(no subject)

[ricardienne]

I wish I had a way to write about music the way that I write about things I read. We studied BWV 163 in class today; it has an aria for bass with two obligato cellos and continuo -- "Lass mein Herz die Munze sein." In other words, four part counterpoint all in the same low range. I admit that I am partial to this kind of arrangement, but it really is one of the most beautiful things I have heard recently. It is so tightly put together: there are little motives in canon between the voices, and it almost does seem as if all four are equal (well, the continuo maybe not, but the upper three certainly are.) I also find it amazing that Bach has written four voices in basically the same range -- and they always are crossing each-other -- and yet they don't interfere and cover each other up. It does feel like chamber music, where one of the parts just happens to be sung and have words and the other three don't. It's in e-minor, which I suppose, is a pretty good key for the cello in terms of sonority, and it's a wonderfully rich, dark key, perfect for low voicing. I really want to play this. I wonder if I can persuade someone to program it onto their recital.