Emily,
That sounds like it was really interesting, and enjoyable. Today, we think of Bach as being a little staid at times, but he really was a rule-bender of his day. Some think he'd be a jazz composer if he were alive today.
It was very difficult music. Bach was very adventurous before he got bored and tired of being ripped off by Leipzig. The worse movement we had to read our way through had three meter/tempo changes, the chorus singing a chorale under a soloist singing accompanied recitative.
The opening movement was a little instrumental overture followed by a cold start for the chorus entrance - no upbeat at all. Whew! I had no idea.
It was very exciting. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
The essence of Bach's musical age was inprovisation. Bach was the premier improviser of his entire age - better than the French, who were snapping at his heels but just locked into a more rigid style. Most of the money Bach made after the first 5 years in Leipzig he got from testing new organs. He travelled all over Germany and Austria testing organs and giving recitals after determining whether the organ was complete.
Whether jazz would be what he would be called to or not in our age is fun to think about. Personally, I think the harmonic language might have been too disorganized for his mental discipline. There are many other music genres which are based in improvisation.
--
Emily L. Ferguson
mailto:elf@cape.com 508-563-6822
New England landscapes, wooden boats and races, press photography http://www.vsu.cape.com/~elf
