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PODCAST

The WTF Bach Podcast

Hear the music of J.S. Bach with new understanding! For music lovers, to professional musicians. Let Evan Shinners, (aka W.T.F. Bach) guide your mind through a contrapuntal journey. Go to: wtfbach.substack.com for the full experience. wtfbach.substack.com

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All Episodes

30:14

The Brandenburg Fifth: A New Way of Hearing It (Part 2)

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2022/07/10

Two episodes ago we covered the first movement of the fifth Brandenburg concerto up to the famous harpsichord cadenza. In this episode we look at the two existing versions of the famous cadenza: an early version a mere 18 measures, and the the famous one, more than three times as long. Alfred CortotGlenn Gould’s video mentioned is here:https://youtu.be/gvs4v_aswfkTon Koopman’s featured live performance is here:https://youtu.be/eLJ24CnVRyQAnd the film in which Leonhardt himself plays Bach (The

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31:45

Did Bach Compose the Sixth Brandenburg to Get Fired?...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2022/06/26

In this episode, we will look at:The genesis of the Brandenburg concerti,What Bach’s job was like when these compositions came about,Who his employer was then,How much music Bach was composing at that time,Why a Baroque composer writes anything at all,The difference between a modern composer and one in the Baroque. Then finally, we will disprove another famous Bach myth:‘Bach composed the last of the Brandenburg concerti to get fired’ --**PS: Any of my listeners want to start correcting some of the

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36:53

The Brandenburg Fifth: A New Way of Hearing It (Part 1)

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2022/06/12

This episode and the next two will cover the first movement of the fifth ‘Brandenburg’ concerto, BWV1050, a concerto for solo flute, violin and harpsichord. The recording featured in this episode is Il Giardino Armonico (probably my favorite recording of all six Brandenburg Concerti). This is the YouTube link. Thank you for your emails, your donations and your suggestions. Keep ‘em coming Bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com Follow me on IG where I post almost daily Bach content: @WTFBach Donate to this

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41:55

Season TWO! Announcing The Bach Store in GERMANY (and...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2022/03/21

GUESS WHO'S BACK? BACK AGAIN? THE BACH STORE is in GERMANY March25-April8. Stream it here:Twitch.tv/wtf_BachLet's kick off this season discussing the fugue for violin in G minor BWV1001, and its arrangement for Organ BWV539. There is also one for lute (perhaps lute harpsichord) BWV1000. Donate to this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/wtfbachhttps://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachLinks to music played in this episode:Milstein 1957Milstein 1975Robert Hill

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37:43

That‘s a Wrap on The Art of Fugue. (Season one finale...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/12/06

So! We've done it: Looked in depth at every fugue, every canon, solved the mysteries, busted the myths, sent the Bach heretics back to whence they came. And now? Let's just enjoy... Topics covered:The golden sections in other Bach pieces and how this could help us find the golden section here, even in this fugal fragment. 'God the Father' 'God the Spirit' 'God the Son' as three themes.--THE LAST PAGE ! CLICK HERE to see the 'corrupt' staves on which it would have been impossible to complete such a

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38:51

The 14th Fugue in The Art of Fugue. (Season one...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/11/19

This is the final fugue of The Art of Fugue, the famous 'unfinished' fugue, number 14. We discuss how one could have understood this fugue to have been unfinished in earlier periods in musical history (it was finished) and what exactly is missing. THE LAST PAGE ! CLICK HERE to see the 'corrupt' staves on which it would have been impossible to complete such a dense fugue. **Note the staff three from the bottom**Topics covered:B+A+C+H = 14B-A-C-H as a melody and fugue subject.Where the missing, 4th

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41:36

Special Guest: Christoph Wolff. What else can we...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/10/25

Guest Interview: Christoph Wolff, Former Head of the Bach Archive in Leipzig. I had the privilege of speaking to Christoph Wolff, certainly the most distinguished Bach scholar of the 20th century, even until today. From Jimi Hendrix to Rudolph Serkin, from the music Bach's composed which is lost, to the famous "Seal of 1722", this interview has it all folks. Take a listen!Browse Mr. Wolff's Books Here:--People / Topics Covered:Albert Schweitzer (His Bach biography, Volume 1)"Bach's Seal"Bach's

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27:19

Bonus: Dictated in Blindness on his Deathbed? The...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/10/21

This is the eighth bonus episode.Was Bach dictating this? Blind? On his deathbed? Printed as the original conclusion to The Art of Fugue, "Wenn wir im höchsten Nöten sein" was not meant to be part of the work, but was meant to be compensation for the missing fugue. Even with this piece, there are myths surrounding it. Let's debunk.--Follow me on instagram: @wtfbach Thank you, THANK YOU, for listening.-evan Support

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31:33

The Fourth Canon in The Art of Fugue: Upside Down,...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/09/30

Rather than moving on to the final fugue, we have a brief visit to the final canon of the four canons in "The Art of Fugue."Canon per Augmentationem in Contrario Motu (Canon in augmentation and contrary motion [inversion]). This form of this canon is very similar in construction to the previous ones, though rather than increasing the interval of imitation, the following voice appears in inversion and moving twice as slowly! A very complicated procedure.--Evan is every day on his instagram stories

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23:39

Bonus: The 13th Contrapunctus - in another way (for...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/07/26

This is the seventh bonus episode.Among the errors in the assembly of the first printing of The Art of Fugue was the inclusion of an arrangement of fugue number 13 for two harpsichords. We look at the music, how it differs from the original 13th counterpoint (for one harpsichord) and how such an error could have been committed. It appears under the title, 'Alio Modo' ...another way. It contains a fourth, newly composed, non-imitative voice. And yes, since fugue 13 is a mirror fugue, Bach

