What Made Bach Great? Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750

In this episode we explore the life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750.
Photography in Leipzig by Fabian Pape
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[@johannsebastianbach3411]

Whenever I’m down, i watch this video as an ego boost.

[@franciscocastillo2030]

Excelent Bach music. Relaxing.I just love it.

[@LeoFreemanAUST]

When do you start suing everyone for copyright?

[@LL-ow1qt]

Thank you for all your work, highly appreciated . 😂

[@lvbdevinelove2329]

Lol that made me laugh a little too hard

[@lvbdevinelove2329]

I really don't know why people don't worship you as a god. Oh wait

[@Cre8tvMG]

When I was a classical guitar major my prof told me that Music Theory was just everyone coming along after Bach and trying to explain what he did by nature.

[@jcee6886]

Love this

[@alansmollen]

Same here.

[@andreww.8262]

Mine told me the same

[@askbrettmanning]

Amen 🙏

[@Astro-X]

So true! I have learned about retrograde motion in music theory class but never saw anyone really use it prominently, until I came across Bach....

[@littlelamb2112]

Saw him live back in the late 1720’s. Best concert I’ve ever been to. Legend forever ☺️

[@jharris947]

Was that the concert where Rod Stewart was second billing?

[@deltaveedesignconsulting7697]

@@jharris947 Naw, that was Keith Richard.

[@aussiebloke609]

"Everything you read on the internet is true." ~ Abraham Lincoln

[@aussiebloke609]

@buzz magister Ooh, shades of Umberto Eco...I'll have to go read that one again. :-D

[@sherbetdab1200]

A day in the life of J S Bach - nip down the studio, improvise for a few hours, write it down, nip home, bite to eat, shag the missus.

[@monicacall7532]

As a cellist I can’t say enough about the Six Solo Suites for Cello. They are the gold standard for cellists. If you can play these works musically and well you can play anything else in the repertoire. These six suites have been the soundtrack of my life expressing the entire range of emotions from deepest grief to absolute exultation and joy.

[@musamusashi]

The greatest music ever written for the instrument.

[@isaactakeuchimusic]

SAME. My life

[@whatever2045]

As a cellist I was told the suites ramp up in difficulty. But then when I started working on the 2nd suite, fucking menuet throws a curve ball at me.

[@monicacall7532]

Whatever, I agree about the minuets in Suite No. 2. I have small hands for a cellist, so yes, learning them was tough…has been learning both bourees in Suite No. 4 and the first gavotte in Suite No. 6.

[@whatever2045]

@@monicacall7532 Oh suite #4 is definitely not kind to people with small hands.

[@Kerphelio01]

The word "Bach" means "creek" in German. So Beethoven once said "Bach? Ocean is what he should have been called..."

[@berndlauert8179]

It says „Nicht Bach, sondern Meer sollte er heißen“ Meer means sea, and is also pronounced the same as mehr meaning more. So it is a double-pun

[@lintflas1183]

Beethoven greatly admired Bach. There are lots of letters written by Beethoven filled with superlatives about Bach. In many of his letters Beethoven repeatedly called him "the god of harmony". The letters were written between 1798-1802, more 25 years before Mendelssohn kicked off the Bach renaissance which lasts to the present day. Just like Mozart, he was fully aware of Bach's supreme importance.

[@MrDaiseymay]

SO, WHEN HE DIED, MUSIC WENT UP THE BACH ?

[@happyhoneybigbear]

@@berndlauert8179 EXACTLY! And "Bach" leans more toward "River Bank" than creek, though is used for both. So glad to see others enjoying the surprisingly delightful sense of humor that Herr Beethoven had. I studied Trombone at the Koelner Musickhochschule in Cologne where the man himself studied and heard several wonderful tales of Beethoven's wry sense of humor from venerable instructors present there in the early 90's. Such a wonderful time in life. Thanks for reminding me of this wonderful gem!

[@blakeschreckenbach679]

My name roughly translates to "low water crossing" I like to say.

[@bcflyer99]

Peter Ustinov said: Bach's music is so beautiful that it diminishes one's fear of death by virtue of its serene attachment to life.

[@Mamo878]

"Now _there_ is music from which a man can learn something." - W. A. Mozart (on hearing Bach motets in Leipzig)

[@joshsilvajr1227]

If Mozart said that, who am I to disagree?

[@freepagan]

Wrong Bach!

[@jaikee9477]

@@freepagan True, Mozart actually said this about Bach's son CPE, who happened to be his teacher and greatest influence. He also adored JC Bach, who later became incredibly successful in London. Mozart wasn't stupid. He knew how much he owed to old Bach. Mozart, as we know him, would be unthinkable without the Bach family.

[@orestezanardo4468]

No mention of counterpoint? How bizarre

[@Arcessitor]

@@jaikee9477 And funnily, the Bach family probably wouldn't have been possible without Pachelbel.

[@SteveKercherMusic]

I play Bach on the guitar almost everyday particularly the lute suites. I named my daughter Anna Magdalena after his wonderful wife. I'm pretty passionate about Bach too. Thanks for this!

[@pluutoop]

Me too. He has penetrated my soul in a way that broke me into pieces and showed me who I really am and who I could become. He is the most generous composer. He wanted to save humanity with his music. I own him my life. ❤

[@BeBopScraBoo]

john williams' performance of the gigue from 996 is the single greatest guitar performance of all time.

[@StephiSensei26]

I'm so glad there are so many of us who put Bach into our lives everyday. Bach + Guitar = Heaven!

[@jaikee9477]

Good choice! Not to mention that Anna Magdalena was more than just his wife. She was an eminent soprano singer and musician and she was involved in the writing of some of his pieces. Also she did a lot of copywork. Many of Bach's original manuscripts have her handwriting on them.

[@stevekercher1448]

@@jaikee9477 Indeed. She was a great musician and copyist. We may not have some of his pieces today without her.

[@snitsch68]

Jack Bruce (lead singer and bass player of Cream) said that " J.S. Bach wrote fabulous bass parts that every bass player should study cause they perfectly illustrate how to be functional and melodic at the same time."

[@proverbalizer]

I'ma study that bass in in Fugue in G minor

[@VanMoon]

Jack Bruce studied classical cello and bass at a conservatory before he picked up electric bass guitar.

