An Encyclopedia and a Fugue

The WTF Bach Podcast

The text of the Borges story I mentioned

33:58

In this episode, we delve into the concept of being "qualified" in the workplace, examining who gets labeled as such, who doesn't, and the underlying reasons. We explore "competency checking"—the practice of scrutinizing individuals' abilities—and how it disproportionately affects underrepresented groups, often going unnoticed or unchallenged. Our discussion aims to redefine qualifications in a fair, equitable, and actionable manner. Our guest, Shari Dunn , is an accomplished journalist, former attorney, news anchor, CEO, university professor, and sought-after speaker. She has been recognized as Executive of the Year and a Woman of Influence, with her work appearing in Fortune Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, and more. Her new book, Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work , unpacks what it truly means to be deserving and capable—and why systemic barriers, not personal deficits, are often the real problem. Her insights challenge the narratives that hold so many of us back and offer practical solutions for building a more equitable future. Together, we can build workplaces and communities that don’t just reflect the world we live in, but the one we want to create. A world where being qualified is about recognizing the talent and potential that’s been overlooked for far too long. It’s not just about getting a seat at the table—it’s about building an entirely new table, one designed with space for all of us. Connect with Our Guest Shari Dunn Website& Book - Qualified: https://thesharidunn.com LI: https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/sharidunn TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesharidunn Related Podcast Episodes: How To Build Emotionally Mature Leaders with Dr. Christie Smith | 272 Holding It Together: Women As America's Safety Net with Jessica Calarco | 215 How To Defy Expectations with Dr. Sunita Sah | 271 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music…

2 years ago 31:58

MP3•एपिसोड होम

This episode was inspired by my recent discovery and purchase of an Encyclopedia Britannica. It's a fascinating collection of knowledge and I highly recommend finding some volumes and reading them. This is the Bach article appearing in the EB from as early as 1926 even until the 1960s, written by D.F. Tovey.

We also listen to fugue BWV 959, very early, very wild, very W.T.F. in unequal temperament.

More episodes on the way! Spread the love!

LINKS:

Donald Francis Tovey (author of the article I read)

The archived scan of a 1926 Encyclopedia Britannica volume containing, "Bach, J.S.

Homepage of the EB: https://www.britannica.com

Support us:

https://www.patreon.com/wtfbach

https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach

https://venmo.com/wtfbach

https://cash.app/$wtfbach

Complaints? Confusions?

Write us:

bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com

Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

92 एपिसोडस

#Music #Podcasting Education #WTF Bach #Special Guests

The WTF Bach Podcast

An Encyclopedia and a Fugue

The WTF Bach Podcast

published 2 years ago

साझा करें

MP3•एपिसोड होम

We also listen to fugue BWV 959, very early, very wild, very W.T.F. in unequal temperament.

More episodes on the way! Spread the love!

LINKS:

The text of the Borges story I mentioned

Donald Francis Tovey (author of the article I read)

The archived scan of a 1926 Encyclopedia Britannica volume containing, "Bach, J.S.

Homepage of the EB: https://www.britannica.com

Support us:

https://www.patreon.com/wtfbach

https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach

https://venmo.com/wtfbach

https://cash.app/$wtfbach

Complaints? Confusions?

Write us:

bach (at) wtfbach (dot) com

Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

92 एपिसोडस

#Music #Podcasting Education #WTF Bach #Special Guests

सभी एपिसोड

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis. An Audiobook. 1:09:18

3 days ago1:09:18

1:09:18

The bard— not the brook, but don’t worry, this podcast isn’t going to become an English lesson. Thanks for reading WTF Bach! This post is public so feel free to share it. Here is my reading of Shakespeare’s first publication, Venus and Adonis , a poem that is pure music. If I were to list my favorite lines, I might as well copy out half the poem. Just something that pops into my head would be a line like, “Rain added to a river that is rankPerforce will force it overflow the bank.” It bursts with melody and rhythm! And at least one moment, such as when Venus addresses Death, 'Hard-favour'd tyrant, ugly, meagre, lean,Hateful divorce of love,'--thus chides she Death,--'Grim-grinning ghost, earth's worm, what dost thou meanTo stifle beauty and to steal his breath,Who when he lived, his breath and beauty setGloss on the rose, smell to the violet? 'If he be dead,--O no, it cannot be,Seeing his beauty, thou shouldst strike at it:--O yes, it may; thou hast no eyes to see,But hatefully at random dost thou hit.Thy mark is feeble age, but thy false dartMistakes that aim and cleaves an infant's heart. Why, this might well be compared with the later tragedies. Grim-grinning ghost! As Keats wrote in the margin of his copy of the Sonnets, ‘Lo!’ I hope you enjoy this diversion. I’ve been toying with this for about a year now. I suggest reading along while listening to best absorb the poem. You can read the full text in modern English here , and as it appeared (with older spelling) in 1593, here . Poor queen of love, in thine own law forlorn,To love a cheek that smiles at thee in scorn! We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com) Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
MiniSeries! 10: The Final Episode 19:29

