New Bach Video Bach Prelude n 5 in D Major, BWV 850 WTC1

[carmelopaolucci]

Dear Friends,

This Prelude carries on ingenious sport with light motives, graceful and pleasing, rather than strong and expressive.
Something resembling a spring mood pervades this piece: light-hearted beings seem to be merrily throwing flowers the one to the other.
It was really fun to study it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Greetings from Italy
Carmelo

[frodo10]

Well done!  This is one of my favorite preludes.  It is not easy!

You do not quite have the crisp articulation of a world class player, but you know that and are working on that.

Can't wait to hear your Bach WTC I Prelude 21 in Bb major.  Another of my favorites.

[carmelopaolucci]

Thank you so much for your comment, Frodo!!!
I'm really happy you liked my video. Frankly, I have no ambitions to become a professional player. I enjoy playing for myself and for anyone who wants to listen, and I have a lot of fun with these pieces.
Thanks again, and greetings from Italy!!!
Carmelo

[essence]

excellent. Yes, very difficult to keep the legato, some tricky fingering, I could never do it.

Maybe the last the chords a bit softer and more relaxed?

[frodo10]

CORRECTION:.  When I said crisp articulation above I meant maintaining an even and clean legato.  Although you play this quite well, I feel a world class player is able to achieve a more even and a cleaner legato than you are achieving at this point.  I'm sure you will continue to work to improve this.  Again - well done!

Edit: I seem to recall a pianist or 2 playing the right hand with slightly detached (crisp) sound such as this. 

This is what I'm talking about. Oh ya baby! This guy can play!  He's just an amateur too?

[frodo10]

@carmelopaolucci
I didn't mean any disrespect in my prior post or to diminish your remarkable comeback in any way.  Keep up your great work and I look forward to hearing your next WTC post!

[carmelopaolucci]

excellent. Yes, very difficult to keep the legato, some tricky fingering, I could never do it.

Maybe the last the chords a bit softer and more relaxed?

Thank you so much essence for your comment and your suggestions !
I'll try to follow next video, in the mean time if you liked my video please consider to subscribe my youtube channell I'll update weekly new videos.
Greetings from Italy
Carmelo

[carmelopaolucci]

@carmelopaolucci
I didn't mean any disrespect in my prior post or to diminish your remarkable comeback in any way.  Keep up your great work and I look forward to hearing your next WTC post!

Thank you so much for your comment Frodo I understood previously what you mean, and I thank you for the suggestions you gave me and the examples of great maestro playings.
I'll try to do my best with the resources I have. The important thing is that I enjoy playing the entire WTC1, one step at a time.
Greetings from Italy
Carmelo

[dizzyfingers]

Dear Friends,
This Prelude carries on ingenious sport with light motives, graceful and pleasing, rather than strong and expressive.
Something resembling a spring mood pervades this piece: light-hearted beings seem to be merrily throwing flowers the one to the other.
It was really fun to study it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Greetings from Italy
Carmelo

Very well played.  I think sitting high at the keyboard works well for this piece so that your hands can stay super relaxed?  You have very good finger technique.  What are your practice methods?
Personally, I wouldn't mind it a little slower so we can hear Bach's clever harmonic shifts better, but I know everyone plays it around this tempo.  Quite an accomplishment, congrats!

[carmelopaolucci]

Very well played.  I think sitting high at the keyboard works well for this piece so that your hands can stay super relaxed?  You have very good finger technique.  What are your practice methods?
Personally, I wouldn't mind it a little slower so we can hear Bach's clever harmonic shifts better, but I know everyone plays it around this tempo.  Quite an accomplishment, congrats!

Thank you so much DizzyFingers for your comment, suggestions and your support !!!
You're probably right, a slightly higher chair position would improve finger control. I'll try that and let you know how it goes. As for my practice style for this piece:
- I always start by reading it very slowly and finding the best fingering (I use Busoni's WTC1 revision, downloaded from imslp, which I find fantastic from a pianistic and fingering perspective).
- I always use a metronome, especially at the beginning.
- To improve the consistency of my right hand, I used many rhythmic variations, starting from slow and moving to fast, but without speeding up too much.
The speed at which to play it was a big dilemma: initially, I thought it would be slower, following the advice of a friend of mine who suggested that a more moderate tempo would improve Bach's intelligibility and phrasing. Then, listening to Richter, whom I admire greatly on the WTC... I opted for a faster tempo... I don't run like Richter (I don't have his hands, nor his presence on the keyboard)... I reached a compromise that didn't lose the phrasing but allowed me to play it comfortably.
I'm glad you liked it.
Greetings from Italy
Carmelo

[dizzyfingers]

You're probably right, a slightly higher chair position would improve finger control. I'll try that and let you know how it goes. As for my practice style for this piece:

Thanks for sharing how you practice!
Just to be clear, regarding my comment about sitting high - I was making the observation that you seemed to be sitting high and that it seemed to work well for you.

[frodo10]

The important thing is that I enjoy playing the entire WTC1, one step at a time.

Your enjoyment is without question the most important thing.  This is why you are being so successful.  I wouldn't change a thing with how you are approaching this project!

[ricercar]

Nice! I would take it a bit slower, add more dynamics, and also make the left hand more staccato. In measure 33 that scale run is in 32nd notes! And even if you interpret those less literally than twice as fast as the preceding 16th notes (I myself play that passage rather more loosely), you should still play it much faster comparatively. Another reason to take the whole thing a touch slower, too.

[carmelopaolucci]

Your enjoyment is without question the most important thing.  This is why you are being so successful.  I wouldn't change a thing with how you are approaching this project!

Thank you so much for your comment and your support Frodo !!!!!
I try to do my best with Bach !
Greetings from Italy
Carmelo

[carmelopaolucci]

Nice! I would take it a bit slower, add more dynamics, and also make the left hand more staccato. In measure 33 that scale run is in 32nd notes! And even if you interpret those less literally than twice as fast as the preceding 16th notes (I myself play that passage rather more loosely), you should still play it much faster comparatively. Another reason to take the whole thing a touch slower, too.

Dear Ricercar,

You're probably right to look! Choosing the tempo to play this piece was one of the most difficult things:
- Playing it slowly, trying to highlight the various phrases by slurs and supporting the left hand more than by staccatos
- Playing it at the tempo I studied it a centuries ago at the conservatorium, very complex, fully in the performance tradition...
At the end of the day, I opted for the latter, knowing that with the former I would have risked turning it into a somewhat "romantic" piece, probably far from what Bach had in mind.
But in any case, I will continue to work on an acceptable compromise and perhaps publish it here soon.
Greetings from Italy
Carmelo