[@ArbeiterInnenlieder]

Bach practically invented the bassline. We owe him everything.

[@richardshagam8608]

L learned (at the Bach museum in Eisenach, his birthplace) that he wrote the baseline first

[@USMCArchAngel03]

A wonderful thing about classical music is you can feel that these pieces are amazing, even if you have no idea why.

[@leadingfiremansteve]

I completely agree !

[@happyhoneybigbear]

Yes even the non-musicians in my Family (they are few but we have some) can inherently sense in their BONES that these pieces are Epic. My son is in San Diego and recently completed his training as a Combat Medic this month (as you know the Corps pulls their medics from Dept. of Navy) & he's been droppin' little nuggets to the fellas. He doesn't talk a lot....rather shocks the $h!t out of his comrades once you sit him in front of a piano. He's been showing these good men what real music is all about & they say the same as you: I don't know WHY, but this song kicks A$$. Hehe :-)

[@USMCArchAngel03]

@@happyhoneybigbear Wow that's amazing. I'm infantry so Corpsman are very high on my favorite people list. God bless your son. Sounds like he's someone with a lot to offer.!

[@paulkocabay1]

Absolutely

[@happyhoneybigbear]

@@USMCArchAngel03 well God bless you all and all the commenters here as well, especially you archangel. Stay frosty, brother. And if you ever meet a medic named Jake Walsh ,that's my son and we are very proud of him.

[@sophieblack8864]

I grew up in the Soviet Union and studied classical piano between the ages 7-14. Musical school curriculum was quite strict and we had to play this or that composer's works no matter how much we liked it or not. So I had to improvise sometimes and that was not encouraged at all :). Bach was the only composer I practiced without any hesitation, by placing fingers exactly the way it was requested, without any need to change anything. Bach's music was/is so complete, perfect and divine, it had tamed the rebellious teenager in me.

[@doctorlyon]

Composer Johannes Brahms said of Bach’s Chaconne from the D minor partita for solo violin: "The Chaconne is one of the most wonderful, incomprehensible pieces of music. On a single staff, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and the most powerful feelings. If I were to imagine how I might have made, conceived the piece, I know for certain that the overwhelming excitement and awe would have driven me mad."

[@the_bottomfragger]

Such a nice quote. The piece is so incredibly stunning, I've played it many times, practiced it for hundreds of hours and still feel like I'm just getting to know it. It's the one piece I know that I'll never be finished with, ever. Beautiful words by Brahms.

[@tonyhunt8081]

Bach is one of those very rare individuals who actually is as good as the "hype".

[@Allan-et5ig]

Or even exceeds the hype? Bach - yeah - believe the hype...

[@jaikee9477]

He really exceeds the hype, not to mention that Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, etc would totally agree with this statement.

[@Peter-ih2tn]

good to know that he passed your test

[@dr.juerdotitsgo5119]

I don't think there are "hypes" in classical music overall. The composers have well passed the test of time.

[@rondameron7073]

Carl Sagen asked what should be included on the famous Voyager golden disk, physicist Freeman Dyson said, "I'd send just Bach ... but that would be showing off."

[@josephhargrove4319]

The version I heard decades ago (also in paraphrase) had to do with what we should broadcast into space to try to connect with other intelligent beings. What I remember was "We should broadcast Bach, all of it. And risk being seen as boastful!" richard hargrove -- "La musique est une science qui veut qu'on rit et chant et danse." (Music is a science that would have one laugh and sing and dance.) -- Guillaume de Machaut (1300-77)

[@dudeonbike800]

That's excellent! I can't believe I hadn't heard that one before. And so true then, when we were emerging from the disco 70's and into the "me, me, ME!" 80's. But compared to now, then was nothing. Given our (the United States) current sad state of affairs, just one measure of Bach is showing off. Humanity is saying more and more each day that we simply aren't worthy of many of the masterpieces of our culture. Our greed makes us unworthy. T As the greedy at the top undermine the foundations of society, our humanity suffers. We can no longer pursue the higher pursuits and are instead left to scratch and claw for the basic necessities. What has been true in the third world for generations is now becoming true in much of the developed world as well. The US is leading the way on devolution of society. Tax cuts don't create prosperity for a country, they only enrich the few at the top - those with all the power simply attaining more. So yes, sending Bach is showing off. Because if an intelligent life form found us - and almost by definition they'd be FAR MORE advanced than us - they'd discover a smouldering mass that lives far, FAR below the genius exhibited by Bach and our other truly shining stars of humanity. Shame on us. Shame on us all.

[@frugallentigo6768]

@Dude On Bike. Do you feel better now?

[@lucasgust7720]

@daAnder71 yeah and It wasn't even Freeman Dyson, but the biologist Luis Thomas who said that.

[@gavinfarkas8255]

It was Thomas Lewis that said that.

[@allisonrich5061]

When life is crashing down all around me I listen to JS Bach to make things feel more ordered and calm. Bach's music is healing.

[@johnboettger864]

I listen to Kamala Harris.

[@Astro-X]

@@johnboettger864 begone troll

[@NoMeWithoutYou1]

After watching your Sting/Dominic Miller interview, I decided to revisit Bach after decades, and I end up right back here on your channel. :-)

[@facelessandnameless]

I did the same thing! Haha

[@digglerdsrecordings9680]

Yep, that's what KZbin suggested to me too.

[@Phi1618033]

If you ever find yourself asking the question: "If I'm looking up to all these great musicians, then who are all these great musicians looking up to?" The answer is Bach.

[@robertgumpi7235]

Tal Moore Great sentence. So it is.

[@frankgliksman5919]

Exactly.

[@Phi1618033]

@@richardwebb2348 "Not Brook but Ocean should be his name. " - Ludwig Van Beethoven ("Bach" is the German word for "brook")

[@franziskakre8309]

@@richardwebb2348 Beethoven did not know the complete works of Bach. Only "Die Kunst der Fuge", no "Goldberg-Variationen", not the "Passionen" not his concerti, nt his organ works...

[@julianmanjarres1998]

And guess who Bach looked up to... Yup, you guessed it...

[@U2B2024]

I love how Rick is equally passionate about Alice in Chains and Bach. That’s why this is such a great channel. For anyone new to Bach, I would recommend checking out Sheep May Safely Graze. It may not be Bach’s most complex piece. But it’s stunningly beautiful.

