play a keyboard instrument at this level, and lots of time learning a particular piece on top of that. Organ most of all, since it gets the feet involved, and there are lots of switches and other controls besides.
On the compositional side, fugue writing has particular rules to it that act as a guide. A fantasy (or fantasia, if you like) is, as its name implies, a very free-form genre, so a composer does pretty much what they like. But in both cases, it takes a lot of intelligence to do them well, never mind making them _expressive._ Bach was a genius, and it shows clearly in both parts of this work. Especially the wild modulations in the fantasia are just amazing.
Playing is easy. I just noodle around and get about 70% of what I want to get out of it. Playing it well, however, would take a lot more practice. But I can see how one could get there easily enough. Maybe a month of heavy practice? Writing would be much harder. But even there, I'm starting to see how stuff like this is put together. But what you leave out is the third leg of the stool - how can people LISTEN to it? To hear everything that is going on in a work like this is very hard work that requires practice and training. If you relax, it just turns into a mush of noise (try typing a reply while the music is playing, and you'll see what I mean). This music requires hard work from composer, player and listener. Without all three, it doesnt work. Imagine Bach playing for himself at his organ; now he IS all three. He can understand everything that is going on - because he wrote it, and is playing it, and hearing it. What an experience that must have been.
Ho conosciuto la fuga sentendola suonare da un fisarmonicista e sono rimasta FOLGORATA. È qualcosa che va oltre, non mi stanco di risentirla ogni volta e la voglio studiare, voglio imparare anche io a suonarla. Grazie Bach!
This is really great.When someone give me the opportunity one person (alive or not alive) to met it would be Bach.
His creativity and craft is not from this world.
I've always though that the piano is a like a computer of the instruments it can cgi an orchestra, but the organ is the source super computer in backs case it can cgi and orchestra,a mass choir and the conversations of the angels.
Actually, I rather agree with you. "His creativity and craft are not from this world," but he was. Which leads me to say, "Get off your ass and start writing your stuff down." Remember, not all ideas or dreams stem from the World of Necessity. Did you know that Ravel and Debussy really like Edgar Allen Poe's works?
I would love to meet a composer but they probably would be racist or some shit like that
Buy or get a free music notation software, and learn to write your own music. At the beginning, you'll move amazingly fast, and can write a piece of music within a few weeks, most likely. Then you just add on more and more tricks (craftsmanship) and you'll be amazed how far you can get. It's like climbing a mountain. You can sit in the valley and think "nobody could get there", but if you start going on walks in the hills, you get slowly fitter, and if you push yourself, you might get to an Alp, where you can look down at the Valley and marvel how high you climbed, and you can look back up at the peak, and now you see it, not as unattainable, but as simply a lot of work. Then you have to decide if the amount of work involved is worth it or not. But it stops being mystical. Bach once said himself, "Anyone can do what I did, if they put in the work". And he's right. With practice, everything becomes easier. Practicing is the hard part. Putting in the hours. It gets boring, hard, tedious... so sticking at it is the difficult bit. If you want to write this stuff, you can. There's a lot of music composing channels out there. This guy makes it all look so easy: ua-cam.com/video/XF3VU_c9cFc/v-deo.html The piece above uses a lot of suspensions - you can see a lot of tied notes that then drop, which is a good clue to where they are. This is a simple trick to add tension and drive to any piece. Like salting a stew, or adding chilli. And decent cook can add the right spices to a dish, that can change a dish from that which a bad cook would make to that which a good cook would make. The trick is to know when to use each spice, and in what amounts, so as not to overpower, and so on. But then there are other tricks - at 5:18, the music has climbed to a high G. Usually, right before the end, the tension reaches its peak - the highest notes are reached; the rate of change of harmony is fastest, and there is often a pedal point in the bass, which causes a lot of dissonance. In Bach's organ music, watch what the pedal is doing. You'll start to see how he creates the magic. What makes Bach great, is that he was able to use all these tricks, and for proper effect, and all against great chord progression (although he didnt think of it that way), and a perfect handling of dissonance. He knew when to lighten the texture for relief, and when to increase it again. He was a superb craftsman, but also with a great sense of taste and not afraid to let it rip. My point is that you can do it too, if you want. But it would take a lot of hard work. Most people who study composition are taught counterpoint, and they hate it, because its difficult. Actually, its not that hard in principles, but if you learn it by rote (rule of the octave) as shortcuts, yes, I can see how it would be awfully tedious. My point, as a lazy amateur, is that if you want to write a piece like this, and you have 20 years of life to dedicate to it (say, 4 hours per day), it should be possible. With a good teacher, who can point out the tricks, maybe 5 years would do. I think a really good start would be to aim to emulate Bach. It's far easier to do what he did, than to try to do something new, which is where most modern composers go wrong. They aim at "art" and "novelty" and laugh at writing in someone else's style. But Bach showed us how to create great music. Lets do that. It's what he did. He wanted to be another Buxtehude or Pachelbel, but on the way, ended up doing his own thing too.
