Something for a Friday: All of Bach

[Hitch]

Bach - Ehre sei dir, Gott from Christmas Oratorio BWV 248

0:00 Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen (Chor)
6:16 Da Jesus geboren war zu Bethlehem (Rezitativ)
6:42 Wo ist der neugeborne König der Jüden? (Chor & Rezitativ)
8:24 Dein Glanz all Finsternis verzehrt (Choral)
9:10 Erleucht auch meine finstre Sinnen (Aria)
13:41 Da das der König Herodes hörte, erschrak er (Rezitativ)
13:53 Warum wollt ihr erschrecken? (Rezitativ)
14:24 Und ließ versammlen alle Hohepriester (Rezitativ)
15:57 Ach, wenn wird die Zeit erscheinen? (Aria/Terzett)
21:30 Mein Liebster herrschet schon (Rezitativ)
21:58 Zwar ist solche Herzensstube (Choral)

Netherlands Bach Society
Lars Ulrik Mortensen, organ and direction
Carine Tinney, soprano
Alex Potter, alto
Daniel Johannsen, tenor
Tomáš Král, bass

Recorded for the project All of Bach on January 3rd, 2025 at Heuvellaan Hilversum, Hilversum.

From the YouTube summary:

The bright fifth cantata from the Christmas Oratorio – recorded here for All of Bach with Lars Ulrik Mortensen – has a modest instrumentation. No trumpets, timpani, horns or even flutes in this second to last cantata of Bach’s famous Christmas piece. This doesn’t prevent the Christmas light to shine brightly in this cantata. The opening chorus is so sunny that it almost seems to be summertime – light, dancy and smooth, like gymnastics for the chorus. In the aria for bass, with oboe d’amore, the light, of Jesus’s coming takes centre stage. The cantata concludes with the light of God’s mercy that fills mankind’s heart with sunlight.

From the All of Bach website:

Illuminated by bright sunlight

The fifth cantata of the Christmas Oratorio brings summer to January.

The fifth cantata of the Christmas Oratorio bears the closest resemblance to an ‘ordinary’ cantata: the instrumentation is modest – no trumpets, timpani, horns or even flutes. Maybe that is due to the liturgical ‘position’ of the cantata. Bach wrote the piece for the first Sunday after New Year; a day that came in between the bigger feasts of Jesus’s circumcision and Epiphany. And maybe on dramaturgical grounds, Bach also opted for a relatively simple form for this cantata, thus creating maximum contrast with the finale of the Christmas Oratorio on the feast of Epiphany.

The opening chorus is so sunny that it almost seems to be summertime – light, dancy and smooth, like gymnastics for the chorus. Yet Bach incorporates a detailed fugue into it, following which the tenor takes the floor. He keeps returning throughout the cantata to tell the story of the three wise men from the Orient and Herod, the king of Judea, whose reactions to Christ’s birth are diametrically opposed.

The three wise men saw Jesus’s star and immediately set off to pay tribute to Jesus. They arrived excitedly in Jerusalem and asked Herod, ‘where is the newborn King of the Jews?’ The narrative is interrupted by the alto, who answers on behalf of the faithful: Jesus is in your heart. Then the chorus enters again, representing the three wise men and singing, ‘We have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him’. Filled with passion, the alto sings of the happiness of the three wise men, because they may personally behold Jesus’s light, both literally and figuratively. The message is then generalised in a chorale: ‘Lead us in your ways, so that we...may see your glorious light forever!’

The light of Jesus’s coming is once again the subject of an aria for bass, with oboe d’amore. Bach adapted this aria from a secular soprano aria he wrote for the occasion of a visit from the Elector of Saxony, Augustus III. The new setting for a low voice fits with the new text, and the ‘sombre thoughts’ are clearly audible in the dark timbre of the bass.

The tenor begins his narration again: Herod is horrified when he hears of the birth of Jesus – surely he, as the ruler of Judea, is the only king of the Jews? He cannot afford a competitor. The alto returns with a pious recitative: how can such a joyful message horrify anybody? The tenor finishes his story. Herod calls together all the high priests, who must tell him where he can find Jesus. They cite a prophecy, which Bach underlines with a running bass: Bethlehem, because that is where the scriptures say the Messiah will be born.

