music clip of the day

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Category: technical stuff

2012

Saturday, 11/10/12

Last Sunday I had one of the great musical afternoons—one of the great afternoons, period—of my life, listening, at Chicago’s Symphony Center (across from the Art Institute), to pianist Andras Schiff play Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, in its entirety (and entirely from memory), a performance that lasted nearly three hours and could’ve kept going, as far as I was concerned, for three days.

Johann Sebastian Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier (1722 [Book I], 1742 [Book II])

Book II, Prelude and Fugue No. 16 in G minor, BMV 885
Sheng Cai (piano), live, Boston, 2010

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Books I and II, Sviatoslav Richter (piano), recording, 1970s

(For better sound quality on this and other YouTube clips, go to the “Settings” icon [lower right] and select the highest available [here 1080p].)

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lagniappe

musical thoughts

If there is anyone who owes everything to Bach, it is God. Without Bach, God would be a third-rate character.

—Emil Cioran

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2010

Sunday, 10/17/10

Live (as I heard it Thursday night), this music hits like a tidal wave, washing over you, engulfing you.

Percy Gray, Jr. & the Chicago Mass Choir (joined by, among others, Joe Ligon [Mighty Clouds of Joy] at 7:00-8:05), “God Is My Everything,” Musical Tribute to the late Albertina Walker, live, Chicago (Apostolic Church of God, 63rd & Dorchester), 10/14/10

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lagniappe

technical stuff

In the stuff-you-may-already-know department, there are sites—like this—where you can convert YouTube clips to mp3s.

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2010

Sunday, 9/12/10

Few singers, in any genre, get under my skin like he does.

O.V. Wright, October 9, 1939-November 16, 1980

Sunset Travelers (featuring O.V. Wright), “On Jesus’ Program” (Peacock Records, 1964)

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“I’m Going Home To Live With God” (Back Beat Records, 1973; produced by Willie Mitchell)

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lagniappe

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music—evidence of the existence of God?

[M]usic is and always has been the one thing that makes me a believer. You can say, ‘Oh, I’m an agnostic. I don’t believe in God.’ OK, fine, but then explain music to me.

—Sonny Rollins, Village Voice, 9/8/10

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technical stuff

Having trouble playing clips smoothly—without annoying little hiccups? One way to avoid this, as I’ve mentioned before, is to let a clip load completely before you play it (start the clip, then stop it, then start it again after the bar at the bottom has filled in all the way). Changing browsers may help, too. On my Mac, for instance, clips often play better on Safari than Firefox.

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