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In the Forum: Playback Listening
In the Thread: Accuracy vs. Musicality (and YMMV)
Post Subject: Bach is very much music...Posted by rowuk on: 1/13/2026
and mathematics and history and crossover and even orgasmic.
One very significant thing about Bach is that you must play WITH his music. It has its own logic. If you do not understand it, it is almost impossible to perform well. The logic is dependent on the music, the human breath, combination of words, the organization of the notes on the page.
In fact it is pretty easy to divide performances into 2 groups: get it, don't get it. Audio recordings in my view also have these 2 groups (most recordings are in the "don't get it" group"), but for those who "get it", the recording and playback quality is essentially insignificant for anything from analysis to pleasure. After that we can add layers of the rest - the "granite" looking to become a sculpture for instance.
I would not disagree that it is possible to approach Bach without addressing the performance aspect, but even unsung black ink dots on a score are oozing music! It can not be removed by anyone with a soul.
I don't smoke, but I am sure that we could have a very nice time on the subject of Bach with and without playback active. I was very fortunate to come to Germany in the mid '70s where a lot of things were happening in the music and technology scene. The next big step was when the wall came down and Germany was unified - we got access to the mostly unchanged historic places and instruments in what was previously East Germany. It changed my relationship to performance, research and preparation.Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site