The sequel to this, which Bach does not set to music, is the most gruesome passage in the Christmas story – Herod has all the newborn boys in Bethlehem slaughtered. The congregation would, however, have filled in this part of the story for themselves. In the trio that follows, an interesting dialogue takes place between the soprano and tenor, who wonder when Jesus will return to earth – while the alto knows that he is already here. The alto recapitulates everything in a concise, triumphant recitative. Jesus will live forever in the faithful heart of the believer. The cantata closes with a chorale: as soon as the rays of God’s mercy shine, so also will the ‘dark pit’ of mankind’s heart be filled with sunlight.

[Hitch]

Bach - Das alte Jahr vergangen ist BWV 1091

Bart Naessens, organ
Instrument: Rudolph Garrels, 1732
Recorded for the project All of Bach on May 15th 2025 at Groote Kerk, Maassluis.

From the Youtube summary:

Das alte Jahr vergangen ist – recorded here for All of Bach with Bart Naessens – is a four-part organ arrangement of a song for New Year's Eve. Probably it is a work from Bach’s youth, it may even date back to his teenage years in Ohrdruf. In those days, Germany introduced a calendar reform: from then on, 18 February was the last day of the month, and it was followed by 1 March. The chorale melody of Das alte Jahr vergangen ist is just as ambiguous as calendars in Bach’s time. Bach jumps from one key to another, as if he is leaping from 18 February to 1 March.

From the All of Bach website:

Big leaps

In this organ work, Bach experiments with counterpoint and harmony.

The old year has passed away, but when does the new one begin? This question is less banal than it might seem. Here and there in Europe in Bach’s day, several New Year’s Days were in use: 25 December, 6 January (Epiphany), 1 March and 25 March (Annunciation), as well as 1 January.

In Bach’s teenage years – when he was living as an orphan in Ohrdruf with his brother, who was fourteen years older – Germany introduced a calendar reform. From then on, 18 February was the last day of the month, and it was followed by 1 March. This leap meant that after more than a century Protestant Germany also came into line with the calendar reform announced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. So not only had the old year passed away, but so had the old Julian calendar.

Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, BWV 1091, was handed down in a manuscript copied by Johann Gottfried Neumeister at the end of the eighteenth century. It was probably a work from Bach’s youth. Like many of his other chorale arrangements in the collection, it may even date back to his teenage years in Ohrdruf. Although the form is not complicated – chorale melody in the upper voice and three free accompanying voices below – it contains contrapuntal subtleties that are not immediately visible (or audible). For example, the fourth line of the chorale melody – which corresponds to the text ‘behütet hast lang Zeit und Jahr’ – is heard first in the tenor, before returning more prominently in the upper voice: a way of expressing the ‘lang Zeit’?

Coincidentally, the chorale melody of Das alte Jahr vergangen ist is just as ambiguous as the New Year’s Days and calendars in Bach’s time. In this organ version, Bach emphasises this with his harmonies. At the beginning, they indicate (with C-sharps and B-flats) the key of D minor. About halfway through, other related keys appear: A major and B-flat major. But towards the end, we unexpectedly hear the first D-sharp, in a chord (B dominant seventh) that points towards the final note E with little subtlety. And so Bach ends too: in E major. Almost as if he is leaping from 18 February to 1 March.

[silvestrione]

Thanks again. I always enjoy these (though why did they have to have the Christmas Oratorio performed, wonderfully I know, in semi-darkness?)

[adventsnore]

You need to leave room for divine mystery

[silvestrione]

You need to leave room for divine mystery

[Hitch]

Bach - Chorale Nun danket alle Gott BWV 386

0:00 Nun danket alle Gott
0:52 Der ewig reiche Gott
1:39 Lob, Ehr und Preis sei Gott

Amelia Berridge, soprano
Tim Braithwaite, alto
Adriaan De Koster, tenor
Donald Bentvelsen, bass
David Mackor, theorbo

Recorded for the project All of Bach on May 6th 2024 at Sint-Gertrudiskerk, Bergen op Zoom.

