Ep. 106: What is Bach's 'Musical Offering?'

J.S. Bach: Complete Keyboard Works, Vol. 5- Musical Offering, Suite 823 is now available everywhere you listen to music— platform specific links below— have a listen!A Musical Offering (Ein Musikalisches Opfer) BWV 1079, is one of Bach’s late mono-thematic masterpieces. When Bach visited his son and King Frederick the Great in 1747, he was challenged to improvise upon the following, extemporaneously:Bach did so to the amazement of all. Two months later, already engraved on copper plates, The Musical Offering was ready. It included two fugues on the theme, a trio sonata and ten ‘puzzle canons.’ See here the permutations of the ‘royal theme’ as they appear in the canons alone. Altering a melody so imaginatively is already fascinating— and this doesn’t even speak of the ingenious canons he fastens to them. (This is a bit of a ridiculous image, so it’s available for download.)I hope you enjoy this episode and the album! Thanks to Yamaha Artist Services in New York, especially Bonnie Barrett, Aaron Ross and Shane Hoshino. Available Here (Spotify) And Here (Apple Music)https://music.apple.com/nl/album/j-s-bach-complete-keyboard-works-vol-5-musical-offering/1837359653And Here (YouTube)https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k2wf1S1hboQzMDL-4SYawCQDCuaBE9bH4&si=N4M3U_jlDrwZVH0RFinally, the episode dealing with more in-depth history of BWV 1079:Supporting this show ensures its longevity. Long may WTF Bach endure:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comBut free subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachWe survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!Concepts Covered:J.S. Bach’s Musical Offering (1747) stands as one of the most profound works of the Baroque era, composed after his famous meeting with Frederick the Great in Potsdam. At its core is the celebrated crab canon, a musical palindrome that exemplifies Bach’s fascination with mathematics in music, loop canons, Möbius stips, and intricate contrapuntal design. Alongside the ricercare in six voices and other canons and fugues, the so-called Prussian Fugue, the Musical Offering illustrates the height of Bach’s late contrapuntal style, where intellectual puzzles and spiritual depth converge. We analyze the work and its canon riddles, Bach’s fugues and canons, its role as the composer’s mastery of counterpoint. We see its mathematical structure, admired for its late Baroque complexity, and celebrated as a true masterpiece of canonic writing, revealing why Bach remains central to discussions of music theory, musical palindromes, and the art of fugue. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Enjoy this powerful story (1953) by Karen Blixen.-EvanWe Survive on your Donations! Thank you!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity!—Help WTF Bach reach more listeners— Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

“Bach the master surgeon leaves no scar.”Listen on wtfbach.substack.com for the best experience. Subscriptions are free!There are only two five-voice fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier, and only two triple fugues. This fugue is both— a five voice triple fugue. Should I be tempted to add some (perhaps too convenient) theological rhetoric to this fugue, an analysis might read like this:Three subjects in one fugue? Why yes, the trinity in music! The themes enter, Son, Holy Spirit, and God the Father. See first God the Son, a man, very nearly B-A-C-H: The first entrance of the Pentecostal waves comes, aptly, from the top down. The Holy Spirit is rendered:God the Father finally makes an appearance, with his perfect interval, and three repeated notes:On the final page, the Holy Spirit vanishes, leaving father and son in an impressive stretto:N.B. I’m not convinced Bach had any of this in mind. At least since Schweitzer, however, people have seen the image of the triune God in Bach’s triple fugues. I believe at this time in Bach’s career, he had not quite codified his theological word painting, so if in fact Bach was thinking of the trinity, it is in any case represented more clearly in the triple fugue from Book Two, in f-sharp minor. There, the themes enter in order (as they do in the ‘Saint Anne’s’ Prelude and Fugue BWV 552) Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Biographical and theological readings aside, this is a striking and important fugue. Its prelude is no less beautiful. A most interesting revision comes at bar 14. The earliest version reads:Only two bars, dominant to tonic. In revision, Bach seamlessly adds an additional two bars, stretching (and perhaps smoothing) out the harmonic rhythm. Bach the master surgeon leaves no scar: People Mentioned:Albert SchweitzerMieczysław HorszowskiShirley PerleSeymour LipkinPierre HantaïWe Survive on your Donations! Thank you!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Help WTF Bach reach more listeners.Concepts covered:The Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846–893) is one of the great monuments of Baroque music, counterpoint with theological tone painting. A remarkable triple fugue: the C-sharp minor fugue from Book I (BWV 849) (another triple fugue is the F-sharp minor fugue from Book II BWV 883). The C-sharp minor stands out as a five-voice fugue and triple fugue, an extraordinary rarity in the keyboard literature. Some interpreters have seen theological symbolism in the three subjects—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—Bach’s mastery of structure, harmonic rhythm, and Bach in revision. The development of contrapuntal technique, musical spelling, such as the B-A-C-H motif Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

