A Joyous Christmas and a Peaceful, Happy and Prosperous New Year

My favourite composer is, by a long way, Johann Sebastian Bach so for my pre-Christmas message this year I'm going to feature two of my favourite pieces of music by Bach, one of which (the second) is rarely performed so there are not many recordings of it. The first is slightly better known, I think. Although I have little religious belief and much of Bach's compositions were written with religion in mind, I have no difficulty in reconciling this contradiction at all; Bach's works are sublime, whatever the motivation for them having been written.

Happy Christmas!


Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, BWV 112
(The Lord is my faithful shepherd)

(Unfortunately I have no information about the record label from which this video-clip is taken. My own recording is on the Joker label, reference SM1047 - see below for more information.)



Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe, BWV 185
(Merciful heart of eternal love)

(A 1951 recording of a performance by the Swabian Choral Society and the Bach Orchestra of Stuttgart - under the direction of Hans Grischkat - Renaissance label, serial number X36. My own recording is of the same performance, but on the Joker label reference SM1047, purchased in Casablanca in 1973. The record pressing from which the recording in this YouTube video-clip is taken also contains a recording of BWV 112, the first video-clip above, as does my own record, although they are on different labels.)


I hope you enjoy these pieces of music as much as I do.

BWV 1052 - just because ...

J S Bach - Harpsichord Concerto No.1 in D Minor - BWV 1052

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Enjoy!

Just music ...

Of all composers my favourite is Johann Sebastian Bach. I have rarely heard a piece of music composed by him which did not immediately enthrall me and 'take me out of myself'; the world really seems somehow a better place when one can listen to the musical genius of this man. I could have chosen many other pieces for this evening's post, but I hope you will agree that this performance of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor [BWV 565] performed by Ulrich Böhme on the Sauer organ in St Thomas Church, Leipzig (Germany), is a superb example of sublime music:



Unfortunately the recording above, whilst superb, is slightly curtailed at the very end, so I am embedding another very fine performance of this music, this time performed by Diane Bish on the organ of St Bavo Church, Haarlem (Netherlands). Enjoy!



I had a good session at the gym today (I wrote last week that I was joining a gym again after a break of about a year) and I feel good now, so I just wanted to spread a little of the joy that I experience when listening to Bach's music.