From the YouTube summary:

The chorale Nun danket alle Gott – recorded here for All of Bach with singers of the Netherlands Bach Society – has a hymn text that was very well-known in Bach’s time. Written amid the violence of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) by the clergyman Martin Rinckart it conveyed a message of hope. The song is a hymn of praise: to God’s grace, to his promise to save mankind and to God himself. In Leipzig, ‘Nun danket alle Gott’ was often sung at weddings and on feast days, but also after the Passion on Good Friday. Bach used the melody in at least two cantatas (BWV 79 and 192), as well as in the Leipziger Choräle.

From the All of Bach website:

Praise via Luther

A hymn filled with hope for turbulent times.

At a politically crucial meeting on 25 June 1530, Emperor Charles V heard the Augsburg Confession – the confession of faith of the Reformation – against his will. On paper, this meeting was supposed to inform him of the various faiths in his empire, but the court did everything it could to keep the Reformation as small as possible. However, it did not reckon with the Protestant towns and states, who delegated the Saxon lawyer Christian Beyer to read out the Confession. He did so with such clarity and power that the text could also be heard loud and clear outside the far too small chapel. And this text, containing indictments of Catholic excesses penned by Martin Luther, Justus Jonas and particularly Philipp Melanchthon, was to help lay the foundations for the Lutheran movement within the Reformation.

Precisely one year later, the Augsburg Confession was widely commemorated. Once such commemoration was held in the small town of Eilenburg, where amid the violence of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) the clergyman Martin Rinckart wrote a hopeful hymn text that was to become very well-known: ‘Nun danket alle Gott’ (later published in his Jesu-Hertz-Büchlein, 1636). In the three verses, Rinckart adjusts Luther’s biblical translation to form a hymn of praise: to God’s grace, to his promise to save mankind and to God himself. Since 1647, Rinckart’s lyrics have been associated with the melody by Johann Crüger.

In Leipzig, ‘Nun danket alle Gott’ was often sung at weddings and on feast days, but also after the Passion on Good Friday, as the death of Jesus was regarded as the sign of God’s salvation. Bach used the melody in at least two cantatas for Reformation Day on 31 October (BWV 79 and 192), as well as in the collection of 18 organ works known as the Leipziger Choräle.

[hmvman]

Bach - Ehre sei dir, Gott from Christmas Oratorio BWV 248

0:00 Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen (Chor)
6:16 Da Jesus geboren war zu Bethlehem (Rezitativ)
6:42 Wo ist der neugeborne König der Jüden? (Chor & Rezitativ)
8:24 Dein Glanz all Finsternis verzehrt (Choral)
9:10 Erleucht auch meine finstre Sinnen (Aria)
13:41 Da das der König Herodes hörte, erschrak er (Rezitativ)
13:53 Warum wollt ihr erschrecken? (Rezitativ)
14:24 Und ließ versammlen alle Hohepriester (Rezitativ)
15:57 Ach, wenn wird die Zeit erscheinen? (Aria/Terzett)
21:30 Mein Liebster herrschet schon (Rezitativ)
21:58 Zwar ist solche Herzensstube (Choral)

Netherlands Bach Society
Lars Ulrik Mortensen, organ and direction
Carine Tinney, soprano
Alex Potter, alto
Daniel Johannsen, tenor
Tomáš Král, bass

Recorded for the project All of Bach on January 3rd, 2025 at Heuvellaan Hilversum, Hilversum.

From the YouTube summary:

The bright fifth cantata from the Christmas Oratorio – recorded here for All of Bach with Lars Ulrik Mortensen – has a modest instrumentation. No trumpets, timpani, horns or even flutes in this second to last cantata of Bach’s famous Christmas piece. This doesn’t prevent the Christmas light to shine brightly in this cantata. The opening chorus is so sunny that it almost seems to be summertime – light, dancy and smooth, like gymnastics for the chorus. In the aria for bass, with oboe d’amore, the light, of Jesus’s coming takes centre stage. The cantata concludes with the light of God’s mercy that fills mankind’s heart with sunlight.

From the All of Bach website:

Illuminated by bright sunlight

The fifth cantata of the Christmas Oratorio brings summer to January.

A great performance of this part of the CO. That opening movement is certainly taken at a fair lick but what wonderfully concise playing and singing!

[Hitch]

Bach - Prelude in F major BWV 928

Guillermo González García, harpsichord
Instrument: Titus Crijnen, 1992 after Johannes Ruckers, 1638
Recorded for the project All of Bach on October 16th 2024 at Maltezerhuis, Utrecht.