At 9:48, the pedal announces a moment of majesty (beginning with that B-E-D-E), with beautiful answers between voices. But at the third round of this inctricate game, the majesty is chocked by a sudden and disorienting F minor, which opens the way for a classic harmonic progression, masterfully conducted, bringing out the best of baroque style. I find this one of the most astonishing moments in all of Bach's repertoire. Magnificent.
I didn't realize this fugue was a part of a Prelude and Fugue. Truly amazing. Thank you for the effort you put into this. This truly is a "Great Fugue."
My mistake. Fantasia und Fuga. Not Prelude and Fugue
The beginning of the fugue sounds like fairy lights twinkling. It's my favorite part of this piece (although of course I love the whole thing)! This is beautiful. Thank you!
Who doesn't LOVE this??? Amazing stuff. Next on my list to learn on the organ!
Bach is one of the most obvious and best reasons to learn the organ.
The fugue is absolutely Zen when dux and comes interact complementarily to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts. The beauty is both human and divine!
I love the organ’s texture in the 7:50 through 8:30 part. 😊
Same! Especially the descending sequence at 10:39 til 10:43 when this section you mentioned repeats later in the piece always stuck out to me because the parallel thirds and tenths with these organ stops sound like biting into something sour to me and I love it!
Потрясающее произведение! Еще узнал о нем, когда обучался в колледже Искусств. До этого играл 4 произведения Баха, в том числе " Великую органную Прелюдию и фугу" а-moll. Теперь пришло время выучить и это грандиозное произведение. Уже прослушал его десятки раз и не могу насладиться. И.С. Бах ВЕЛИЧАЙШИЙ Композитор всех времен, многие меркнут на его фоне. Изумительное произведение, одно из самых его красивых и музыкально сложных произведений.
3:34 - 5:34 that entire section is just so unbelievably badass
Oh my god, what's extra insane is that the last time we even hear a tonic was at 2:54. The next time we'll get a tonic is at the end of the fantasia at 5:37. Bach managed to evade an authentic cadence for almost 3 minutes. Damn.
わたしは、フランツ・リストの24の大練習S137第4番ニ短調の次に、この曲がだいすきです。バッハの曲の中では、一番だいすきです。
一日中ずっと聴いていられます。
RIP, he was a real master! This piece has such fascinating harmonies & counterpoint! I can’t believe I am even trying to learn it!
How's it going?
Same here I am inspired by bach
I never imagined someone writing RIP for a baroque composer
The theme of the fugue itself is extremely impressive as a tune but the things Bach does with it is absolutely inhuman and out of this world. Thanks J.S and Geru!
Beautiful, beautiful,!! this is one way to learn sight reading, and appreciate music, you've done a great job.
actually, a better way would be through the well tempered clavier (but only because there are 48 fugues)
source: myself, the wtc are really fun
I love the moment, five bars from the end (11:13), where the top part scales triumphantly down, as if it's found something exciting in the attic.
The fugue is so powerful and compelling. After 1 bar the piece thunders towards the end, swirling and forcing, as if it had no other option. It's like an engine that you turn on and doesn't let anything stop it from reaching the end in a compelling pulse.
