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I
— JOHANN-SEBASTIAN
BACH GENIUS
OF CLASSICAL
MUSIC
with illustrative CDs
•
THE LIFE OF JOHANN-SEBASTIAN BACH ( brief biography )
EISENACH
1685-1695
Johann Sébastian BACH was born at Eisenach in Thuringia,
eastern Germany on March 21, 1685, into an extraordinary family
of musicians. He was introduced to Music
by the church organist but it was his brother Johann Christoph
who first revealed to him the true secrets of the organ.
OHRDRUF
1695-1700
He studied and passed with distinction the exams at Ohrdruf's
boarding school.
LÜNEBURG
1700-1702
At the age of 15 Johann Sebastian was in Lüneburg where he
worked as a singer at the Latin school for two years. He was able
to find and study a great many rare musical manuscripts, and when
he left Lüneburg he was already a brilliant organist.
ARMSTADT
AND MÜHLHAUSEN 1703-1708
At 18, Johann Sebastian became " secretary - violinist "
to the court of the Duke de Saxe-Weimar, then, in the same year,
organist at Armstadt's church. He took a sabbatical to go and
study with the famous Buxtehude. To so do he did not hesitate
to walk more than 300 km! His stay lasted too long, according
to his employers, and he lost his position at Armstadt: However
his art metamorphosed at the school of the Grand Master …
Johann Sebastian
obtained, at 21, the prestigious post of organist to the town,
in Mühlhausen's church. In the same year he married his cousin,
Maria Barbara BACH with whom he had six children.
WEIMAR
1708-1717
The following year Johann Sebastian BACH moved to Weimar and became
concert organist and director, a post he held for 9 years, it
was during this period that he composed many of his religious
cantatas and organ pieces. His mastery of the organ and the fugue,
since then unequalled in Europe, quickly made him famous and brought
numerous invitations.
However Johann
Sebastian BACH was a musical genius, not a courtier, and had little
talent for political intrigue. It was because of this that the
post of choirmaster was refused: Offended, he left Weimar.
KÖTHEN
1717-1723
By this time Johann Sebastian BACH was 31. He was chosen to direct
the orchestra of the court of Köthen, and stayed at this
post for seven years. He moved a little away from Sacred music,
to dedicate himself more to instrumental music: he composed the
Brandenburg Concertos and the Well-Tempered Clavier vol 1…
His wife died when
Johann Sebastian BACH was 35. He later married Anna Magdalena
Wilcken who was barely twenty years old ( she would give him 13
children some of whom would become brilliant composers e.g. Karl
Emmanuel BACH or Johann-Christian BACH …)
LEIPZIG
1723-1750
Johann Sebastian BACH had just celebrated his 38th birthday when
he settled in Leipzig where he stayed until his death. He had
just obtained the post of Cantor to Saint Thomas' church. Naturally
it was a prestigious post, but a tiring one because Johann Sebastian
BACH was obliged to compose for the 4 churches of the city, to
conduct choirs and to teach Latin in the church…
At 44 Johann Sebastian
BACH also took over the management of the Collegium Musicum. He
composed the Cantatas and the great Oratorios. Johann Sebastian
BACH's working week was not limited to 35 hours!
At 51, in addition
to his post of Cantor to Leipzig he was named as "Choirmaster"
of Dresden and as composer to Frédéric Auguste,
Elector of Saxony. The city of Dresden possessesd an intense cultural
and musical life. This is the period when Johann Sebastian BACH
composed the Goldberg Variations, the canonical Variations, Well-Tempered
Clavier vol 2, the Art of Fugue and Mass in B minor.
Serious health
problems affected the composer. Cataracts made him almost blind.
He died of a heart attack at the age of 65 in 1750.
Johann Sebastian BACH was the unequalled master of baroque music,
the god of the fugue and of the counterpoint and certainly one
of the greatest geniuses in the history of Classical music.
His multi-dimensional and unlimited vision timelessly engraves
him on the universality of all music.
•
JOHANN-SEBASTIAN BACH'S WORK
Fascinated by his art, an indefatigable worker who was constantly
obliged to work to support his big family, Johann Sebastian BACH
composed a monumental amount of works: Sonatas, Preludes, Trios,
Fugues, Fantasies, Fantasies and Fuges, Preludes and Fuges, Toccatas
and Fuges, Cantatas, Chorals for organ, Motets, Passacailles,
Variations, about twenty Concertos, Oratorios, a Magnificat, Masses,
two Passions…. all of a sublime beauty and so perfectly written
that one cannot listen to these marvels without being delighted
and admiring.
-
JOHANN-SEBASTIAN BACH AT THE ORGAN
Virtuoso organist, exceptional improviser, in forty years Johann
Sebastian BACH wrote innumerable pieces for the organ. 27 Preludes,
Toccatas or Fantasies and Fugues, Concertos, Trios, Sonatas, Orgelbüchlein
Chorals. It is on paper and on the organ, his preferred instrument
that he composed most of his works.
