Sam Post: Tango Toccata; Bach: Prelude in C Major; Fugue in C Major; Prelude in C Minor; Fugue in C Minor (from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1); Post: Efficiency Remix; Lighthouse; Bach: Prelude in C Sharp Minor; Fugue in C Sharp Minor; Prelude in D Major; Fugue in D Major (from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1); Post: Prelude in C Sharp Minor, Irena Orlov in Memoriam; Fugue in C Sharp Minor, Irena Orlov in Memoriam. Sam Post, piano. Sunnyside SC1622.
By Karl W. Nehring
A talented young pianist sits at the keyboard, diligently practicing the music of J.S. Bach. From his back lawn, there is a strange noise, and then an unexpected sight. A blue British phone booth mysteriously appears, from which soon emerges a dandily dressed gentleman whose ears perk up as he hears the sound of piano music coming through the open window. The unexpected visitor walks over to the pianist’s back door and starts knocking on it, banging it hard. Startled by the unexpected racket, the pianist stops playing mid-measure and rushes to the door, suddenly frightened to think his neighbor must be having some sort of emergency. Upon opening the door only to find such a strange figure standing before him, the pianist quickly asks, “who are you and what do you want?!” “I’m The Doctor,” replies his visitor in a good-natured voice. “I heard you playing some music by my old friend Johann Bach, which was excellent, by the way, and I’ll be sure to let him know his music is in good hands the next time I see him. In fact, come join me for a quick spell and let’s expand your musical horizons, shall we?” The pianist, with no idea what on earth is going on, but ready for a break from all those hours of practice, follows The Doctor into the phone box, which he soon learns to his surprise is bigger on the inside. The Doctor fiddles with some controls and soon they emerge outside a church. As they enter, they hear organ music, which the pianist quickly realizes is being played by none other than the great J.S. Bach himself. The pianist is overwhelmed, but after a few minutes, the Doctor ushers him back to the phone box and tells him there are a few more musicians he would like the pianist to observe before he takes him back home. They then make brief excursions though space and time to observe the playing of keyboard masters Scott Joplin and James P. Johnson, which the pianist really appreciates, but then The Doctor tells him, “there is one more musician you need to see, but he is the master of a different sort of keyboard. But hey, I’m sure you’ll dig him, as musicians seem to say.” The next thing he knows, the pianist is with the Doctor in a New York nightclub, where on a small stage Astor Piazzolla is wielding his bandoneon as part of a quartet playing tango rhythms. Then back to the phone box, which whisks them back to his backyard, where it suddenly seems to the pianist as though he had never left with his new friend The Doctor on that brief but unforgettable journey through space and time. He thanks The Doctor for the remarkable experience, then waves goodbye as The Doctor steps back into the phone booth. In a few short moments, the strange noises starts again and the phone box fades from view. The pianist takes a few calming deep breaths before heading back into the house and sitting back down at the piano. After staring into space for a minute or two and then wiggling his fingers to loosen them up, he starts playing some Bach, but tries interpreting it in a few different styles based on what he had heard on his strange trip. As he plays in this different way, he smiles, realizing that he is starting to come up with some fresh ideas for a new album...
Meanwhile, at an entirely different set of space-time coordinates, this is another one of those CDs that caught my eye at the library. I stuck it in the CD player of my car so I could get a sense of it on the drive home (the ELS system in my Acura is surprisingly neutral and revealing for an automotive setup). My initial impressions as I drove along were quite positive, for what I heard was a joyous mix of Bach, tango, ragtime… but everything played with an appropriate blend of discipline and swagger. I was eager to get home so I could hear the music on my big system and dig into the liner notes to find out more about this fellow Sam Post and what he was up to with this unusual but highly entertaining program.
For reasons that I have never quite figured out, however, my beloved library, and I say that without the slightest hint of irony, seems to have a somewhat random policy in regard including liner notes when they repackage CDs into the protective plastic cases the library employs to protect the discs for display and circulation. Unfortunately, Post Bach was one of those CDs for which the notes were not included, so I had to do some internet sleuthing to discover what Post had to say about his intentions:
”Post Bach is about using the past as inspiration, about drawing on years of playing and listening to create something new. Growing up, the music of J.S. Bach was my bread and butter. I listened obsessively to the recordings of Glenn Gould and Rosalyn Tureck. Encouraged by my teacher Irena Orlov, I tackled the intimidating five-voice C sharp minor fugue as a young boy, and the entire Well-Tempered Clavier soon after. My own Prelude and Fugue in the same key, written and dedicated to her, completes the album, and all of the original music here comes from the few months that followed her passing in 2018. My love of Bach’s music is with me whenever I compose, but it shines through especially in Post Bach’s original pieces. A few years ago, I found more diverse rhythmic styles—tango, ragtime, swing, pop—working their way into my music with increasing frequency, and their influence in turn changed my approach to the old master. Post Bach might strike you as jazzy, classical, or something in between, but I hope you’ll hear in it not only the similarities between my own pieces and those of my favorite past composer, but also a new style in its own right.”