[@pwk22]

I did. Beautiful. Although, had I listened without video, I would have never tied the piece with sheep (though it's pacific).

[@GeorgeBletchly]

Exactly what I was thinking. There aren't many people who are equally interested in and knowledgeable about both rock and classical music. I learned Sheep May Safely Graze when I was in my teens and I still take great pleasure in playing it 50 years later.

[@jacklandy5704]

That's just your opinion. There's no need for you to attack other people's interests. Just stop.

[@rhabdob3895]

Great Destroyer : better at concertos. But not better at heroin... I mean rock music.

[@jacklandy5704]

@Great Destroyer I'm not attacking your interests. I'm trying to stop you from attacking other people's interests.

[@Normantnt]

"The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul." J.S.Bach

[@osoialncuiq]

Bach music certainly refreshes my soul!

[@pcuimac]

Souls and god don't exist.

[@newbladey]

@@pcuimac I'm an atheist too but you don't have to be this edgy in a youtube comments section lmao

[@mastinho6761]

@@pcuimac 1 - You can't prove that God exist BUT you also can't prove that God doesn't exist. 2 - you're edgy.

[@Nobddy]

@@pcuimac it can be taken as a metaphor too ya know? You don’t have to take everything literally (although Bach was probably being literal).

[@jaikee9477]

"Bach is like an astronomer who, with help from ciphers, finds the most wonderful stars!" -- Frederic Chopin

[@bassmaiasa1312]

I was in seventh grade, in junior high school in Harlem, and our teacher took us out one night on a 'cultural enrichment field trip' to hear the ballet. I was 12 and not really interested in ballet, but the music for one of the dances caught my ear. I thought to myself "the violins are talking to each other." Later, I looked at the program and it was obvious I'd heard the Concerto for Two Violins. Looking back, I think that moment was the awakening of my musical life.

[@mokoliveros8298]

Are you referring to the Largo movement of Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D minor? Whenever I hear that piece, I imagine two humpback whales--a mother and its young--swimming together in graceful slow motion, while singing a duet. =D

[@sierra3644]

this is a very beautiful story

[@Hevvvyyy]

fugue in g minor is my favorite one by him

[@SAPprogramming]

I had that same moment when I in elementary school at church with my dad at the St. Paul Cathedral. I remember I was fidgeting with the church bulletin at the almost end of mass - I remember fidgeting because of what came next on the organ - "sheep may safely graze." I saw my dad look at me with confusion as stopped to listen what sounds would come next.

[@soakedbearrd]

This is what great teachers do, they point you in a direction and watch you run with whatever catches your eye.

[@bariswheel]

St John's passion sounds like the soundtrack of the beginning of our universe .

[@jordonhodges8493]

Haha......wellll the Gospel according to John chap 1 describes the beginning "In the beginning was the word and the word was God and the word was with God. Holistic beginning of all, all meaning, all beauty, all truth, all good, and all matter.

[@metteholm4833]

..or "something is about to happen here - and it is NOT going to be peaceful!"

[@christophertaylor9100]

St Matthew Passion is heart rending beauty; used to great effect by Martin Scorcese in "Casino"

[@karlmahlmann]

“The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” - Johann Sebastian Bach

[@elsenored562]

1:49 Air on the G String 2:02 Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring 2:29 Well-tempered Clavier 3:29 Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 3:50 Goldberg Variations 4:01 Mass in B Minor 4:23 Cello Suite No. 1 5:04 Art of the Fugue 6:30 Cantata No. 54 7:25 [more of the same?] 8:25 E Major Prelude 10:04 [compare Alan Rawthorne: Oboe Concerto] 11:27 St. John Passion => Watch "A Passionate Life" by Sir John Eliot Gardiner 13:44 (end)

[@cosmofoxgaming1268]

Cantata 54 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@Moksi-iq7pl]

7:25 Motet Jesu, meine freude BWV 227

[@lunodavinci1427]

@@Moksi-iq7pl THANK YOU!

[@myfairlady343]

@@Moksi-iq7pl one of his greatest works also un my ooinion

[@chesneytube1]

obligatory air on the g string joke

[@GamingRevenant]

As an organist myself, having played Bach for over 8 years now... it's just incredible how each and every new piece I hear of him is so different and such a new world. Everytime I want to learn a new piece of him, I discover things where I'm like "wait, he also wrote things like this...?". His Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor is an absolute pinnacle in his repertoire, and is probably the most beautiful and exhilarating masterwork I've ever played.

[@fatfrumosfat]

Nice to hear that as musician you like learn from bach ,who made universal mathematical music creations ,which are the fountain of wisdom of knowledge ! Its so nice that he made such a great dictionary of music styles ,his music its the future lol best of luck and have funPs our generation should sings bachs masterpieces lol

[@johnprice362]

It is also quite stunning on pedal harpsichord

[@talastra]

It's so obvious to note the Passacaglia, and yet sometimes a super-famous work is also a legitimately mind-blowing piece of eternity. And this is one such. In general, I find his organ works to be flabbergasting.

[@johne6081]

Thank you for the nod to the Passacaglia, which is one of my absolute favorite compositions, as well. We are in good company -- when I thanked our church organist for playing it, she confided that it was her favorite, as well.

[@reflecting6189]

i love the passacaglia. absolutely amazing. the way he keeps the bass going.. especially during the arpeggios.. its really well done on the Amorbach organ.. the album is on spotify

[@enkiitu]

I lived for a while three blocks away from the Thomas Kirche in Leipzig, while I was working as a singer in Leipzig’s opera house. Rick, I usually watch your videos because they are very entertaining, and I have to thank you for this one. Especially. I’ve sung many works by Bach, especially Matthäus Passion. Many times. And I love how broad your music palate is. I feel deeply identified with it. Apart from EVERYTHING else, Bach was an incredible melodist, if such a word exists. And he was a man, like you and I. It’s absolutely mind blowing the amount of works with such consistent quality, beauty, inventiveness, etc... that this guy wrote. Never was and never will be something like it. Thank you for this video, man.

