Beautyer!

Mike Schilling 3 Comments

As I warned JHG, once you start recommending Bach pieces, it’s hard to stop. Here are two more I had to share:

First, this astonishing thing, which might be the reason the universe was created:

Second, this, which is almost as pretty, and also features authentic period sheep.

Mike Schilling

Mike has been a software engineer far longer than he would like to admit. He has strong opinions on baseball, software, science fiction, comedy, contract bridge, and European history, any of which he's willing to share with almost no prompting whatsoever.

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3 Comments

  1. Ha, I almost put 147 (Jesu, joy…) in my list, but it got cut at the last minute (thought I had too much Bach). I love that piece. Of course, 208 is also lovely and I enjoy that one as well. As you said before, old friends.

    I’ll pass back one piece, but two versions (there’s a big one that’s been missing, I think):

    Toccata and Fugue in D minor

    E. Power Biggs solo version on church organ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVu0auaZu7s

    Leopold Stokowski’s full orchestra version (from Fantasia, sorry no accompanying visuals which are terrific): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Ip0n690ow

  2. This is the one whose tune just kills me. If I hear it played in a more romantic, legato (inauthentic) style than this, I’m choked up after two or three bars. I happened first on YouTube across this Harnoncourt version, and he’s the absolute tops, so I wanted to share it.

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y-ey0LrmQI&w=420&h=315%5D

    • …Also, the tune of the first movement of that Cantata, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 was adapted as music to accompany the opening scenes of my favorite Wes Anderson film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou – by Mark Mothersbaugh, the lead singer of the band Devo, who has also scored a number of Anderson’s other films.

      So I can safely say this is my favorite Bach Cantata.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZacoDcv554
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sj-NKqR0tw

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