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Biweekly Bach | Episode 2: F Major and D Minor
Biweekly Bach is Ars Lyrica Houston’s newest virtual series, traversing the 24 preludes and fugues of Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. Every other week, a new episode features two prelude and fugue pairs, recorded in the beautiful surroundings of Rienzi, the house museum for European decorative arts of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. With inspired playing and enlightening commentary by Matthew Dirst, this series brings audiences closer than ever to the masterful music of J.S. Bach. This is the first video recording of the entire volume to feature a single performer on an instrument inspired by those from Bach’s own environment, with commentary from the performer, who is also a leading scholar of this music. The harpsichord, with its elaborate marquetry and decoration in the style of Baroque Dresden, is an ideal match for the sumptuous interiors of Rienzi. Each recording session features different parts of the museum, giving visual variety to the entire project. The first four episodes of Biweekly Bach will air on January 11, January 28, February 8, and February 22. They will include preludes & fugues in C Major and A Minor, F Major and D Minor, B-flat Major and G Minor, and E-Flat Major and C Minor. This season, Ars Lyrica Houston celebrates the 300th anniversary of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (1722) with a series of three intimate in-person performances with commentary at Rienzi, the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts. In addition, Ars Lyrica will present virtual broadcasts of those concerts. To experience The Well-Tempered Clavier in person, you may purchase tickets for the final concert of the season. Only a few seats are available! The Well-Tempered Clavier at Rienzi June 4, 2022 at 6 pm Rienzi, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Purchase a ticket ($70): https://www.arslyricahouston.org/purc... J. S. Bach remains at the very center of European culture because his music is endlessly interesting, entertaining, and edifying; he is perhaps the most influential classical musician of all time. The Well-Tempered Clavier is the only work of Bach that never went out of style. Unlike his church and chamber works, which were mostly forgotten soon after his death in 1750, this collection served as a kind of musical Old Testament for generations of students and enthusiasts—a role it still plays today. Comprising two sets of twenty-four preludes and fugues each in all the major and minor keys, the work was dedicated by the composer in 1722 “for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study.” Ars Lyrica is proud to offer Bach programs on a regular basis and is delighted to offer this series of performances that celebrates the collection’s 300th anniversary. J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (BWV 846-869) performed by Matthew Dirst on a single-manual harpsichord by John Phillips (Berkeley, 2021) after the work of the Gräbner family (Dresden, c1720).

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Ars Lyrica Houston

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