[@xrysostom]

When my younger daughter was about three years old, John Eliot Gardiner's first B-minor Mass recording caught her ear. The first notes of the Credo grabbed her and she couldn't let go. Then she saw the cover art-the Lamb Triumphant from the Ghent Altarpiece-and asked what all that was about. From then on, whenever she wanted to hear the music, she would say, "Papa, play 'the Lamb,'" and I would put the disks on. Since then, as a church musician and music teacher, she's continued to get what she can out of Herr Bach and to give him back what she can. I marvel at how he took that brutally difficult theme that he received from Frederick the Great-possibly a sequence written by his son CPE that he and the ruler thought to use to embarrass the elder Bach-that he turned into the genius of the Musical Offering.

[@Noctifern]

I love John elliot gardiner. his recording of beethovens eroica is incredible and easily my favorite

[@Jack-fs2im]

Its impossible to define Bachs greatness,it is beyond definition.

[@nikosibarramante2677]

Bach was actually ‘forgotten’ in the years after his death. His ‘rediscovery’ is attributed to Felix Mendelssohn’s effort to promote his music. And Western music was better because of this. As someone who has played Bach’s music on the keyboard, sang and conducted his choral works, I would say that Bach’s genius lay on his almost unearthly understanding of the transition from modal music to triadic harmonic progression (today’s harmony), and his ability to utilize these into his music. Western music at that time was still moving from modes (it was a long transition since Monteverdi), and Bach was the master who knew how to wield the power of his music writing during these exciting period in history. Thank you Rick for sharing your experiences and knowledge. Leipzig can be a transformative place for a musician who is hungry for understanding.

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

Not true. He was not forgotten. At least not among musicians. It's just that performing his music, especially his cantatas, which make up the main body of his work, fell out of fashion.

[@floriandevuyst]

Correct : Mendelssohn revealed Bach's deepness and greatness to the world through "St Mathaüs Passion". Amazing harmonics and complex architecture, event if the artwork didn't come complete because of a lost part.

[@uumlau]

@@Quotenwagnerianer or more aptly, he was resented, because he was just so darn good. Later composers didn't want to be compared to him.

[@ErikaWeiss]

He was not forgotten...that is a myth.

[@TheNinnyfee]

Yes, he definitely was a visionary.

[@bleikrsound6127]

Brian May likes Bach so much, he adapted his hair-style.

[@markglenn1712]

Since he also has an advanced science degree, I'm sure he's happy with the Bach / Newton thing going on.

[@JeffSyam]

On one of BBC's Sky at Night when they invite Brian May, one of the co-hosts said: "I've never seen a scientist having so much resemblance with Isaac Newton to Brian May". At that time he has got his PhD.

[@ejrandler]

@@markglenn1712 PhD in Astrophysics

[@auxxik3805]

You mean issac newton

[@colebuckmaster966]

Brian May sucks

[@ianboggs9211]

Back in my late teens and early twenties, I sang in church choir. Singing bass was for a lot of the time not very challenging and a bit boring. That is until we sang some Bach. We would all learn our parts by listening to each part played individually on the organ, then sing along with it. Standard practice. At that age, I could sing bass or tenor in full voice and alto in falsetto. With Bach pieces, I sang the three parts in rehearsal just for the joy of it. With Bach, in almost every piece, each part is a complete and beautiful piece of music in and of itself. Then all of these beautiful pieces roll and flip over and blend with each other like no other music. To play a piece on an instrument is one thing. To sing with ones own voice several parts (like multitracking) and to feel the beauty of each and then to sing in the ensemble feeling all the parts is entirely something different. Bach can be movingly beautiful, disturbingly grave and pretty and joyous. Sometimes all at the same time. I know of no other who can do or has done that. Bach still proves that there is such a thing as serious fun. :)

[@Robert_1685]

Actually, G.F. Händel certainly comes close.

[@ianboggs9211]

@@Robert_1685 yes. I'll drink to that. He did have his moments for sure. Water Music and Messiah come to mind. But the bass parts aren't quite the goisebump producers that JS created. There really is a lot of great music out there and I guess we can all have our favourites.

[@tomjohnson1252]

My favorite composer of all. When I hear one of his pieces I can't believe how he came up with his notes. As I play them it just blows my mind.

[@avielkharrat5788]

Your channel is absolutely fantastic. Here are no limits. Everything Music is well named in deed. It makes you dream, it makes you travel, it makes you go out of your boundaries, it educates you... I also greatly appreciate the fact that you respect your audience and the musicians you talk about. Clean channel here. Yet, you talk freely, boldly. Your channel is an invitation to love music, to love it more and more.

[@RickBeato]

Thank you.

[@avielkharrat5788]

@@RickBeato you're so welcome. And thank YOU! Salut de Paris! 🤗🎸🎷🎶🎵🎼📯🎤🎹📣🎻🥁🎺

[@BloodredRon]

Avi Elkharrat That’s exactly how I feel too. Great channel!

[@gentbar7296]

agree

[@Whiteyruss1]

Bach said "Any music that doesn't bring God joy is just noise"

[@dbcooper9935]

That pretty much sums up today.

[@stephen5601]

DB Cooper thank you for saying that.

[@danielmconnolly7]

@@dbcooper9935 I think he sensed that Rap would come along someday and kill everybody's good vibe...

[@unknowjlm]

@@danielmconnolly7 Depends on what type of rap you talk about. (the one you hear on the radio? Sure)

[@philosyche]

@@danielmconnolly7 i mean come on, shitting on all of rap and not taking the minimal effort of sub-categorising it is just ignorant and lazy. rap is a huge, all encompassing term

[@pietrosilvestri8107]

Bach's music is the only music that can never bore you

[@abrahampalmer8761]

Indeed especially his organ works

[@F8Lwrld]

amen

[@martinkojour8879]

Living god tho

[@msmith53]

It does bore “the ignorant”! Challenging to the limited.

[@josephciolino2865]

After 40 years of teaching music and the muisic of Bach, I've learned one thing is certain: the genius of Bach at it's most sublime can NEVER be put into words.

[@johnboettger864]

One thing is certain, the rest is lies. The flower that once has blown, forever dies.

[@livingbeings]

I am so glad that my Beato Club dues go towards producing this kind of content. Thanks Rick.

[@juliasessofiglio9549]

Thanks so much for being one of his patrons. I can't speak for everyone, but I am grateful beyond belief for his content, especially something like this.

[@wesleyalan9179]

Its awesome!

