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PODCAST

WTF Bach

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. Subscribe at wtfbach.substack.com for the full experience. wtfbach.substack.com

music music commentary

All Episodes

46:46

Ep. 123: The Negroni & 'Paradise Lost'

WTF Bach ·

2026/02/10

A new type of episode, Quodlibets! Quod (what) + libet (it pleases) or, ‘whatever you like,’ ‘anything at all.’ This episode centers on a beautiful chorale prelude, but first, my, Ode to the Negroni: The Meeting of Etymology and Entomology at the top, then some Bach, and finally, how Paradise Lost was written, as explained by the English scholar, John Carey. Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott, BWV 721, in f-sharp minor (note the Phrygian key signature!) is an extraordinary little piece. Written around

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62:58

Ep. 122: Was F-Sharp Minor Golgotha?

WTF Bach ·

2026/02/03

“It’s not that Bach writes music and then sits in an armchair and thinks about God... Bach writing music is Bach thinking about God.”Individual keys are often loaded with personal significance to the composer. To what extent was Bach thinking of the double sense of Kreuze— both as ‘cross’ and the musical sign for a sharp?As discussed in the episode, f# minor wasn’t necessarily the key signature with three ‘crosses,’ as Bach’s f# minor looks like this on the page:Is it more likely that Bach saw b

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54:30

Ep. 121: So... What Does 'Well-Tempered' Mean?

WTF Bach ·

2026/01/27

The Well-Tempered Clavier …what does it actually imply?In this episode I seek (in 18 minutes) to demonstrate mathematically pure intervals, alongside ‘tempered’ intervals. The circle of fifths is in fact a spiral of fifths— it is infinite. We seek to make it a circle for convenience, but this means that the distance between what would be mathematically pure intervals must be altered (!) in order to force the spiral into a circle. The question remains: how do we do that? Music today is heard in

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23:14

Ep. 120: A Double Canon (4 Parts from 2 Lines)

WTF Bach ·

2026/01/19

A double canon from Bach’s Orgelbüchlein! A bit late, but Bach’s take on this Christmas tune is really wonderful. See how both melodies combine to make a double canon:German mystic, Heinrcih Seuse, author of ‘In Dulci Jubilo’English composer R. J. Pearsell’s setting of the melody.Spread the Love, Doubly Canonic:N.B. I’ve been wanting to make this rebrand for a while: The title of this podcast is no longer “The WTF Bach Podcast” but simply, “WTF Bach” — I hope this doesn’t cause any problems, if you

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72:34

Ep. 119: Special Guest! Paul Jacobs

WTF Bach ·

2026/01/15

I had the great pleasure of speaking with Mr. Paul Jacobs. On the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death, July 28th, 2000, Jacobs played Bach’s complete organ works in one giant 18 hour concert— he was 23. Our conversation spans how to memorize, scholars vs. performers, pianists playing the organ, pop music, music for consumption, ‘social media musicians,’ music as a substitute for God, The Art of Fugue (harpsichord or organ?) and more…Become Your Best Buxtehude:Some links mentioned in the

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29:55

Ep. 118: How to Practice! (+ Advice for Teens)

WTF Bach ·

2026/01/08

Update: Just got five promo codes to download Time Guru (the cool metronome app mentioned in the episode.) Send me a message or let me know down below you’re interested and I’ll share the codes! Happy PracticingLet’s get our good new habits in early in the year! In this episode, I read practical advice from three organists/organ method books. The organ method books are in a class of their own— highly entertaining reading.We begin with Francis Routh’s Teach Yourself The Organ (1958.) His asterisk

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52:32

Ep. 117: I Forgot C Minor! BWV 847

WTF Bach ·

2025/12/29

This famous piece:saw quite a few revisions between its conception and the version we know. For starters, note the earliest version’s key signature, and the E-flat in bar 2:The most striking feature of the early version is the abrupt end:No presto? No adagio? No allegro?The fugue (in 3 voices) is a fugue with two countersubjects. See them here, the first on top, the second below. Both countermelodies occur with every entrance of the main theme:Become your best Buxtehude.We also have a brief look at

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58:05

Ep. 116: Chromatic Finale Of The First Half, BWV 857

WTF Bach ·

2025/12/18

We’ve traveled halfway through the chromatic scale and Bach celebrates this victory with one of the more complex fugues in the collection. The subject is somber, full of half-steps and even a cross. It foreshadows the true finale at the close of all 24 pieces:This is one of the only fugues to make strict use of the countersubject, occurring in all but one (!) appearances of the subject.This motif, which we call the head of the countersubject, dominates all the episodic material both right side up,

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4:56

(5 Min. Rant) How To Twist A Shirt

WTF Bach ·

2025/12/15

YouTube These Days....Enjoying your contrapuntal journey? Here’s how you can help:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions (yes, you can subscribe for free!) are also beneficial for our numbers.You can make a one-time donation here. We run a 501(c)3, so let us know if you want a tax deduction:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support! Get full access to W.T.F

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39:32

Ep. 115: F Major Prelude & Fugue, BWV 856

WTF Bach ·

2025/12/08

Anyone else feel like we don’t have enough fugues in F major?In the last of Bach’s four layerings to the fair copy of The Well-Tempered Clavier, we see some beautiful details that would have been lost had Bach not made this last series of revisions in the 1740s. It makes you wonder if Bach would have made even more, should he have lived as long as Telemann! Bar 42 reads like this in A1-A3 into the 1740s: Then, in A4, Bach found expression in the tie and 32nd notes:Such a revision physically looks