“It seems that classical musicians — and as I now understand, jazz musicians at conservatory— are trained to forget the purpose of the music right at the point they start interpreting it.”In this short episode (11 minutes of talking + 10 minutes of music) I read an entry from my practice diary which may be interesting enough to ponder… As it was passed around during covid, the “Coronavirus Etude” looked something like this:Hopefully you’ll enjoy the lesson I got out of the few ‘performances’ made of such a meme.Meanwhile, Rosalyn Tureck is featured for the first time on this show. Here is a picture of her at a Moog. (I didn’t mention that one of my favorite facts about her is that she espoused this instrument as a perfectly valid way to capture Bach’s music.) Her personal “revelation” about Bach, as related in David Dubal’s Reflections from the Keyboard is read in full.We Survive on your Donations!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachThank you for your support.Concepts Covered:In this episode of the WTF Bach Podcast, host Evan Shinners holds off on his exploration of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, reflections on the five-voice fugue in C-sharp minor to come. Instead, practice diaries, and the balance between discipline and spontaneity in classical music is discussed. Drawing on his own pandemic-era “Coronavirus Etude” entry, Shinners critiques how performance can drift from function to ritual, turning practical gestures into overly sanctified art. He also shares stories of pianist Rosalyn Tureck and her personal revelation about Bach, contrasting her style with Glenn Gould and highlighting the diversity of Bach interpretation. This episode blends humor, history, and performance insight. Bach enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the philosophy of practice and interpretation in classical music. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

In the beginning was the arpeggio, and the arpeggio was in C major, and the arpeggio was C major…To which ill-tempered friend will you send this?We are lucky Bach bothered writing out his arpeggio preludes. Here, for example, is what would later become the C-sharp Major prelude, from Book 2:Who, without the aid of Bach’s revisions, would be so bold to turn that into:So too, in the early versions of the opening of the Well-Tempered Clavier, Bach loses little time writing out the figures. He even stops writing half-notes toward the end:Only 24 bars in its conception! A further revision in W.F.’s notebook sees a 28 bar version of the piece— the fair copy of 1722 is 35 bars (not 36! Listen for my discussion of the Schwencke measure.)Some other pieces in this style: The fugue also underwent revisions, especially to its theme. Layers A1 and A2 have:Landowska recorded this version and wrote program notes about her decision (heard in the episode.) The 32nd notes of the subject were added in the third ‘layering’. Finally, Bach makes the finest revision in A4— in the 1740s(!), changing the bass in bar 15:to this:Finer and finer. Curvier and curvier. The image of Bach in the workshop with the chisel is a fascinating one. Links mentioned:The earlier episode covering this prelude (inverting it chromatically and other fun tricks)Regarding the 2nd note each arpeggio in the earliest version of the prelude, see Legato playing and hidden polyphony on the harpsichord (Thanks to Erzdorf for sharing this, highly recommended.)And, as mentioned in the episode, Wanda with Leo Tolstoy:Donate to this Resource:The best way to support, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for your support.Concepts Covered:We discuss the prelude as a possible invitation to check the new system tuning, the famous pieces of Bach, and the Minuet in G being not by Bach but by Petzold. Explore the evolution and historical significance of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, a landmark in keyboard literature and tuning theory. This episode traces Bach’s compositional development of key preludes and fugues, such as the C-sharp Major Prelude (Book II) and the C Major Prelude (Book I), BWV 846 analysis, revealing how Bach expanded brief sketches—some only 24 bars—into fully realized works through meticulous revisions. The Schwencke measure- his mistake. Discussions of simplifying Bach, also we examine counterpoint in detail, including changes to fugue subjects, rhythmic diminution, and voice leading, with examples from layers A1–A4. The discussion includes the function of the preludes as tools to demonstrate well-tempered tuning, their pedagogical role, and Bach’s workshop-like revision process. Also covered: authorship controversies, authentic Bach, such as the Minuet in G, long attributed to Bach but now credited to Christian Petzold. An in-depth look at how Bach's compositional process shaped one of the most enduring works in Western music. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

