Bach is the Bible
I suppose I should follow-up on my comments about Andras Shiff's Bach playing with an explanation of why it matters. First, a lot of people online have mentioned that they like Schiff's interpretations of Bach. I went out and bought a used copy of his playing of the French Suites and Italian Concerto based on these high opinions of his playing. So it was annoying spending all that effort to find the CD's used at Amoeba, rip the tracks to my computer, fix all the screwed up mp3 track information, and then sit down and be rewarded with the muzak version of Bach. Second, Bach is the Bible.
Now, what exactly does that mean? Well, in Western religious terms, the Bible is the source of all the knowledge about God. All religious inspiration derives from the Bible. When in need of guidance, turn to the Bible.
Bach's music is the Bible for classical music. At the most superficial level, Bach's works lay down the foundation for several musical structures and terms that almost every composer after him has relied on when crafting his/her own individual style. He clearly defined the importance of scales, argpeggios, keys, counter-point, harmony, and established the essential musical structure the underpins almost all classical music. If taken simply as teaching aids, his works clearly explain how to perform the basic mechanics of music, and that by itself could explain the concept of "Bach is the Bible".
For some, this is the extent of Bach's place in music history. He laid the foundations for music, but it was everyone else after him that figured out how to use those foundations to build more meaningful music. Bach was, after all, a figure from the Baroque era of music, a time where structure was considered important in and of itself, and a time before the idea of personal emotions was expressed openly and celebrated. So while Bach's complicated musical structures might have explored the architectural underpinnings of music, some might say that the emotional aspects of music were not discovered until later, when Beethoven began the romantic movement and influenced several generations of composers thereafter.
Personally, I see that as an inability to grasp the true beauty of Bach. Some listen to Bach's music and hear only musical structure, akin to the raw beams that make up an office building. What these people don't seem to grasp, and what took me almost a decade to recognize, is how Bach is able to fashion those raw beams into a beautiful pattern, how he is able to manipulate musical structure until the structure itself is conveying emotion and meaning. Through all those notes, intersecting and connecting each other, all those harmonies running in point and counterpoint with each other, emerges a transcendent beauty that expresses the ebb and flow of life.
Jean Sibelius once compared his music to that of the late romantic/avant garde/modernist composers of the early 20th century thusly: The "new" composers offered the most interesting drinks, filled with all kinds of recently discovered flavors and textures that no one had ever seen before. But no matter how novel and exciting these drinks, they failed to quench one's thirst. Instead, Sibelius's music was like pure clean water: the most refreshing drink of all. With all due respect to Sibelius's music, which is amazing in its own right, it is Bach's music that is like pure clean water.
Not only does Bach's music strip bare the musical foundations, the musical structures, that underly all of music, but he also exposes how those foundations and structures are used to generate emotion and give meaning to the music. Listening to all those notes being played, all those melodies and harmonies interacting in such complicated ways, a beauty begins to emerge, an understand of how the arrangement and interaction of notes can produce, placed side by side, can create meaning. He is providing not just the raw beams that make up the architecture of music, he is showing how just the simple manipulation and arrangement of those beams can give rise to meaning and emotion. In this way, his music is the purest form of emotional expression that can be obtained. Unlike other composers whose emotion comes from musical sugar sprinkled on top of the musical infrastructure, Bach's emotion comes from the infrastructure itself. It radiates from within and shines forth.
Some composers are a matter of musical taste and preference. Some might prefer the light sounds of the Viennese waltz versus the heavier sounds of the German romantic symphony. Others may prefer French chamber music, still others Russian piano concertos. These are all subject to individual taste, and it would be foolish to try and argue that any one type of music is any "better" or "worse" than another.
The enjoyment of Bach, however, is not a matter of individual taste. It is a matter of musical maturity. Either one has the musical depth to recognize the meaning behind the notes, or one does not and will hopefully continue to grow until they do. Some might never attain the level of understanding required to appreciate Bach. Certainly most people who listen to classical music, even in this day and age, are simply casual listeners. They like the famous and popular pieces and that's pretty much it. But for those who choose to delve deeper, while they may decide they prefer Brahms over Wagner, or Stravinsky over Schoenberg, eventually there comes a point where they will realize the greatness of Bach, because his greatness is the greatness of music itself.
