Happy New Year
How to finish the year? First a toast to you my friends, best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2003. Second, listen to Bach's Brandenburg Concerto's and share with you Douglas Adams words on the subject of Brandenburg Five from "The Salmon of Doubt"
Brandenburg 5
Whatever new extremities of discovery or understanding we reach, we
always seem to find the footsteps of Bach there already. When we see
images of the strange mathematical beasts lurking at the heart of the natural
world—fractal landscapes, the infinitely unfolding paisley whorls of
the Mandelbrot Set, the Fibonacci series, which describes the pattern of
leaves growing on the stem of a plant, the Strange Attractors that beat at the
heart of chaos— it is always the dizzying, complex spirals of Bach
that come to mind.
Some people say that the mathematical complexity of Bach renders it
unemotional. I think the opposite is true. As I listen to the interplay of parts
in a piece of Bach polyphony, each individual strand of music gathers hold
of a different feeling in my mind, and takes them on simultaneous
interweaving rollercoasters of emotion. One part may be quietly singing to
itself, another on an exhilarating rampage, another is sobbing in the corner,
another dancing. Arguments break out, laughter, rage. Peace is restored.
The parts can be utterly different, yet all belong indivisibly together. It ís as
emotionally complex as a family.
And now, as we discover that each individual mind is a family of different
parts, all working separately but together to create the fleeting shimmers we
call consciousness, it seems that once again, Bach was there before us.
When you listen to the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto, you don't need a
musicologist to tell you that something new and different is happening.
Even two and three quarter centuries after it actually was new, you can hear
the unmistakable thrumming energy of a master at the height of his powers
doing something wild and daring with absolute self-confidence. When Bach
wrote it, he put himself at the harpsichord instead of the viola he more
usually played in ensembles. It was a happy, productive time of his life
when he was at last surrounded by some good musicians. The harpsichord
traditionally played a supporting role in this kind of group, but not this time.
Bach let rip.
As you listen to the first movement, you hear something strange, new, and
terrifying giving birth to itself. Or maybe itís a giant engine, or even a great
horse being prepared for a Herculean task, surrounded by (you can't help
jumbling metaphors when language tries to keep up with music) a flotilla of
helpers fussing around it. You hear it ticking over, trotting having a little
canter here and there, getting a bit frisky, and then taking a trial run as its
helpers encourage it onward, keening with bated breath. It hauls itself back
in again, does another quick circuit. . . and then the other instruments fall
silent. It stands free and alone, pawing at the ground, breathing deeply,
gathering its strength, trotting forward . . .
And then it makes its move—running . . . hurtling. . .flying . . .
climbing. . . clambering. . . pushing. . . panting. . . twisting. . . trashing . . .
pounding at the ground . . . pounding . . . pounding . . . suddenly breaking
away, running onward desperately, and then, with one last little unexpected
step up in the bass, it ís home and free—the main tune charges in
triumphantly and itís all over bar the weeping and dancing (i.e., the second
and third movements).
The familiarity of the Brandenburgs should not blind us to their magnitude.
I'm convinced that Bach is the greater genius who ever walked among us,
and the Brandenburgs are what he wrote when he was happy.
Penguin Classics Vol. 27: Bach—Brandenburg Concertos 5 & 6,
Violin Concerto in A Minor (English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by
Benjamin Britten)
Next year looms, are you ready?
Comments
Yes indeed!
Got sidetracked myself trying to 'transcribe' a Bach piece....
Thanks for that.
That essay was beautiful, a great metaphor for starting a new year. Thanks Norm. Best wishes to you.