A
magnificent CD of JS BACH : Sonatas in trio BWV 525-530 by Marie-Claire
ALAIN
Church
organ "on show"
-
THE ART OF THE FUGUE by JOHANN-SEBASTIAN
BACH.
The Fugue is a musical piece written according to very strict
compositional rules. Based on imitation, it starts with a main
musical theme initially played alone, then repeated with variations
as a response, by different instruments.
The theme is often
accompanied in counterpoint by a secondary theme called the counter-theme.
When the theme and the responses have been fully developed in
the dominant and in all the nearby tones and by all the voices,
the strette or final part reprises with increasing rapidity the
main themes of the piece.
Johann Sebastian
BACH, is the Grand Master of the fugue and the counterpoint. Endowed
with an extraordinary inspiration, he exploits all the resources
of polyphony and, at the end of the life, half blind, he was forced
to dictate his " Art of the Fugue" being unable to finish
it himself.
A
CD of grandiose JS BACH : JS BACH, Art of the Fugue BWV 1080 by
Marie-Claire ALAIN.
-
JOHANN-SEBASTIAN BACH'S SACRED MUSIC: CHORALS, ORATORIOS, CANTATAS,
AND PASSIONS
Johann Sebastian BACH's work is that of a genius and a profoundly
religious man. He succeeds in transcribing his profound spiritual
strength in sublime enchanting music, as complex as it is harmonious.
Johann Sebastian
BACH's chorals, his religious Cantatas, his Masses - particularly
the Mass in B minor - the Magnificat, the Oratorios and the Passions
- immense oratorios for choir and orchestra - make up his Sacred
music. The Passion according to St Matthew, and the Passion according
to St John, are among the richest of all music.
The Choral remains
one of the pillars of the church music : a religious hymn, drawn
from the secular and the Sacred traditions, Johann-Sebastian BACH
is famous for developing this genre to it's highest level.
Two
CDs of JS BACH are absolutely unmissable : JS BACH: Matthäus-Passion
by Herbert von KARAJAN and JS BACH : Johannes Passion by György
Lehel.
•
JOHANN-SEBASTIAN BACH'S CONTRIBUTION TO MODERN MUSIC.
Johann Sebastian BACH's work established the foundation of all
modern western music. MOZART
would be able to write his sonatas, his masses and operas, on
the very solid foundations constructed by Johann Sebastian BACH!
One could say that
all the musicians who succeeded Johann Sebastian BACH benefited
from the contribution. Numerous composers were inspired directly
by the Cantor of Leipzig, such as Gounod in his Ave Maria, or
RAVEL vigorously separating himself from the revitalised impressionism
through a writing style of " BACH back to front " …
Johann Sebastian
BACH's music carries within itself the roots of numerous aspects
of the Jazz: leaving lots of room for improvisation, it also possesses
in its structure a rhythmic dynamic which turns within itself
and prefigured "swing".
II
- JAZZ
AND CLASSICAL
- JAZZ
BACH
- SOME RECOMMENDED CDs
•
JAZZ
Improvisation was commonplace in Music
before the advent of the romantic movement in music. Well before
BACH - practically since the time of the monody with continuous
bass - the least musician knew how to improvise within a piece.
Athough improvisation diminished in Classical music, it reappeared
in force in Jazz .
Swing - a beat
drawn from syncopated rhythms - and expressiveness - phrasing,
sound's work and feeling ( a sensitivity particular to Jazz musicians
) - these are the main characteristics of Jazz.
Born in the cotton
fields of New Orleans, inspired in its origins by Lutheran chorals
singing, made poignant by its " blue note ", Jazz gradually
became increasingly sophisticated , then intellectualized to finally
develop into version one could call "European", more
elaborate and combining classicism and modernity.
Louis ARMSTRONG
is a Jazz genius comparable to JS BACH in Classical music. Three
big Jazz names on the clarinet: Jan GARBAREK, Sidney
BECHET and Mezz MEZZROW.
Unmissable
JAZZ CD: Louis ARMSTRONG, Series Hot five and Hot seven.
•
INFLUENCE OF JAZZ ON CLASSICAL MUSIC
"It has been certain that, since Jazz has existed, nothing
will ever be the same in Classical music":
From Penderecky to BOULEZ until today, music has not stopped evolving.
Composers like BARTOK, ANSERMET, STRAVINSKY, or GERSHWIN were
inspired by or wrote for Jazz.
At the same time,
a new generation of contemporary Jazz interpreters grew up with
a new vision of music. Samson François and Glenn GOULD
opened the road. Chick COREA adopts a thorough approach by deviating
from conformist interpretations, with an unmatched musicality
in his "MOZART sessions"..
Recommended
CDs of CLASSICAL MUSIC : Glenn GOULD plays BACH - Italian Concerto
etc... - Chick COREA and Bobby Mc FERRIN : The MOZART SESSIONS.
•
JAZZ
AND CLASSICAL ARRANGEMENTS : "JAZZ-CLASSICAL" CROSS-OVER
- JAZZ TRANSCRIPTIONS OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH'S MUSIC.
Numerous musicians have imagined an even more direct link between
Jazz and Classical Music.