It’s high time we delve into what Schumann called a musician’s ‘daily bread.’ The Well-Tempered Clavier is one of the collections closest to the composer’s heart—and to the hearts of countless other musicians throughout history.The episode on temperament I mentioned.I think of the two books of this collection as having only outward similarities. The music in both parts are as separate as The Art of Fugue and the Inventions— even more so. Book One, incidentally the only part to be called “The Well-Tempered Clavier” was written in a condensed period of time, whereas its counterpart was ‘assembled,’ as it were, over some twenty years. We begin not quite at the beginning, (a special episode will be devoted to the C Major pair) but with the third prelude and fugue, in C-sharp Major, BWV 848. Compare the earliest version which I play in the episode:to the version which we know: We’ll discuss Bach in revision, the four ‘layerings’ in the first part, as well as the source tradition of both books, the stylistic differences between Book One and Book Two.Donate to this Resource:The best way to support, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for your support.Concepts Covered:This is an introduction to the Well-Tempered Clavier. Explore the depth and legacy of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, a collection that Robert Schumann famously called a musician’s “daily bread.” This post examines the differences between Book I and Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier, focusing on their distinct compositional histories and structural identities. The Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp Major, BWV 848, comparing its earliest version to the final form familiar today. Along the way, we’ll unpack Bach’s process of revision, the layered construction of Book I, and the source tradition of Book II, offering valuable insight for students of Bach analysis, keyboard music, and Baroque performance practice. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

PG-13 Warning. This isn’t the norm—just testing the cult of Shinners. Future episodes stay true to our Bach tradition. Enjoyed this? Do you want some more of my originals mixed in with your weekly Bach? Literally Can't Thank You Enough in AdvanceI try to “bear the burden of bitterness which experience forces on us with as much uncomplaining dignity as strength will allow” as restaurants around me tell me to eat beautiful, as any person who pockets their phone to listen is crowned empathetic, as those who literally died walk among us. Language evolves. Oh well.Still, there has got to be something to the way we shift around our words, carefully wringing any sentiment out of the last remaining fabric of a once powerful tongue. We no longer feel with our words. We miss out on basic communication. We’ve lost even the ability to thank and receive thanks:Once, we said, you're welcome. Now we say, no problem. I don’t really mind: other languages have de nada, de rien. But something happens in our psychology when one goes from feeling welcome, to not a problem. Once, we were welcome, now we’re …simply not a pest. Fine, can you blame us? What modern human has time to make anyone feel welcome? I just feel bad for the re-printings of all the phrasebooks, textbooks, tourist maps, dictionaries, flashcards, everything that now has to change you're welcome to no problem. Surely, the truest way to show you’re a foreigner is to say you're welcome.That’s receiving thanks, how about giving it?For starters, there’s thank you in advance. Have you ever been thanked in advance? How did that feel? I recently got a request from someone asking to stay at my house — thanking me in advance. I wonder if she was equally thankful when I said, no thanks. Thanking people in advance is holding them hostage, so when someone thanks me in advance I tell them to get f****d on short notice.Then there’s, I can’t thank you enough. This has got to be one of the weakest sentiments ever uttered. When I hear this, I note the lack of any real thanks in the first place. I can't thank you enough reminds me of that eerie phrase in the business, said just before you agree to play for free, “And you know, Mr. Shinners, we just couldn’t possibly pay you enough…”I can't thank you enough.Really? Have you tried?Tried what?Thanking me.…thanking you?Yeah, sure, go ahead and try.…oh… thank you…Okay. That's enough.You can't thank me enough? What am I, a sultan? I can't thank you enough is an outgrowth of our desire to over-blow sentiment to the point where anything— especially a meal— could be compared to the profound. Amazing brunch. It’s the same sentiment as the best thing ever. So many people I know have experienced the best thing ever. Poor folks… if I had experienced the best thing ever, my life would thereafter seem empty, down-hill, constantly in pursuit of that once happier moment. Going immediately to the superlatives in our language leaves no room for improvement, and once again, we’ve exhausted our expressive power on lunch.Having an occasion where one couldn’t thank enough seems to be reserved for the Cherokee Chief who pulls your drowning family out of a freezing river and nurses them back to health. Maybe then you couldn’t find enough thanks.… in the room, dim light and steam. Under his dark hair I could see his hands, working tirelessly, deftly. My daughter, blue around the lips and limp, lay at the man’s knee: it had been two days since she had moved. I had no hope, perhaps I already resigned her to a frozen fate. At last, as if cued by his movements, as if rising with the steam, she opened her eyes, restored to life. Tears flowed from her eyes, and then from mine. The Chief kept his gaze fixed on her chest, focused on her breathing. I was at a loss. Finally, he relaxed his hands and sank away from her, as if his own life had left him and became hers.I turned my wet eyes to the Chief and uttered, ‘Sir… my dear man, were I to thank you every day until I die, I would still feel that I cannot thank you enough.No problem. Said he.Notes:The opening quote: “bear the burden of bitterness which experience forces on us with as much uncomplaining dignity as strength will allow” is from one of the essays I live by: Phillip Lopate: Against Joie de Vivre: Personal Essays. Poseidon Press, 1986.The closing music is my teacher, the great Jerome Lowenthal, playing Liszt’s Christmas Tree.Become a subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com (Paid or free subscriptions available!)https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for your support. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

