Greetings from a week’s fermata. I visited, among others, a beloved cousin in Missouri who has an old, beautiful Knabe upright. Of course, I have a copy of the WTC Books I&II in my Kindle app (doesn’t everyone?) so Mr. Bach is with me everywhere. I plopped down on the old bench after a sumptuous dinner and gave her piano’s perfectly preserved ivories a squinty-eyed iPhone-screen reading of the first Prelude in C of the WTCI, which began this blog effort back (Bach) on July 1. Cousin sat next to me, shoulder to shoulder, watching me lean and squint at the tiny notes on the small screen, listening to this beautiful piece on her lovely old treasure. This is what this music is for — this, and the grand concert stage, and the solo drive across the countryside, and a quiet moment alone in one’s own piano room, and the impromptu sharing with friends and family.
Today I played the P&F No. 17 in Ab major, something of an invention of a prelude really, and a rather difficult four voice fugue with only seven notes for a subject, a statement all in eighth notes. Ignore the fingering at your peril — it’s a finger-twister. I suffered many starts and stops, some caused by my optimistic tempo. Regardless the stumbles, it is always good to get back to Bach. Cheers.