Seymour Bernstein On Bach: Invention No. 1 (ft. Ben Laude)

if Bach knew that there was a piano available he would never play the harpsichord this is what I personally think the entire historical performance movement I don't care what they said just uh I don't have a horse in this race and I don't want to beat a dead horse [Music] thank you so you see here yes the most important part all right so this is the preface to the bach inventions by Bach a sincere guide in which lovers of keyboard music and particularly those Desiring to learn are shown in a clear way not only number one how to play faultlessly in two parts thought this faultlessly oh oh you said I said thoughtless I thought you said yes here's Johan Sebastian Bach telling us to play without thought right now faultlessly in two parts but also upon further progress how to treat three obligato parts correctly and well that's the symphonias and at the same time not only to be inspired with good inventions but to develop to develop them properly and most of all here we come did you hear most of all most of all to achieve a cantabile manner of playing and to gain a strong foretaste of composition prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach Master to the Chapel of History so here is what's up and in Bach's day the standard articulation was detached they played like this [Music] right and he's listening to singers he listening to string players win players they're playing on one bow and one breath said what's going on here what do you think can Toby lace means it means legato what else can it mean I really wonder I'd love to hear more from Bach about what cantabile means on the harpsichord I guess I should absolutely we'll never know well we could ask people who who played the harpsichord and they don't talk to me well you said you've said some pretty nasty things about harpsichords I know I know what happened have I really well I've gathered that you find them inferior to the beauty of the piano I do at least you're willing to admit that I'm not ashamed to say that now I feel a special burden to try to sing this invention if you detach the eighth notes then you'll do something for the connected notes okay [Music] no here it is here no here are the detached here hear what it does I like it yeah yeah yeah it creates contrast let me try again four no four four everyone starts with four and that way it's always and you break look break and for the Curious viewer of course this is and you make phrasing well look [Music] see it's a sequence so that's another thing I didn't I hear from you [Music] it's going to make it it's a crescendo I said that's the softest try it no Crescendo climax [Music] now be aware of how Charming it is when one hand is playing Legato and the other one is detaching thank you sequence [Music] thank you after thought [Music] piano no no D cash no [Music] I'll hold it [Music] that's good that's nice of course of course isn't that Charming it's Charming can I try to put it all together put it all together now [Music] ah yeah I don't know why I just I love that part Legato but I guess consistency matters [Music] maybe that's too much I I want to do something there I want to pay homage to this you know the way back do that conceived it do that section that's where you should okay [Music] [Applause] straight [Music] ornament okay Isn't it nice I like it like that should the left hand respond with the same sort of imitation and yeah okay thank you foreign yes [Music] I'm I'm trying to proportion my climax here because it's Bach and I'm not gonna go all right and so I need to find just the right sound no as to the detached eighth notes it sounds always better when one does this [Music] instead of [Music] so you want me to attach these always even though it's the sign of the end of the phrase [Music] would you try that I think you're going to love it and if you don't pretend you love it [Music] I didn't pick up this hand that notice being held see watch see it binds now don't do it no no don't do it yeah let's see it's too abrupt isn't it [Music] thank you good good I want to do an ornament here it's so smart [Music] I like what I did should I do it [Music] wonderful I have something to say about the spot what what so I I did a presentation on this piece a couple years ago and while I was looking into it I discovered something about it I think maybe I'm projecting now I never really bought into the whole golden mean golden ratio thing in Bach yeah maybe it's there I didn't care I decided to apply it to this piece like and I took I counted the measures there's 22 measures I multiplied it by 0.618 to find the golden measure the golden measure yes I wanted to find the golden moment and ask is there anything special going on so I multiplied 6.18 times 22 and I got about 13 and a half and so I went and I said let's find 13 and a half no and I said it's the one spot in the whole piece where both hands are playing 16th notes oh how interesting but then you know what I well here are these are 60 times right and so but then you know what I realized what it did the math wrong oh you did well I did the math right but I counted wrong 13 and a half is not the middle of the 13th bar which is 13 and a half it's the middle of the 14th nevertheless it's right at the end of this one moment look the rest of the piece like we said it's always eighths in one hand sixteenths in the other show me one spot with two sixteenths but there's nowhere except right here the only spot in the whole piece and it is right before the golden moment so this is the golden moment but these are leading up to that point and I thought you know maybe it's coincidence maybe it's that no are these going to be separated I think so I think so too but in any case this is a very special is this going to be separated say no I haven't I haven't been playing that separated entire so I wonder if in a performance of this anybody would notice or care that at this pivotal moment two-thirds of the way through the piece there is this really important texture that happens you can make them aware of it by your articulation let's try it but so given that I've been playing 16th Legato and eighths non Legato here should they both be Legato I mean Joseph will take care of this broken octave okay fair better right I think when I have an octave it should be uh the final Cadence right the final Cadence not yeah I agree so that'll also be for that then right right same so the golden moment culminates there see yep right around here and so I uh yeah I want to do something special thank you you like it I love it so anyway I I don't know if anybody will can actually tell since you'd have to hear the whole piece to know what 0.618 of the way through even is going to be connected also [Music] the exactly exactly it's wonderful thank you I send greetings to the YouTube audience but you know there's lots more of my videos to watch on one of the best programs that I know about tone base so please tune in to the tone base platform and I hope you enjoy everything

Channel: tonebase Piano

Views: 144,292

Keywords: piano, classical piano, tonebase, tonebase Piano, piano lessons, learn piano, seymour bernstein, j.s. bach, bach inventions, invention no. 1, legato, cantabile, articulation, fingering, historical performance, harpsichord, ben laude, glenn gould

Id: RXCm6033JvM

Length: 15min 48sec (948 seconds)

Published: Sat May 20 2023