Tuesday, April 5, 2016

D is for Double Violin Concerto in D Minor

 
              I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, and my theme this year is classical music. Check out the list of other participants by clicking here! I’m doing something a little bit different with the letter D today. D is for Double Violin Concerto in D Minor, which was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. This is part of the reason that my theme isn’t called “classical composers.” I wanted to use multiple composers with some of the same initials, there are too many good B’s :) The Double Violin Concerto in D Minor also happens to be my favorite piece from J. S. Bach that I have heard so far. The featured video today is an excerpt from the first movement and instead of double violins, they are using double cellos, and the music sounds just as lovely.


 
 
  • Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician who lived from 1685 to 1750.
  • J. S. Bach had many musicians in his family, and he himself played the violin, harpsichord, clavichord, and organ.
  • At the age of 10, J. S. Bach moved in with his older brother, Johann Christoph Bach, after his parents died.
  • He has a large repertoire of work; some of his well-known pieces include the Brandenburg Concertos, Ave Maria, the Toccata & Fugue in D Minor, and Das Wohltemperirte Clavier  (The Well-Tempered Clavier).
  • He has a secular cantata, referred to as the Coffee Cantata, that comically tells of an addiction to coffee.
  • He once challenged harpsichordist, Louis Marchand, to a keyboard duel, but Marchand chickened out and fled the day of the duel.
  • Once when trying to quit one of his organist positions, his employer was so determined to keep him that Bach was placed in detention (jailed) for one month, then unfavorably discharged.
Sources: http://www.classicfm.com/composers/bach/guides/bach-facts/


Organ that Bach played in Arnstadt
              Answer to yesterday's trivia question: Where did Garrick Ohlsson play for Chopin's 200th birthday? Garrick Ohlsson played on a piano once owned by Chopin at Chopin's childhood home in Poland. I heard about in on my favorite radio program, Performance Today, hosted by Fred Child.
              For this challenge, I’m keeping a playlist of the videos I’m using plus some extras for anyone who wants to hear more. I will update with the latest letter each day. Today's extra video is a short and sweet. Two talented women are playing part of the Toccata & Fugue in D minor on FAO Schwartz's large piano.


 
 
We know that Beethoven struggled with his hearing, what did J.S. Bach have struggles with? Do you have a favorite piece from Bach? Is it in the key of D minor? :)

18 comments:

  1. That was pretty :) Seemed he was quite talented with the different instruments he played! I'm going to say he had trouble with his eyesight?

    betty

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    1. Betty, great guess! Bach knew his way around those instruments very well!

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  2. I didn't know dueling instruments went back that far. The first I heard of it was a few years ago when there was a dueling piano bar downtown.

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    1. Stephanie, a dueling piano bar sounds like it would be fun to visit!

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  3. Ah, some culture today. Thanks, I needed that. And a fun clip from Big. Very cool.

    I’m exploring different types of dreams and their meanings.
    D is for Daydreaming and Downloads
    Stephen Tremp’s Breakthrough Blogs

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  4. It's incredible how they memorize all those notes! Beautiful music.

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    1. Bish, I agree, I wish I could play an instrument that well.

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  5. Addicted to coffee? That's interesting. For some reason that seems like a modern malady.

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    1. I know what you mean Tamara, you just don't hear much about coffee in the 1700s :)

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  6. Loved it. I was too shy to go to piano lessons as a girl. Now I wish I'd gone.
    @CazsBooks
    Http://cazgreenham.blogspot.com

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    1. Caz, I'm with you, I had no interest in learning piano as a child, but I regret it now.

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  7. This was fascinating. Keyboard duels, jailed.....

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    1. Sandra, Bach's life was a lot more interesting than I thought it'd be, it was hard to narrow down all the wealth of information I came across.

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  8. This is wonderful to listen to. I heard his fugue in D minor(?) , you know, the one all evil guys play on an organ, in an old Church in Budapest when I was 18. E fen after all these years, I still remember and it was wonderful. I think he be a,e blind?? I wonder if he got macular degeneration.

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    1. Birgit, that sounds like a great memory, I would love to hear the Toccata & Fugue in D Minor on an organ in person :)

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