Arrangers have
transcribed J-S BACH in Jazz, composers have integrated him into
their work, creating a new musical style: Gerry MULLIGAN, George
SHEARING Bill EVANS, John LEWIS's MODERN JAZZ QUARTET, Milt JACKSON
and Kenny CLARKE in the CD " Blues on BACH ", SWINGLE
SINGERS, Jacques LOUSSIER with his CDs " PLAYS BACH ",
CLASSICAL JAZZ QUARTET of Daniel HUMAIR and Guy PEDERSEN and finally
Jean-Christian MICHEL, to quote but a few, have benefited from
a classical culture and refer to ( and honour ) Johann Sebastian
BACH.
Johann Sebastian
BACH's music lends itself very well to Jazz transcription. Its
rhythmic ease allows the accentuation of weaker beats without
betrayal, and by bringing together the structure with swing (
double time crochets ) or syncopated rhythms actually more modern
and more elegant than their precedents, ( accentuated crochets
), one is able to create beats and the basic swing of Black American
music. An excellent example is supplied with the " Trio in
minor C " transcribed by Jean-Christian MICHEL.
Recommended
"JAZZ and CLASSICAL" CDs : Blues on BACH, Django by
MODERN JAZZ QUARTET and PLAY BACH, Italian Concertos by Jacques
LOUSSIER.
•
JAZZ AND SACRED MUSIC: JEAN-CHRISTAN MICHEL TRANSCRIBES JOHANN-SEBASTIAN
BACH THEN COMPOSES HIS OWN MUSIC.
 --------_-- ----------
Kenny CLARKE percussionnist------
---Jean-Christian MICHEL -------------Recording
session in Paris
When listening
to Jean-Christian MICHEL for the first time, one is amazed to
discover a completely new sound of clarinet,
organ, synthesizers
and percussion.
We discover a unique
form of composition and improvisation. Jean-Christian MICHEL has
invented a unique musical style based on Jazz
and Sacred music. The vitality
and expressiveness of Jazz extends the depths and mystic dimensions
of Sacred music.
His sensorial clarinet
playing and a "feeling" totally his own allow one to
recognize him amongst a thousand others.... With the contribution
of Jazz, Classical music gains a new dimension and the inverse
in also true.
Jean-Christian
MICHEL composes his own themes. Many of them are imprinted with
the spirit of the Cantor of Leipzig. His "Fugue Etincelante"
( Sparkling Fugue ) is a model of
the genre: it is an authentic fugue with
theme, counter-themes, displays of nearby tones, entertainments
and finale ! A little marvel in the baroque style which would
not have shamed Johann Sebastian BACH.
Jean-Christian
MICHEL, in certain pieces, succeeds in breaking musical limitations
imposed by the score : For example in the Choral BWV 727: "Herzlich
tut mich verlangen" the bass pedal part, transposed up 3
octaves is played on the synthesizer as a flute with portamento
effect. This voice illuminates the piece like a ray of light from
above and offers a new vision of the work. Johann Sebastian BACH's
writing is not betrayed - there is little to displease the purists
or the narrow-minded, only a clarinet
interpretation magnificently free of constraint suggests Jazz
.
Jean-Christian
MICHEL has not only studied BACH, but also DEBUSSY, RAVEL, SATIE,
VIERNE and Jehan ALAIN. A truly complete musician he played Jazz
throughout his adolescence.
Although his art
is marked by the enriching influence of the Cantor, he quickly
found his own creative path, composing remarkable works such as
the Concerto of Port Maria and Ezéchiel's Vision.
Often accompanied
by Kenny CLARKE, percussionist from the MODERN JAZZ QUARTET, Daniel
HUMAIR and Guy PEDERSEN, Jean-Christian MICHEL proves that solid
technique, a knowledge of the fugue and counterpoint, are not
unimportant, if one really wants to win a place at the pantheon
of the great musicians.
- WOULD JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH HAVE
LIKED IT ?
PLEASE, READ WHAT
THE PRESS
THINKS -
( Numerous extremely positive reviews, notably during the diverse
" BACH TAGE " in Germany - cradle of Johann Sebastian
BACH's music ).
•
Three unmissable CDs by Jean-Christian
MICHEL : Port Maria, Musique de lumière ( Music of Light
) and "@ranjuez"
( new arrangement of Aranjuez's
Concerto ), "JS
BACH TRANSCRIPTIONS..
"
DISCOVER ALL THE DISCS AND CDs OF
JEAN-CHRISTIAN MICHEL
WATCH
THE VIDEO-CLIPS OF JEAN-CHRISTIAN MICHEL
[
CLIP VIDEO CONCERT
] - [.
VIDEO CONCERT EGLISE
.]
[
CLIP VIDEO MUSIQUE ] - [ INTERVIEW
FRANCE INFO]
SITE
MAP
CDs, MP3s
of JAZZ BACH, CLASSICAL MUSIC AND JAZZ, SACRED MUSIC AND JAZZ,
CLASSICAL JAZZ, JAZZ CLARINET, JAZZ
CLARINET BACH
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