A few months back I had the pleasure of interviewing Ton Koopman. If you’re at home in the Baroque, you’re no stranger to his work. Please enjoy this interview, marking the 100th episode of The WTF Bach Podcast! Thanks for your support, thanks to all those who make this work possible. Here’s looking forward to 100 more!Topics Covered (Chronologically)Works of doubtful authenticity (Violin Sonata, BWV 1025)Continuo playing (Figured bass, Improvisation, Ornamentation)Legato in the BaroqueWanda Landowska (“I play Bach his way”)Tuning (Meantone and Werckmeister)Student copies with different ornamentsTempo and the connection with ornamentationHeinrich SchützBach’s repertoire in concertsPedal harpsichord and pedal clavichordBach’s toccatas on organ without pedalsBach ‘counting’ bars (Kabbalah and numerology in Bach)The ending of ‘The Art of Fugue’ BWV 1080The Fuga a 3 Soggetti’s inclusion in ‘The Art of Fugue’Koopman as pianistThe touch on piano vs. harpsichordBeginning organist repertoire (pianists learning organ)Pedal techniqueGustav Leonhardt (also as organist)’Touch’ on harpsichord and organ (quick and slow attack)Performing and musicologyEarly fingeringMy Lady Neville’s BookBook collecting (and indexing)L'art de toucher le clavecin (Couperin)Roger North’s comments on musical performance practicePrefaces by FrescobaldiN.B. BWV 1025 was played by Robert Hill and Reinhard Goebel. The charming piece around min 39 is Giles Farnaby’s (1560-1640) ‘Up Tails All.’We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid Substack subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Listen to the new album here:https://modernclassicalx.lnk.to/BachCompleteKeyboardWorksVol4PartitasPtOneToday I’ve released Volume 4 in my “Complete Keyboard Works” of JSB. This album contains three pieces by the master: Partita no. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825Partita no. 2 in c minor, BWV 826Partita no. 3 in a minor, BWV 827Bach’s Opus One—the six Partitas of Clavier-Übung I—were first issued individually from 1726, with the complete set published in 1731. Bach pays homage to his Leipzig predecessor, Johann Kuhnau, who established the model in 1689 with his own Neuer Clavier-Übung. Even the title pages show Bach’s awareness of Kuhnau’s legacy:Here is (an edition based on) the all-interesting source G 25, with its crucial revisions to the 2nd and 3rd partitas. These tempo indications, for example, withheld from publication in the Neue Bach Ausgabe, greatly affect this transitional passage in BWV 826: Finally, the episode covering the most dramatic revision in this source: Many thanks to Bonnie Barrett, Aaron Ross, the YASI team in NYC, and Armand Hirsch for their help in this release!We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comMore paid subscribers = monthly merchandise giveaways = you in WTF Bach Swag.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support.Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com) Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Would you object to the comparison of Messiaen and Borges? I see both 20th century giants deeply steeped in the masters of the past, throughly conversant in the antique, and yet they bring something uniquely modern— magical. Borges’ stories have the ability to stun, to make one wonder, or in the case of the story I read today, elicit tears.After Shakespeare’s Memory, (1983) which I believe is his last published story, I offer my somewhat chaotic rendition of the Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel Hoch, BWV 769. Following this, Donald Barthelme, an exciting, quirky read: The School (1976.) The frontispiece of my Barthelme book is a painting by Kandinsky— perhaps this is the right metaphor. June 13th, episode 99, sees the release of volume 4 in my J.S. Bach Complete Keyboard Works series. You can save the release here in eager anticipation:https://modernclassicalx.lnk.to/BachCompleteKeyboardWorksVol4PartitasPtOne The two tracks I made for this episode are available as a free download. Here you are!We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid Substack subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe