Steemit Open Mic Week 45: Courante from J.S. Bach's BWV 996

oliverwaterman (57) in openmic • 7 years ago

In continuation of my efforts to play all of my Bach repertoire on steemit, here's another piece from his first lute suite. A Courante (Kor-änt) is a dance that started in the Renaissance that people kept writing for through the Baroque era. The word literally means running and the dance was a sort of gallop, however I prefer to play this particular Courante a little slower to ring out some of the harmonies. There's a sort of jumpy feeling to the whole thing due to the nature of the composition. All of the suites that Bach wrote for the lute are a series of courtly dances, however, something about the dramatic nature of his counterpoint makes it hard to imagine people dancing to them. Maybe it's just me. If you do end up dancing to this, please film yourself and link your post to the comments... I'm kidding-ish.

Thanks for watching and reading.

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7 years ago by oliverwaterman (57)

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passion-ground (63) · 7 years ago

I can’t help but sense that exquisitely beautiful music such as this is telling a story, speaking directly to its audience, and pleading with them to understand that which the composer is attempting to convey. That’s what I love about classical music and you Sir @oliverwaterman - do a brilliant job in getting that very sense across to me with this wonderful piece… Thank You!

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oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thank you very much! I've articulated a similar sentiment in a writing I did for my communication theory class.

"...I'm inclined to argue that music delivers a convincing message through what is known as counterpoint or motion, as a means of pleasure. This motion is not dissimilar to a series of codes that our brains process to create feedback loops that tell us whether we like what we hear, or we don't. When our perception of the music has reached a conclusion we can have a number of emotional responses that can be articulated, such as chills, sad or happy. The message of music without words maybe be simple, and the argument only for the benefit of the experience, but it is none the less a rhetorical statement, and the means by which we are able to perceive the message is through a system of information processing. "

I'd further like to say that J.S. Bach is in my opinion the master of the language of counterpoint. So far in my studies as a classical guitarist I've found that many professors and musical academicians including my guitar professor agree that not only was he the best at using formal counterpoint but that his "perfection" transcended the mathematical perfection to a sense of musical narrative. He broke some rules occasionally, like using voice crossing and other frowned upon practices in formal 18th century counterpoint, yet to much of the musical academic world, he is the most "Human" composer that didn't sacrifice articulate complexity of the era.

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passion-ground (63) · 7 years ago

Loved that! Thanks for sharing that snippet from your theory class. It was brilliant along with your further opinions on the counterpoint language of Bach...

Though I am not formally educated in this and many other realms, I do harbor an innate sense, which enables me to fully grasp and appreciate the very essence of this and other fine topics in both theory and practice. Thank you for bringing some of these finer points to my attention Oliver!

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oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

cheers!

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theflorescents (55) · 7 years ago

Thank you for this it is beautiful. I agree with @passion-ground and yourself and it definitely speaks to me on an emotional level. I would argue that the message is not necessarily simple (though certainly no political treatise) but cannot be expressed through words accurately because of its personal emotional nature. Therein lies the beauty of music and counterpoint for me. It is the closest thing to the actual emotion, it makes you feel it. Also for me Bach often has a certain melancholy and sadness which if felt under normal circumstances I wouldn't experience as 'pleasure' but when Bach is there, it is quietly reassuring, almost telling us we are not alone in existence and thought. That's just me though and particularly this piece haha and I am sure you have your own view on why you enjoy it too. Thanks Oliver

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oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks florescents! I don't dissagree with your points at all, however, the points I made were taken out of context and directly relate to my "Communication Theory" class. In short the assignment was to explain what of the "Seven Traditions" were your favorite, and why. So I was talking literally when I spoke about the message being "simple", in regards to it's relation to the Rhetorical Tradition, and I was offhandedly referencing Fux's "Gradus Ad Parnassum" when describing counterpoint as motion for pleasures sake. It's not Bach specifically that fit that bill, but it was more the generally accepted definition of what "Counterpoint" is. That doesn't make your perspective of Bach's music less valuable, in fact it's essentially empirical evidence of what I was describing. Where you were describing a personal experience or perception, I was attempting to describe a mechanical function of music as a language in relation to both the Rhetorical Tradition and the Cybernetic Tradition of the sociological field of Communication Theory. In short your perspective of how his music effects you is proof that music is a language that communicates an idea through the same method any other language uses. It raises an interesting dilemma though. Words can have multiple meanings, and in music, these meanings portrayed through phrases of counterpoint have no strictly agreed upon meaning. Therefore, from a sociological perspective music serves no other purpose other than entertainment. Add lyrics, and the conversation can change, but counterpoint alone is not a sufficient means of transferring specific Ideas. In a less formulaic format I'd come to similar conclusions as you would about music in general, so I'm sorry if I didn't include enough initial context. Thanks again for your kind words and I'm glad you like my playing!