17 days ago19:29

19:29

UPDATE: One of my astute listeners pointed out that it is in fact Jones’ review of Butler’s work in Music & Letters, and the original work by Butler is this book . Thanks for the correction! Don’t miss the end of this episode where I play three of Bach’s earlier settings of the same tune, BWVs 700, 701, & 738! We finish our study of this late masterpiece by reading some scholarship on the two different versions Bach made of his canonic variations on Luther’s 1539 melody. Whereas Wolff suggests both versions could be ‘authentic,’ Gregory Butler reveals that he believes the Original Edition was a mistake— one that prompted the handwritten fair copy. As for the signature in the augmented canon— the finale in the fair copy— it is first spelled out in bar 19. See the top line, G, F#, A, G#: These are not the same notes, but it is the same shape as B-A-C-H. The line that imitates this upper line is moving at half its speed. Therefore, it must repeat the spelling twice as slow later in the piece. See how it is joined by an independent line of counterpoint, now singing out the signature in parallel 3rds: Two signatures in two different final movements! We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com) Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
MiniSeries! 9: Revisions Part Two 27:28

24 days ago27:28

27:28

Today, as we did in episode 5 of this miniseries, we’ll examine the revisions Bach made from engraving copy to handwritten copy. This is an important view into the composer’s workshop, and unlike clear ameliorations between layers in his other works, the two versions of BWV 769 present a unique challenge in seeking the “best” version. Changes like this (first beat, alto) are minute, yet fascinating: (Top: engraving. Bottom: fair copy.) Bach made three revisions dealing with a similar leap of a fifth. The most important revision in the inverted canon variation, is in this pedal line: (Top: engraving. Bottom: fair copy.) Notice the ornament in the fair copy— we often see more ornaments in handwritten versions, but this is not consistently the case in this piece. Heading over to the augmented canon, this revision (in the bottom line) seems to be the only one of major consequence: (Top: engraving. Bottom: fair copy.) The need to change this canonic line stems from a revision Bach made 11 bars earlier— the lines being in augmentation with one another. Admire Bach’s brazenness as he changes what was D over B, to D over C#! Here, as I mentioned, is a very early episode introducing the concept of Bach in revision: We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com) Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
MiniSeries! 8: A Bachian Fractal 20:51

30 days ago20:51

20:51

Show me a finale as densely packed with thematic material as this one. Here are the five bars — the only five bars — discussed in today’s episode. You might listen while looking at them: Notice the finale comes in two stages, first diminution, then stretto. The signature in the final bar is noteworthy (though it should be mentioned that the letters are an addition by the editor.) And here is a video of the Mandelbrot set fractal, as promised (with perfect background music:) We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com) Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
MiniSeries! 7: Canon at MOVING Intervals 16:50

5 weeks ago16:50

16:50

Have a look at this. This is Bach beginning a canon in inversion. The follower is a 6th below the leader: (If you can’t see that the shapes are inversions, hold up a mirror — seriously!) Yet here, only a few bars later, the imitation seems to be at a different interval: The follower is no longer a sixth below, but a third. How rare! And going on, something else: (We’re looking at the lower two voices in this picture, the quarter notes.) We see the canonic imitation has shifted yet again, to the interval of a second. What is happening? Dare I say… W.T.F. Bach? This type of composition is, I believe, completely unique. I’d love to see another example elsewhere in music. Bach writes the chorale melody four times, and in all four appearances, finds a different interval at which inverted imitation works. The man’s capacity to combine a single shape with itself, to abstract the DNA of the smallest musical cell, to spin it, lengthen it, shrink it, to construct a world from a grain of sand; this is late Bach. We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com) Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
MiniSeries! 6: A Sloth Canon 23:30