[@TreyVittetoeMusic]

Bach was a machine. The guy turned out so much music and had to work so quickly to keep up with his schedule. And yet his music was of such consistent superior quality. Thanks Rick, I love your subjects!

[@lupash]

Aristotle said that quality comes with quantity, like a habit. And not viceversa (viceversa as in quantity prevents quality and quality is inversely proportional to quantity), like many use to think.

[@7177YT]

i think many pieces, intricate though they are, are just snapshots of ever evolving improvising material. i bet that's why he comes across so jazzy lol.

[@u.v.s.5583]

You do not have to publish everything you write. You practice, you write hundreds of hours of music and then publish a single hour worth of music, which is a masterpiece. Then you will have small quantity of exceedingly high quality. That is Gauss and Riemann versus Cauchy and indeed Euler in mathematics.

[@7177YT]

@@u.v.s.5583 if u ever had a looked at eulers opera omnia, u know, those big ole tomes. if u did, you'd know that quality vs quantity argument is bullshit. lol. as for cauchy vs gauss, that metaphor is off quite a bit too. ;)

[@kaloarepo288]

Bach's contemporary Telemann wrote even more music than Bach did -I believe Telemann was the most prolific composer who ever lived -to a non-musician like me Telemann's music sounds as good as Bachs but experts say it's not -it was not as complicated but does music always have to be complicated?

[@misterleary]

One aspect why Bach's music is still great is that it's still alive and even a mediocre singer like me can participate. I live in Lueneburg, a town close to Hamburg, where Bach finished his education as a "Kantor" as a young man. He sang in the choir of my church and now I can sing his Cantatas and large choir works. We have 3 large church choirs in our town and there is a tradititon that his oratories sort of rotate over the years from one church to the other. So you can listen to the christmas oratory every year. And this is good practise in almost every town and city in Germany. Well, not this year, because of Covid-19 all concerts are cancelled.

[@ac1646]

🥰

[@nightshadegatito]

More evidence that the planned’demic was truly Satan’s working. In Bach I trust.

[@alefabbri9889]

Bach is simply magnificent. Bach wrote music in a divine way never equalled by any other composer ever. He managed to be the real voice of God.

[@Torgo1969]

Except for Toccata and Fugue in D Minor...the voice of The Devil. I love it.

[@autemniaequinoctius2030]

@@Torgo1969 yes, just 1 minute before he sinned and was thrown down

[@seanwalsh72]

I just cannot wrap my head around the fact that one man composed so much wonderful music. To say that Bach was a prolific composer would not do the man justice.

[@offsetsammy]

Many musicians are stars, but Bach is the big bang.

[@effie-mars]

Well, Bach didn't create music but ok

[@kosatochca]

Facu Maresca Though, he is literally called the Father of music

[@effie-mars]

Yeah, not the big bang of it

[@tomwilliams8591]

@@effie-mars Well, 'father' of music would also imply that it was his child, something that came from him. You knew what point the person was trying to make, stop being needlessly pedantic.

[@effie-mars]

Stop assuming and categorizing me, in any case. Okay so I'm a musician too, and if he's the father of musicians, is Bach my daddy? :$

[@ignaciogomis272]

Among many, many other things , What makes Beato Great is his love for ALL kinds of music, other from the ones inside his field of expertise. And What makes him extraordinary is how he appreciates Bach's music and recognizes it's influence in his developement as a "modern" musician.

[@marlonb.8243]

Mr. Rick Beato, this is your best take on any one musician. I never thought I would ever like classical, but Bach pushed me over the edge. I listen to all genre of music. Bach checks all the boxes for me for what I like in classical; just like how Django Reinhardt & Vince Guaraldi does it for me for jazz.

[@ront8270]

Rick..here’s my story : i was a mailman for thirty years and during my time I met a guy who plays in the symphony and loves to fish and I was was really new to the guitar but I was really into ..so I asked one day if he wanted to go fishing on the big lake eire and ,we went and on the way he explained how Bach harmonized all his music back then for the whole ride out there for a hour and half .. I never said more than that’s cool wow that entire 1.5 hrs their ...that’s was 8 year ago and we’re still great friends even when he’s half my age @62...soooo ur story of JSB WASSSS SOOOO GOOOD .. thanks for ur lessons and ur utube friends ...u all know who you are and thanks for sharing

[@thatellipsisguy8984]

Ron T wait, you’re 124??!

[@chrisboel1611]

I teach my middle school students about Bach and his music. By the time we get to the end of our unit on Bach, they have a very good introductory knowledge of his life and music. They could also tell you that Bach is my absolute favorite musician. Let’s face it, we could spend a lifetime pulling apart Bach’s music and still only scratch the surface. Thanks for this great video Rick.

[@jgischer]

Oh man. That moment in the St. Johns Passion where the chorus enters. BOOM! It's a simple I(minor) triad, but all the meanderings and complications in the orchestra before that give it such force and presence.

[@Raukura42]

Totally agree. Just like the beginning of the Mass in B Minor when the orchestra and choir enter together. Imagine hearing that in a church with the sun coming through the stained glass of the cavernous interior for the urgent full throated cry of Kyrie Eleison.

[@robcotnam47]

All I know is, more of J.S. Bach's melodies and chord progressions make the hair on the back of my neck stand up than those of any other composer.

[@joshuajaimes121]

Same here my friend.

[@xolanimtha]

Bach was sent from heaven to unfold music! He was sent to compose and create sounds that will stand till the end of time! Bach was an inspired man! His sounds are so angelic!

[@thomasmcdevitt5543]

xolanimtha amen

[@PeterLaman]

There's so much that makes Bach great! If you listen to 30 main stream pop song, you probably hear almost the same thing 30 times. If you listen to the same Bach piece 30 times, you'll hear something new all 30 times. Bach's music is packed with gold. You can't just appreciate all of it if you only listen a few times. I've been playing Bach's Lute music on guitar for about 40 year now, and still I find new details, pieces of gold, like a different way to look at the voicings, or the harmonies. It just keeps challenging and inspiring. I don't there's any other composer like that.

[@PhillipLandmeier]

This is true! There are pieces I've listened to and played for over 50 years and I STILL discover new things I hadn't noticed before. None of it ever gets old.

[@steffen5121]

@Camille Desmoulins He wrote over 1.000 works, some of them over 2 hours long. I have no idea, but If you put them all together, you'd probably had 4 weeks of Musik non-stop.

