Need Bach help

[Jumble Jowls]

Hello. I've been listening to the classical radio station for about 15 years, but know almost nothing about classical music. That is, I know what I like to hear, but don't know what you call it or where to find it. I'd like to buy a CD or two but don't know what to look for.

The type of music I'm talking about is usually called "Bach." It's a very uplifting, lively, "strings" type of music often involving the harpsicord. I used to hear it a lot in coffee shops years ago, before they started playing rap. Sometimes the flute is mixed in, and sometimes it sounds like dueling harpsicords or strings.

Recently I called the radio station after they played this type of music, and the guy said what I heard was "J.C. Bach Brandenberg Concerto #5 BWV English Concert." I looked it up on ITunes and was able to find one song from that album that fits.

Any help finding, or better identifying this type of music would be greatly appreciated. Right now I don't know what to look for because I don't know what to call it.

 

[Art Rock]

You might want to try J.S. Bach and Brandenburger Concerto.

 

[rojo]

You may also want to investigate music of the Baroque era in general. Albinoni, Vivaldi, and Handel are some of the great composers of that era. Pretty much anything by J.S. Bach is great. Try any of the concertos by all these composers.

 

[tomato]

Bach's compositions were catalogued in 1950 by Wolfgang Schmeider into the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis. That is what the BWV stands for.

The six Brandenburg Concertos were composed for a nobleman, but seem to have been unjustly neglected. You should have no trouble finding a set of all six.

One word of advice: in circles of musical snobbery, the word "song" usually refers to a short vocal composition. Mendelssohn wrote a set of short piano pieces entitled "Songs Without Words," but that is an exception.

For anything instrumental, you can use "piece" if it is short and in a single movement or "work" if it is longer. When in doubt, "composition" is always a
satisfactory word.

 

[Fretless]

Even though there's plenty to explore with J.S. Bach, I'll add that I've been having a great time listening to Heinrich Biber's Harmonia Artificiosa lately, and it has much the same flavor that you're looking for.