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General Questions:
From your personal perspective, where does the music of Bach fit the performance repertory; what performing pursuits are most gratifying, needing more emphasis?
Historically informed performance AND Reception History Performance. Performers' work is most valuable when THEY THEMSELVES have researched the basis for what they do.
Beyond the Bach repertory you perform, what other works or genres have particularly impressed you. Name other Bach performers whose legacy impressed and influenced you?
Hmmn. Walcha's rhythm, Fagius's intellect, Koopman's philosophy of the individual performance. But none DEFINES the source-driven account. IT WILL NOT DO TO PERFORM BACH. WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN - NOW THAT ALL THE INFORMATION IS AT OUR FINGERTIPS - IS THAT PERFORMANCE SHOULD ALWAYS SPECIFY WHICH TRANSMISSION(S) IS/ARE BEING USED. EVEN THE BEST PUBLICATIONS ARE CURRENTLY USELESS IN THIS REGARD. CONSEQUENTLY WE ARE STILL STUCK WITH THE UBIQUITOUS ZUSAMMENFASSUNG IN ALL ITS HORRIFYING DELUDING FORMS.
Who are some Bach scholars or pedagogues who impacted you; how and why? What is the role of teaching others in your field and how has it evolved personally?
IT'S MORE A HUGE ARRAY OF RESEARCH I HAVE READ AND PERFORMANCES I HAVE HEARD. e.g. PERFORMERS - LISTED ABOVE. RESEARCH - GERMAN, USUALLY - WOLFF, JOACHIM-SCHULZE etc. BUT ALSO PEDAGOGUES LIKE WEINBERGER, KOOIMAN, KLOTZ etc.
Areas of current Bach studies that have impacted you most: historically-informed, once voice per part, performance practice, or other fields.
MS discoveries, cross-discipline research (e.g. Greg Butler on Clavieruebung III).
What technical developments or interests have impacted you most; were there some outside the field of music?
bach-digital, Scans of the Dsb & SLUB
From your perspective, which composers, genres, styles do you find influenced Bach most and vice-versa?
This is 10 PhDs and requires ten books of 500k words at least!
What were your first experiences with Bach’s music; what was most challenging, and what was most gratifying. What did you enjoy most; what least?
'Most' is straightforward:John Egginton's recordings on Ste-Radegonde, Poitiers; Rogg's complete organ works (Metzler) - but I quickly learned that that was a just a start … Learning the complete organ works myself. 'Least' tends to be invidious, but I suppose: Ignorant mid-late-20thC choral performances; The Novello edition (chorale settings).
Who were people who encouraged you and how? Name teachers or mentors who helped you as well as special conditions.
Ralph Downes - to enquire into Bach; Christoph Wolff - through his brilliant writing; Above-mentioned scholars & pedagogues; Also, more recently, Christine Blanken, Peter Wollny.
What subjects did you enjoy in school and which were most challenging. Did you have special teachers who inspired you.
Music (!) - Michael Davey, music master & school organist.
What was the musical life of your community like; it’s assets, challenges?
Parish Church-Cathedral music (where I sang in the choir & played the organ).
What were hobbies or other interests you developed?
Composition.
When did you decide to pursue music as a career and what activities aided you? In the field of music, besides performing, what were the categories most helpful and challenging: Theory, harmony, history, literature, pedagogy, ensemble. Did you prefer solo or ensemble work and which interested you most: solo, accompaniment, obbligato, concertante?
No-one DECIDES to pursue a musical career. 'Should I take up music?' Answer: NO !!!! MUSIC WILL TAKE YOU UP!
How did you begin to define your particular talents, what special gifts did you explore?
I played the piano from the age of 7, the organ from the age of 14.I had wanted to play the organ at my senior school ever since I saw older pupils playing it.
In your early musical life before college, what pursuits did you like most, least? Did you find other vocations that interested you.
'Least' is a negative question but I didn't enjoy compulsory sports. The obvious answer to 'most' is playing the organ.
What musical experiences particularly stood out in your formative years?
Promenade Concerts, local symphony concerts, organ recitals that I attended from age 15, involvement with local choirs.
Do you have related academic and research interests?
See list above.
Do you have a personal motto or saying that has most impacted you?
no
Bach's Organ Music. What prompted you to do the complete recordings?
Challenge / offer of a contract / the use of the most authentic organs in Bach's Germany - which very few had used at the time I made my recordings.
How did you pick the organs?
I researched the preserved organs in Thuringia that Bach knew.
Do you have second thoughts about the Anh. and Deest works?
Of course.
Do you have any insight any of the Toccata & Fugue origins?
It is an area that interests me, but so much that is published is so ridiculously speculative that it seldom gets anywhere. (e.g. article in recent Organists Review, which, not surprisingly, no-one has taken remotely seriously.)
Which of the seven Bach organ collections do you enjoy most?
Fagius, I suppose - but I don't listen to him any more.
Publications
My own work, as a Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield, is exclusively concerned with JSB. The areas I have written about / am writing about can be summarised in the following listing of my published work:
'Historische Belege zur Registrierungspraxis in den Sechs Sonaten BWV 525-530. Eine Neubewertung', Bach-Jahrbuch, Leipzig, 2016. English version - ‘A New Assessment of the Evidence Pertaining to the Registration of the Six Organ Trio Sonatas, BWV 525-530’ to appear in The Royal College of Organists Journal, London, 2019.
Johann Sebastian Bach: The Complete Organ Trio Sonatas. Recording on the organ of the Phipps Hall, The University of Huddersfield (Fugue State Films), London, 2018. Liner notes contain new research not included in the above-mentioned Bach-Jahrbuch article.
‘Some Preliminary Observations Concerning the Registrations of the Harmonische Seelenlust as a Performance Source for Clavierübung III', The Organ Yearbook, Laaber, 2007. Bach’s Clavierübung III, 1736-39: a plan for registration based on a contemporary source.
'New Light on the Toccata in C, BWV 564 and Bach's Mordant', Journal of the British Institute of Organ Studies 41, Oxford, 2017. A discussion on Bach’s ‘mordant’ sign as it developed during specific periods of his life.
The Orgelbüchlein Project, Volume 4, Peters Edition, London, 2018. Academic Adviser: John Scott Whiteley. (General Musical Editor: William Whitehead). 'Sourcing the Melodies of the Orgelbüchlein' - Preface, Chorale Pages and Appendix Notes (Critical Reports). This is the first of 5 volumes to be published during the next three years.
‘Hermeneutics surrounding the Orgelbüchlein', The Royal College of Organists Journal, London, 2017. |
