Dear lovers of music, mystery, and meaning,

🎹 I’ve been focused on J.S. Bach lately. I guess organists always are to some degree, but I’ve been amping it up more than usual. 

This fall I've been revisiting Christoph Wolff’s biography and frequently consulting Peter Williams’s guide to the organ music. And it was only a few weeks ago that I wrote to you about falling in love with the Leipzig Chorales — don’t worry, there’s a book for those too. Lately, I’ve gotten serious about getting the Canonic Variations ready for Christmas again, and I’m playing continuo on Cantata 140 next weekend. 

So it was particularly exciting to learn about two chaconnes that have officially been attributed to a young Bach. Both were presented to the public on Monday, and the newest members of the Bach catalog, BWV 1178 and 1179, have been greeted with some excitement around the world.

🎧 You can hear their unveiling here (YouTube), played by Ton Koopman at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig on Monday.

🌊 Submarine Movie Corner: One thing led to another, and I watched The Hunt for Red October last week. I also have an original edition of the book, Tom Clancy’s first, that I picked up at a little free library at a neighborhood park a little while ago. I’ve finally begun reading this, and the background and motivations of some of the principal characters are, understandably, much more fleshed out than in the movie.


⭐ Last weekend I found myself playing “A Sky Full of Stars” (Wikipedia) by the British rock band Coldplay on the organ. My musicological research (what is this popular music?!) included a viewing of the music video (YouTube), which is fun. It struck me while playing Pari intervallo by Arvo Pärt the next day that these two pieces are not altogether dissimilar. 

Until next week,
-David