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.
- What do you think are some of the most important factors that contribute to a great interpretation of a musical piece?
- 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?
- 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?
- What are some of your favorite interpretations of Bach's prelude from BWV 999? What makes these interpretations stand out to you?
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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!