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The Ethical Culture Society of Essex County
Today is Updated 6-24-20
Latest Session
The Bach Journey with Birgit Matzerath continues...
On YouTube!
(Birgit Matzerath is leading us
on a Listening Journey with J. S. Bach)
.
.
The August 14, 2020 Listening Journey with J.S. Bach is available online:
Dear fellow travelers on the Bach-Journey,
This month's Listening Session explores the last two Preludes and Fugues from the first book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1: No 23 in B-major and No 24 in B-minor. Here are the youtube links:
Session 12 part 1
Prelude No 23 in B-major 7’22”
Session 12 part 2
Fugue No 23 in B-major 13’11”
Session 12 part 3
Prelude No 24 in B-minor 11’47”
Session 12 part 4
Fugue No 24 in B-minor
19’25” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkAhchXGysI
The Listening Journey is a fundraiser with all proceeds to benefit the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County and Interfaith Hospitality Network. If you feel so inclined, please mail your donation to : The Ethical Culture Society of Essex County, 516 Prospect Street, Maplewood NJ 07040 (Listening Journey)
This is the final listening session, but we're not at the end yet. The final, complete performance of WTC is scheduled for Friday, September 11, 7:30 pm, and I'm checking out ways to make it happen - virtually, from home. And there may be some "extras" in the time leading up to the performance.
7-17-20 Bach Listening Journey
Listening Journey through Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier 1,
Session 11: Preludes and Fugues No 21 and 22
6-19-20 Bach Listening Journey
Dear fellow travelers on the Bach Journey,
I hope you this message finds you in good health and in good spirits, enjoying the beginning of summer and the beautiful weather.
This month's listening session is scheduled for tonight. While we still have to forego each other's company, here is the program for you:
Prelude No 19 in A-major BWV 864 - as heartwarmingly beautiful as a sunny day in spring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K65m8Ns6CtQ (8'12")Fugue No 19 in A-major BWV 864 - the most eccentric fugue from WTC 1 - a piece like a chain reaction:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hhq4i5S_s7g(10'42")
Prelude No 20 in A-minor BWV 865 - a prelude whose energy made me think of kites in the sky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8GoMflAaiU (7'53")Fugue No 20 in A-minor BWV 865 - I had to make two videos to accommodate the exploration and the performance of this monumental piece. Exploration: https://youtu.be/Qv5GdTpY514 (15'07")
Performance: https://youtu.be/KY761d-mmDI (7'04")Please, keep in mind that this project is a fundraiser for the Ethical Culture Society and Interfaith Hospitality Network. If you'd like to make a donation, checks can be mailed to: The Ethical Culture Society of Essex County, 516 Prospect Street, Maplewood, NJ 07040 (Bach-Journey)
Enjoy the music, stay safe and well,
All best wishes, Birgit
PS Feedback, questions and comments are always welcome. My e-mail is birgitmatzerath@gmail.com
5-12-20 Bach Listening Journey
5-12-20
Dear fellow travelers on the Bach Journey,
This month's session brings you a great variety of music, information and things to think about:
Prelude No 17 in A-flat major BWV 862 -
a joyful, dance-like piece that's sure to give you a boost of energy whenever you need it.https://youtu.be/Gc0GpNc7JD0 duration 8'03"
Fugue No 17 in A-flat major BWV 862 -
the video presents two different takes on the same piece; outgoing and cheerful, or contemplative and full of wonder.
Take your pick!https://youtu.be/89PHetwTeFI duration 12'20"
Prelude No 18 in G-sharp minor BWV 863 is a wistful dance under a cloudy sky with some interesting rhythmic ambiguities. You'll get to hear it in two different tunings: Mean-tone, played on my keyboard, and well-tempered, on the piano.
https://youtu.be/os2AbZnKVZg duration 8'32"
Fugue No 18 in G-sharp minor BWV 863 is based on a subject that joins together two contrasting ideas. It's unique among Bach's fugue subjects and provides an adventurous journey. One of my favorites!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI1Vr7Ydm_w duration 15"58
Birgit
4-23-20
Dear fellow travelers on the Bach-Journey,
The Bach Journey continues, while, hopefully, you're all safe and well at home. After much consideration of different options I've decided against an attempt to live-stream. I think that recording the session and illustrating playing and comments with the marked score and other illustrations makes for a more lively and interesting presentation than watching someone play and talk during a live-stream with mediocre sound quality at best. Everybody will be watching the video at different times, but as we watch, we'll all be together in spirit. The video actually comes closer to what we do when we meet at Ethical to explore the pieces.
I have slightly adapted the format to the different medium. There’s a separate recording for each piece, and each recording is between 10 and 15 minutes playing time.
Here are the links to the exploration of the Preludes and Fugues No 15 and 16 from J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier 1.
Prelude No 15 in G-major, BWV 860 https://youtu.be/AmWk2M9QVA0
Fugue No 15 in G-major, BWV 860 https://youtu.be/_Cb8j__ETRk
Prelude No 16 in G-minor BWV 861 https://youtu.be/8_DZz77py4k
Fugue No 16 in G-minor BWV 861 https://youtu.be/KnYi1k9KrpA
Please, keep in mind that this project is a fundraiser. All proceeds benefit the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County and Interfaith Hospitality Network of Essex County.
We’re suggesting a $ 10.00 donation per session for adults; admission for students is free. If you can afford it, please send your donation to Ethical Culture Society of Essex County 516 Prospect Street, Maplewood NJ 07040.
All the best,
Birgit