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17:10

Why You Should Listen To This Podcast (Ars Podcastica)

WTF Bach ·

2025/11/27

Giving thanks to all my listeners today! Why do you listen to this podcast?The original Spanish of the Borges poem, as read by my good friend, Andrea Profili.Otro poema de los donesGracias quiero dar al divinoLaberinto de los efectos y de las causasPor la diversidad de las criaturasQue forman este singular universo,Por la razón, que no cesará de soñarCon un plano del laberinto,Por el rostro de Elena y la perseverancia de Ulises,Por el amor, que nos deja ver a los otrosComo los ve la divinidad,Por el

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54:38

Ep. 114: Bach Improvises On His Prelude

WTF Bach ·

2025/11/24

Something’s missing:The fact that this piece was conceived independently of its solo line is a marvelous insight into Bach’s compositional process. Somewhere along the way, Bach revisited the piece and added the upper line:Here is a link to the video where Schiff talks about the Well-Tempered.And don’t miss the Kurt Vonnegut moment at 32:45!We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also

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40:43

Ep. 113: New Bach Works (!) Heard TODAY

WTF Bach ·

2025/11/17

Just a few moments ago, two newly christened works were connected to Bach’s name for the time after 320 years. Exciting news, have a listen! Many thanks to the Bach Archive in Leipzig for the production. (Sorry for any glitches in the production, episode made in haste!)Know someone who’d enjoy hearing about this joyous discovery?A link to the source of d minor Chaconne, BWV 1178A link to the source of the g minor Chaconne, BWV 1179The live stream link (English overdub.)We survive solely on

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5:50

(5 min. Rant) Self-Inflationary Language!

WTF Bach ·

2025/11/13

—More matter with less art. (Hamlet, II.ii)Got friends who speak English? Spread W.T.F.P.S. The music at the end is a taste of a forthcoming W.T.F. Bach album: arrangements of the Orgelbüchlein. Album title suggestions welcome!We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation

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72:22

Ep. 112: E-flat or D-sharp minor?

WTF Bach ·

2025/11/08

“Whoever has once felt this wonderful tranquility has comprehended the mysterious spirit that has here expressed all it knew and felt of life in the secret language of tone, and will render Bach the thanks we render only to the great souls to whom it is given to reconcile men with life and bring them peace.” -Schweitzer, Vol. 1W.T.F. Bach wants YOU to subscribeA prelude in E-flat minor, with a fugue in its enharmonic other. The image attached to this episode is from the Czerny edition, who felt the

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21:22

Ep. 111: The Blind Organist's Improvisations and...

WTF Bach ·

2025/10/30

A most precious 15 minutes of audio. In improvised miniatures with different combinations of stops, Helmut Walcha gives invaluable insights into the world of improvising and the various colors on the organ. An assistant names the stops he will use before he plays— you can see the list of stops in the links. I recommend the first link in particular for its details on the restorations and the photos of cherubs, et cetera, but you’ve also got to admire an organ that has its own Wikipedia page. The

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49:08

Ep. 110: Bach Put A Fugue Inside A Prelude?

WTF Bach ·

2025/10/22

Continuing our study of The Well-Tempered Clavier, (hear the first episode in this series via this link) Bach begins the second quarter of the collection with a dramatic genre: a fugal prelude. Not only that, the fugue appears to be a double fugue!The prelude begins more contrapuntally than the preludes we have met thus far:After a few bars of this, Bach dashes our hope that the prelude will continue exclusively with this motif. A flourish of virtuosity vanishes into what seems to be a fugue— of

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27:43

Ep. 109: 'The Swimmer' by John Cheever

WTF Bach ·

2025/10/14

“Cheever was a reasonably tormented man.” -Jerry LowenthalEnjoy this short story— one of the great American short stories— by John Cheever.Thanks!-EvanHelp this resource survive for future Bach enthusiasts! 100% fueled by your support.We exist because of your Donations:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this scholarly resource ensures its

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45:07

Ep. 108: Bach's D Minor Prelude and Fugue, Book One

WTF Bach ·

2025/10/08

How boring would this be?Admittedly, I still find that beautiful, but Bach is one note ahead of me:We have a prelude propelled by its instability. This might be something to pay attention to in The Well-Tempered Clavier —if not all his writing in the early 1720s— ordinary melodic shapes that become more compelling when slightly offset.We want YOU! to support WTF BachWe are 25% of the way through this triumph of tonality. Now, for the first time in the collection, the fugue makes explicit use of

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40:50

Ep. 107: D Major Fugue, To Dot... or Not?

WTF Bach ·

2025/09/30

While the ‘double-dot’ may well have shown up during Bach’s lifetime, I’m not aware of him ever using it. To assume that his music never makes use of such rhythm would obviously be incorrect. Instead, we need to seek out where it might and might not be applied. Continuing our tour through The Well-Tempered Clavier, in the D Major Fugue now, BWV 850, we see a possible implication of double-dots in the subject:Playing the dotted 8ths as double-dotted 8ths, hence changing the following 16th notes into

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