[@cirkmannzirkel8229]

The intro of the Johannes Passion, as well as Widerstehe doch der Sünde, brings tears of joy to my eyes immediately. It's as simple as that.

[@petetom1]

You cannot forget Bachs violin concertos. How double concerto is one of my all time favorite pieces.

[@sandragoodman2059]

I listen to the E Major whenever I need a lift.

[@stevenm.6886]

I have listened to Bach’s works for 40 yrs or so, and do not pretend to know much about it other than it moves me like no other music can 🤷‍♂️

[@danielmconnolly7]

I give it a "7", it's easy to Waltz to...

[@shelleysteva2251]

Steven M. That is good enough. Music like his means civilization is worth saving

[@martinhurley7761]

No need to block any of Ricks videos. The man is a legend

[@OmniphonProductions]

Imagine walking into an 18th Century cathedral on Sunday morning and hearing Toccata & Fugue on the pipe organ...or walking back out into the world after hearing Prelude #1. In addition to the mathematical genius of his music and the monumental nature of his repertoire...the man could set a mood!!!

[@alexisazede5222]

I love Bach's music ! And in my mind I often thank my piano teacher who made me love bach's music. Her key sentence was : "Dans Bach il n'y a pas la mélodie et l'accompagnement, dans Bach tout chante ! " (in Bach's music there is not the melody and the support, in Bach's music everything is singing !" Thank you Mr Beato ! Alexis (from Nantes, France)

[@robertllr]

Well, you know you can't limit Bach's greatness to "Eight major works." But even so, how could anyone leave out the Chaconne? I'll let Brahms speak for me: "On one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind." - Johannes Brahms about Bach's Chaconne

[@tatianacovington53]

Look what Einstein did with chalk and a blackboard.

[@Me-uv6kc]

He also left out the musical offering... Bach wrote a lot of titanic works

[@jaimepimienta233]

Incidentally, the Chaconne written for the left hand by Brahms on the theme by Bach is featured in an old 1940’s movie with Peter Lorre: “The Beast with 5 Fingers.” The plot is stupid since it makes reference that the composition was composed by the fictional character in the movie.

[@luclaflamme4712]

I cannot agree more...

[@spielersubliminals8025]

Keep in mind, Brahms was also a notorious perfectionist

[@greenviolist34]

I've smoked a lot of weed in my life but I never get as high as when I listen to or play Bach.

[@eisbaerbel]

Agree...😎

[@dominikk8547]

Maybe try both at the same time :)

[@ilkeadrall710]

I've ever smoked not a single tiny bit of weed and I won't but I concur that your sentence and Bach deserve a big like from me. I appreciate both and why not, your enlightment too.

[@cjscarff6453]

I would like but it’s currently at 69 likes and I don’t want to disturb that

[@ilkeadrall710]

@@cjscarff6453 I wouldn't like to disturb that by giving you a first like and by hoping you sixty 68 more.

[@HomeBrewedVapesReviews]

It took me many years to understand what it means to appreciate Bach. You hear some of his pieces so often that you take him for granted. Until you let yourself either sit and take it in, or something grabs you, you'll never really get it I don't think. But I can hear the range of emotions in his works, and am thankful for what he gave to us.

[@tampazeke4587]

I fell in love with Bach when I was 5 years old. My mother couldn't understand my obsession but thank goodness she indulged it.

[@ac1646]

😁

[@NystromJohan]

A fantastic video and hommage to J.S. Bach. Thank you so much! I'm 56 now. J.S. Bach's music has been a huge part of my life since early teens. His music is such a comfort. Way better than any therapist! :-)

[@alastertan5779]

Same here. Visited Leipzig, Thomas kirche Had an opportunity to pay my homage to Bach - finally.

[@ryokinor6223]

Bach was a virtuoso of the organ. He fathered 20 children.

[@composingwithjames]

He was prolific in more than one way

[@marizacabral5141]

Yet they say he has no living descendants today.

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

@@marizacabral5141 That is not true. There are still descendants alive today, but they don't bear the name anymore since the paternal line, which carries the name, died out.

[@marizacabral5141]

@@Quotenwagnerianer Do you happen to have the source of this information/research? I happen to have quite a bit of curiosity over the question of whether JSB has living descendants today.

[@toon2u1]

his organ had no stops

[@najinelson6742]

Maybe Bach is the most influential musician ever. I love Gould playing Bach. His Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for organ is very famous, too, what an intro!

[@chuckcochran8599]

By far, my most favorite Composer of all time. The body of work he left behind is phenomenal in its scope, depth and complexity. I spent a number of years just studying his reharmonizations of hymns, and just scratched the surface. Thank you Rick. In my humble opinion, this is probably one of the most important educational videos you've done to date.

[@gligachaz5047]

This is like heaven after watching a video of a man spending a week in VR headset. Thank goodness for Bach.

[@richardgordon8110]

RICK. I'M 72 AND AM IN THE PROCESS OF LEARNING HIS 2 PART INVENTIONS.

[@beback_]

RICHARD GORDON Right on, man

[@nicholasrees1838]

Not sure how far through you are but I'd recommend the d minor (no. 4 I think) and the c minor as being particularly good. Of course all the rest are good too!

[@raulperez2308]

hows it goin man? 19 y.o. here, currently with the well tempered clavier, some of the stuff is bloody hard

[@garymoeller892]

Maikind K. There is no better advice than this!

[@stampcollector74]

Bach just touches my heart. ♥ He was a genius.

[@ultima579]

Every composer who has ever lived: “Bach is the father, we are his children”.

[@msmith53]

He had 18 of his own!

[@codythedoggo7671]

@@msmith53 20!

[@pteromalid]

Toccata and Fugue in d minor has been my favorite piece of music since I was a young child, listening to my father play it on pipe organ.

[@thatellipsisguy8984]

I’d say it has to be his. You hear notes in it that aren’t written or played but exist in the interplay between overtones - and that came out of his head...

[@its1110]

@@thatellipsisguy8984 I've thought that myself. Bach played with his fugues as a way to teach or illustrate the Art of Fugue. I can't think that "simplicity" would be an argument against a fugue being Bach's... it was part of his approach to and fun with music.

[@mkshffr4936]

Try the Dorian. It will knock your socks off.