The program opens with an original by Post titled Tango Toccata, which deftly combines tango rhythms with Bach-like construction and feeling. It is a remarkable piece, sounding not at all like a novelty toss-off, but rather a fully-formed, serious, noteworthy composition. Serious, yes, but at the same time energetic and joyful. Part Piazzolla, part Bach, all Post, a remarkable composition indeed. It is also remarkable that as the program shifts to straight Bach in the ensuing preludes and fugues, there is no grinding of gears; instead, it is more like a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Following the first set of straight Bach, expertly performed and eminently enjoyable, the program shifts back to two compositions by Post, Efficiency (Remix) and Lighthouse. These are again delightfully entertaining compositions, bringing to mind visions of Bach being played in the styles of perhaps Scott Joplin, James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith, and yes, Sam Post, but no, never sounding like some sort of throwaway or novelty music, but rather as serious music written with the goal to delight, inspire, and entertain while at the same time paying tribute to Bach and his influence on Western music.
Following these two pieces by Post are more examples of straight Bach from Book 1 of his Well Tempered Clavier. Then once again there is a nearly imperceptible shift from music by Bach to music by Post as the album closes with his Prelude and Fugue in C Sharp Minor, Irena Orlov in Memoriam, which Post wrote to honor the memory of his beloved keyboard mentor. This music sounds remarkably like Bach, but in the final minute of the closing Fugue, you can hear Post slowing down the tempo, lingering, expressing great emotion through a kind of music that is often thought of in these times as essentially mechanical and expressionless. “Not so fast, my friend…”
Not having seen the liner notes, I cannot comment on them, but the sound quality is just fine. For those with an appreciation for the keyboard music of Bach, this album is highly recommendable. For those who have not yet discovered the keyboard music of Bach, or who have not quite been sure where to start, this album would also be highly recommendable. Try it, you might like it!
KWN
By Karl W. Nehring
Meanwhile, at an entirely different set of space-time coordinates, this is another one of those CDs that caught my eye at the library. I stuck it in the CD player of my car so I could get a sense of it on the drive home (the ELS system in my Acura is surprisingly neutral and revealing for an automotive setup). My initial impressions as I drove along were quite positive, for what I heard was a joyous mix of Bach, tango, ragtime… but everything played with an appropriate blend of discipline and swagger. I was eager to get home so I could hear the music on my big system and dig into the liner notes to find out more about this fellow Sam Post and what he was up to with this unusual but highly entertaining program.
”Post Bach is about using the past as inspiration, about drawing on years of playing and listening to create something new. Growing up, the music of J.S. Bach was my bread and butter. I listened obsessively to the recordings of Glenn Gould and Rosalyn Tureck. Encouraged by my teacher Irena Orlov, I tackled the intimidating five-voice C sharp minor fugue as a young boy, and the entire Well-Tempered Clavier soon after. My own Prelude and Fugue in the same key, written and dedicated to her, completes the album, and all of the original music here comes from the few months that followed her passing in 2018. My love of Bach’s music is with me whenever I compose, but it shines through especially in Post Bach’s original pieces. A few years ago, I found more diverse rhythmic styles—tango, ragtime, swing, pop—working their way into my music with increasing frequency, and their influence in turn changed my approach to the old master. Post Bach might strike you as jazzy, classical, or something in between, but I hope you’ll hear in it not only the similarities between my own pieces and those of my favorite past composer, but also a new style in its own right.”
The program opens with an original by Post titled Tango Toccata, which deftly combines tango rhythms with Bach-like construction and feeling. It is a remarkable piece, sounding not at all like a novelty toss-off, but rather a fully-formed, serious, noteworthy composition. Serious, yes, but at the same time energetic and joyful. Part Piazzolla, part Bach, all Post, a remarkable composition indeed. It is also remarkable that as the program shifts to straight Bach in the ensuing preludes and fugues, there is no grinding of gears; instead, it is more like a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Following the first set of straight Bach, expertly performed and eminently enjoyable, the program shifts back to two compositions by Post, Efficiency (Remix) and Lighthouse. These are again delightfully entertaining compositions, bringing to mind visions of Bach being played in the styles of perhaps Scott Joplin, James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith, and yes, Sam Post, but no, never sounding like some sort of throwaway or novelty music, but rather as serious music written with the goal to delight, inspire, and entertain while at the same time paying tribute to Bach and his influence on Western music.
Following these two pieces by Post are more examples of straight Bach from Book 1 of his Well Tempered Clavier. Then once again there is a nearly imperceptible shift from music by Bach to music by Post as the album closes with his Prelude and Fugue in C Sharp Minor, Irena Orlov in Memoriam, which Post wrote to honor the memory of his beloved keyboard mentor. This music sounds remarkably like Bach, but in the final minute of the closing Fugue, you can hear Post slowing down the tempo, lingering, expressing great emotion through a kind of music that is often thought of in these times as essentially mechanical and expressionless. “Not so fast, my friend…”
Not having seen the liner notes, I cannot comment on them, but the sound quality is just fine. For those with an appreciation for the keyboard music of Bach, this album is highly recommendable. For those who have not yet discovered the keyboard music of Bach, or who have not quite been sure where to start, this album would also be highly recommendable. Try it, you might like it!
KWN
Thank you Karl Nehring. Good story and fine listening to you.
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