Johann Sebastian Bach, a Lutheran, was surrounded by theorists who viewed music as a mirror of divine creation, linking unity and harmony to both universal proportions and musical intervals.
Recording & Production
The album features various objects used on the piano, including an e-bow, mallet, bottle-tops, ear plugs, felted stick, and ankle bells, to create unique sounds.
Interpretation
Pianist Joanna Goodale arranged Bach's themes with Turkish and Sufi rhythms and transcribed Sufi chants, adding objects to the piano strings to evoke Middle-Eastern instruments.
Album & Artwork
The album "Bach in a Circle" aims to create an encounter between the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and that of Sufi whirling dervishes.
Performer Biography
Joanna Goodale is a French-Swiss pianist of British-Turkish origin who blends classical repertoire with world music and her own "comprovisations."
Composer's Artistic Vision
Johann Sebastian Bach's works and Sufi music both express deep spirituality, evoke cosmic laws, and use repetitive cyclical patterns to invite transcendence.
Compositional Technique
Bach often used numbers with religious symbolism to structure his compositions, as explored in "Bach's Numbers" by Ruth Tatlow.
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