Fugue - Sonata no 1 in G minor BWV 1001 by J.S. Bach (marimba)

Performed and Recorded by Justin Ball on Dec 16 in the Florida State University Percussion Studio. Instrument - Adams Custom Classic 5.0 octave marimba: https://www.adams-music.com/en/adams/percussion/adams_customclassic_series_marimba Video: Two Canon XF200 HD Camcorders Audio: DPA 4006-TL Omnidirectional condenser microphones Mallets - one Malletech CH4 and three Malletch CH8s __________________________________________________________________________________________________ The first of Bach’s six solo works for violin exudes the calmest. On a violin, the key of G minor has a pure and stable sound, as the two lower strings (the G and the D) fit naturally in the root position triad without needing to use the fingers of the left hand. The sonority of these low ‘open strings’ reverberates throughout the whole sonata. According to the eighteenth-century theoretician Johann Mattheson, G minor was “almost the most beautiful key”; one that “combines a rather serious character with spirited loveliness” and thus, in short, “lends itself well and flexibly to moderate plaintiveness and tempered gaiety”. This appears to be precisely what Bach had in mind for this sonata. The Fugue, which by definition is strict in form, leans towards the “rather serious” side. It is the first fugue in the whole set of six solos, and Bach does not cut too many contrapuntal capers as yet. Later on, Bach – or somebody else – arranged this fugue for organ, without making too many changes (BWV 539).