[@scottparis6355]

Really awful that people now hear the first bar and think "Ew, spooky. Phantom of the Opera. Halloween."

[@its1110]

@@scottparis6355 Yes. Very profound. That is surely not in any way Bach's mindset in that piece.

[@Infidelio]

Seeing Bach's memorial plaque brings tears to my eyes. Thanks for your wonderful tribute, Rick.

[@danielmconnolly7]

There's no crying in Classical Piano...

[@raygunsforronnie847]

@@danielmconnolly7 Gould would hum along, though!

[@Samantha-vlly]

His works are unparalleled

[@tonytripp1]

Rick, I discovered your channel and I am compelled to write you a comment. Very rarely do I find someone online that is as spot on with music as you are. And this Bach video just confirmed EVERYTHING. I have much respect for you and your work. Keep on making these great videos and educating the people on "what makes music great." We need more of this in our insane world.

[@bernardfinucane2061]

I think the Well Tempered Clavichord was written to demonstrate the advantages of tuning the instrument in a specific way -- well tempered and not even tempered. The pitch increases by the twelfth root of two each step up the chromatic scale, but that is an irrational number, so you have to fudge it somehow. The different methods of fudging are called temperaments. Bach put lots of fancy chords into the piece to show his method was best. But of course, it had to be beautiful to have any value as a demonstration. So in a way there is as much science as art in it. You can think of a keyboard as a digital slide rule. Moving up one octave, which is twelve steps, doubles the frequency of the tone. Moving half that is increasing by the square root of two. So if middle C is one, F# above it is the square root of two. G is 3/2, which is 1.5, according to Pythagoras, but it is actually seven steps up the chromatic scale, or 2^(7/12), which is about 1.498. That is why you have to fudge. E is supposed to be 5/4, 1.25, but it is actually 2^(4/12), the cube root of two, roughly 1.2599. Here's how you use a keyboard to calculate the square root of three: If G above middle C is 3/2, then G an octave higher is three, nineteen steps up the chromatic scale. Half that is about nine steps up from middle C, which is A. Follow the circle of fifths and you get C->G->D->A, which is (3/2)^3, or 27/8. But that A is an octave too high, so the A about middle C is half that, 27/16, or 1.6875. The square root of three is 1.732, only about 3% higher. Getting good approximations translates into having an instrument that sounds like it is in tune. It has to work for lots of different cases, meaning lots of different chords. That is the problem Bach was wrestling with.

[@fulanodetal4856]

Thanks for your comment, man! Though i'm struggling to fully understand all of this! What would you recommend me to read to achieve that understanding? Thanks again!

[@khabriel]

Thank for the lesson Sir.

[@john9675]

You what ?

[@DuncanEduardo]

Brilliant comment Bernard.

[@ron88303]

@Doogyrevko wow Not boring; just above your pay grade.

[@musiclistsareus1029]

I heard a great quote by John Batiste that I'll have to paraphrase since I didn't write it down, Bach was better at music than anyone else has ever been at anything.

[@shnimmuc]

JBL never said that.

[@michaelsobran8178]

Lol. Yes

[@michaelsobran8178]

Yes.

[@musiclistsareus1029]

Who is jbl?

[@curbmassa]

My take is- Bach designed and constructed the building. Everyone is still arguing over the drapes and wallpaper ever since.

[@faridrosero6040]

Bach is overwhelmingly awesome, this year I had the pleasure of learning one of his preludes and fugues, only four pages and yet it took me over 7 months to finish it and to be able to play it decently. I do not quite understand everything that is going on in the fugue, but god! It sounds so nice, and the act of playing turns into a mathematical and logical puzzle that you not only have to solve but also have to communicate that puzzle in the language of arts. I get lost everytime I play that piece, and it's amazing.

[@chrisbrewer4285]

The most beautiful sound to ever come out of a musical instrument "Concerto for Two Violins"

[@alastertan5779]

Amen ! Love love BWV 1043

[@mikeytimz4387]

What Makes Rick Beato Great? Quality Videos.

[@nznegativeions]

Want some kneepads?

[@mikeytimz4387]

Only if you promise to watch :)

[@jazzerson7087]

Always quality, yup, but this one was beautiful, the footage from inside the church is extraordinary, looks an overwhelming place. Well worth the wait on this.

[@evil6564]

Prison Mike.

[@tyflyer007]

@@nznegativeions Dude.......I thumbed your comment down 45 times and nothing happened.......bummer.....

[@wolfmanjock]

I have that grin starting when I listen or look at Bach’s music. Absolutely elegant, but a juggernaut of musical movement. I love the quote about him better at music than anyone else has been at anything. I’ve never heard that one before!

[@rickbarrington]

Absolutely one of your top videos. It has the polish of a top class production, done with authority and reverence. The best tribute to a giant amongst musical icons, as relevant to millennials as rockers like me

[@ultrametric9317]

The two most impressive sounds I've ever heard were the launch of a Saturn 1B rocket, and Bach's E-flat "St. Anne" organ prelude/fugue played on the great organ in York Minster - this titanic sound bouncing off the stone walls of the cathedral that you could literally feel in your bones. It was like the voice of God.

[@tomowenpianochannel]

Can honestly say I had a similar experience. Bach Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, on a organ, in the main Cathedral in Madrid. Heard the notes outside, entered the cathedral. There are no words to describe the power, the possession of your soul, the all-encompassing world of sound, shaking the walls when the bass comes in, literally an earthquake of organised, positive, major key music, in the sunlight of Spain. If I could choose 50 moments from my life to repeat, that is one of them.

[@fivizzano]

This has to be the 10 time I watch this.... probably couse its the CLEAREST explanation of Bach's magic I have ever seen... GREAT work Rick...!

[@wolf1303]

Bach is the greatest of all time! without Bach there wouldn't be Mozart, Beethoven, etc....awesome video

[@thomassiegler9898]

Without Monteverdi, Schütz, Pachelbel, Palestrina, Buxtehude, Couperin and Vivaldi there would be no Bach.

[@baronderochemont8556]

The harpsichord solo on the Brandenburg Concerto number 5 is 3 minutes of pure rock’n roll madness!

[@MyHomeExperiments]

I know right! Also check the oboe solo at Brandenburg Concerto 1 - 4th movement.

[@ac1646]

Yes. It was one of our set pieces for critical analysis for O Level music and I've loved it ever since.