From the YouTube summary:

This Prelude in F major – recorded here for All of Bach by young talent Guillermo González García from Spain as part of a talent development project by the Netherlands Bach Society – is part of the Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann. The piece lasts less than two minutes and is constructed around an apparently simple motif. Yet it sounds pretty impressive, especially when played quickly. The endless flow of short notes suggests a ticking clock or a working machine. A piece with such a ‘never-ending’ stream of notes is also known as a perpetuum mobile, literally meaning perpetual motion.

From the All of Bach website:

Perpetually in motion

In this little prelude, Bach constructs a musical machine.

Bach is one of the most celebrated composers of all time, but during his life he was also regarded as an outstanding teacher. His best pupils were possibly his wife and children, for whom he wrote a number of Klavierbüchlein, or exercise booklets, containing brief pedagogic tips and simple practice pieces. By practising them, his family learned not only keyboard playing, but also the ins and outs of music theory and composition. In this way, Bach continued the tradition of his musical family, as he himself had been taught by his big brother Johann Christoph.

Around 1720, Bach started work on his first Klavierbüchlein, intended for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, who was to turn ten that year. This Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann is still regarded as one of the classics in the pedagogic genre, and is popular among piano teachers who want to give their pupils a first introduction to Bach’s work. There are more than sixty pieces in the booklet, ordered by level and ranging from the simple Applicatio in C major, BWV 994, to the relatively challenging three-part Sinfonias. The lion’s share was written by father Bach, but some were by other composers and some even appear to be Friedemann himself; blood will tell.

The Prelude in F major, BWV 928, number 10 in the Klavierbüchlein, lasts less than two minutes and is constructed around an apparently simple motif. Yet it sounds pretty impressive, especially when played quickly. The endless flow of short notes suggests a ticking clock or a working machine. A piece with such a ‘never-ending’ stream of notes is also known as a perpetuum mobile, literally meaning perpetual motion. Throughout the whole of history, inventors have tried to make a machine that once in motion needs no extra energy to keep on working. A few years before Bach wrote this piece, Johann Bessler, who lived a day’s journey away from Bach, claimed to have invented such a machine: a wheel that kept on turning endlessly. Bach’s fellow townsman, the philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, knew Bessler personally and had high expectations of this invention. Unfortunately, we know in our times of energy shortages that these perpetual motion machines are physically impossible, however much they might appeal to the imagination. Bach’s little prelude, on the other hand, attains perpetuity within 90 seconds.

Young talent

Once every two or three years, the Netherlands Bach Society organises a talent development project for gifted young musicians under the age of 18. The projects, which focus on the performance practice of Bach’s music, allows us to bring talented youngsters into contact with historical performance practice and give them deeper insight into Bach’s music. In this project, we worked with keyboardists of the future. Seven very talented international youngsters between twelve and eighteen years old were selected from auditions to take two masterclasses about Bach, the harpsichord and baroque playing techniques and styles, given by Siebe Henstra. Each keyboardist rehearsed movements from the Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, including the Nine Little Preludes, BWV 924-932, which Bach wrote to use in lessons with his son Wilhelm Friedemann. The rehearsed works were recorded for All of Bach in October 2024, at the Maltezerhuis in Utrecht.

[Hitch]

Bach - Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm BWV 171

0:00 Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm (Chor)
1:54 Herr, so weit die Wolken gehen (Arie)
5:39 Du süßer Jesus-Name du (Rezitativ)
6:37 Jesus soll mein erstes Wort (Arie)
11:08 Und da du, Herr, gesagt (Rezitativ)
12:53 Laß uns das Jahr vollbringen (Choral)

Netherlands Bach Society
Richard Egarr, organ and direction
Rowan Pierce, soprano
Reginald Mobley, alto
Guy Cutting, tenor
Matthew Brook, bass

Recorded for the project All of Bach on February 28, 2025 at Amare, The Hague.

From the YouTube summary:

In the New Years cantata Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm – recorded here for All of Bach with Richard Egarr – Bach proclaims a new era recycling music he had written previously, including cantatas BWV 41 en BWV 205. For Bach and his contemporaries, New Year’s Day had a different festive connotation to nowadays. It was not the new year that was celebrated on the 1st of January, but a new era. New Year’s Day was the moment that Jesus received his name: ‘God saves’. From then on, faith in Christ would bring salvation to everyone. The name Jesus was the ultimate New Year’s gift.

