Overview

Course No. 720

Join Professor Robert Greenberg to explore the emotional power, religious devotion, technical virtuosity, diverse national styles, and sheer genius of Johann Sebastian Bach. Though unappreciated in his own time, Bach has ascended to Olympian heights, his music celebrated by generations of listeners. This series of 32 lectures aims to help you hear the extraordinary sweep of Bach’s work and understand the compositional techniques that allowed him to create such lavish music while maintaining precise control over beat, melody, and harmony.

Video Lectures

• Introduction
  • Goals of the course, overview of Bach’s life and influences.
  • Duration: 47 min

• Christmas, 1722
  • Background on Bach’s early career and major life events.
  • Duration: 40 min

• Introduction to the Baroque Aesthetic
  • Overview of the Baroque era and its emotional dichotomy.
  • Duration: 46 min

• Fugue
  • Understanding the technique and emotional depth in Bach’s fugues.
  • Duration: 49 min

• Historical Overview from Constantine through the Great Thinkers of the Baroque
  • Background and history of the Baroque era.
  • Duration: 47 min

6. Style Features of High Baroque Music, Part I – A Musical Glossary
   • Key elements of Baroque music materials and syntax.
   • Duration: 47 min

• Style Features of High Baroque Music, Part II – A Musical Glossary
  • Development of styles and rhythms in Baroque music.
  • Duration: 46 min

8. Style Features of High Baroque Music, Part III – A Musical Glossary
   • Advances in expressive musical systems and harmony.
   • Duration: 44 min

• Bach’s Inheritance, Part I – The Protestant Reformation and the Rise of Lutheranism
  • Synthesis of musical influences and Bach’s world view.
  • Duration: 44 min

• Lutheranism, the Chorale and the Chorale Prelude
  • The significance of chorales in Bach’s church music.
  • Duration: 49 min

• Bach’s Inheritance, Part II – The Development of the Italian Style
  • Exploration of Corelli and organ design during the Baroque.
  • Duration: 45 min

• The Italian Style, The Operatic Ideal and Lutheran Spirituality are Joined
  • Influence of the madrigal and organ on Bach’s work.
  • Duration: 49 min

• Vivaldi, Bach and the Concerto, Part I – Vivaldi and the Venetian Opera
  • Exploration of Vivaldi’s concertos and Bach’s adaptations.
  • Duration: 48 min

14. Vivaldi, Bach and the Concerto, Part II – Vivaldi’s Model and Bach, Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major
    • Bach’s incorporation of Vivaldi’s techniques.
    • Duration: 47 min

• Vivaldi, Bach and the Concerto, Part III – The Concerto Grosso and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2
  • Examining Bach’s contributions to the concerto grosso form.
  • Duration: 48 min

• Bach and the French Style, Part I – Dance and the Orchestral Suite
  • The impact of dance on Baroque music.
  • Duration: 45 min

• Dance and the Orchestral Suite (cont.)
  • Styles of dance and courtly performances in the Baroque.
  • Duration: 48 min

• Bach and the French Style, Part II – The Keyboard Suite
  • Exploration of keyboard music and Bach’s masterworks.
  • Duration: 46 min

• The Keyboard Suite (cont.)
  • Examination of Bach’s creativity within constrained forms.
  • Duration: 48 min

• Bach and Opera, Part I – Cantata No. 140 Wachet auf, uns ruft die stimme
  • Analysis of the role of cantatas in Lutheran worship.
  • Duration: 46 min

• Cantata No. 140 Wachet auf, uns ruft die stimme (cont.)
  • Insights into Bach’s dialogue between Christ and the Church.
  • Duration: 49 min

• Bach and Opera, Part II – Opera Buffa and the Secular Cantata, The Coffee Cantata
  • Thematic exploration of Bach’s secular works amidst cultural shifts.
  • Duration: 47 min

23. Opera Buffa and the Secular Cantata, The Coffee Cantata (cont.)
    • Further discussion of societal influences on Bach’s works.
    • Duration: 48 min

• Bach Transcendent – The Saint Matthew Passion, Part I
  • Introduction to the significance of the Saint Matthew Passion.
  • Duration: 47 min

• Bach Transcendent – The Saint Matthew Passion, Part II
  • Compositional techniques and unity in the Passion.
  • Duration: 47 min

26. Bach Transcendent – The Saint Matthew Passion, Part III
    • Symbolism and narrative structure in the Passion.
    • Duration: 48 min

• Bach Transcendent – The Saint Matthew Passion, Part IV
  • Conclusion and reflections on Bach’s thematic elements.
  • Duration: 48 min

• Bach Transcendent – The Goldberg Variations, Part I
  • Overview of the construction and significance of the Variations.
  • Duration: 48 min

29. Bach Transcendent – The Goldberg Variations, Part II
    • Detailed analysis of the movements and Baroque techniques.
    • Duration: 47 min

30. Bach Transcendent – The Goldberg Variations, Part III
    • Exploration of canons and their central role.
    • Duration: 46 min

31. Bach Transcendent – The Goldberg Variations, Part IV
    • Concluding thoughts on the emotional impact of the Variations.
    • Duration: 48 min