Eccezionale!!!!🤩.... Bellissima esecuzione!!!!!!!😍
The organ has the perfect 5th added stop thing!!! Sounds amazing!!!
Johanne Sebastien Bach ...
Bah bah gooo !!
Ga ga goo goo gee geeee! I wuv it!
The sequence at 3:36 is amazing.
yeah, this is my favorite part
And THIS is why J S Bach is the lawgiver of music.
Mozart was 35 when he died
Aleema Muhammed Rasheed If J.S Bach was the Moses and Mozart was the Jesus, Chopin was an angel
@Arsenio Petrus Exactly like that
I like how no one mentions that deaf composer guy who couldn't even appreciate the applause his music would get.
JOHANNES BRAHMS: " I always find Beethoven's C Minor concerto {the Third Piano Concerto} much smaller and weaker than Mozart's. . . . I realize that Beethoven's new personality and his new vision, which people recognized in his works, made him the greater composer in their minds. But after fifty years, our views need more perspective. One must be able to distinguish between the charm that comes from newness and the value that is intrinsic to a work. I admit that Beethoven's concerto is more modern, but not more significant!
I also realize that Beethoven's First Symphony made a strong impression on people. That's the nature of a new vision. But the last three Mozart symphonies are far more significant. . . . Yes, the Rasumovsky quartets, the later symphonies-these inhabit a significant new world, one already hinted at in his Second Symphony. But what is much weaker in Beethoven compared to Mozart, and especially compared to Sebastian Bach, is the use of dissonance. Dissonance, true dissonance as Mozart used it, is not to be found in Beethoven. Look at Idomeneo. Not only is it a marvel, but as Mozart was still quite young and brash when he wrote it, it was a completely new thing. What marvelous dissonance! What harmony! You couldn't commission great music from Beethoven since he created only lesser works on commission-his more conventional pieces, his variations and the like. When Haydn or Mozart wrote on commission, it was the same as their other works. "
"I asked Chopin to explain what it is that gives the impression of logic in music. He made me understand the meaning of harmony and counterpoint; how in music, the fugue corresponds to pure logic, and that to be well versed in the fugue is to understand the elements of all reason and development in music ... As Chopin said to me, 'Where Beethoven is obscure and appears to be lacking in unity, it is not, as people allege, from a rather wild originality - the quality which they admire in him - it is because he turns his back on eternal principles. Mozart never does this. Each part has its own movement which, although it harmonizes with the rest, makes its own song and follows it perfectly. This is what is meant by counterpoint, punto contrapunto."' -Eugene Delacroix
"Beethoven was not a great melodist. ua-cam.com/video/OuYY1gV8jhU/v-deo.html What he was interested in was seeds, motives, things out of which he could breed melodies. This is one of the most unremarkable melodies ever written, but the most famous, but you couldn't call it a melody, could you? [Plays main 7th theme.] So far, what have we got? One note. [...] There's no aspect of Beethoven in which you can say: Beethoven is great, as a melodist, a harmonist, contrapuntist, a tone painter, his orchestration. You'll find fault with all of them. If you take any one of these elements, separately, you find nobody. There's nothing there. He spent his whole life trying to write a good fugue. And he himself admitted he never succeeded. And as far as his orchestration is concerned, you could have it. I mean, it is bad, it has trumpets sticking out, the same not drowning everybody else." -L. Bernstein
Juan Sebastián, insuperable... ¡ Cuanto me gustaria escuchar su versión!
Absolutely fantastic. Has something divine!
This piece is incredibly deep
dat fugue
dat fantasia
What the fugue
@@badcornflakes6374 fugue you😏
@@kawingng1600 fugue always fugue
Fanta-sodia 🤑
Fantastic - this is a performance almost like non other!
Sometimes I wish humans could become 500 years old.
Why? What would you do?
@Franz Schubert Thx. Thats what I thought
Just imagine the music we could have today if Bach had modern medicine and lived to age 90 or even older. What a damn shame things like this get me worked up sometimes.
