Bach vs Vivaldi
Description: Round they go about the circle of 5ths, but what a difference in personality! Here's the exact same sequence (F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, G, C, F) in the hands of two Baroque composers: Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach.
First, you hear me play the Vivaldi excerpt, which comes from the 1st mov't. ("Allegro non molto") of "Winter", the last concerto from his Four Seasons, RV 297 (1718-23). Specifically, I'm playing from the pick-up to m. 23, thru to m. 26. The sheet music on-screen is my own reduction for solo piano, and is based on the edition linked below.
Next, you hear me play the Bach excerpt, which comes from Prelude No. 12 in F-minor (BWV 881) from Book 2 of The Well-Tempered Clavier (1744). Specifically, I'm playing from the middle of m. 62, thru to m. 66.
Not that Bach didn't write music in a similar character to this electrifying Vivaldi excerpt, however, one just doesn't find this many repeated notes. And yet, Vivaldi's writing is so incredibly beloved and I have always loved this movement, too! I think, even, that if I had to pick which passage I prefer hearing most, as an isolated event (key word, "isolated") then I would probably pick the Vivaldi. However, to listen to the whole piece, I would definitely go for Bach.💚
Bach's excerpt combines delicious suspensions and an expressive inner voice. It's constantly changing, whereas the Vivaldi excerpt confronts you with more straight-forward blocked textures. One could say that whereas the Vivaldi excerpt is rather vertical, Bach's is quite horizontal (i.e. linear).
Of course, the Vivaldi excerpt is from a violin concerto, while that of Bach is for solo keyboard. Nevertheless, it's the exact same sequence, utilizing the circle of fifths (each of the bass notes is a fifth away from the next). I thought this comparison was quite fun and revealing. Which one do you prefer?
Sheet music for Vivaldi's "Winter": https://imslp.eu/files/imglnks/euimg/c/c9/IMSLP927933-PMLP126435-16c6-PMLP12653-X3Jcb7T6rEOUD.pdf
Sheet music for Bach's Prelude No. 12, Book 2: https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/2/2a/IMSLP02189-BWV0881.pdf
Thank you, channel members!!❤️🎹
If you enjoy this content, then please subscribe. Your comments and likes are also appreciated. Thank you!
If you are able and would like to help me continue making content devoted to Mr. B, you can join my channel!🎉 Membership is monthly and you can cancel at any time. To join, please click the "Join" button at the top of my channel's homepage (right next to the "Subscribe" button.) A description of the perks I'm offering will appear, which, if you like, you can then proceed to sign-up. Thank you so much for your support and for watching my videos!🥰
You can also support my channel by "buying me a coffee" over on my Ko-Fi page: https://ko-fi.com/pennyjohnson Thank you so much for your support!☕️🎵
To find out more about me, please visit my website: https://www.pennyjohnsonpiano.com
To purchase a copy of my recording of the complete Inventions & Sinfonias of Bach, please visit: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/j-s-bach-inventions-sinfonias-bwv-772-801/1309335935 (Also available on Amazon).
To purchase my arrangement of J.S. Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions, for inverted voices, please visit: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/complete-two-part-inventions-bwv-772-786-with-inverted-voices-20689080.html Close description
First, you hear me play the Vivaldi excerpt, which comes from the 1st mov't. ("Allegro non molto") of "Winter", the last concerto from his Four Seasons, RV 297 (1718-23). Specifically, I'm playing from the pick-up to m. 23, thru to m. 26. The sheet music on-screen is my own reduction for solo piano, and is based on the edition linked below.
Next, you hear me play the Bach excerpt, which comes from Prelude No. 12 in F-minor (BWV 881) from Book 2 of The Well-Tempered Clavier (1744). Specifically, I'm playing from the middle of m. 62, thru to m. 66.
Not that Bach didn't write music in a similar character to this electrifying Vivaldi excerpt, however, one just doesn't find this many repeated notes. And yet, Vivaldi's writing is so incredibly beloved and I have always loved this movement, too! I think, even, that if I had to pick which passage I prefer hearing most, as an isolated event (key word, "isolated") then I would probably pick the Vivaldi. However, to listen to the whole piece, I would definitely go for Bach.💚
Bach's excerpt combines delicious suspensions and an expressive inner voice. It's constantly changing, whereas the Vivaldi excerpt confronts you with more straight-forward blocked textures. One could say that whereas the Vivaldi excerpt is rather vertical, Bach's is quite horizontal (i.e. linear).
Of course, the Vivaldi excerpt is from a violin concerto, while that of Bach is for solo keyboard. Nevertheless, it's the exact same sequence, utilizing the circle of fifths (each of the bass notes is a fifth away from the next). I thought this comparison was quite fun and revealing. Which one do you prefer?
Sheet music for Vivaldi's "Winter": https://imslp.eu/files/imglnks/euimg/c/c9/IMSLP927933-PMLP126435-16c6-PMLP12653-X3Jcb7T6rEOUD.pdf
Sheet music for Bach's Prelude No. 12, Book 2: https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/2/2a/IMSLP02189-BWV0881.pdf
Thank you, channel members!!❤️🎹
If you enjoy this content, then please subscribe. Your comments and likes are also appreciated. Thank you!
If you are able and would like to help me continue making content devoted to Mr. B, you can join my channel!🎉 Membership is monthly and you can cancel at any time. To join, please click the "Join" button at the top of my channel's homepage (right next to the "Subscribe" button.) A description of the perks I'm offering will appear, which, if you like, you can then proceed to sign-up. Thank you so much for your support and for watching my videos!🥰
You can also support my channel by "buying me a coffee" over on my Ko-Fi page: https://ko-fi.com/pennyjohnson Thank you so much for your support!☕️🎵
To find out more about me, please visit my website: https://www.pennyjohnsonpiano.com
To purchase a copy of my recording of the complete Inventions & Sinfonias of Bach, please visit: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/j-s-bach-inventions-sinfonias-bwv-772-801/1309335935 (Also available on Amazon).
To purchase my arrangement of J.S. Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions, for inverted voices, please visit: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/complete-two-part-inventions-bwv-772-786-with-inverted-voices-20689080.html Close description