Stephanie Jones playing a Bach Fugue on an acoustic guitar

[Eddy Deegan]

Today I came across this superb rendition of a Bach Fugue, originally written for violin, played by Stephanie Jones on an acoustic guitar.

I've seen a lot of fancy shredding, powerful rock performances, stunning solos and so forth over the years but I don't think I've ever been as impressed with the artistry of a guitar performance as I was watching this.

Stephanie Jones isn't a name I'd seen before, but I'm sure some of you must have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EM6t3iHK1Y

Maybe it's the pianist in me but I thought the performance, dynamics and expression combined to produce a feel that hit the spot perfectly.

[ef37a]

New name to me as well Eddy.
Whilst there is no question of her talent I was not impressed that much by the recording quality? Even to my failed lugs it seemed 'over bright' and 'clangy'? Not much of the bottom end of the guitar?

Can someone identify the microphones please and explain the idea behind their positioning?

My son is working through some Bach transcriptions including BWV 1001 but he cannot take it at her speed!

Dave.

[Eddy Deegan]

I was so wrapped up in the performance that I didn't really pay any attention to the recording itself!

[ef37a]

I was so wrapped up in the performance that I didn't really pay any attention to the recording itself!

Well no, I didn't until I was a few bars in and then certain notes were very 'spikey'? Had something to do with my AKG K92s being rather forward and the YT being loud (the 92s are 113dB/V) . Played through my home hi fi, mission 775s not SO bad and the lower strings were stronger but then the 77s have seriously overblown bass in my room.

Next stop the Tannoy 5As.... Mics anyone?

Dave.

[Arpangel]

I'm not very receptive at the moment, but it left me cold, I’ll listen again later, when I’m less stressed out.
It was technically superb, but I found her dynamics and expression too exaggerated.
I may feel completely different later on.
If I was the producer I’d tell her chill-out.

[tea for two]

Today I came across this superb rendition of a Bach Fugue,

Bach was clearly influenced by music he could get access to listen to.

Bring Bach to current times when he can get access to listen to millions upon millions music from around the world from myriad styles

Would Bach compose the same way ?

I find the too many notes in various Bach as well as several other classical composers
Alongside no room for inner space no time for a moment of stillness
Somewhat missing in let's say a certain inward awareness in their compositions.

[Arpangel]

Today I came across this superb rendition of a Bach Fugue,

Bach was clearly influenced by music he could get access to listen to.

Bring Bach to current times when he can get access to listen to millions upon millions music from around the world from myriad styles

Would Bach compose the same way ?

I find the too many notes in various Bach as well as several other classical composers
Alongside no room for inner space no time for a moment of stillness
Somewhat missing in let's say a certain inward awareness in their compositions.

Yes, true, about too many notes, sometimes, but he has "moments of heavenly greatness" that make all those notes irrelevant, like this.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eklI9yFRnlQ

Not one note too many there, just enough to make this one of my favourite pieces of music of all time.

Also, this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEbi-7tPaqo

Perfectly formed.

[Kwackman]

Thanks for sharing that Eddy, new name to me too.
I watched her "Sound of Silence" as well.

I was so wrapped up in the performance that I didn't really pay any attention to the recording itself!

A great mindset to have as a listener, otherwise there's no emotion it it!

Not much of the bottom end of the guitar?.

It looks like a smaller bodied guitar, which would have less bottom end?

[Logarhythm]

Also, this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEbi-7tPaqo

Perfectly formed.

Agreed - an absolutely sublime piece of music
I stumbled across this a couple of years ago and keep coming back to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNEnzNHTkd8

[ef37a]

"Too many notes? I shall have to talk to my son about that but my guess is he will say ...
"Just because YOU can't play them does not mean Bach was wrong!"

Then again, listen (or read, I can't) the parts for the Brandenburg Concertos? He is playing all the parts for #5 and there are PLENTY of gaps in that.

No one got the stridency yet? Could be my hearing...

Dave.