@@mullenenterprises still though bach lived plenty compared to others like schubert, mozart, chopin, butterworth, clifford brown etc...
@@NotMozart1685 I think he wants to live to 500 so he can listen to this piece for longer
I believe this piece is also referred to as "The Great" - this is alongside BWV 543
Either way, Many of these videos got me started learning those pieces myself...
10:00 Listen and just see how Bach is a genius, men, I’m mostly crying
I cannot imagine how Bach could sleep at night...
And if Bach wasn't going to sleep, no one else was either (if he was up playing stuff like this all night lol)
I think that Bach felt what he composed as something that relaxed and calmed him even though he composed something terrifying and that could scare or create a feeling of fear, he felt this as relaxing, calm and happy. I can already imagine it: "I feel happy to compose something of terror" 😂😂😂😂
I agree since u would agree so many ideas
2:36 Dat kromatism
I've always loved this piece. (I also find it incredible that Bach wrote this to play at a job interview and didn't get the job!)
I would have loved to have been sitting beside Bach as he played this amazing work. He's the one person in history I would love to have met. x
That fugue is amazing.
Rest in peace Gerubach.
Huh?
@@MORDKAu I'm sorry to say you that but he passed away... You can see the coments on his last video for proof
Bro, what happened? The GERUBACH are dead? Please explain to me a lot
Organ master piece. Love the little quiet section at the start.
8:43 lots of 16th notes I like it.
haha...yea...hands and legs run like spiders thete
Mr Bach makes me crazy when listen and even more when trying to play his universal masterpieces!!!
I clicked "Like" after the Fantasia but the Fugue made me add this to my favorites.
My most favorite part of the whole piece is 7:50 to 8:33. You really hear the different harmonies in the piece by the time the pedal ways in. 😍
I mean obviously this is one of the best pieces he ever wrote. Anyone who comes to the organ after him has to bow to this music.
Magnificient. Threw me to the depths of universe.
G minor is my favorite key on an organ... So majestic and grave.
11:05
8:54
5:30
NICE ADVERTISEMENT!!!
TOTALLY MISSED IT!!!
Evidently not.
7:49 My favorite
7:49 this part is so unexpected and so beautiful
BWV 542 nella propettiva dell'orazione
0:15 Exordium
1:08 Narratio
1:40 Divisio
2:55 Propositio
3:34 Confirmatio
4:54 Peroratio
5:37 Fuga
Comment from Claire Dixon, aka "Forest Green Organ Geek": I have synesthesia. The beginning of the fugue section sounds like *blinking fairy lights strung along the sides of a winding road in the forest. I am not kidding, it REALLY does sound like that*
I have synesthesia too! I have chromosthesia,and the theme's colors are primarily blue, light red, yellow, and white. It is very beautiful, one of my favorite Bach Fugue subjects
@@MusicSmith2 Cool! For me it is dark red, black, and there are parts that are dark yellow and off-white. Of Course, that's the Fantasia part. The Fugue is dark green, light green, and maybe some pinkish-red here and there.
Listening to this for music class
11:06 Remarkable dissonance!
Awesome piece of music....yet 13 thumbs down?? Why?? *People are weird!!* Makes me wonder why anyone would specifically come to a BWV 542 page in the first place if they were expecting anything other than magnificence of Bach's works such as this piece.
8:31 The part that I like the most
For me 7:49
The deliniations between music styles and the various eras in music are more obscured then some would like to state. Counterpoint is what Bach[s genious does best and so his compostitons for organ stand out as the culmination as one of the styles of the 150 years of the Baroque Music.. Bach's ability to spin themes and subjects around his understanding of harmonic progressions is what makes his musical tapestry one of the most brilliant and most admired to date.
Fascinating harmonies. I have to be nuts trying to work on this one!
Bravo bravo bravo bravo bravo fantastic grandiose genial music
Thanks: I appreciated the scrolling to go along with very fine performances.
I'm playing this in my youth orchestra (someone arranged it for orchestra for us). I'm on horn 3. :D
That and BWV 582 are to me the twin summits of organ music.
"Saint-Anne"?
