Johann Sebastian Bach's Birthday! Contrapunctus I from the Art of Fugue

Contrapunctus I from the Art of Fugue

The picture compares the well-known Hausmann portrait of Bach (1746) with a recent computer-aided reconstruction by Caroline Wilkinson for the Bachhaus Eisenach. From Der Spiegel, February 28, 2008. The following picture shows how she arrived at her reconstruction.

Teaching Demonstration: F. Couperin, Les Charmes

In this video I demonstrate my method for "capturing" the quality of movement in a piece by doing a "Tonsatz" or continuo-like reduction, leaving out as much ornamental or decorative information as possible. Once captured, I "overlay" the full version over the practiced-in Tonsatz version, which helps me to understand quickly the final result I want to achieve.

C. P. E. Bach's Birthday!

In honor of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, here the Adagio in E-flat Minor from his Württemberg Sonata in E-flat Major.

Vivaldi's Birthday! Largo BWV 972

From a recital on April 28, 2004, here the Largo from J. S. Bach's transcription BWV 972 of a violin concerto by Vivaldi, performed on a fortepiano after Cristofori by K. Hill (1998).

And for comparison, from a recital on Nov. 13, 2005, the same Largo performed on harpsichord.