William Shakespeare vs J. S. Bach

Kenneth spent the whole frickin movie whispering, it was unbearable.

Laurence Olivier's Hamlet is one of my favourite films of all times 

Any Colour You Like wrote: Apart from the fact you cannot compare them, Shakespeare is an undeniable monolithic figure in western literature and society.

This.

My favourite plays are

Hamlet
Romeo and Juliet
Macbeth
King Lear

then

Othello, Timon of Athens, The Merchant of Venice, Richard the Third, Antony and Cleopatra, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, etc. I also love the Sonnets.

Glad we are on the same page dude.

By the way, what's your favourite Shakespeare play, just curious?

Time Signature wrote: I've found that I actually do not like to read Shakespeare's plays. I prefer to watch theatrical or cinematic interpretations. And that's how the plays were intended to be experienced - in some form of stage drama. I feel that it's when you see how his plays can be interpreted over and over again in very different way that you see what his genius really was.

I can say exactly the same thing about Bach:

(to alter your quote slightly )

"I've found that I actually do not like to read Bach's cantatas, suites and oratorios. I prefer to watch theatrical or cinematic interpretations. And that's how the music was intended to be experienced - in some form of performance and drama. I feel that it's when you see how his music can be interpreted over and over again in very different way that you see what his genius really was."

So in essence, I'm going to have to say I appreciate their genius equally, now that I know Shakespeare was not THAT much difference in term of where his genius lies.

Following on from thellama73, Teo and NJCat_11:

@ thellama73: I think you'll find Bach rarely ever uses parallel 5ths, it's in 3rds and 6ths 99.99% of the time. Standard Baroque discipline. And Bach wrote music, however it is up to the player to make it sound musical. A bad player will make Bach sound utterly boring, but a good player will uncover the layers, hidden melodies, themes and voices for all their glory, and if you listen to Bach played well properly, you'll find yourself completely lost in it.

Teo: I quite agree. Sitting through 48 ANYTHING can be pretty undertaking. I mean, Chopoin's Nocturnes are supposedly some of the most beautiful pieces ever written (and I don't disagree), but I couldn't sit through every single one in succession. I don't think they were supposed to be played like that anyway, they're more a kind of compilation to prove the flexibility of the keyboard than anything By the way have you listened to the Mass in B Minor? I prefer it to St Matthew's Passion in ways, you should check it out. The harmonies are absolutely lush...

Shakespeare, of course. Nobody impacted Western culture the way Shakespeare did. Music may be important, but we speak with words.

I never "got" Shakespeare.
It just never clicked as particularly interesting to me.
Bach however, is the man.

The T 666 wrote: I see what you mean. Of course sitting through all 48 prelude and fugues of Das Well Tempered Klavier is quite an undertaking, but when he writes beautiful music, he can't be touched. And as irreligious as I am, the only moments when I doubt my doubts occur when I listen to the kind of unearthly sounds that this man composed for a higher power that he only saw in his heart... No academicism there... Just art of the highest kind.

One of my favorite examples of this would be St. Matthew Passion (Mathaus Passion).


Edited by NJCat_11 - 22 Apr 2010 at 11:41pm

The T 666 wrote: Whoever says that his music is purely academic has never really heard it, for it can reach one's soul and heart as easily as a romantic.

Don't get me wrong, The Brandenburg Concertos are magnificent and much of his violin music and orchestral works are as well. But I've mainly studied his keyboard works and I feel that in much of it (certainly not all) he tends to get so caught up in intervals, parallel fifth, thematic transposition and so forth that he forgot to write music.

For me there's no question. My more than 25 cd's of his music should be a telling sign of my preference. What he did with a language that is totally abstract is absolutely majestic, and will never be equaled. Whoever says that his music is purely academic has never really heard it, for it can reach one's soul and heart as easily as a romantic.