At Work At 7... and Epic Bach Week Description

Hello folks...

Just wanted to write a note and let you know that I haven't forgotten about you, and that I'll continue trying to update the blog.

I'll admit--there's not much to talk about.  It's summertime, and that means that I'm working long hours at WSMC.  It's a good job, and I like it, even if I go days without much, if any, human contact.  

I've started reading a really good book, called "My Only Comfort," which combines portions of a Calvinist catechism with the texts used in a lot of Bach's music.  I am anxious to listen to Furchte dich nicht [Be not afraid, BWV 228] now that I've had a chance to read and study the text.  It's a really wonderfully inspiring piece.

I've been quickly finishing the Epic Bach Week, a project that's been dragging on for almost a year now.  It had been going around my mind for several months before that.  I interviewed several musical experts about different aspects of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.  

The first day, I focused on the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach.  I snagged an interview with the eminent organist Ton Koopman, who also conducts the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Chorus.  Together, they have recorded the complete Bach cantatas (which are amazing to listen to!).

The second day focuses on the church music career of Bach, and I talked to one of my own church music friends: Dr. J. Bruce Ashton.  He has spent the last several decades teaching and as a church musician.  Last semester I took his Music in the Christian Church class, and had my eyes and ears opened to wonderful truths about and in music.

The third day features an interview with Dr. Gennevieve Brown-Kibble on the topic of Bach: the Artist.  Bach was wonderful at writing music that could paint the text that he was setting!  Dr. Kibble tries to teach a musical interpretation that includes an understanding of the text.  She is the perfect guest to have to talk about the vocal writing of Bach.

On Thursday I managed to get another interview with a famous Baroque interpreter.  His name is Reinhard Goebel, and he was the leader of Musica Antiqua Koln.  Before their disbanding, they recorded much of Bach's instrumental music, including the Orchestral Suites and Brandenburg Concertos.  His knowledge was very enlightening.  

Friday's program concludes the Epic Bach Week (of course), and my guest, Dr. Peter Cooper, wraps the week up wonderfully!  We discussed Bach's influence on the compositional techniques of other composers.  We learn about aspects of music theory that help us to see Bach's influence on later composers and compositions.

As of now, four of the five shows are completely done, and one more is a lot further along than anticipated.  The tentative release date for the Epic Bach week is the first week in July.  Be sure to tune into the Three B's that week!  It begins at 11 am on Monday through Friday mornings.