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36:41

The 13th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: also fugue this...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/06/21

Question: If a piece of music is perfect both on its head and also its feet, which one is the inversion?In the previous fugue, fugue twelve, we saw Bach took four voices, a turned everything upside down: 1234 became 4321 and what went up came crashing down. Now, fugue 13 is again a 'mirror' fugue... or is it?This thirteenth fugue is in three voices and uses a technique almost identical to it's sister fugue, number 12, but is still more complicated. Topics Covered: Which comes first in number 13, the

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57:55

Special Guest: Chris Thile. Man in the Mirror (Fugue)

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/06/02

This is an interview with mandolinist/composer/singer Chris Thile. Our conversation on May 14, 2021 spanned many diverse topics from how he felt about growing up in a religious community, to his favorite barrel aged spirits. --Musicians/Bands mentioned (Alphabetically):Bach, Beethoven, Bela Fleck, Bill Monroe, Edgar Meyer, Glenn Gould, Mike Marshall, Mozart, Nickle Creek, Radiohead, Richard Green, Russel Sherman, Vivaldi, Yo-Yo Ma--Music/Books/Booze mentioned:Russel Sherman, 'Piano Pieces' Saint

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41:36

The 12th Fugue in The Art of Fugue|euguF fo trA ehT...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/05/18

Question: If a piece of music is perfect both on its head and also its feet, which one is the inversion? A few important things I neglected to mention in the 11th counterpoint, but where to go after that 11th fugue anyhow? Into the mirror…Look into *CLICK* the mirror! Bach, not satisfied with creating a triple fugue whose subjects were the same three subjects of the previous triple fugue- inverted- now pens a four-voice fugue where the entire texture will be inverted to create a new composition

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26:17

The Third Canon in The Art of Fugue: Counterpoint at...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/03/15

Rather than moving on to the twelfth fugue, we have a brief visit to the third of four canons from "The Art of Fugue" by J.S. Bach:Canon alla Duodecima in Contrapunto alla Quina (Canon at the twelfth in counterpoint at the fifth). This canon is very similar in construction to the previous canon, though at the larger interval of the 12th. --Evan is now mid-49 days of toccatas every day on his instagram stories: Watch Check out Bach's 'gift canon' here: Find a playlist of the music

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4:00

Bonus: I Uploaded a Bach Album as an NFT

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/03/08

I don't know if you are already hip to it, or if you're just catching on, but it seems like releasing music as 'NFTs' could be in our futures. I wanted to have the first NFT version of The Art of Fugue. Check the auction out here: https://mintable.app/music/item/JS-Bach-The-Art-of-Fugue--Electronic--The-First-Ever-Bachs-Music-as-NFT--Presented-by-WTF-Bach/f9CWCc0ho7bbad8 Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

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43:05

The 11th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: A Triple Fugue...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/02/19

The closing of our chapter on compound fugues, contrapunctus eleven, a powerful, complicated, and long fugue. Two expositions of the first theme? One in inversion? And wait, this is a triple fugue where all themes come in inversion and… also not in inversion? Holy B***! Topics covered:The original order of the fugues found in P 200 (the autograph score).The 11th fugue as a possible early finale to The Art of Fugue. Glenn Gould’s version of this fugue. Could there be an ‘anti-golden section’ in this

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38:24

The Tenth Fugue at the Tenth: Also... What is a Key?

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2021/01/26

Two fugues in original print are essentially the same: these are both this 10th contrapunctus. This fugue is a double fugue with counterpoint at the tenth (alla decima) Topics covered: What does it mean when music is in a 'key' what keys did Bach often write in, and does it mean anything special that The Art of Fugue is in the key of d minor? Follow Evan on Instagram for even more Bachian content: www.instagram.com/WTFBachFind a playlist of the music

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22:24

The 9th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: Two Subjects...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2020/10/26

Back to four voices! Bach begins yet again another fugue with a unique theme. The fugue will become a double fugue with our well known ‘Art of Fugue’ theme. The counterpoint then begins to appear in two ways: either on the same note or at different notes which are related to the perfect 5th, or 12th, as the title of this fugue (Alla Duodecima) suggests. Not only is this double counterpoint, but double counterpoint at ...double the intervalic possibilities...? Bach Vision Test (Vulfpeck):

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75:33

Special Guest: Jack Stratton (Vulfpeck). Down in a...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2020/09/25

This is an interview with Jack Stratton of Vulfpeck. I loved our conversation during the summer of 2020. See some of the topics covered below and stay tuned for the next episode which will feature his arrangement of the ninth contrapunctus from The Art of Fugue. It was great to speak to a non-classical musician so eager about classical music and so involved with Bach. --Sleepify (Silent album by Vulfpeck) Vulfpeck Arranges the ninth contrapunctus from The Art of Fugue:Version 1:

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51:27

The 8th Fugue in The Art of Fugue: Three Themes,...

The WTF Bach Podcast ·

2020/09/08

Back to it! Opening a new chapter in The Art of Fugue, this new chapter is one based on compound fugues, that is, our beloved ‘Art of Fugue Subject’ will now began to be combined with other new and unique themes. Instead of going from a ‘simple’ to a double fugue, Bach drops a voice (all previous fugues were in 4 voices) and composes immediately a triple fugue for three voices. Like perfectly symmetrical juggling, this fugue is filled with beauty and amazing structural points. --Find a playlist of

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