Ars Lyrica Houston | Biweekly Bach | Episode 9: A-Flat Major and E-Flat Minor @ArsLyricaHouston | Uploaded January 2023 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
Biweekly Bach is a virtual series presented by Ars Lyrica Houston, traversing the 24 preludes and fugues of Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. Every other week, a new episode features two prelude and fugue pairs, recorded in the beautiful surroundings of Rienzi, the house museum for European decorative arts of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. With inspired playing and enlightening commentary by Matthew Dirst, this series brings audiences closer than ever to the masterful music of J.S. Bach.
This is the first video recording of the entire volume to feature a single performer on an instrument inspired by those from Bach’s own environment, with commentary from the performer, who is also a leading scholar of this music. The harpsichord, with its elaborate marquetry and decoration in the style of Baroque Dresden, is an ideal match for the sumptuous interiors of Rienzi. Each recording session features different parts of the museum, giving visual variety to the entire project.
Episodes 9-12 of Biweekly Bach will air in January and February of 2023:
January 17 at 9 am | Episode 9: A-Flat Major and E-Flat Minor
January 31 at 9 am | Episode 10: D Major and B Minor
February 14 at 9 am | Episode 11: B Major and G-Sharp Minor
February 28 at 9 am | Episode 12: E Major and B-Flat Minor
Ars Lyrica Houston celebrated the 300th anniversary of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (1722) with a series of three intimate in-person performances with commentary at Rienzi, the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts. In addition, Ars Lyrica presented virtual broadcasts of those concerts.
J. S. Bach remains at the very center of European culture because his music is endlessly interesting, entertaining, and edifying; he is perhaps the most influential classical musician of all time. The Well-Tempered Clavier is the only work of Bach that never went out of style. Unlike his church and chamber works, which were mostly forgotten soon after his death in 1750, this collection served as a kind of musical Old Testament for generations of students and enthusiasts—a role it still plays today. Comprising two sets of twenty-four preludes and fugues each in all the major and minor keys, the work was dedicated by the composer in 1722 “for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study.” Ars Lyrica is proud to offer Bach programs on a regular basis and is delighted to offer this series of performances that celebrates the collection’s 300th anniversary.
J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (BWV 846-869) performed by Matthew Dirst on a single-manual harpsichord by John Phillips (Berkeley, 2021) after the work of the Gräbner family (Dresden, c1720).
Video by BEND Productions, LLC
Audio by Shannon Smith
arslyricahouston.org
Biweekly Bach is a virtual series presented by Ars Lyrica Houston, traversing the 24 preludes and fugues of Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. Every other week, a new episode features two prelude and fugue pairs, recorded in the beautiful surroundings of Rienzi, the house museum for European decorative arts of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. With inspired playing and enlightening commentary by Matthew Dirst, this series brings audiences closer than ever to the masterful music of J.S. Bach.
This is the first video recording of the entire volume to feature a single performer on an instrument inspired by those from Bach’s own environment, with commentary from the performer, who is also a leading scholar of this music. The harpsichord, with its elaborate marquetry and decoration in the style of Baroque Dresden, is an ideal match for the sumptuous interiors of Rienzi. Each recording session features different parts of the museum, giving visual variety to the entire project.
Episodes 9-12 of Biweekly Bach will air in January and February of 2023:
January 17 at 9 am | Episode 9: A-Flat Major and E-Flat Minor
January 31 at 9 am | Episode 10: D Major and B Minor
February 14 at 9 am | Episode 11: B Major and G-Sharp Minor
February 28 at 9 am | Episode 12: E Major and B-Flat Minor
Ars Lyrica Houston celebrated the 300th anniversary of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (1722) with a series of three intimate in-person performances with commentary at Rienzi, the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts. In addition, Ars Lyrica presented virtual broadcasts of those concerts.
J. S. Bach remains at the very center of European culture because his music is endlessly interesting, entertaining, and edifying; he is perhaps the most influential classical musician of all time. The Well-Tempered Clavier is the only work of Bach that never went out of style. Unlike his church and chamber works, which were mostly forgotten soon after his death in 1750, this collection served as a kind of musical Old Testament for generations of students and enthusiasts—a role it still plays today. Comprising two sets of twenty-four preludes and fugues each in all the major and minor keys, the work was dedicated by the composer in 1722 “for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study.” Ars Lyrica is proud to offer Bach programs on a regular basis and is delighted to offer this series of performances that celebrates the collection’s 300th anniversary.
J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (BWV 846-869) performed by Matthew Dirst on a single-manual harpsichord by John Phillips (Berkeley, 2021) after the work of the Gräbner family (Dresden, c1720).
Video by BEND Productions, LLC
Audio by Shannon Smith
arslyricahouston.org
