The Organ Loft - Anna Magdalena Notebook

The Organ Loft - March 7, 2010
The Anna Magdalena Notebook — A View into the Bach Household
Webcast and Broadcast Schedule

The Anna Magdalena Notebook - A View into the Bach Household

Welcome to the Organ Loft! Today, on the Organ Loft we are going to do something a little different. Our program will include some organ music, and some chorale music, but we are not going to visit an organ loft. Instead, we are going into someone’s home, to hear the favorite music in the home life of that household — the home of Johann Sebastian and Anna Magdalena Bach.

Just like photo albums, the Bach family had albums of favorite music. There was one for Ms. Bach, and each of the older male children. These albums included pieces for children, as well as adults. While most of the music was probably from Johann Sebastian’s hand, there is a significant sample from other composers known to the family, as well as some of the children. And many kinds of music are included – songs, keyboard works, and excerpts from larger pieces like cantatas and suites.


Anyone who has taken music lessons probably knows some of the pieces from the Anna Magdalena Notebook. Unfortunately, this sometimes makes us think that these small pieces nothing more than a musical primer. The notebook is much more than that. It is at the least, a collection of family favorites, tunes everyone in the household probably knew by heart, which could be played on whatever instruments were available.

Our recording is from a now out of print CD by Tragicomedia, directed by Seattle native, Steven Stubbs.

Program

1. J.S. Bach: “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” BWV 140
2. J.S. Bach: “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort” BWV 513
3. Anon: Gedenke doch, mein Geist zurucke” BWV 509
4. J.S. Bach: “wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten” BWV 691
5. F. Couperin: Rondeau No. 6, “Les Bergeries” BWV 183
6. Anon: Musette No. 22, BWV 126
7. J.S. Bach: Chorale on ”Gib dich zufrieden und sei stille”, BWV 510
8. J.S. Bach: Aria on “Gib dich zufrieden und sei stille” BWV 511
9. Anon: “Erbauliche Gedanken eines Tobackrauchers”
10. C.P.E. Bach: Marche, Polonaise, Marche, Polonaise, BWV 122-125
11. J.S. Bach: “Dir, dir, Jehova” BWV 299
12. Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel: “Bist du bei mir” BWV 508
13. J.S. Bach: Aria No. 26 BWV 988 (theme of the Goldberg Variations)
14. Anon: “So oft ich meine Tobackspfeife”, BWV 515
15. J.S. Bach: Recitativo “Ich habe genug” BWV 82, second movement
16. J.S. Bach: Aria “Schlummert ien, ihr matten Augen” BWV 82, third movement

Listen Online:

KING-FM Seattle's Classical Choice — Sundays at 10:00 PM

OREGON: KWAX-FM and the University of Oregon radio network — Sundays at 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM