WEEK 2: The Depths of J.S.Bach's Music! 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the second week of the J.S.Bach Challenge! This is the place to post submissions of the second week!
- Make sure you've read the guidelines before replying (<- click)
- Watch the kickoff livestream for help with the first section!
If you want to describe your process (optional), feel free to use the following template.
- Things you found easy:
- Things you found difficult:
- (Optional): a video of you performing it!
- (Optional:) questions
↓ Reply below with your submissions and questions! ↓
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Prelude from Prelude, Fugue and Allegro - BWV 998
My turn... in the first week I didn't post because the Prelude was really weak.
What's easy? It's not a fast tempo piece, there are just 2 voices.
What's NOT easy? Memorize, phrasing, articulation.
At the recording middle, I perceived the 6 out of tune... And there are some mistakes, of course.
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Moyses Lopes That was beautiful, Moyses. You are well on your way with this wonderful piece. I have the BWV 998 on my wish list
(well, the Allegro is on my fantasy list). Perhaps next Bach Challenge.Really looking forward to hearing your progress.
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Moyses Lopes yeah, great job Moyses! Like Eric Phillips said, very fluid. Nice!
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Moyses Lopes Great performance Moyses. I've just started working on this too, although I'm sure it will take me longer than just this month to learn! As you say the phrasing and articulation need a lot of thought. Well done!
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Eric Phillips Thanks for listening, Eric! I smile because I'm quite stoic with my mistakes, I absolutely have no control over them and they always surge where I don't expect...
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Jack Stewart Thank you, Jack! Is a lovely piece, I'm seriously considering studying the fugue and the allegro, not for this challenge, of course! Thanks for listening!
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Steve Pederson Thank you!
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Ron Yes, Ron, I think phrasing is a great challenge for me in this piece. I listened to many records, at piano, guitar and clavichord, but I don't have a good phrasing in my mind yet. Anyway, the challenge will end in two weeks. Thank you for listening!
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Moyses Lopes If you've not already seen it this is a you tube link to a performance by Sanel Redzic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbXkHTv80n4&list=PL9v67Sf5-kztwuioNkkUgg-97M_etYQrQ&index=2 - For me his phrasing works very well
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Ron, thank you for your attention! I'll listen to it very carefully!
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Moyses Lopes very nice Moises!!! I am learning it! but I am going veryyyy slowwwwwww. Maybe in the last week I can do a video of half of the Prelude!!! but it is not a promise!!!
Anyway I will follow your growth and engagement with this piece. Olli will do an interactive class with Martin the 25.3 ! I will hear it also. Thanks for sharing.
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Nora Torres-Nagel Hi, Nora! I'm attentive to this class, I will hear it also. How are you with the phrasing? I'm trying to play very slow, to get the sense of the phrases and how they are connected. Maybe it works...
Saludos! -
Moyses Lopes very nice playing! It’s one of my favorite Bach pieces and I think it’s sounding great. Good steady tempo and fluid.
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Debbie Thank you! I'm working at phrasing, it's really nice to study Bach pieces... it's like a playground, with many many possibilities and approaches...
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Sarabande BWV 997 Mar 16
Here is today's update. This video is seventeen seconds longer than yesterday's, so apparently I played it slower today. I did a little better job today on the short bits in which I play divisions as ornamentation. I also added an ending that may sound familiar. Let me know if you can identify it.
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Eric Phillips Just when I think it couldn't get any better. Wonderful, especially with the ornamentations. Great job!
So was the ending a 'prelude' of what's to come for your next submission?
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Eric Phillips Hey Eric. here is my promised video for you with a similar ending, hehe!!
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Martin Thank you so much for making that video, Martin! I will try some of those ideas when i get home tonight. I suspect they won't come too easily for me right away, but they give me something to work on. Baroque ornamentation still feels like a giant world of mystery to me, but this video has given me some food for thought.
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Martin Wow! A masterclass! I can't wait to study this Sarabande now, or the entire suite! Thank you so much! Eric Phillips , you have a lot of work, don't you?
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Sarabande BWV 997 Mar 18
I've been a bit sick for a couple days (not Covid) so I haven't practiced as much or as well as I'd like. Here is an update of the Sarabande. I'm not sure there's any improvement, and maybe it's gone downhill a bit. C'est la vie!
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Eric Phillips This continues to sound great Eric. Sorry to hear you've been sick, but it doesn't seem to affect your playing. Get lots of sleep, drink lots of water, play lots of Bach.
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Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. My wife is a nurse practitioner. Funny, she told me those first two pieces of advice, but she left off the third!
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Eric Phillips As said Jack, is still sounding great! Bach against sickness, a good idea...
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Moyses Lopes Thank you, Moyses. His music has healing qualities they say.
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Eric Phillips This is wonderful. You bring out all the voices so well and the melody is expressed with warmth of tone. Great to hear you playing this and hope you feel better by now!
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Rick Lord Thank you for the kind words, Rick. I am actually still sick. I tested positive for the flu and it's hitting me hard.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
