{"id":8292,"date":"2011-09-07T12:06:38","date_gmt":"2011-09-07T16:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/?p=8292"},"modified":"2011-09-07T12:06:38","modified_gmt":"2011-09-07T16:06:38","slug":"midweek-music-break-switched-on-bach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/midweek-music-break-switched-on-bach\/","title":{"rendered":"Midweek Music Break: <em>Switched-On Bach<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If not for 1968&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a title=\"Wikipedia, on 'Switched-On Bach'\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Switched-On_Bach\" target=\"_blank\">Switched-On Bach<\/a><\/em>, I&#8217;m not sure I&#8217;d ever\u00a0have paid much attention to classical music. I don&#8217;t know why I bought the album, unless in fascination with the sheer weirdness of the concept. As far as I knew then, no one within shouting distance of my life listened to classical music. I didn&#8217;t read record reviews. I played no instruments. I knew even less about electronics than I did about music.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/images\/switchedonbach_reshoot.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" title=\"'Switched-On Bach,' 1968 (w\/slightly altered text)\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/images\/switchedonbach_reshoot.jpg?resize=227%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"227\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a>The album cover certainly caught the eye. That&#8217;s it at the right (click to enlarge), with slightly altered text, as originally approved by Walter (now Wendy) Carlos, the album&#8217;s creator. Bach stands before an unmistakably non-contemporaneous keyboard, which itself stands before an array of electronic boxes bedecked with switches, lights, meters, and input\/output jacks. In his right hand he holds a pair of stereo headphones; on his face, a look of surpassing confidence which seems to say, <em>Surprised? Don&#8217;t be. This makes <\/em>so\u00a0much sense<em>, and I&#8217;m quite proud of it<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>For this Midweek Music Break, I&#8217;ve selected not one or two, but <em>three<\/em> numbers from the album:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Sinfonia to Cantata BWV 29&#8221;: The very first track on the album announces, from its first dizzying avalanche of notes through the nearly symphonic conclusion a few minutes later, <em>If you think electronic music sounds like atonal, unmelodic, disharmonious beeps and squawks, think again<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Air on a G String from Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068&#8221;: If the &#8220;Sinfonia&#8221; swept listeners up in the sheer exuberant joy of the Moog synthesizer&#8217;s (remixed, and re-remixed) multi-tracked sound, this piece (track #2) calmed them down, reassured them, with what sounds like a lullaby of light woodwinds.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Jesu, Joy of Man&#8217;s Desiring&#8221;: If you had to choose Bach&#8217;s &#8220;greatest hit&#8221; for modern listeners, this might be it. At latter-day weddings it&#8217;s often played at a stately, formal, almost dirge-like pace. Carlos&#8217;s interpretation is more sprightly &#8212; not coincidentally, as Bach himself apparently preferred.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For those of you who might want to listen to the three selections back-to-back, I&#8217;ve set up the audio-player thingum that way first. If you just want to hear an individual piece, I&#8217;ve added separate, er, thingums below the playlist version.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.25em;\"><em>[Below, click Play button to begin selections from <\/em>Switched-On Bach<em>. While audio is playing, volume control appears at left &#8212; a row of little vertical bars. These pieces, taken together, are about nine minutes long.]<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.25em 0.5em 0.5em; padding: 1em 0.5em 0pt; width: 400px; float: none; text-align: center;\" title=\"Click Play button to hear three selections from 'Switched-On Bach'\">[audio:01sinfoniatocantatabwv29_waltercarlos.mp3, 02aironagstring_orchestralsuite3bwv1068_waltercarlos.mp3, 06jesujoyofmansdesiring_waltercarlos.mp3|titles=&#8217;Selections from Switched-On Bach&#8217;|artists=Walter\/Wendy Carlos]<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.25em;\"><em>[Below, click Play button to begin <\/em>Sinfonia to Cantata BWV 29<em>. While audio is playing, volume control appears at left &#8212; a row of little vertical bars. This clip is 3:27 long.<a class=\"hidden\" title=\"3.2MB - you sure about this?\" href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/audio\/01sinfoniatocantatabwv29_waltercarlos.