The Bach Bubble

It is an undisputed fact that Bach has had a profound effect on the music and musicians since; not only in the classical world, but further afield into pop, jazz and rock music. Indeed, even American jazz and soul legend Nina Simone is quoted saying “Bach made me dedicate my life to music.”

But, by putting Bach on such a pedestal and applying rules as to when or how artists should perform the works, do we run the risk of making it less accessible for artists, promoters and audiences, and of creating a sense of fear around works held in such high regard? We spoke to cellist Jian Wang (JW), violinist Karen Gomyo (KG), pianist Julien Libeer (JL), and artist managers Alison Nethsingha (AN), Susie Murray (SM) and Olivia Lyndon-Jones (OLJ).

For most violinists, cellists and pianists, Bach's solo works represent something of a pinnacle in their instrument's repertoire. The cello suites, Jian Wang told us, “are the most important pieces in any cellist’s repertoire,” adding that all students should learn them. Though, he says, “It does take a while before one can begin to have a clearer picture of how to play them, but then the process is everything; that's how we grow.”

For pianists, however, there is a huge quantity of solo repertoire expanding way beyond Bach. Does that mean that the composer’s keyboard works don’t hold the same kind of status for pianists as the cello suites do for a cellist or the sonatas for a violinist? “I think it would be odd to be a professional cellist and not to play the solo Bach suites,” says Senior Artist Manager Alison Nethsingha, who manages artists including Jian Wang, Cédric Tiberghien and Imogen Cooper. “For a pianist, you could quite easily go through your whole career and never perform a solo Bach piece, and I don’t think it would be something that anyone would notice or comment on.”

Julien Libeer

© Athos Burez

‘A RIGHT TIME’: IS THERE ONE?

“I can only speak for keyboard playing,” Julien Libeer tells us, “but if there’s one composer who should be studied as soon as possible, it’s probably Bach. Sure, no 10-year-old should be allowed even near the Goldberg Variations, but I doubt a beginner pianist could have a better bible than the two- and three-part inventions. They’re transformative little gems, apparently simple, yet wonderfully challenging on all possible levels. In my own experience, everything sort of branches out from there – you can work your way up into the preludes and fugues and suites, but you’ll also be properly equipped to start studying anything from Haydn over Chopin to Ravel. It’s a testament to the extraordinary pedagogue that Bach was, and the sooner one enrols in his class, the better.”

Of course, it would be unwise to generalise, and there is certainly no one-fits-all answer. For violinist Karen Gomyo, her 'right' time was last year. “One of my teachers used to tell me that solo Bach is like a violinist’s ‘bible’, that you should start your practice session with it every day, as if it were a sacred prayer,” she says. “I find this kind of respect beautiful, but perhaps partly because of this, I’d put these works as high up on a pedestal as possible and refrained from performing them until now; I never felt I’d be able to do them justice. I finally realised that even this ‘bible’ is ultimately simply music, and that I might wait forever if I didn’t change my mindset. So, to have finally played them in concert last summer felt like a tremendous personal feat!”

Artist Manager Susie Murray, who represents Julien Libeer, as well as artists including Yevgeny Sudbin, Murray Perahia and Enrique Mazzola, says she would never discourage an artist from playing Bach. “It’s a bit like with an actor,” she tells us, “you wouldn't say ‘don’t touch Shakespeare’, because his works are so highly revered, you’d say ‘give it a go and see what you can discover within it’.” A recording, of course, is a slightly different ball game: “you’re making a universally accessible and everlasting statement about how you interpret it."

Alison recalls an interaction with a young cellist who said, ‘Oh, I think I’d like to do some solo Bach’, to which Alison responded, ‘Are you sure about that?!’ “They were really cross and, afterwards, I thought rightly so. They said, ‘I really hate the fact that this is this idealised thing that you can only do when you’re ready and you’ve got to be so prepared. Actually, it’s just music, he’s just a composer and I want to play it.’ It was a good learning lesson for me!”

“I think it’s also ok to accept that you can evolve with a piece,” says Artist Manager Olivia Lyndon- Jones, whose roster includes Inon Barnatan, Alexander Gavrylyuk and Ziyu He. “People wouldn’t discourage you from playing Rachmaninov or Shostakovich because you’re not mature enough to do it. We all learn, gain life experience, mature etc which exposes different interpretations. This idea that you should only do Bach once you’re totally ready, which isn’t ascribed to any other composer, makes it appear like this really scary thing.”

