A little unfinished business from the Purcell thread:
I don't think the ideal peformance is one which reproduces what the composer would have heard, but one which best reveals the music, given that music is an idea behind the sound used to convey it. I think that is best achieved by taking a completely fresh look at the music in the context of the composer's life and personality (what we know of it) to try to discover what the psychological premise is. Daniel Barenboim's recording of Bach's 48 preludes and fugues is an example of this approach . . .
It is interesting that you should say that, Smittims, because on the old R3ok forum there was a long discussion about each of Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues in turn (also about his Clavierübung III), and a lot of it consisted of comparisons between different performers on both the harpsichord and the piano.
Barenboim's name came up in relation to his performance of the three-part Fugue in E major from Book I. The general opinion there was that a) his performance was so rushed as to be little more than a blur, b) that the fine bouncing bass line at the end was completely lost, and c) that in the left-hand part of bar 24 he plays two notes which were later corrected by Bach, as seen in the Urtext edition. (I am combining remarks made by two of the members there, with very different backgrounds.)
and
I didn't see that discussion, but that is the first unfavourable remark I've seen of the Barenboim recording which has won considerable praise elsewhere.
I've just listened to it again and I have to say I find his tempo ideal, and his emphases bring out just the right rigour and tension of the piece. I've compared him also with the interpretations I consider the great ones: Edwin Fischer, Walter Gieseking , Wanda Landowska and Rosalyn Tureck and I have to put him firmly in their company. I'd be very surprised to find a performance which gave more satisfaction.
So here for members to compare are nine performances of Bach's E major fugue from Book I of his Forty-Eight, including all those referenced above.
First performanceSecond performanceThird performanceFourth performanceFifth performanceSixth performanceSeventh performanceEighth performanceNinth performanceThere are six pianists, two harpsichordists, and one odd electronic version.
Most of the pianists are rather fast aren't they, and some even fumble!
I'll reveal the names to-morrow.
One thing I might say now, though, is that Bach's two dotted quaver figures in bars 26 and 27 (just before the end) are an indication that he intended the bass line to be clearly heard!
[
By the way, this thread is intended not just for Bach, but for any composer whose works are played in a variety of different ways.]