6 weeks ago23:30

23:30

Imagine composing an ornate melody, then stretching it out so it moves twice as slow, and somehow when you layer the stretched version onto the original, they match up beautifully: One shape, two different speeds. This is what Bach has done in this canon (but he also made sure that the consequence of both lines also blends into the harmonic implications of the chorale melody, which must also past through both lines…) Let’s see what our augmented canon looks like on the page. Here is the opening of the ‘quick’ line: And now see the same shape, moving in augmentation: Those images are from the print, which as I mentioned is in open-score, and particularly difficult to read. The left hand is on the 2nd and 4th lines, the pedal sandwiched between them on line 3, and, did I mentioned? Four different clefs. Have a look: We’ve seen this type of composition before on the podcast. Here is the episode from Season One about the augmentation canon (as well as in inversion) from the Art of Fugue: Stay tuned for the final variation! We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com) Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
MiniSeries! 5: Canonic Revisions Part One 22:06

9 weeks ago22:06

22:06

The subject of the last several episodes has been Bach’s canonic variations on a Christmas tune by Martin Luther himself. A major inquiry into this work is its existence in two versions: engraved and handwritten. The published version (for reasons explained in the episode) doesn’t fully solve the canonic lines, as seen here: Notice how the notes of the bottom line don’t continue after the fifth note! See two other canons, each with the comes omitted: Variatio 2 omits the follower after only three notes, while the last image shows the second voice dropping out after two full bars. Because of such condensed notation, a copy working out the solutions would be necessary for anyone wishing to play the work; Bach himself made one— and couldn’t stop himself from making very minor changes. Those intriguing revisions are the subject of this episode. P.S. In the episode I mention that for time’s sake, I cut three revisions from our comparative study of the canon at the 7th. For reference, they are found below. The staves show the pedals and left hand, engraving copy on top, followed by the handwritten copy: Bar 7: Bar 13: Bar 22: P.P.S. I received a notification that the featured recording of Stravinsky conducting his own arrangement is banned in certain countries in which I have listeners. Pardon me if the sound drops out at the end of the episode! If this happens, you’ll have to look the piece up on your own: it can be found searching Stravinsky’s music under the title “Choral-Variationen” (or “Chorale Variations” in other languages) with either W83, K087, or BH-2629 as the catalogue number. We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
MiniSeries! 4: Feet & LH, a 7th Apart 18:44

10 weeks ago18:44

18:44

Let’s delve into a third variation from Bach’s 1747 masterpiece, “Some canonic variations on the Christmas song, ‘From Heaven Above’ for the organ with two keyboards and pedal, by J.S. Bach.” Two versions of this piece exist: the ‘fair copy’ and the ‘publication’ ( Stichfassung ), which present the variations in a different order. In this episode, we follow the publication, where the canon at the 7th appears as the third variation. The previous two variations featured canons between right and left hands, while the pedals carried the slow moving chorale melody. This variation introduces something new: a canon between the pedals and left hand. On that page that looks like this: Above those two lines, the right hand plays a quick-flowing accompaniment marked cantabile , but the chorale melody is missing… Note the rest up top, and the downward-facing stems on all the notes. This implies a second voice is coming: the Christmas melody sung in half notes. Together, the two voices of the right hand, combined with the canon between the pedals and the left hand, create a four-voice texture— the previous variations were in three voices. As we’ve seen in his other late canonic works, Bach will gradually increase the complexity of the canonic treatment toward the finale. We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
Is Pachelbel's Canon Really a Canon? 17:21

11 weeks ago17:21

17:21

I never knew the authentic version of the world’s most famous canon, having only known arrangements which conceal the fact that the music is indeed a canon in three voices. Here is what the ‘real’ canon looks like: It continues for over 50 bars as a three voice canon at the unison. In my brief survey of this piece, I found one theory that suggests the 9-year-old J.S. Bach was in attendance at the first performance in history. While the canonic treatment is clever and not worthy of our loathing— we blame its ill fate on others— Bach’s contributions to the genre outshine this example. We continue with Bach’s canonic art in the next episodes. We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
MiniSeries! 3: A Canon At The Fifth 16:27

11 weeks ago16:27

16:27

Continuing our mini-series exploring Bach’s canonic variations on the Christmas song, ‘Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her’ BWV 769, we listen to the second canon: a canon at the perfect fifth. Here is what the initial shape looks like in the right hand: So the same shape must be imitated down the perfect fifth. It appears like this in the left hand: I briefly mention the difference between ‘tonal’ and ‘real’ answers. Although the majority of the imitating line appears a perfect fifth below the leader, several accidentals are changed to keep the overall tonality. Hence Bach here gives us a ‘real answer.’ (I.e. where the F# and G# appear in the left hand, find the corresponding notes in the right hand, note the resulting intervals are diminished fifths, not perfect.) We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
MiniSeries! 2: Divine Row Row Row Your Boat 18:55