From the All of Bach website:

In the name of salvation

Borrowing all sorts of music, Bach proclaims a new era.

For Bach and his contemporaries, New Year’s Day had a different festive connotation to nowadays. It was not the new year that was celebrated on the 1st of January, but a new era. New Year’s Day was the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ and the moment that Jesus received his name: ‘God saves’. From then on, faith in Christ would bring salvation to everyone, whether Jew or non-Jew. The name Jesus was the ultimate New Year’s gift.

In a certain sense, Bach used another gift in this cantata, BWV 171, namely the substantial collection of texts by his fellow townsman and poet Picander (known to us mainly for his text for the St Matthew Passion). For three of the four ‘lyrical’ sections of this cantata, Bach delved into his archive, and set the new texts to existing music.

The compact opening chorus is a parody of a lost source, from which Bach was later also to derive the ‘Patrem omnipotentem’ from the Mass in B minor. It starts off soberly, voice by voice, as befits the words of a psalm. Then first one, and later three trumpets and timpani radiantly join the profusion, and the celebration of God’s universal glory reaches its climax. This is directly followed by a tenor aria with the same message. With two violins, Bach sketches the clouds in the heavens as a sign of God Almighty, in broad, elaborated phrases filled with big leaps.

After a colourful recitative, in which the alto – as a faithful soul – describes her personal relationship with Jesus, we come to the next borrowed piece, this time taken from the secular cantata Zerreißet, zersprenget, zertrümmert die Gruft, BWV 205: the aria ‘Angenehmer Zephyrus’, which portrays the wind. Although there is no wind in this particular text by Picander (by chance he also wrote the original), there is a whooshing solo violin in a duet with a soprano, who resolves to keep Jesus’s name on her lips throughout the year.

Then the bass goes on to quote Christ himself, taken freely from John 14: whatever you ask in my name, that I will do. To reinforce the prayer, the oboes join in, first illustrating the dangers of life with sharp dissonants and later assenting to our request, to say ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’.

Bach took the jubilant final chorale from cantata 41, Jesu, nun sei gepreiset. In this warm New Year’s prayer, the congregation place themselves and all their uncertainties in God’s hands for the coming twelve months.

[Hitch]

Bach - Concerto from Cantata Geist und Seele wird verwirret BWV 35

Netherlands Bach Society
Jos van Veldhoven, conductor
Leo van Doeselaar, organ
Recorded for the project All of Bach on September 26th, 2015 at St Martin's Church, Groningen.

From the YouTube summary:

Cantata BWV 35 opens with this 'Concerto' – recorded here for All of Bach with Jos van Veldhoven. The 'Concerto' straight away creates a sense that this is a special cantata: very festive, unusually long and the only cantata by Bach with two instrumental parts. Bach wrote the piece in 1726 for his third series of cantatas. He had already tried out various concepts in detail, and was clearly in need of new impulses, such as a greater instrumental contribution. Another new element was the obbligato organ part, which in this 'Concerto' is very virtuosic. Bach probably played the part himself, in this recording the organist is Leo van Doeselaar.

From the All of Bach website:

Daredevil feats

From amazement and wonder to a spectacular ending.

Straight away, the beautiful instrumental introduction creates a sense that Bach is doing something special here. And this solo cantata for alto is indeed very festive and unusually long. Bach wrote the piece in 1726 for his third series of cantatas. He had already tried out various concepts in detail, and was clearly in need of new impulses, such as a greater instrumental contribution. So both parts begin with an instrumental part, which is exceptional, as Bach did not do this anywhere else. The first part was performed before the sermon and the second part afterwards. Another new element was the obbligato organ part. Bach most probably derived the material for these additions from earlier compositions, and thus breathed new life into them.