Fantastic! From Brazil!
착실하고 부지런한 음악가이면서도 천재적인 음악가, 바흐
GOOSE BUMPS. LIKE IM IN A HAUNTED CASTLE.. AMAZING
I love the modulations from 3:36 to 4:07
Held my attention from start to finish. How did Bach notate all this without forgetting bits!
Not sure I get the question. The fantasia might have been a transcribed improv' but the fugue is certainly composed no?
@@rayancharafeddine4982 I suppose I mean did he get the whole thing worked out before pen to manuscript or maybe constructed it bit by bit like musical building blocks? Also would he write it down or would he have a musical scribe penning as he played?
@@JongleurJ10 ohh, I think we know very little about his method of composing, I suppose it came naturally and easily to him à la Schubert given how prolific and consistent he is!
And for the improv' I don't think there would be a scribe, he remembers it and writes it down, probably recomposing and editing as he goes
Wow this is the best performance of a couple of the best works for organ i ever heard.
Amazing
Super utwór.
Wonderful performance by organist Michel Chapuis!
(Wish they would correct the organ's wind defect, especially noticeable at 8:35 )
Thank you, gerubach, for sharing this and also for providing the music. (But I have difficulty with the notes jerking across the screen. Could the notes be displayed stationary with the stripe moving?
Meraviglioso... grazie
Yeah I love the fugue but that fantasia.... GALACTIC
Agreed!
Stupendous, as in all other organ compositions of Bach!
Michel Chapius will be remembered always as an exceptional talent.
When you’re on a starship propelled by nuclear bombs about to engage another ship propelled by nuclear bombs in combat around a moon of Jupiter.
9:39 le thème de la fugue à l'alto. Bach était un géni
4:08 - 5:32 the best 💓
Wow! I'll definitely support this project.
Im have a play today in a church Is fantastic...
God plays through JS Bach hands
Tell us something new.
Thats right
Or he himself was a genius. Why not attribute such mastery to the person who achieved it?
@@LoGStein Soli Deo Gloria
@@angelt454 Fanatics are the ruin of this world.
What a lovely recording of a wonderful piece, well played by Michel Chapuis with beautiful registrations. Every voice is clear, the pedal never overpowers or muddies the texture.
I looked up the album online to find out what instrument is heard here. It’s the 1721 Schnitger organ, at Sint-Michaëlskerk, Zwolle, Nederlands. www.allmusic.com/album/release/mr0002850216
This reminds me of the wonderful recording of Ivan Sokol which like this has a crystal clear bell like sound. Found the CD in a bargain clearance bin. Is now on you tube
This should have been orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski and put into the DIsney film Fantasia as the first piece, instead of the now-famous BWV 565. Because Fantasia.
Oooh I get it :D
Adenosin I I think there is a version orchestrated by Stokowski on UA-cam, but I'm not certain.
Meraviglia in musica!
I'm learning the pedal part. I will play the pedal part along with this video
Masterpiece Extreme
The best of the best from Bach.
Amazing stuff!
this has to be the greatest organ piece of all time.
For me, it is the Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, but I LOVE this one!
Where 2020 brought me lol... I had more time to practice, and can finally play along with the prelude (@ 65%)
I admire this work.
Dis fugue make me cry 😭😭😭😢 for serious the subject makes me cry 😢
In the novel "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenshon, he describes the character Lawrence Waterhouse having an epiphany in the following way:
"When Lawrence understood, it was as if the math teacher had suddenly played the good part of Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor on a pipe organ the size of the Spiral Nebula in Andromeda; the good part where Uncle Johann dissects the architecture of the universe in one merciless descending ever-mutating chord, as if his foot is thrusting through skidding layers of garbage until it finally strikes bedrock."
This is the quote that brought me here, but I'm still at a loss as to determine which exact part of the song he's referring to.
"The good part". As if there are any bad parts. 😆 Though based on the description of a "descending ever-mutating chord", my guess is the part that starts at 3:36. But I suppose the only way to be sure would be to ask Stephenson.
4:42 As в этом месте звучит так гениально😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