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Exploring Bach
Robin Leaver ~ Craig Parton
Dr. Robin
Leaver, President of the American Bach Society, is interviewed by Craig
Parton: Although Bach was known as a keyboard player and was a great organist,
he became the world's most revered composer. He writes in such a wide variety
of styles that he is still loved worldwide today. His Lutheran roots, however,
led him into writing sacred chorale music at an early stage in his career.
Also, Bach was a Kantor (teacher of music in the schools) and,
in Leipzig, Director of Chorale Music for the town. Bach, nevertheless,
did far more
than follow either the kapellmeister model or the kantor model.
He culminated an era. Beethoven said of him, "His name should not
be Bach [brook in German]
but Meer [ocean]." Weber, Schönberg, and Stravinsky,
to name a few of the great composers, were much inspired by Bach, even
rearranging his music for other
presentations.
Bach makes
definitive musical statements in different genres, according to Dr. Robin
Leaver, but he does not repeat these types. Rather, he produces many diverse
forms, such as preludes, fugues, organ chorales, cantatas, trio sonatas,
and theme and variations. With his hammerklavier opus,
as with the "Passions," the "art of fugue," and even a musical joke known
as "the musical offering,"
Bach explored the limits of composition and creativity. For example, the
beloved Goldberg Variations has been performed on piano in our
day and age by many great pianists. This work of 30 variations—so light
and
airy,
so incredibly complex and innovative—captures an immediate contact with
any audience.
"Bach
was a unique genius," said Dr. Leaver; also, "his music was informed
by Martin Luther." For Luther had declared, "I place music next
to theology." Luther
believed that the clergy should know about music—not merely in theory,
but in practice. Luther felt that worship should be essentially musical.
Bach took Luther's views seriously and made theological connections by
musical means. In this presentation, Dr. Leaver plays parts of Bach
pieces to illustrate Bach's ability to create "sermons in sound." Craig
Parton agreed, that with Bach, one experiences the "transformation
of an audience into a congregation."
Today one
can find at least 171 CDs of Bach's music, Dr. Leaver pointed out. As Einstein
put it, when it comes to Bach, "Listen, play, love, revere, and keep
your mouth shut." Why is Bach so popular today? Leaver contends that
Bach's music holds "deep emotions that touch people," that Bach
embraces "an emotional
content that speaks to people" and "restores their equilibrium." In
Bach, we mortals are graced with musical genius that continues to uplift
human beings of all cultures—and
from generation to generation!
Program
recording date and length: 2003 ~ 59 Minutes