Karen Gomyo

© Gabrielle Revere

THE FEAR: ARE WE PERPETUATING IT?

A huge amount of analysis has been done on Bach's compositions; his use of symmetry, the golden ratio, the mathematics of his fugues etc. Does this perpetuate the danger that our view of Bach becomes too intellectual, to the extent that musicians and audiences can be put off for fear that they are not ready to understand or be able to appreciate it?

“There is something undeniably intimidating about Bach’s music,” says Julien, “but I always thought people misunderstand what that is exactly. As far as I can tell, it’s not as much Bach's mind-blowing architecture, which is just a means to an end, as his very particular brand of emotional density. There’s something of a fundamental earnestness at the core of his being that seems to shine through even his most joyful scores – which might have to do with the fact that to him, music was an instrument of worship. It’s not obvious what to make of that kind of sentiment in today’s Western world, so yes, some people might be baffled to a point where they stop bothering.”

“My view is that a performer should be equipped with some intellectual knowledge of the music, (including discussions around historicallyinformed performance styles, etc.), but that the delivery of the music should never be confined to that,” Karen tells us. “I think this is especially true in Bach, as there is an endless amount of information in the score to discover and mull over; it can indeed become a bit of a cerebral game! And there is a sense of fluidity even to this; your perspective of what you read in the score might very well evolve over time. Ultimately, Bach’s music is a deeply beautiful and emotional experience. So, I view the intellectual information as being more of a roadmap, a guide, to bringing out as much emotional ‘life’ as you perceive in the score through a deeper understanding of its compositional architecture. For me,” she concludes, “the most moving performances of the work are those where you don’t hear the analytical mind at all.”

Olivia Lyndon-Jones

PERFORMING & PROGRAMMING BACH

The circumstances of performance in Bach’s day are in great contrast to the modern day concert halls. How does this affect performing solo Bach? Does it work in a large modern venue?

Julien suggests two ways of dealing with that potential problem:

1. Make the piece larger: “Busoni, for example, was a great proponent of this (and I confess I'd love to see an orchestra dare to put Stokowski’s orchestration of the D minor Toccata back on the program)”

2. Make the hall smaller: “Rather than projecting like mad, you can just as well try to draw the hall into your piano. It’s a bit of an illusion, and it might require some extremely soft playing – but ever since I studied with Maria João Pires, that’s about the last thing I’m scared to do in concert”

“The intimacy of these pieces makes them special,” says Jian, who performed three of the solo cello suites at the BBC Proms in 2008. “I was astonished how well the cello sounded in that vast space without any amplification – it’s one of the most memorable concerts of my life.”

Another element to consider is the physical and mental stamina required to perform – and to listen to – an entire programme of solo Bach. “The violin generally takes on the role of a single, melodic line,” explains Karen, “so to suddenly have at your disposal the range of four voices, and to only have four fingers in the left hand and a single bow in the right hand to make this polyphony come to life, is an exciting, yet challenging exploration! There are also stylistic considerations, as well as decisions on so many intricate levels, both technically and musically – all of which are completely exposed.”

Susie Murray

“They are very intense,” says Olivia. “I’ve been to all Bach recitals which are amazing and make you feel like you’ve been on a journey, but by the end everyone is really tired.”

Themed and storytelling programmes are becoming increasingly popular in general, but does this trend stretch to all-solo Bach recitals?

“I think some promoters do want it, and others won’t want to touch it…" says Susie, "a bit of a Marmite love it or hate it situation.”

“Personally,” says Alison, “[as an audience member] I would be more likely to go if it was somebody who was known for their Bach interpretations. It’s quite a particular thing to sign up for, isn’t it? It could be amazing but could also be terrible!”

Alison Nethsingha

Perhaps by spreading a performance of solo Bach across two evenings, or by including an extended interval (as is done at several summer opera festivals), promoters can create the feeling of ‘an event’; a special occasion.

FINAL THOUGHTS

“I think in the end,” says Jian, “when I can’t really play the cello anymore, these are the pieces that I will grow old with. They have the unique ability to invoke order, peace and comfort in our hearts.”