Radio 3,that Bach bloke

Just had a look at BBC Music Magazine where the full listings for this Bach Fest are laid out. It's 10 days solid 24/7 Bach with no let up. More than my HDD PVR can cope with even at low resolution. No chance to stop for editting or copying to DVD. I'm forced to be selective. No bad thing I suppose but drat all the same. Oh well, time to sit down and pick off the bits I really need.

 

I've bought a few MDs but I don't like the churchey stuff anyway.

 

Have you tried the organ works? Not sure whether that falls within your definition of "churchey", but some amazing stuff in there. Before the young Felix Mendelssohn revived interest in Bach by performing the St. Matthew Passion in Leipzig, the only memory of Bach that remained in Leipzig was that of a great organist. Listen to some of the great pieces (Passacaglia in C, the various Toccata and Fugues (and not just the famous D Minor one)), and I think you'll find out why.

 

Some of the choral work is just fantastic,i'm not a classical scholar,I'm sure you've noticed,but I do find some choral work a real chore to listen to,and some,mesmerising.Maybe its my moods

 

Bach

Saab, I can wholeheartedly second Tones suggestion. Try some of Bachs organ works, but don't listen to too many works of the same sort in one sitting, or just listen to one work every day, at least in the beginning.

 

Ok,will do,cheers

 

Ah! All the radios tuned to R3. So far so good! Bliss!

 

What for me has been really interesting is the Cantatas.
I listen every Sunday to the Cantatas for the day, and have been doing for over 20 years, so from listening point of view, I know them pretty well, though not really as a musician: I'm not really able to devine the structure that underlays them, or understand compositional technique, though I can follow the score if I have it. My own collection is based on the Teldec Harnoncourt Leonhardt set, with a sprinkling of other recordings. On cassette I've got quite a few of the first Rilling set, and recently I've picked up some of the new Gardiner recordings from the Pilgrimage and some of the Suzukis.
Hearing the Canatas intensively over the last couple of days - every hour or so, on avaerage - and in a wide range of versions, going from some early 1950s recordings to the latest Suzukis and Gardiners has been challenging to some of my preferences, but I must say, maybe if its only through the familiarity I have with them, I still find the Teldec set suits me best. On Saturday they talked about different performance styles and the ongoing sets. All very interesting!

 

Another brilliant thing has been the Lutheran Chorals that formed the basis of so much of his music popping up every now and again. It puts it all in context.