Incomplete

Okay, 2005 is almost over, and this didn't really happen. Well, it kind of did. I have listened to lots of Bach this year. I now own two complete sets of Bach's entire musical output (Hanssler and Brilliant Classics). This project led to me getting an iPod, which led to me getting back into pop music, and it's been lots of fun.

So "Hearing All Bach" is now kind of code for wanting to do something big. It takes a while. I can't believe a year has gone by. At any rate, I am loading up the iPod with some Bach cantatas. I am going to try to zip through them. There are 200 of them.

It's 10:45 and I am going for a walk. Another new thing. We'll see how long that lasts.

11:45. Okay, I am back. Listened to BWV 1 and 2. Nice walk. It was raining.

Checking In

Schoolwork and other pursuits have kept me from here for a while.

I've also taken a bit of detour back into pop music, which is super fun. But I have not forgotten about Bach. I recently purchased the Haansler sampler, which comes with an English version of the book that's missing from my complete Bach. That's a great addition.

I am also loading the whole thing into my computer using iTunes. That is going to be a great listening tool--you can search very easily by BWV number and listen with the click of a button. When it's all loaded in, I will take a hard drive into the office and load the thing into my work computer which is connected to a modest stereo. Then I will have access to this blog and all the Bach tunes at both computers.

Currently I am listening to BWV 14, a cantata: Unsre Stärke Heißt Zu Schwach. Beautiful.

Ear Care

Okay, I've always been worried about my hearing. Headphones are not good for your hearing; or perhaps, ABUSE of headphones is REALLY BAD for your hearing. There's a great article on the headwize site about headphones and hearing loss.

Because I was reasonably careful during my rock-n-roll days, I didn't suffer hearing loss. I had a complete audiology exam a year or two ago: above average hearing. That makes sense around the house; I always hear the baby cry first. Today, I heard my PalmPilot quiety playing music across the house.

I will need to get used to the headphones. Right now they are kind of uncomfortable. I know I am not playing them too loud. At the volumes I am playing them, they are quieter than my piano during practice in terms of dB exposure. They are even quieter than a noisy restaurant.

I'll keep monitoring the situation; don't want to hurt myself. It is certainly easier to listen analytically with a good pair of headphones.

SR

Pièce d’ Orgue (BWV 572) [4103]

So tonight I am skipping around again, having just finished my syllabus for this semester. I dabbled with some choral settings, but settled on a familiar piece, the Fantasia in G Major for organ.

Bach was working in Weimar when he wrote this. Forkel wrote of him:

"Johann Sebastian Bach was now 32 years old, had made good use of his time, studied, played and composed so much up to this period, and gained such a command of the art through constant hard work and dedication that he stood there like a giant and could tread everything around him into the dust."

This composition literally helped me write my dissertation. I purchased this very CD player to use in the Troy Public Library, a block away from my high school. I wrote on a laptop during the day, and fell in love with Bach's organ music. Unlike works with vocals, these compositions helped to order my thinking and propel me forward as I wrote.

The artist on the Hanssler collection is Andrea Marcon. I'm not crazy about his version. I listened again to my favorite, by Peit Kee on the St. Bavo organ in Haarlem. What a fantastic performance and recording.

SR

Christian Müller 1738 (St. Bavokerk)

MS-1/Cmoy

below is a reprint of my first post to Headwize, a great site and discussion board for headphone fanatics.
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Bust of J.S. Bach with the TTV set, Alessandro/Grado headphones, a Cmoy headphone amp, and CD Player

Newbie $150 Rig

This post, my first, might be a bit overboard for most. Delete at will.
I want to start this post by thanking Cmoy and all the other posters to the list; I've been searching the archives here and surfing the net for several weeks pondering a $150 headphone purchase. Now that it's all here and working, I wanted to post to the list and hare my experience.

Background: While I have been into HiFi for most of my life, I've only been a very casual headphone user. Most of the time, I don't need 'em. I'm lucky enough to actually have a decent stereo in my office. But I am starting a project that will require hours of analytical listening while my family is sleeping, and I wanted a decent setup.
So here was my scenario:

1. $150 or less

2. Ambeint noise and leakage not a problem

3. Source is varied: High-end consumer Yamaha stereo; small portable CD player w/ line out; PalmPilot mp3 player.

4. I listen to everything, but these 'phones will be used to listen to the complete works of J.S. Bach (172 CDs); some of these are AAD, many DDD; these vary from large orchestras and choirs to solo clavichord (probably one of the quietest instruments in history).

