Breathing Life into Bach

09 Nov 2023 @ 18:30 GMT

Pianists and teachers often struggle with how to approach playing Bach. Many students view Bach as dry and removed from their 21st-Century lives. But what did Bach mean by “arriving at a cantabile (singing) manner of playing” and his intent to show keyboard players “a clear way” to achieve that through his Inventions and Sinfonias?

Join Fred Karpoff for an online workshop designed to heighten your confidence in approaching Bach at any stage, whether you’re an intermediate or advanced player or a teacher seeking inspiration for your students. The well-known Inventions in C, F, and D minor will serve as primary source material in addition to Bach’s beautifully melancholic Sinfonia in F Minor. Through these works, we’ll explore musical and technical aspects in detail, including how to combine well-coordinated technique with expressive music-making.

Registrants will receive access to a 21-minute video walkthrough and marked score of the D Minor Invention to view in advance of the event in addition to high quality recordings afterwards. Stylistic elements covered in the lesson include performance practice of prominent pianists, harmonic and motivic analysis, three-dimensional technique practice strategies, contrapuntal listening, and how to play those long trills with ease and finesse.