I was listening to a guitar video of Prelude, BWV999 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) which a popular work to play on lute or guitar (my vid and edition here). But I’ve heard it so much that I started listening to harpsichord performances of the work and stumbled on this one by Bruno Martins via his YouTube. The reworking at twice the tempo in the second half is quite fun and sounds surprisingly appropriate.
As he mentions “The Prelude in C minor, BWV 999 is one of Bach’s most direct and compact keyboard works, built on continuous motion and harmonic progression. Often associated with the lute repertoire, the piece occupies an ambiguous space between instrumental idioms while remaining firmly grounded in keyboard writing.”
One thing about this piece that I always use for teaching purposes is how the harmonic rhythm changes from long values (every two measures) to short values (every measure) throughout the work which really pushes and pulls the forward motion. Fun to see it in play with so many different performers.
Lute is my usual go-to for this and here is the great Evangelina Mascardi via her Youtube. I like the lilting rhythmic delivery here. This would be closer to the model I would imitate these days.
I also really like North’s balanced approach.
And below is me playing it from many years ago. I feel I take it a bit too metronomically, I think I was aiming for a pristine through-experience at the time. I would perform it today with much more flexibility and increased rhythmic pull to the downbeat and increased phrasing on smaller levels. That said, at the time I was listening to a ton of Andras Schiff play Bach on piano and was leaning in that direction.
A common driving forward-motion interpretation by Janos Sebestyen.
Anyway, just a small post about my thoughts and how they change over the years.
My preference is the piano version. I find the lute versions to be a little muddled but you guitar rendition is also great.
Just by looking at the spread of frets this is out of reach for me for a wile, but, I “like” yours (Bradford) best. Maybe just because I’ve listened to his playing so often, I seem to have grown a custom and liking to it.
The others sound “foreign” and uncomfortable to me.
Oh thanks so much. I didn’t think anyone would pick mine! I feel it could use a bit more flexibility but thanks!
I like Bradford Werner’s the best, it’s calming, and I prefer the sound of the guitar over the harpsichord, lute and keyboard.
Thanks so much!
I much prefer your version, and I’m sure the changes you mention are only an improvement. I have always felt it was a piece that needed to be played in a more stately way, rather than the machine gun style that so many guitarists seem to prefer. I’m not really a fan of either the harpsichord or the lute, finding the depth, register and tonality of the classical guitar much more pleasing.
Thanks so much. I’ll probably rerecord it at some point but you liked it!
The lute version is amazing – played with such passion. And able to do things the guitar can’t.
That said, the guitar is lovely too – I’m sure JSB would have been very happy with that!
I also like the lute versions!
Good morning, Bradford, since I typically prefer the sound of guitar over the lute, I prefer your rendition of this Bach suite. Your technical expertise really stands out too and I enjoy reading through the newsletter every week.
Thanks so much!