5. No time or talent to build Cmoy's famous amplifier.

I have really sensitive hearing, and I am picky as well. After hunting around, I figured my $150 go the farthest with the following:

• Alesandro MS-1 ($99)
• Basic cmoy amp from eBay ($48)

My impressions:

I like the Allesandros. I didn't listen to them side-by-side with standard-issue Grados or other 'phones. I've read about them being uncomfortable, but they actually fit me nicely without even minor twiddling. If, after the Bach project, I am hooked on using 'phones, I'll probably invest in a higher quality pair of Senns or similar phones and an amp. These are certainly the nicest 'phones I have ever owned, and I think they'll do me fine for some time.

The amp is very cool. They seem to be readily available on eBay for folks like me who couldn't find their soldering guns if their lives depended on it. In fact, I would encourage all of you who build these amps to consider selling them; there are probably lots of folks like me who don't have the time or talent to build one for themselves. This one is cleanly built.

It's certainly worth the $20 in parts and $30 in labor! You guys can help make Chu Moy the Linus Torvalds of audio!

I can definately notice quality enhancements with the Cmoy amp, as opposed to the on-board headphone amp in my Radio Shack CD player. This list abounds with reasons for this: I attribute it to the poor quality of the amp, as well as the lousy E-Bass circut. That and the fact that these Grados need more juice. The CD player is nothing special (purchased in a pinch while I was writing my Ph.D. dissertation in a different city), but it does have line out, which is the only reason I still have it. The amp has plenty of power--I seldom turn past the equivalent of a 2.5 or 3.5 on the volume pot.

The differences are subtle. I am listening to mostly Bach cantatas right now. I listend to a couple of different recordings of BWV 147. I can hear an appreciable difference in the clarity of string instruments and organ voices, particular around the "edges" (percussive organ tones, and string attacks, for example). I'll mostly use the amp for listening to Bach.

Contrary to some things I've read, these MS-1 'phones can deal with the CD player or mp3 player in my PalmPilot terribly well without the amp. The amp is definately better, with many enhancements. But I can picture using these 'phones without the amp; I don't think I'll bother taking it to work, for example.

Just had to pull out some recordings I know like the back of my hand:

- I couldn't resist listening to Bjork's "Headphones" from the Post CD. You know... "my headphones, they saved my life." Quite nice. Great imaging and separation.
- Because of the Grado's rep as a rock-n-roll 'phone, I had to load up some Led Zepplin. The tracks on the 1976 Presence just lit up on these things. Great definition on the bass guitar!
- I didn't enjoy listening to the 1957 "Groovin' at Smalls' Paradise" by Jimmy Smith on these 'phones, and it's one of my favorite organ recordings. Maybe I'd be disappointed by any organ trio on headphones.
- Bill Evans' 1961 live piano trio "Waltz for Debby" was a delight on these cans. Scott LaFaro's bass is so warm; there's no way the audience at the gig could hear it this well.
- "She's Lost Control" by Joy Division seems like it was designed to be listened to on Grados! Man, it's been years since I've really listened to this record!
- The bass on Derrick May's "to be or not to be" was a but much to deal with on these headphones; "icon" was a bit easier to deal with, but not breathtaking as it can be in a club or good home stereo. Not sure how much 80s Detroit Techno I'll listen to with headphones!

Well, there ends my long post. I'd recommend this set up for any newbie who has placed a $150 limit on themselves.

And thanks again to all of you for the quality posts and reviews.

Steve Robinson
MS-1 Alessandro/Grados, Cmoy

Skippin' Around [4071]

So tonight it's motets. These are conducted by Rilling and gorgeous. Large choirs, beautiful recordings. They are lively, moving, and interesting.

I don't think I am ready to be systematic about this. It's kind of distracting to have the whole BWV right here in the house.

"Hrmm. How about some motets? Or, I wonder what cantata 140 sounds like by Rilling. Interesting. How about 51? These inventions sound interesting on a clavichord. Hey, how about the ..."

You get the picture. I'll dig into the keyboard works in the next day. I am still waiting for my headphones.