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.25em 0.5em 0.5em; padding: 1em 0.5em 0pt; width: 400px; float: none; text-align: center;\" title=\"Click Play button to hear 'Sinfonia to Cantata BWV 29'\">[audio:01sinfoniatocantatabwv29_waltercarlos.mp3|titles=&#8217;Sinfonia to Cantata BWV 29&#8217;|artists=Walter\/Wendy Carlos]<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.25em;\"><em>[Below, click Play button to begin <\/em>Air on a G String from Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068<em>. While audio is playing, volume control appears at left &#8212; a row of little vertical bars. This clip is 2:33 long.<a class=\"hidden\" title=\"2.3MB - you sure about this?\" href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/audio\/02aironagstring_orchestralsuite3bwv1068_waltercarlos.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.25em 0.5em 0.5em; padding: 1em 0.5em 0pt; width: 400px; float: none; text-align: center;\" title=\"Click Play button to hear 'Air on a G String from Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068'\">[audio:02aironagstring_orchestralsuite3bwv1068_waltercarlos.mp3|titles=&#8217;Air on a G String from Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068&#8217;|artists=Walter\/Wendy Carlos]<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.25em;\"><em>[Below, click Play button to begin <\/em>Jesu, Joy of Man&#8217;s Desiring<em>. While audio is playing, volume control appears at left &#8212; a row of little vertical bars. This clip is 2:58 long.<a class=\"hidden\" title=\"2.7MB - you sure about this?\" href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/audio\/06jesujoyofmansdesiring_waltercarlos.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.25em 0.5em 0.5em; padding: 1em 0.5em 0pt; width: 400px; float: none; text-align: center;\" title=\"Click Play button to hear 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring'\">[audio:06jesujoyofmansdesiring_waltercarlos.mp3|titles=&#8217;Jesu, Joy of Man&#8217;s Desiring&#8217;|artists=Walter\/Wendy Carlos]<\/div>\n<p>Not only a musician and musical technician, Carlos also demonstrates great skill as a photographer of solar eclipses (she&#8217;s a self-confessed &#8220;coronaphile&#8221;) &#8212; and holds a deep and abiding interest in\u00a0<em>maps<\/em>, especially as projected to or from a sphere.\u00a0<a title=\"Wendy Carlos: Home Page\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wendycarlos.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Her Web site<\/a>\u00a0is a favorite of mine just to wander around in, on all these (and other) topics.<\/p>\n<p>______________________<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong>\u00a0About the album cover&#8230; You may have noticed the weasel-wording, &#8220;as originally approved by its creator.&#8221; The cover shown above was not the very first one, though. <a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/images\/switchedonbach_orig.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" title=\"'Switched-On Bach': original cover\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/images\/switchedonbach_orig_sm.jpg?resize=175%2C180&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"175\" height=\"180\" \/><\/a>In that one, as you can see over there at the left, Bach was seated, not standing. Click on that image for a blow-up, and you&#8217;ll see why Carlos didn&#8217;t like it. Yeah. Bach&#8217;s got his lips pursed and eyes a-goggle &#8212; apparently bemused in the extreme, if not outright horrified. Remember &#8220;Look What They&#8217;ve Done to My Song&#8221;? (If not, <a title=\"Earlier RAMH post: 'Et \u00c7e N\u2019est Pas Bon, Ma'\" href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2010\/10\/et-ce-nest-pas-bon-ma\/\" target=\"_blank\">see here<\/a>;\u00a0scroll to the video at the bottom.) Yeah. <em>That<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the headphones he&#8217;s wearing? They&#8217;re plugged into the synthesizer&#8230; specifically, to an <em>input jack<\/em>. Carlos, an electronics wizard as well as a musician, must&#8217;ve about keeled over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If not for 1968&#8217;s\u00a0Switched-On Bach, I&#8217;m not sure I&#8217;d ever\u00a0have paid much attention to classical music. I don&#8217;t know why I bought the album, unless in fascination with the sheer weirdness of the concept. As far as I knew then, no one within shouting distance of my life listened to classical music. I didn&#8217;t read [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","h5ap_radio_sources":[],"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[38,2252,74],"tags":[2371,2565,2566,2567,2568,2569],"class_list":{"0":"post-8292","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-backwards","7":"category-midweek-music-break","8":"category-music","9":"tag-classical-music","10":"tag-switched-on-bach","11":"tag-walter-carlos","12":"tag-wendy-carlos","13":"tag-j-s-bach","14":"tag-electronic-music","15":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kZSG-29K","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8292"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8293,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8292\/revisions\/8293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}