Posted by ed_uk2010 on December 4, 2013, at 4:15:34
In reply to Re: for ed_uk2010, posted by sigismund on December 3, 2013, at 21:24:04
> Was that Scarlatti all counterpoint?
>
> I should listen to it again.No, Scarlatti is rarely contrapunctal.
JS. Bach was the master of counterpoint. Sometimes he did it to absolute perfection, other times it seemed more like a demonstration of what is humanly possible, and the beauty was lost (in my opinion). For example, in Bach's 'The Art of Fugue', the earlier simpler fugues are so much more beautiful to me than the later more technically complicated variations (rather like a mathematical exercises). Others will no doubt disagree.
Here is the very first Art of Fugue (Contrapunctus 1). I recommend listening to it a few times to appreciate the subtleties. Here, fugal perfection is achieved. You can hear the initial theme repeated by the various 'voices' during the piece.
Watch it played (on piano).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F39pnJWQ6Hw
With the sheet music, on harpsichord. I love to see the music. I can read it but not play it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXkN0TKZotA
If the fugues proved a little too heavy. How about this delicious little piece from Francois Couperin's Les Barricades Mysterieuses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj33HliB5v0
Some prefer it on piano, which is easy to find on YouTube :)
Or perhaps some Jean-Phillipe Rameau? Very different French style to Couperin. This is quite an electric performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrj9qtyxlWg
poster:ed_uk2010
thread:1054444
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20131110/msgs/1055407.html