Bach: English Suite No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 807 - 1. Prélude

"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach - a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity - on each page we discover things which we thought were born only yesterday, from delightful arabesques to an overflowing of religious feeling greater than anything we have since discovered. And in his works we will search in vain for anything the least lacking in good taste."
This is how the French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918) refers to Bach. Only the uninitiated can see this description as an overstatement: once you delve in Bach's music, you can only "listen, play, love, revere — and keep your trap shut" - as Einstein famously said. A continuous strive for perfection in form, order (i.e. κόσμος), and plain beauty is what characterizes every work of the Cantor, literally making it of cosmological grandeur. The English Suites are no exception: a monumental, incomparable, sublime collection of pieces of unimaginable invention and brilliance. Playing even just one movement from the no. 2 turned out to be an insurmountable challenge for me, as I'd argue their difficulty is superior to e.g. a Chopin étude: an almost inhuman degree of ne plus ultra and precision is imperative for their correct performance. Having with all probability failed in this endeavour, I'm only contenting myself of playing it as a divertissement, in the hopes that it acts as an inspiration to some of you ^_^

Rigorously recorded in Antarctica.

[Propp_]

"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach - a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity - on each page we discover things which we thought were born only yesterday, from delightful arabesques to an overflowing of religious feeling greater than anything we have since discovered. And in his works we will search in vain for anything the least lacking in good taste."
This is how the French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918) refers to Bach. Only the uninitiated can see this description as an overstatement: once you delve in Bach's music, you can only "listen, play, love, revere — and keep your trap shut" - as Einstein famously said. A continuous strive for perfection in form, order (i.e. κόσμος), and plain beauty is what characterizes every work of the Cantor, literally making it of cosmological _grandeur._ The English Suites are no exception: a monumental, incomparable, sublime collection of pieces of unimaginable invention and brilliance. Playing even just one movement from the no. 2 turned out to be an insurmountable challenge for me, as I'd argue their difficulty is superior to e.g. a Chopin étude: an almost inhuman degree of _ne plus ultra_ and precision is imperative for their correct performance. Having with all probability failed in this endeavour, I'm only contenting myself of playing it as a _divertissement, _ in the hopes that it acts as an inspiration to some of you ^_^

[bmwforlife]

I first heard this peace in the Schindler's List scene were the German soldiers think it's Mozart the soldier is playing. I fell in love with this piece! Great performance!

[pianothingsmusic]

Impressive rendition!! 🤩
Your articulation was very precise, Bach is never easy to play!

[tokabilitor]

2:10 left hand: finally the solution for me. Thank you! Flawless rendition of a Bach composition which is less hard to play but for me as an amateur pretty challenging.

[Latinosmassacre-]

I can hear an entire dark universe in a Scriabin or Feinberg sonatas But this? is just a lot of scales... i mean amazing ears and brains you guys got

[tokabilitor]

Humble request: some Bach fugues would be nice to hear and see