Out of the Box with Bach

I give you permission to have fun.


I give you permission to try something ‘crazy’ 

All music is related, all music is meant to be played, and play should be an operative word in how we approach learning. It doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be challenging, that doesn’t mean you shouldn't practice, or that you won’t get frustrated. But it is very important to find the things that bring us joy within our music making, and to identify the things that really don’t and examine why that is.

Personally I lose the joy when I feel like my own creativity and ideas are being shut down. 

Depending on the day my idea of fun might be to play exactly what is on the page, that challenge, the sense of accomplishment, the connection to the past. It is important to recognize the value of ‘playing things as written’. 


This does not mean, you always have to play things ‘the way they are on the page’ 

In fact much of the music that we think of as ‘carved in stone’ comes from the long held tradition of messing around and just making shit up as you go. Sure, there are frameworks that were learned but everyone knew you could go outside of the box if it felt like the right thing to do. 

To honour this tradition we will be looking at ways folks have had fun with Bach out side of the box. 


So to set the stage:

Our Muse tonight is Johann Sebastien Bach 1685–1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period.  (about 1600 to 1750.)

Lute Suite E Minor written between 1708 and 1717. It is probable that this suite was intended for Lautenwerck (lute-harpsichord). Which was basically a harpsichord with gut strings instead of metal strings so it would have a super mellow tone. 

We’re going to hear Mario D’Agosto a Luteist from Italy playing the 5th movement.

Any Guesses on who we’re hearing next? (Hodge House guessed correctly!)
this is not a LautenWerk, but a FlautenWerk
 1969 Jethro Tull,

Last week we listened to Bach’s Concerto in Dminor for 2 violins, and we are going to listen to it again. 


Starting with the most “by the book” to let’s take this and run with it.


London Symphony


Andrew Collins, Mike Mezzatessta

the 2 takes of Django, Stephane & Eddie
​

For our final bit, this isn’t a cover of a Bach piece but it is a beautiful take on a classic. 


This is the Lonely Heartstring Band - Performing a very ‘accurate’ cover of Graceland.
Nourished by deep roots in the expansive canon of traditional American music, The Lonely Heartstring Band embodies the modern American condition—an understanding and reverence for the past that informs a push into the future. George Clements (guitar, vocals) Patrick M'Gonigle (fiddle, vocals) Charles Clements (bass, vocals) Maddie Witler (mandolin) and Gabe Hirshfeld (banjo) bring together their own musical styles to create a sound greater than the sum of its parts.

Bonus: Bela Fleck and Chic Corea