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Monday, April 06 2020 00:00

Day 1: "Musette" by Bach

Violinist age 9 plays "Musette" by Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach lived from 1685 to 1750. He was born in what is now Germany, was the youngest of 8 children, and had a thorough musical education from his father, uncles and older brother.

He was a very hardworking musician who lived and worked at the courts of various dukes and princes, where he had to produce new music on a weekly basis for courtly events and chapel services. Not surprisingly, his published works number well over 1000, and it's thought that there were many more which have been lost over time.

His main performing instrument was the organ, but he wrote pieces for many other instruments, including voice. He wrote this Musette originally for harpsichord, a forerunner of the modern-day piano. A "Musette" was actually a kind of bagpipe popular at the time, and Bach was trying to imitate one here - if you listen carefully to the piano accompanying the violin, you may be able to hear the held bass note or "pedal tone", just as you would with a bagpipe.

Read 3225 times Last modified on Monday, April 20 2020 15:25