13 weeks ago18:55

18:55

The first variation in these late variations for organ, is a canon at the octave. The two hands, each on a separate keyboard, play the same shape, one octave apart, while the feet provide the chorale melody. It looks like this: Those are the first three measures of 18 measures. That’s right: the shape is imitated note for note for 18 bars! If you’re having trouble seeing that the two upper lines are in fact the same melody, one octave apart, try this image: We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
MiniSeries! 1: Bach's Christmas Puzzles 21:04

14 weeks ago21:04

21:04

In this first of several related episodes, we will learn about Bach’s late contrapuntal masterpiece, the Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her , BWV 769. The variations— although certainly not as familiar— should be considered alongside Bach’s other late achievements, the Goldberg Variations , The Art of Fugue , and A Musical Offering. They employ many similar ideas and highlight the composers uncanny ability to ‘squeeze water from a stone,’ making elaborate pieces with minimal material. This first episode discusses the origins of the chorale melody and for what purpose Bach used this piece. Drop me a note to tell me if you like this shorter episode length. Are you the type of listener who loves the hour long podcast? Or did this fit into your schedule better? I mention the title page: And the Wikipedia link to the chorale melody: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vom_Himmel_hoch,_da_komm_ich_her We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid Substack subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com Enough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways! You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Thank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
Bach Pulls Out His Dagger. 29:57

16 weeks ago29:57

29:57

Since I was a child I’ve known the story of Bach pulling out a blade. What really happened? In this short episode, I read the contemporary reports from the Arnstadt Consistory Court, where this famous fisticuffs was first recorded. About halfway through the episode (14 minutes), I’ve given you some “chill” chorales, played over a drone. One of my listeners mentioned they wanted some Bach for doing yoga/meditation, so this is what I came up with. If you like the way it sounds, I’ll put a full hour-long track on Spotify for all my Bach enthusiast yogis. Meanwhile, stay tuned for some cool episodes coming up during the holiday season. We Rely On Listener Support! How To Donate To This Podcast: The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com You can also make a one-time donation here: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach https://cash.app/$wtfbach Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
The Urtext Illusion: Textual Variance in Bach's "Aria Variata" BWV 989 54:12

18 weeks ago54:12

54:12

Last week I posted this piece on YouTube : The most intriguing part of studying this piece was the overwhelming amount of differences between the three earliest sources of this work. Here is a list of the sources I reference in the episode , the copyists, and when they were made: The ‘Andreas Bach Book’ (D-LE III.8.4) J. Christoph Bach; copyist, between 1705-1714 P 801 J. Tobias Krebs; copyist, between 1710-1717 P 804 J. Peter Kellner; copyist, before 1725 In the episode I simply refer to these as Andreas Bach, Krebs, and Kellner. You will hear a great amount of textual variation between these sources. Part of any performer’s job of playing music from Bach’s era includes combing through sources, determining how and why certain discrepancies appear. In the Aria Variata , however, the discrepancies are inconsistent— and perplexing. My current understanding of source tradition hasn’t led me to any conclusion, but were I bold enough to take a stab, I’d guess Andreas Bach is the most accurate source, Kellner made a very sloppy copy from which Krebs copied. Kellner’s copy is full of corrections, but these were probably entered at a later date, and Krebs didn’t get the memo. A taste of what this looks like: That is Kellner’s copy. Notice the ornaments. Compare to Krebs: Both have an E-flat in on the downbeat of the third bar (all three sources in this episode use soprano clef on top). Now here is Andreas Bach: D-sharp in bar three! Also, the ornamentation is fuller. There are many other details in the episode, so please, enjoy! Here are more images to stimulate your fancy: Krebs’ wavy hand. Kellner making mistakes, corrected by— whom? Kellner himself? The baffling passage in variation 4 in Andreas Bach. Notice what look like erasures on some of the notes. How To Support This Podcast: Become a paid subscriber! at wtfbach.substack.com or donate using any of these links: https://www.paypal.me/wtfbach https://venmo.com/wtfbach Get full access to WTF Bach at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe…

The WTF Bach Podcast

1
Passion Music for His Son: The F Minor Sinfonia, BWV 795 33:55

21 weeks ago33:55