A Treat for Lovers of Bach

As I was driving home today from Grand Forks I was flipping through stations, trying to find something that made me happy.

What a delight to find the classical MPR station was in the middle of an hour and a half of Bach. The host had taken requests from around the state and assembled a somewhat eclectic presentation, which combined into a veritable auditory and emotional feast.

When I first tuned in it was during an Aria from St. Matthew's Passion, that was followed by an orchestral arrangement of Bist du Bei Mir, Cantata 143, and a 1950s recording of Wanda Landowska on the harpsichord.

Then I was home and had to eventually get out of the vehicle, get sleeping kids unbuckled and hauled in, all the wares into the house and supper on.  But Joe had a nice hot chicken soup simmering on the stove, so we just needed to put on bowls.  The soup didn't, however, make leaving Bach any easier.

Back in our college days in Madison, there was always a Bagels and Bach event on Sunday mornings in the atrium of the museum formerly known as the Elvehjem Museum of Art.  I never went, since I worshiped at church instead of at the altar of Bach, but it always sounded fun.  I often wished they had scheduled it at a different time.

I'm disappointed that the Classical Music public radio apparently does not have the little "listen later" option that the non-music public radio does.  But if anyone wants to purchase any of the tracks, you may do that on their site.

Here is the playlist.  It is in backwards chronological order, since that is how they display it on the website.

6:30	JS Bach - Orchestral Suite No. 1 La Stravaganza Denon 78965

6:26	Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 Wendy Carlos, moog synthesizer Sony 42308

6:17	Johann Sebastian Bach - Sleepers Awake Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor Concentus Musicus Vienna Teldec 92626

6:11	JS Bach - Aria from Goldburg Variations Yo-Yo Ma Sony 60681

6:02	JS Bach - Prelude and Fugue No. 9 Wanda Landowska RCA 7825

5 - 6 PM

5:47	Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata No. 143: Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele: Du Friedefurst, Herr Jesu Christ Gustav Leonhardt, conductor Leonhardt Consort Roger Cericius, boy soprano Teldec 42630

5:42	Johann Sebastian Bach - Bist du bei mir Eugene Ormandy, conductor Philadelphia Orchestra Sony 38915

5:36	Johann Sebastian Bach - St Matthew Passion: Blute nur, du liebes Herz Herbert von Karajan, conductor Berlin Philharmonic Gundula Janowitz, soprano DG 419789