Cuiller on Bach WTC I Prelude and fugue no. 4 in C-sharp minor BWV 849 | Netherlands Bach Society

[@euledj79]

This little movie is a real treasure! Cuiller is such a cool, calm and intelligent guy. What he has to say about the prelude and fugue is profound and very interesting. I like that he plays the theme in different keys. Awesome camera work, too! Wowowowowow!!

[@stephenlee1756]

For a musically uneducated person such as myself, this is magic! Bertrand Cuiller discusses such a wide range of thought in beautifully simple language which taught me so much about Bach which I previously did not understand. Above all he demonstrates that Bach encourages you to both think and feel at the same time!

[@wolkowy1]

Let alone the beautiful sensual performance of this whole unique Prelude and Fugue which was heard in the previous upload - in this interview, Bertrand Cuiller touched many important aspects concerning the piece, the composer, the instrument, himself and even spiritual faith. Gliding elegantly from one aspect to the other (back and forth) and without saying one direct word about interpretation, a sensitive listener could understand from him how he interprets this piece. In fact, I couldn't gather if he found the sensual French-side in Bach's character, or, the way around - if he found (and expressed) himself through Bach's compositions. When I heard the whole performance I've noticed traces of a little child in the room, and thought to myself: "if he is a father to a child, this child, hearing this music, has a great advantage on other kids, and should be thankful". However - hearing and seeing this interview, I think Bertrand compensates himself as a child who passed many years ignoring Bach's music. Either way - he did it in a superb way. Bravissimo Bertrand! and many many thanks to NBS' another wonderful upload! Happy Christmas and New Year!

[@meijong6453]

Ce musicien talentueux vit avec Bach une relation intime, libre, épanouie... ce partage est un vrai bonheur. Musicalement et humainement.

[@ru99414]

I really honor this musician; obviously the music speaks for itself, but i like how he doesnt say anything concluding or pure analytical, but rather question different elements, and it feels like his approach respects the strict Prelude and Fugue more in their aesthetic value. Also his recording of Toccata D major is just my favorte

[@kikivolauvent1]

This is quite an interesting vision. Maybe I'm all wrong but sometimes I feel that Bach is a touch over-intellectualised and can’t be enjoyed as just a piece of music which goes straight to your heart, without any detours and complications?! But then, J.S. Bach never is ‘just’ simple, he didn’t do ‘simplicities’, so there IS a conundrum to come back to, every time. For me, Bach is The Cherry on any musical Cake, the most complex too, and yet - I wouldn’t want to read too much intellectualism into his music. I let my soul & heart listen, and my brain ‘only just’ may get overexcited by the complexity & multi-layers of his wonderful music. Always excellent translations - a sheer pleasure.

[@laurensheijs355]

Certainly an interesting perspective. Jean Rondeau seems to agree with this view in his talk about the Goldberg variations on this same channel!

[@silverstonegg2349]

Very interesting to hear what he has to say!

[@armithel3133]

That is it. Im going to go find more of this Frenchmans beautiful playing.

[@ロゼーテ]

Je vous remercie beaucoup❣️

[@herrickinman9303]

Cuiller's harpsichord is tuned to chamber pitch (~a415). If Bach were to play this C#-minor work on a harpsichord tuned to French chamber pitch, which is a half step lower, would he transpose the work up a half step (to D minor) in order to obtain the affect of C# minor @ chamber pitch? lol Prelude #8 in WTC I is in Eb minor, but the fugue is in D# minor. Evidently the fugue was originally in D minor, but to make it fit the WTC sequence, Bach tweaked the D-minor key signature by cramming 6 sharps between the clef sign and the tempo sign, changing sharped notes to double-sharped notes, etc. This saved him some paper and the labor of having to write out the fugue in Eb minor. Perhaps Bach wasn't as fussy as Cuiller about the key a piece is played in.

[@pelegrino791]

Ce qu'il y a de bien avec Bach est que l'on peut apprécier sa musique sans être versé outre mesure dans les techniques d'écritures très complexes qu'il utilisait.

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

Weer een pareltje aan de All of Bach-kerstboom.

[@andrearodigari4840]

Beauty will save the world. Rest assured.

[@kikivolauvent1]

C’est une vision assez intéressante. Est-ce que je me trompe, qu’on voit Bach quelquefois un peu trop intellectuellement et pas ‘simplement’ (qu’est-ce qui est simple chez Bach ?!) comme une musique qui voit droit au cœur, sans complications et détours ?! Pour moi JS Bach est le ‘plus grand des grands’ compositeurs, aussi le plus complexe, et en même temps je ne voudrais pas voir trop d’intellectualisme lu dans ses pièces.

[@bifeldman]

His playing is virile and distinguished. He doesn’t wear on you.

[@Mase251]

Honest question: is there a real benefit in putting a harpsichord in the cave, with regards to humidity or temperature? I honestly would find it a pity buying such a beautiful instrument and then putting it out of sight into the least representative room of the house…

[@herrickinman9303]

Bach probably composed the prelude and fugue in C minor or D minor, then transposed it to C# minor to make it fit into the WTC sequence. lol

[@nimax97]

Source? It's in C sharp minor in the Wilhelm Friedemann Büchlein

[@herrickinman9303]

@@nimax97 Doubtful. The C# major prelude began life in C major.

[@nimax97]

@@herrickinman9303 I can't verify those claims. Can you give me a source? Bach was certainly not averse to playing and writing in "difficult" keys.

[@herrickinman9303]

@@nimax97 I can't verify your claim that Bach was not averse to playing in C# major. Can you give me a source? The apparent lack of examples of Bach works in C# major, other than those found in WTC 1 & 2, suggest that he was indeed averse to playing and writing in that key. Can you provide the BWV numbers other Bach works in C# major?

[@nimax97]

@@herrickinman9303 C# major book 1 has no extant early version in any key but its final one. Likewise C# sharp minor book 1. If you have read otherwise please link. Forkel tells us Bach took pleasure in modulating to distant keys. He wrote a partita for solo violin in E. And so on.