Just as all faithful Christians who truly comprehend God read and understand the Bible, all true lovers of classical music listen to and understand Bach. That is why Bach is the Bible.
Now, what exactly does that mean? Well, in Western religious terms, the Bible is the source of all the knowledge about God. All religious inspiration derives from the Bible. When in need of guidance, turn to the Bible.
Bach's music is the Bible for classical music. At the most superficial level, Bach's works lay down the foundation for several musical structures and terms that almost every composer after him has relied on when crafting his/her own individual style. He clearly defined the importance of scales, argpeggios, keys, counter-point, harmony, and established the essential musical structure the underpins almost all classical music. If taken simply as teaching aids, his works clearly explain how to perform the basic mechanics of music, and that by itself could explain the concept of "Bach is the Bible".
For some, this is the extent of Bach's place in music history. He laid the foundations for music, but it was everyone else after him that figured out how to use those foundations to build more meaningful music. Bach was, after all, a figure from the Baroque era of music, a time where structure was considered important in and of itself, and a time before the idea of personal emotions was expressed openly and celebrated. So while Bach's complicated musical structures might have explored the architectural underpinnings of music, some might say that the emotional aspects of music were not discovered until later, when Beethoven began the romantic movement and influenced several generations of composers thereafter.
Personally, I see that as an inability to grasp the true beauty of Bach. Some listen to Bach's music and hear only musical structure, akin to the raw beams that make up an office building. What these people don't seem to grasp, and what took me almost a decade to recognize, is how Bach is able to fashion those raw beams into a beautiful pattern, how he is able to manipulate musical structure until the structure itself is conveying emotion and meaning. Through all those notes, intersecting and connecting each other, all those harmonies running in point and counterpoint with each other, emerges a transcendent beauty that expresses the ebb and flow of life.
Jean Sibelius once compared his music to that of the late romantic/avant garde/modernist composers of the early 20th century thusly: The "new" composers offered the most interesting drinks, filled with all kinds of recently discovered flavors and textures that no one had ever seen before. But no matter how novel and exciting these drinks, they failed to quench one's thirst. Instead, Sibelius's music was like pure clean water: the most refreshing drink of all. With all due respect to Sibelius's music, which is amazing in its own right, it is Bach's music that is like pure clean water.
Not only does Bach's music strip bare the musical foundations, the musical structures, that underly all of music, but he also exposes how those foundations and structures are used to generate emotion and give meaning to the music. Listening to all those notes being played, all those melodies and harmonies interacting in such complicated ways, a beauty begins to emerge, an understand of how the arrangement and interaction of notes can produce, placed side by side, can create meaning. He is providing not just the raw beams that make up the architecture of music, he is showing how just the simple manipulation and arrangement of those beams can give rise to meaning and emotion. In this way, his music is the purest form of emotional expression that can be obtained. Unlike other composers whose emotion comes from musical sugar sprinkled on top of the musical infrastructure, Bach's emotion comes from the infrastructure itself. It radiates from within and shines forth.
Some composers are a matter of musical taste and preference. Some might prefer the light sounds of the Viennese waltz versus the heavier sounds of the German romantic symphony. Others may prefer French chamber music, still others Russian piano concertos. These are all subject to individual taste, and it would be foolish to try and argue that any one type of music is any "better" or "worse" than another.
The enjoyment of Bach, however, is not a matter of individual taste. It is a matter of musical maturity. Either one has the musical depth to recognize the meaning behind the notes, or one does not and will hopefully continue to grow until they do. Some might never attain the level of understanding required to appreciate Bach. Certainly most people who listen to classical music, even in this day and age, are simply casual listeners. They like the famous and popular pieces and that's pretty much it. But for those who choose to delve deeper, while they may decide they prefer Brahms over Wagner, or Stravinsky over Schoenberg, eventually there comes a point where they will realize the greatness of Bach, because his greatness is the greatness of music itself.
Just as all faithful Christians who truly comprehend God read and understand the Bible, all true lovers of classical music listen to and understand Bach. That is why Bach is the Bible.
posted by Chris | 11:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home