[Drew Stephenson]

Doesn't sound overly bright to me given the environment and the instrument. It's small bodied but also the headstock looks like it might be of a considerable age. Vintage string instruments don't tend to have the bottom end we expect today.
Can't see the mics clearly but they look like a pair of SDCs. If they're cardiod at that distance (wouldn't be my starting approach) then that would also contribute to a bit less bottom.
Personally I enjoyed it a lot.

[tea for two]

"Too many notes? I shall have to talk to my son about that but my guess is he will say ...
"Just because YOU can't play them does not mean Bach was wrong!"

Then again, listen (or read, I can't) the parts for the Brandenburg Concertos? He is playing all the parts for #5 and there are PLENTY of gaps in that.

No one got the stridency yet? Could be my hearing...

Dave.

The too many notes in in relation to

Alongside no room for inner space no time for a moment of stillness
Somewhat missing in let's say a certain inward awareness in their compositions.

Gaps pauses doesn't equate to stillness.

:::::

Also overall where are their compositions for the common folk suffering poverty hardships.
Overall where are their compositions for personal loss personal tragedy folks suffer.

Composing for high society for some battle for courts of kings queens sure paid bills gained fame
Yet these are hollow things to compose for if they are not balanced by composing for common folk, composing with a certain inward awareness.

[Arpangel]

"Too many notes? I shall have to talk to my son about that but my guess is he will say ...
"Just because YOU can't play them does not mean Bach was wrong!"

Then again, listen (or read, I can't) the parts for the Brandenburg Concertos? He is playing all the parts for #5 and there are PLENTY of gaps in that.

No one got the stridency yet? Could be my hearing...

Dave.

The too many notes in in relation to

Alongside no room for inner space no time for a moment of stillness
Somewhat missing in let's say a certain inward awareness in their compositions.

Gaps pauses doesn't equate to stillness.

:::::

Also overall where are their compositions for the common folk suffering poverty hardships.
Overall where are their compositions for personal loss personal tragedy folks suffer.

Composing for high society for some battle for courts of kings queens sure paid the bills gained fame
Yet these are hollow things to compose for.

J S Bach was a working man, for the church, organist, choir master. I don’t think he ever composed for kings and queens, I’m certain in fact.
Beethoven, Mozart, now that’s a different story.

[ef37a]

"Too many notes? I shall have to talk to my son about that but my guess is he will say ...
"Just because YOU can't play them does not mean Bach was wrong!"

Then again, listen (or read, I can't) the parts for the Brandenburg Concertos? He is playing all the parts for #5 and there are PLENTY of gaps in that.

No one got the stridency yet? Could be my hearing...

Dave.

The too many notes in in relation to

Alongside no room for inner space no time for a moment of stillness
Somewhat missing in let's say a certain inward awareness in their compositions.

Gaps pauses doesn't equate to stillness.

:::::

Also overall where are their compositions for the common folk suffering poverty hardships.
Overall where are their compositions for personal loss personal tragedy folks suffer.

Composing for high society for some battle for courts of kings queens sure paid the bills gained fame
Yet these are hollow things to compose for.

J S Bach was a working man, for the church, organist, choir master. I don’t think he ever composed for kings and queens, I’m certain in fact.
Beethoven, Mozart, now that’s a different story.

Yeah! #It's the rich as gets the pleasure, it's the poor as gets the bl.....#

Dave.

[shufflebeat]

I was drawn to the headstock as well and the apparent mismatch with a very modern looking body. I have no knowledge of instruments of this type so I may be way off the mark with that but there's no doubting that it's the most character-less guitar sound I've heard since wading through a load of Chinese under-£200 shoeboxes for a student.

Playing is nice, I wish I could do that, but a way to go yet in understanding the tune.

[The Elf]

That is a stunning performance!

[tea for two]

I find the too many notes in various Bach as well as several other classical composers
Alongside no room for inner space no time for a moment of stillness
Somewhat missing in let's say a certain inward awareness in their compositions.

Yes, true, about too many notes, sometimes, but he has "moments of heavenly greatness" that make all those notes irrelevant, like this.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eklI9yFRnlQ

Not one note too many there, just enough to make this one of my favourite pieces of music of all time.
.

