It would have been one of my minor gripes with this project - i mean, compared with the breadth of material on Modern Mandolin Quartet's 'Americana' then an album of Bach is such a safe bet - but that'd be the gripe of someone quite spoiled for music.
I do hope though that if this album has legs - and makes a tidy profit - that there would be another instalment on another classical composer or two.
I think a lot of peoples introduction to Bach might have been through television or movies - for me it would probably have been the music for certain cigar commercials. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK4FhPxJ6q8
The first Bach piece that really affected me though was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBeXF_lnj_M 'Erbarme dich, mein Gott' from St Matthieu's Passion - it was on a Bach arias and chorales collection i got when starting to explore classical music - i was'nt expecting it, it just broke my heart, it still does.
I like your story of your introduction to mandolin - very unique
Yikes - i did'nt realise it was obligatory!
I was asking because i know, from my own experience, that the addition of mandolin on most any genre of music will spark my curiosity. Mandolin content has been my introduction to many bands and even genres of music so, again i was curious to see if this was also a factor for some people when choosing to buy this album.
new Thile video...just posted today
Collings MF
the thing with me about Bach , especially the violin sonatas and partitas is they are like kata to a marshal arts practitioner.
Kata ( don't know if i am spelling it right) is when you see the person doing the moves alone - usually slower than in a sparing match
My left hand was injured badly last year and I could not play for almost 6 weeks, even then it was painful starting up again.
So I worked on simple fiddle tunes just to get my fingers familiar again - but to really refresh my "musical spirit" I went back to the sonatas an partitas. I played them slow and had forgotten anything I memorized so reading music again was helpful as well.
for the most part Bach's music for solo pieces can be applied to almost any chromatic instrument, the surprising twists and turns even in pieces I am very familiar with never cease to delight me.
I was first introduced to Bach while studying classical guitar - his lute suites - while not really suited to mandolin- really inspired me and got me interested in all sorts of music I had never even thought about listening to, as we can clearly see - I am not alone.
I've got violin (baroque and modern) versions, as well as a viola and a mandolin recording. I haven't got this one, though, because I'm a cheapskate and never, ever buy new CDs. If I get it at all, it will have to find its way to a bargain bin or cheap eBay sale first. I can wait.... I've waited for many before this.
bratsche
"There are two refuges from the miseries of life: music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer
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For wooden musical fun that doesn't involve strumming, check out:
www.busmanwhistles.com
Handcrafted pennywhistles in exotic hardwoods.
It's on Chris's web page
SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER 2013
Chris Thile live
Chris Thile
Massry Center for the Arts at the College of Saint Rose
Albany, NY, US
I may pick up some Bach violin recordings as a result of Thile's which just arrived. I grew up listening to an older sister playing Bach, Beethoven, etc on piano and later I played various Bach on classical guitar. Just reading, however slowly and painfully through any Bach is a rewarding experience. It's not the instrument or the genre that is always the consideration, its the growing amount of CD's I have acquired. I wish I could have a music room like I spotted in a Tim O'Brian video with CD's neatly in rows in bookcases, etc. Alas, some of my music is stored in my garage, basement, etc.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a violin recording for sure! It really doesn't matter which one for your first, though of course people will tell you some are better than others for various reasons. While I like the sound of some movements on mandolin more, there are movements that just don't work the same on mandolin, no matter how well they are played. Of all Bach's writing involving violin, these are still my favorites. And Thile only recorded half, so the other half of the album would be new!
Jess - that's what I like about Amazon cloud - they don't have a lot of stuff I had on vinyl - but still the selection is pretty good for folk BG and Classical -(surprised sometimes at the rare stuff they have as mp3 download - fairly cheap too) anything you buy from them they don't charge for storage and you can download as many times as you like to as many devices ( unlike ITunes)
you can also listen from any pc or smartphone anywhere ( as long as you can connect)
you can also upload your own mp3s, and they charge a reasonable annual fee for various storage allotments
so I still have a pile of Cds down stairs- but I rarely use them
just about all of my music is up the cloud
I have no financial interest in Amazon
Thanks tm. I have been gradually getting acclimated to this lap-top--device technology. (gradually--picture my old arthritic dog going up some steep stairs) I do some of my best listening in the car driving and often make CD's of anything I get on i-tunes. I have some on Amazon cloud and haven't tried to burn a CD from them yet. Is that possible I wonder. I often burn my own collections of things I am working on in guitar and mandolin. Guess I still like the CD's however overpriced they are for the artwork and various information sometimes in the booklet. I still like the feel of something in my hands I have a kindle and an I-pad but still like the feel and look of a book. Like my old dog, I usually get where everyone else gets, just takes me a little longer.
I hear ya - they sometimes have the book as PDF download but - It's not the same
also CD's do not use MP3 format so you would have to download -then convert to wav before creating the CD - so probably more of a pain than it is worth
I installed an MP3 player in my car - so I just load stuff on a thumb drive and we're off! ( takes less room in the car as well)
I imagine my grand kids will climb up on my lap and ask- "Grampy - tell us about the good old days of album cover art...."
I got into classical music as a kid, and Bach in particular, through Switched on Back, by Wendy (nee Walter) Carlos. I think the same way Thile and Nickel Creek got a whole lot of people into bluegrass, he is going to bring a whole lot of people into classical. Its a good thing.
I really do hope folks then spread out a bit explore others who have played Bach on mandolin for the last 200 years. Its a grand and wonderful thing.
the double presto...
My Youtube Channel: http://bit.ly/1F9sJ8G
Well, they don't call it "double presto" for nothing! Yeah, I can't believe that's even possible!
He seems giddy about this CD release, as well he should be. So much so that he posted this earlier
My buddy lives near there so I let him know. Wish I was there!
I simply cannot wait the see Thile's solo set in a few months. This CD is blowing my mind and I've been listening to Bach for 25 years.
Last edited by tablaninja; Aug-06-2013 at 6:43pm.
Effortless playing chops, true... but short on mental effort, IMO. I really don't find the way he performs this to be inspiring.
(BTW, I love how it's captioned on YouTube: "Singer-songwriter and mandolinist Chris Thile performs a song for the PBS NewsHour." LOL)
Anyway, I don't say this to be contrarian, but no matter the tempo, the pulse of this Presto movement should always be felt as 3 beats of 2 notes in each measure, as opposed to 2 beats of 3 notes. Stressing the 4th notes instead of the 3rd and 5th notes obscures the internal syncopated magic rhythm of the piece. (Listen to someone play it as written, and the difference is really striking!) You can hardly tell that Bach actually wrote the time signature as 3/8 from listening to Thile's rendition, except for a few too-short bits here and there, where I guess he finds it convenient to play it as written for a while, before lapsing back into the Irish jig sounding mode again. I really wish someone would point this out to him... (not me, as I don't play well enough for him to take my advice seriously... but someone should!)
Don't get me wrong, some violinists do this too, and I think the same thing when they do as well. It's lazy, because it's taking the "path of least resistance" with the notes.
bratsche
"There are two refuges from the miseries of life: music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer
GearGems - Gifts & apparel for musicians and more!
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