SR

BWV Anh. 113, 114 & 115, 183 [4137]

Some of my favorite pieces in AMB aren't by JSB at all. I love the famous Menuets in G-Maj/g-min (they were the first piano pieces I learned, and a facsimilie of them in AMB's hand hang above my piano).

Mr. Behringer is quite a harpsichordist. I love these versions. His playing is extremely clean, bouncy--seems trite to say effervescent for harpsichord, but it fits. He also switches manuals very tastfully, and his ornaments are gorgeous. I love this recording.

But I'd still like to wander into the control room and dial back the 'verb.



Michael Behringer, harpsichord

The engineer has done something clever with 114 & 115, however. The pieces are supposed to be played together, in alternation. They are separate tracks, but Behringer really plays them as a unit. Not difficult to do from a recording standpoint, but knowing to do it is impressive.

SR

WWWWH?

We call them "the journalist's questions:" Who, What, Where, When, Why, & How? I think I need to tackle those at the beginning of this blog:

Who

Well, that would be me and Capellmeister Bach, of course. But it's not that simple. There are conductors involved now, such as Mr. Rilling, and Mr. Behringer, who is currently playing away at his harpsichord (the gigue to the Partita in e-minor from AMB). Mr. Wolff will be involved, too, and countless others on the web.

What

The complete works of J.S. Bach, specifically the Hänssler edition. That and other books and musical scores. Oh, and a CD player, headphone amp, and a pair of headphones (more on them when they arrive).

Where

Downstairs.

When

For some reason, I am most mentally alive between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. It's almost always been that way. My house is a quiet place during those hours, making it a perfect time for this nocturnal project.

Why

For another time.

How

For another time.

Partitias BWV 827/830 [4137]

After some consideration, I have decided to begin with the AMB Notebooks. There are a few reasons for this: a) I am most familiar with these composisitons; b) I have heard several recorded performances of them; c) they seem like a better entry point to the set than the cantatas.

I'll need to do a short post about the cantatas--I peeked ahead and skipped around my favorite, BWV 147, and it is clear that Rilling will take some getting used to for me--but back to these partitias.

Okay, so I need to start off by saying that I am not even sure what a partitia is. There's a cure for that--I learn from an online music dictionary that a partita is just a suite (don't you hate it when dictionaries define a word with another word?). Here's the same dictionary's definition of "suite:"

Commonly describes an instrumental piece in several movements consisting of a sequence of dances. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the suite included the characteristic dance forms allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue. In the mid-18th century, the binary form feature of the dances was developed
into sonata form. The sonata and also the symphony then became the chief instrumental forms. In the l9th and 20th centuries the term describes a lighter work than a sonata. A suite may also describe a set of movements assembled from a ballet or opera score.

I am hearing these partitas for the first time. They are not included in the recording of AMB that I admire so much, but Igor Kipnis. If I recall, they were not included because he has recorded them elsewhere.

The performer here is Michael Behringer. His technique is clearly flawless. The engineering on these recordings has a bit too much reverb for me; to my ears, the sound is kind of wet. I am listening on the crappy Radio Shack headphones that came with the CD player, and I am also writing, so I'm not paying the closest attention.

Here's a link about Michael from the Bach Cantatas web site, which I love.

Bach Arrives at My House

If Johann Sebastian Bach were to travel to my house to give me music lessons, he probably would not be very happy. He'd hate my piano (though, unlike many Bach enthusiasts, I think there are modern pianos that he'd like) and he would detest my organ. But he'd also probably tell me to get to work on what I had.

Well, Bach arrived today. The TTV 2000 GmbH set arrived during the day. Sadly, a few of the CD jewel cases were damaged, but my plans accomodate this. I have transferred the entire set to a large nylon CD wallet; the wallet cost $14.00 and holds 224 CDs. With the track listings inserted, the wallet was nearly the perfect size.

The other disappointment is the liner notes; they are all on CD-ROM, in .pdf format, which is fine. The libretti and individual notes are in English, but the series introduction (which looks very well done) is only in German. Fortunately, I have lots of good info about Bach and his life, specifically Wolff's J.S. Bach: The Learned Musician, and The New Bach Reader.



TTV 2000 GmbH 171 CD set

So, Willkommen, Capellmeister Bach, to Grand Blanc, Michigan. You've arrived just in time for the New Year!

SR