Tariq Harb: Exploring and Interpreting Bach's Prelude, BWV 999

What makes a great interpretation?

Interpretation is a somewhat elusive topic to many musicians. Staying true to a score while making a given piece sound unique is no simple task. We will delve deep into Bach's prelude from BWV 999 and explore its technical, pedagogical, theoretical, philosophical and perhaps theological value to ignite the performer's imagination and, as a result, craft a unique interpretation.

  1. What do you think are some of the most important factors that contribute to a great interpretation of a musical piece?
  2. Have you ever struggled with finding your own unique interpretation of a piece while still staying true to the original score? How did you overcome this challenge?
  3. In your opinion, what are some of the technical aspects of playing Bach's prelude from BWV 999 that can help a performer to create a more unique interpretation?
  4. What are some of your favorite interpretations of Bach's prelude from BWV 999? What makes these interpretations stand out to you?
6replies Oldest first
  • Oldest first
  • Newest first
  • Active threads
  • Popular
  •  Thank you Tareq   and martin for this session on 999. 

     

    I loved the spiritual references to trinity, and the "hocus-pokus" part too. :) 

    Regarading Tariq's reference to imperfection, here is a poetry by Romanian poet Nichita Stanescu:

     

    A lecture on the cube                      

     

    You take a piece of stone,                        

    chisel it with blood,          

    grind it with Homers eye,       

    burnish it with beams                       

    until the cube comes out perfect.         

     

    Next you endlessly kiss the cube     

    with your mouth, with others mouths,     

    and, most important, with infanta's mouth.              .

    Then you take a hammer                            

    and suddenly knock a corner off.            

                                      

    All, indeed absolutely all will say                              

    what a perfect cube this would have been      

    if not for the broken corner!                             

      

    Like 1
  • martin great session! Would it be possible to get a copy of Tariq’s score? I’m interested in his harmonic analysis.

    Like 1
  • Watch it on catch up.   Great session.  Thank you.

    Vincent

    Like
  • martin  where would I get a copy of Tariq's fingering and score?  Would that be available - I tried using teh discussion thread and couldnt find it

    Like
  • 6Replies
  • 117Views

Home

View all topics