Viola da Gamba

If you love the sound of a cello and a great male voice, listen to this piece! Music doesn't get any more expressive, elegant, and majestic than this. These videos are such a pleasure to watch because I love to see how the musicians interact with each other during the pieces.

The bowed instrument is not a cello, but a viola da gamba, which is like a cello with more strings and it has frets. It also has gut strings instead of steel strings, so the sound is softer and "sweeter." I've read that the viola da gamba is an ideal instrument for an adult to begin playing, because the technique isn't too demanding and it's tuned similarly to a guitar.

Buxtehude

Dieterich Buxtehude is one of the Baroque composers many people are not aware of. He lived in the early to middle Baroque era and was a master organist. J.S. Bach, when he was 20 years old, walked 250 miles to hear Buxtehude play. There is one piece by Buxtehude I really love. It's a passacaglia in d minor. It has a haunting and hypnotic line in the bass that repeats over and over throughout the piece. I would love to have this played at my funeral. Ha!

The first recording of this piece is on a 400 year old late Renaissance organ. The sound was recorded near the player, so unfortunately there is a bit of noise from the action of the organ. This would not be heard down in the pews.



The second recording, for purposes of comparison, is played on two harpsichords. This shows you how instrumentation can really change the feel of a piece of music!

Obsessions

I don't know why I'm obsessed with the Baroque so much. Could it be the art? The music? The architecture? I feel a little guilty in some ways. The late Baroque was a time of decadence.

Still, the religious art and architecture are amazingly beautiful.

Here is Bernini's statue of St. Teresa of Avila in ecstasy. I love how she's passed out with her jaw open, with an angel grasping her by her habit. The angel has a cheerful smile as he's about to pierce her with an arrow.