Most beautiful music

[Dmitri]

J.S. Bach's "Erbarme dich" (from St. Matthew Passion), with Kathleen Ferrier and Herbert von Karajan's orchestra:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jh_1CKyZVSc

(Don't know who's playing the violin there.)

Wish the recording was cleaner of course, but my god, what a voice, and what incredible piece of genius music this is...

It absolutely takes me apart, every time I hear it. Tears and all, and the older I get, the worse it is... sobbing like a freakin' baby right now.

I first heard this piece back in Russia, it was the sound for the opening scene for the movie "Sacrifice", and then at (a broadcast of) the charity concert for the victims of the Earthquake in Armenia in 1988 (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr4tjP0U-Mo)

This was also one of the few things I put on the mp3 player that I got for my daughter's 9-th birthday (alongside Beatles, Mozart and some other stuff) and she told me that one was her favorite, she just kept listening to it... Her own words were "I'm enchanted". She asked for more stuff like that, to which I had to reply that there isn't a lot of "stuff like that" in the world... (Although of course I did get some other vocal pieces for her.)

Anyway, just thought I'd "pay the dues", in this small way, to this particular musical piece -- maybe more people will discover and appreciate its genius.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

That sucked. I'd rather listen to Beyonce singing "single ladies" followed by Ashlee simpson lypsyncing baboon farts through a straw.

Now that would be awesome...

j/k, nice piece! lol

[Felipe Bidó]

Beautiful...

I am a huge fan of Bach's compositions. And not only the main guy. I love the whole Bach family.

One of my favorites: "Fürchte Dich Nicht", by J.S. Bach's uncle, Johann Christoph Bach. In my opinion, better than Johann Sebastian's version:

http://pythagore.asso.free.fr/son/Issy2 ... hnicht.mp3

[Dmitri]

Yeah, I've heard some of the rest of the Bachs, but not much (and not this one -- thanks for sharing!), because I found them to be a bit more like Handel, Telemann or even Vivaldi... Excellent compositions no doubt, but very representative of their time. It's not a "bad thing" of course, it's very natural, but one of the traits of Johann Sebastian's music that attracts me is that IMO he's the only one of the bunch who wrote stuff that was WAY ahead of his time, and also (again IMO) the most musically complex and unpredictable of them all. There is some stunning music by the likes of Handel out there, but as you listen you can almost predict where the next musical phrase will take you -- not so with J.S. Bach, at least IME.

But musical tastes are like all other tastes... they differ a lot.
It's all good.

[Darthwing Teorist]

I like Vivaldi a lot. Apparently he wrote for teenage girls, making him the first pop star evah!

[Darth Rock&Roll]

Vivaldi was a major salad tosser for sure! Teenage girls were his specialty.


mmmmteen aged girls.... with salad!

[Felipe Bidó]

Excellent compositions no doubt, but very representative of their time. It's not a "bad thing" of course, it's very natural, but one of the traits of Johann Sebastian's music that attracts me is that IMO he's the only one of the bunch who wrote stuff that was WAY ahead of his time, and also (again IMO) the most musically complex and unpredictable of them all.

Very very true.

I am a huge fan of Vivaldi. And I still can't quite get Haendel's music. As you say, it's more of the same...

[cdobe]

Beautiful...

I am a huge fan of Bach's compositions. And not only the main guy. I love the whole Bach family.

One of my favorites: "Fürchte Dich Nitch", by J.S. Bach's uncle, Johann Christoph Bach. In my opinion, better than Johann Sebastian's version:

http://pythagore.asso.free.fr/son/Issy2 ... hnicht.mp3

It must be either "Fürchte Dich, Bitch" ("Be afraid, bitch") or "Fürchte Dich Nicht" ("Don't be afraid") anything else doesn't make sense to me

CD

PS IIRC you're a fan of Mozart's canons as well

[Felipe Bidó]

It must be either "Fürchte Dich, Bitch" ("Be afraid, bitch") or "Fürchte Dich Nicht" ("Don't be afraid") anything else doesn't make sense to me

CD

PS IIRC you're a fan of Mozart's canons as well

fixed.... und passt es so für dich jetzt, du vixer?

LOL...kidding

Yes, bro, I am a fan of Mozart, too. But I find his music gets complicated sometimes..."too many notes"...

[klonk]

Classical music, and J.S. Bach's in particular, reflects a cultural ideal in which intellect, faith and the love of beauty work together. I'd say it reflects all that is best in Western culture. I find it much preferable to the messages in some recent music, messages of rage or anomie, lust for its own sake or getting wrecked on drugs, etc. In other words I think Bach is a reference point of sanity and reality; thank God for Bach.

[Chanchu]

Er Lu music can make baby Chanchu cry...

[klonk]

Not all tears are an evil.
-- J.R.R. Tolkien

[Hugo]

..............

[ashe]

It absolutely takes me apart, every time I hear it. Tears and all, and the older I get, the worse it is... sobbing like a freakin' baby right now.

sweet jeebus, no more taiji for you.