The text is about the healing of a deaf mute man by Jesus, and about the joy that ensues. The virtuoso organ part is present right from the start, whereas the oboe trio plays a much less prominent role. Following a dazzling instrumental opening with a starring role for the organ, a warm aria unfolds in a slow dance rhythm, in which the alto joins the organ in expressing amazement at God’s wonders. When the alto has recovered a little in the recitative, it bursts into a coloratura-strewn eulogy against a backdrop of feather-light organ notes. The quick second sinfonia, like the recitative that follows it, is the pre-announcement of the union with God. In a fervent closing song of joy, it appears that the alto aspires above all to break into a hallelujah with the choir of angels. To illustrate this, Bach has lavishly dished out the daredevil vocal feats. There can be no doubt he had a specific talented singer in mind for this cantata. And he would probably have played the virtuoso organ part himself.

The complete cantata Geist und Seele wird verwirret, BWV 35.

[Hitch]

Bach - Prelude in D major BWV 925

Fernando Lourens, harpsichord
Instrument: Titus Crijnen, 1992 after Johannes Ruckers, 1638
Recorded for the project All of Bach on October 16th 2024 at Maltezerhuis, Utrecht.

From the YouTube summary:

This Prelude in D major – recorded here for All of Bach with young talent Fernando Lourens from the Netherlands as part of a talent development project by the Netherlands Bach Society – is part of the Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann. Bach wrote this teaching method to help his son play better, and to compose. BWV 925 is one of the pieces attributed to both father and son. It is a fugue; a musical form that father Bach had mastered to perfection and raised to new heights. The essence of a fugue is a short melody – a subject – that is often no longer than a bar or two. This prelude lasts just a minute and a half, but that doesn’t mean it is easy. The subject is restless and eager, as if son Bach wants to show his father that he’s a match for him.

From the All of Bach website:

Elementary but not easy

In this little Prelude, we hear the elements of the musical form that made Bach famous.

Bach is one of the most celebrated composers of all time, but during his life he was also regarded as an outstanding teacher. His best pupils were possibly his wife and children, for whom he wrote a number of Klavierbüchlein, or exercise booklets, containing brief pedagogic tips and simple practice pieces. By practising them, his family learned not only keyboard playing, but also the ins and outs of music theory and composition. In this way, Bach continued the tradition of his musical family, as he himself had been taught by his big brother Johann Christoph.

Around 1720, when Bach’s eldest son was ten, his father wrote the first teaching method we know for him. The Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann is still regarded as one of the classics in the pedagogic genre, and is popular among piano teachers who want to give their pupils a first introduction to Bach’s work. There are more than sixty pieces in the booklet, ordered by level and ranging from the simple Applicatio in C major, BWV 994, to the relatively challenging three-part Sinfonias. The lion’s share was written by father Bach, but some were by other composers and some even appear to be by Friedemann himself; blood will tell.

The Prelude in D major, BWV 925 number 27 in the Klavierbüchlein, is one of the pieces attributed to both father and son. It is a fugue; a musical form that father Bach had mastered to perfection and raised to new heights. No wonder, then, that he wanted to pass on this knowledge to his son. The essence of a fugue is a short melody – a subject – that is often no longer than a bar or two. The composer then spins out this short melody to create a whole piece; something that is much easier said than done. It is extraordinarily difficult to find a subject that is flexible enough to manipulate musically, while still retaining its character. Father Bach became world-famous for doing so. In his Kunst der Fuge, he found a subject that he could turn into nearly an hour and a half of music; a feat never before accomplished by another composer. This prelude, however, lasts just a minute and a half, but that doesn’t mean it is easy. If the piece is indeed by Wilhelm Friedemann, then he was ten when he composed it. The subject is restless and eager, as if son Bach wants to show his father that he’s a match for him.

Young talent

Once every two or three years, the Netherlands Bach Society organises a talent development project for gifted young musicians under the age of 18. The projects, which focus on the performance practice of Bach’s music, allows us to bring talented youngsters into contact with historical performance practice and give them deeper insight into Bach’s music. In this project, we worked with keyboardists of the future. Seven very talented international youngsters between twelve and eighteen years old were selected from auditions to take two masterclasses about Bach, the harpsichord and baroque playing techniques and styles, given by Siebe Henstra. Each keyboardist rehearsed movements from the Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, including the Nine Little Preludes, BWV 924-932, which Bach wrote to use in lessons with his son Wilhelm Friedemann. The rehearsed works were recorded for All of Bach in October 2024, at the Maltezerhuis in Utrecht.