Wisteria

School House


Links to other Wisteria clips

Swamp Song

Skin

Poems in Everyday Places

Miciah Bennett

Miss Miciah and the cello guys

Unaccompanied Suite no. 3 in C major BWV 1009

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Bouree I/II
Gigue

A Bouree is a French dance that became popular throughout the 17th century. It resembles the Gavotte, a French folk dance, uses simple rhythms, and is danced in double time. The Bouree is the least rhythmically complex of all of the movements, but contains both an upbeat (the first Bouree) and melancholy sound (the second Bouree) with a small tempo change to contrast the two.
The Bouree has a da capo structure in which the first and second Bouree are played with repeats followed by and ending with a play-through of the first Bouree with out the repeats. The first Bouree of the third suite is played in C major, while the second Bouree of the suite is in C minor. C minor is the parallel minor to C major. In the keyboard and orchestral suites, Bach produced several Bourees influencing others, like George Frideric Handel, to do the same.
The Gigue is an energetic dance baroque dance with ties to the 15th century British jig, which comes from the French word giguer, or “to dance”. A Gigue is usually written in 6/8, 6/4, 9/8 or 12/16 compund metres. As the last dance of a suite, the Gigue has a fast and exciting tempo It is very rare for a Gigue to be written in a simple meter of 3/8 time, as opposed to a compound meter which has subordinate and principal subaccents to create a pulse. The Gigue I am going to perform is in 3/8 time.

Miciah Bennett

Brian Smith

Unaccompanied Suite no.3 in C major BWV 1009


Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Courante
Sarabande

Composed during his appointment as Kapellmeister to the duke of Cöthen from 1717 to 1723, the cello suites are one of the most popular works ever composed for solo cello. While no autographed copy by Bach himself is in existence, the cello suites remained through a hand-written copy by Anna Magdalena Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach’s wife. After his death in 1750, Bach’s work fell into obscurity for about a century, until its popularity was revived by composers such as Mendelssohn, Schumann, and others. The revival of the cello suites, however, did not really take place until the early 20th century, when cello virtuoso Pablo Casals put out a recording of them.
The Courante and Sarabande from Bach’s third cello suite have been enjoyable pieces to play. Courantes are traditionally fast paced triple metre dances. The rises and falls of Bach’s courante allow for highly contrasting dynamics. The swiftness of the Courante is very different than the mood that his Sarabande gives off. Traditionally a slower dance in triple metre, the Sarabande is interesting in that emphasis is not consistently on a certain beat; instead it changes from measure to measure. Being a very slow and melodic piece, with very specific harmonies, I have found the Sarabande to be an especially difficult, yet rewarding, piece to learn.

Brian Smith

Max Lorick

Max and his sister Emily

Unaccompanied Suite #3 in C Major BWV 1009

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Prelude
Allemande

J.S. Bach born in Eisenach, Germany in 1685 was probably the greatest composer of his time, though during his time he was only known as a standard working musician. Bach’s family comprised of two wives (Maria Barbra Bach and Anna Magdalena Wilcke) and although Bach had 20 children 10 died in infancy and only 4 became well known composers. Johann Christoph Friedirch and Johann Christian Bach are two of Bach’s sons and probably the most well known, both studied and became very well known composers composing symphonies, operas, keyboard works etc. I don’t think that Bach ever knew what dramatic scene he would make in the music business with his music but it easy to say… J.S. Bach you rock our world. The Prelude in C consists of an A-B-A-C form. The Prelude is more of a fantasy piece where the player moves about maybe slowing down a little here or speeding up so there. The B section introduces thumb position on the cello to meet the necessary chord patterns. This has been a piece I feel like I can really connect with and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
The Allemande is often written as the first movement of the dance suite and originated in the 16th century as a duple meter dance of moderate tempo. The C major Allemande is also the only movement that consists of an upbeat of three sixteenth notes instead of just one. When Bach wrote these pieces he added cadenza-like measures which modified the dance forms. When I first set out to learn the Allemande I realized the technical and musical complexities of the piece. When I would reach one level in the piece there was always another for me to work up to. I think that what I have learned is not just a lesson in music but also a lesson in life. There are always going to be challenges to overcome, and once you reach them there will always be another one bigger and badder coming right behind. I guess the answer is to never give up and always do your best but I wonder what Bach would say?

Max Lorick