This would make me teary in a church.

It is also in someway how I've played on a church organ .

[Wonks]

Does anybody bother to read the YouTube descriptions? Presumably less easy to see on a phone or a tablet, but always worth searching for if you want to see if there is more about what's going on. The description tells you the guitar is a 19th Century J.A Stauffer copy by Jan Tuláček, hence the mixture of old and new looks.

https://www.tulacek.cz/

[Hugh Robjohns]

Even to my failed lugs it seemed 'over bright' and 'clangy'? Not much of the bottom end of the guitar?

Given the style and size of the guitar I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a big bottom end to it, and the room is probably on the bright and reverberant side judging by the pictures.

But IMHO it's daft to criticise the recording quality without first hand knowledge of the source. It might not be to your personal taste, but there's nothing technically wrong with it. I quite enjoyed it... And I thought the dynamics of her playing were sublime.

Can someone identify the microphones please and explain the idea behind their positioning?

No idea. Impossible to see. Almost certainly omnis given their orientation. This is an increasingly common way of recording soloists of all kinds. It grew out of a technique developed for capturing soloists in orchestral settings that doesn't narrowing the stereo image. In a setting like this it gives a nice sense of space and some scale of the instrument.

The one aspect of it all that I do feel fair to criticise, though, is the appalling dressing of the mic cables. What were they thinking??!!

[shufflebeat]

Does anybody bother to read the YouTube descriptions? Presumably less easy to see on a phone or a tablet,

I tend to go looking if I want to know more.

Random Bream for instrument with character.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9OIZDLUxnK0

I'm not suggesting a direct comparison, that would be unfair and artistically pointless, just suggesting there's a bit of "style over substance" going on.

[Drew Stephenson]

They're actually pretty hard to find on my phone, so i get lazy...

[Sam Spoons]

Doesn't sound overly bright to me given the environment and the instrument. It's small bodied but also the headstock looks like it might be of a considerable age. Vintage string instruments don't tend to have the bottom end we expect today.

My thoughts too, though I'd say it's a modern replica of a vintage guitar and reading the notes confirms, she says "I am playing on a 19th Century J.A Stauffer copy by Jan Tuláček"

TBH it doesn't do much for me though very little classical music does.

I was aware of her BTW and she is a pretty amazing player.

edit :- note to self, read the whole thread before commenting, Wonky actually read the notes before posting

[merlyn]

Bach was clearly influenced by music he could get access to listen to.

Yes. Famously he walked forty miles to hear Buxtehude who was considered the best organist around at the time. And a lot of his themes are influenced by Italian music (i.e. Italian music had good melodies). Take the Brandenburg Concertos. They start off with a melodic theme then go into Bach land with variations.

But I think Bach was hearing his own music inside his head. It's Bach who advocated for tempered tuning by writing 48 preludes and fugues in all the keys, major and minor. Known as The Well Tempered Clavier if this could be played on a keyboard and sound good the keyboard was in tempered tuning. Beethoven could play all 48 in any key.

The 'too many notes' is part of the Baroque aesthetic. Movements usually have one emotion or affect throughout. In the classical era emotions could turn on a dime.

Bach's idea of music was a constant stream of harmony. Right now this is similar to the fact that most music has a drumbeat going through it with the emphasis on 2 and 4. Music made now keeps the rhythm going; Bach kept the harmony going.

[Martin Walker]

Today I came across this superb rendition of a Bach Fugue, originally written for violin, played by Stephanie Jones on an acoustic guitar.

I've seen a lot of fancy shredding, powerful rock performances, stunning solos and so forth over the years but I don't think I've ever been as impressed with the artistry of a guitar performance as I was watching this.

Stephanie Jones isn't a name I'd seen before, but I'm sure some of you must have.

Stunning performance!

I came across Stephanie Jones back in June 2020, when I posted this link on my Facebook page:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UwA8zvDcho

Oh, and knowing how 'correct' you like to be Eddy, I've just manually corrected the spelling of every post title in this two-page thread from 'Bache' to 'Bach' - hope you don't mind

Martin