[@BalefulBunyip]

Thanks Rick, nice to see you take a diversion into my favourite composer. I play his 'cello suites often. Imagining a world without his music, would be like living in a world without flowers or sunsets. Great art should effect you emotionally, and boy Johann Sebastian could do that in spades 😊

[@davidberndt6275]

Rick, this video needed to be an hour. 13 minutes just barely gets started :) appreciate your work!

[@ryanmadsen3982]

I took a college class on Bach that really just scratched the surface. If this video motivates even one person to start listening to Back then Rick has done a great service.

[@tomicanurnberger3619]

I really like all your shows but this one struck me especially on an inspirational note. Love the video scenes in Leipzig. It's beautiful to see how truly you appreciate music and history. In my eyes you're a maestro 👏👏👊

[@sc78187]

Beato, just saying thank you the channel and all you do. You are greatly appreciated. Rock On 🤘🏼

[@coloraturaElise]

What a wonderful video, Rick! I've watched about 10 of your videos, but as a classical and jazz musician my respect for you has just increased tenfold, because I didn't realize how good your musical background really is..thanks so much for all you do to promote music education on KZbin! btw, when you showed the clip of Rostropovich playing the cello suites, I just started crying, because it was just him and Bach sitting together...you know what I mean? And I didn't stop crying until after the video was over. That's the power of great, great music!

[@paulgibby6932]

The tears started popping out at that chunk of St. John's Passion. What a sublime composer (and presentation). Thanks for the recognition/appreciation of his greatness.

[@universeconsciouscitizensc592]

I got high on the roof of the electronics factory I worked at in 1976 (I was 21), then put on my headphones and started assembling audio equipment, when Bach's Concerto for for Two Keyboards in C Major came on the radio, and I was astounded and hooked! He is my favorite composer of all time, and ever will be. I liked Rick's take on this, as it is always the incredibly harmonically dense and varied territory that Bach's music travels through that gets me. I greatly enjoy many other baroque composers as well, but Bach's music is something special.

[@jimstewart336]

I think that there's a certain brain wiring in some of us that causes the instant and lifelong love of his works.

[@killyourtvnotme]

I get fatigued by Mozart and Beethoven, never Bach. There’s something so calming, complex, and regal about his works

[@ritajohannessen9804]

God.

[@ritajohannessen9804]

It's becauce Bach needed help from God, he always prayed for help, and he gave ALL the glory back to God.

[@killyourtvnotme]

@@ritajohannessen9804 I’ll take that answer

[@jaikee9477]

"I play the notes as I have written, but it is God who makes the music" - Johann Sebastian Bach. Notice Bach, despite being a polymath, never took credit for his music. He always understood his music as something given to him by an outside force.

[@ritajohannessen9804]

@@jaikee9477 woow. Thank you ! This iş important.

[@trustyshellback4724]

To me, J.S. Bach can be summed up by one word: "DIVINE". Air on the G String (Suite in D Major, BWV 1068) as played by Jonathan Scott on the grandiose pipe organ of Whitworth Hall, University of Manchester UK is the most MOVING music performance I've ever heard! It's on YT, go check it out yourselves! The composition and Jonathan's performance and the heavenly sound of that powerful organ is so hauntingly beautiful, it's simply magnificent! It literally moved me to tears! To me the composition conveys profound sadness, but simultaneously eternal glory, elation and celebration! Only a genius could achieve that and J.S. Bach WAS a musical genius! That term is thrown around so recklessly these days, but Bach was the real deal.

[@captainbienvenuecanadianav7060]

He was jailed briefly for dueling with a bassoon player. Apparently, he insulted the fellow by claiming his bassoon playing reminded him of the bleating of a sheep.The two men drew on each other and went at it.

[@DonVal86]

Captain Bienvenue Canadian Avenger He also went into rehab briefly because of a cocaine addiction. Thank God he came out of it. 🙏

[@gavinfarkas8255]

Nanny goat bassoonist is the best insult ever by a classical musician. He also kinda just didn't go to work for a few months because he went full on fan boy to Buxtehude.

[@ingonagel7169]

He was a lively chap. Never heard this story, believe it though.

[@arlissspeace4724]

I dated a sheep for a time and she sounded EXACTLY like a bassoon.

[@thatellipsisguy8984]

Arliss Speace sure it was a ewe? bassoon is pretty low...

[@DpHsHd]

Not only is Bach’s music the most spiritually and intellectually rewarding in the Western canon, from the perspective of sound; it’s also remarkably beautiful on paper. Every Bach score is a visual masterpiece - perhaps that’s harder for non-musicians to appreciate, but look at a full score of, say, the opening of the B Minor Mass or, (and far more condensed), the Adagio-Fugue from the first (G Minor) Sonata for solo violin. Both are so gorgeous to look at that, even if you didn’t realize that the black and white dots and lines encoded instructions for translation into sound, you could hang the printed music on your wall and just stand in awe. And Bach’s own autograph scores are even more beautiful than print.

[@achenarmyst2156]

Peter Shoobridge Absolutely! After 4 years of playing the violin I started to study the 6 Sonatas and Partitas. My teacher recommended that I should buy the IMC edition. Having done that I was surprised to find a facsimile of the autograph manuscript at the back of that edition. For 40 years this continues to be my most precious music edition and I regularly present Bach‘s heavenly aesthetic score to friends of mine.

[@danciuriak2011]

I've had that same thought about the WTC preludes and fugues - each so remarkably different in appearance from the other.

[@cyndifoore7743]

Bach’s music is so beautiful it makes me cry.

[@richardrubert9698]

Thank you. I fell in love with Bach’s music when I was very young and over 50 years later I still can’t get enough.

[@FellunB]

Just gratified to hear a bit of Jesu, Meine Freude in there. That's my sentimental favorite. Just love that. I named my eldest son after JS Bach, so my admiration for him is fairly unbounded. Thanks for doing your part to get more people interested in diving into Bach.

[@SDsc0rch]

this youtube channel....... is addictive! i'm not a musician, i'm not big into music - but i find this content fascinating keep it up! : )

[@1101grayzer]

Thank you so much, Rick! This is wonderful. Your understanding of all genres of music is so inspiring.

[@martinstremlow2997]

One of the best videos of Rick Beato ! Great Job!