Exposition

Rethinking WTC: a new interpretation of the Well-Tempered Clavier by J. S. Bach through the prism of the theory of Boleslav Javorsky (2023)

Natalya Pasichnyk
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About this exposition

In this project I sought to get new insights into the interpretational process, to make a contribution to the renewal of methods of working with a musical text, to find a new way to communicate meaning found in music, to broaden the role of the pianist to a co-creative one, and to unfold a new facet of the understanding of the Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach. The initial inspiration for this project came from the theory of the Ukrainian-born musicologist Boleslaw Javorsky (1877-1942), the main sense of which can be formulated as: the main foundation of the Well-Tempered Clavier (WTC) is the protestant chorales, and that the WTC is an artistic interpretation of images and plots of the Bible. The use of metaphors, images and narrative is important as a way of working with music for many musicians. For me this way of thinking has always been the most important working method, along with the wide range of other elements within my individual working processes, which inform my artistic practice. I intended to go further and through the creative process during this project develop a new methodological approach in working with the music text. I call the process in search for meaning in preludes and fugues. I try in this project to tell the story of my personal understanding of this iconic piece, often called the pianist's Bible. The story presented is not merely a descriptive Bible story, but rather a personal reflection over our existence. My working process began with trying to find and understand the connection between words in the chorales as well as other vocal works of Bach, and the music text of WTC. When analysing the found connection, each prelude and fugue receives a concrete semantic meaning. I decided to place the pieces chronologically according to the meaning I found, so that the entire WTC becomes a unified coherent story, instead of a collection of 48 separate pieces. I did not attempt to imitate the way of performing that was common during Bach's time, but rather to use all the advantages of the keyboard instrument of our time and all the expressive means it offers to share my findings. By experimenting with interweaving the motives of vocal music with WTC's music texture, I wanted to make my understanding of the genesis of the piece audible, but also to embed my reflections into my playing. It also broadened the role of the pianist to a more co-creative one, which was the common practice in Bach's time, but in an entirely different way. In other words, my intention was to make my interpretation historically informed, but to be faithful to the spirit of the time, rather than to the letter of the time. The legendary Bach scholar Albert Schweitzer wrote about WTC: "What is gripping, is not the shape, or the structure of the pieces, but the worldview reflected in them". To make my understanding of this worldview audible to all listeners, and to invite them to immerse themselves into Bach’s spiritual universe (where the music's aim is the “recreation of the spirit”), is the overall goal of the project. Bach’s faith generated his music, and so I hope that this music can in turn generate faith, which we need in our current times more than ever.
typeresearch exposition
keywordsJ. S. Bach, Well-Tempered Clavier, chorales, piano, KMD_PhD, KMD_Grieg
date14/12/2022
published06/06/2023
last modified06/06/2023
statuspublished
share statusprivate
affiliationUniversity of Bergen, The Grieg Academy - Department of Music
copyrightNatalya Pasichnyk
licenseAll rights reserved
languageEnglish
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1861285/1861286
doihttps://doi.org/10.22501/rc.1861285
published inFaculty of Fine Art, Music and Design, University of Bergen
portal issue7. PhD 2023
connected toFaculty of Fine Art, Music and Design, University of Bergen
external linkwww.natalyapasichnyk.com


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1864593 1. Written part @Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1864594 1. Written part v.02 @Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1864595 2. Tableaux @Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1864601 221206 Min WTC-interptretation tableau @Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1864604 Artistic result - Natalya Pasichnyk_WTK - Piano Solo @Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1864606 Artistic result - Natalya Pasichnyk_WTK - Piano Solo @Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
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1864655 02 Fugue in C Sharp minor Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
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1864661 04 Fugue in C major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1864664 05 Prelude in A flat major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1864667 06 Fugue in A flat major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
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1864768 28 Fugue in G sharp minor Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
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1866520 Rethinking WTC - Written reflection part Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866525 2. Tableaux Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
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1866654 12 Fugue in A major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866656 13 Prelude E major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866658 14 Fugue in E major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
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1866694 32 Fugue in E minor Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
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1866698 34 Fugue in E flat minor Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866700 35 Prelude in B minor Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866702 36 Fugue in B minor Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866704 37 Prelude in G minor Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866706 38 Fugue in G minor Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
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1866710 40 Fugue in G major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866712 41 Prelude in F major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866714 42 Fugue in F major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
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1866719 44 Fugue in F sharp major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
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1866724 46 Fugue in B flat minor Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866726 47 Prelude in B major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866728 48 Fugue in B major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866732 47 Prelude in B major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866742 13 Prelude E major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866746 47 Prelude in B major Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866752 01 Nun komm der Heiden Heiland Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866757 02 Allein Gött in der Höh sei Ehr Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866761 03 Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866767 04 In dulci jubilo Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866771 05 Du Friedefurst Herr Jesus Christ Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866777 06 Befiel du deine Wege Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866781 07 Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866785 08 Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866789 09 Ach wie fluchtig, ach wie nichtig Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866793 10 Auf meine liebe Gott Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866797 11 Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866801 12 Von Gott will ich nicht lassen Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866805 13 Heilig, Heilig, Heilig Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866809 14 Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866813 15 O, Haupt voll Blut und Wunden Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866817 16 Christ lag in Todesbanden Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866821 17 Erstanden ist der heilig Christ Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866825 18 Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866829 19 Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heilige Geist Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866834 20 Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866838 21 Alle menschen mussen sterben Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866841 22 Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866845 23 Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866849 24 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866854 03 Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866857 24 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1866863 2. Tableaux Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873087 Rethinking WTC - Written reflection_ part Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873235 221210 Min WTC-interptretation tableau Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873236 06 Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873250 23 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873254 07 Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873257 08 Ach wie fluchtig, ach wie nichtig Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873262 09 Auf meine liebe Gott Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873265 10 Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873278 11 Von Gott will ich nicht lassen Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873285 12 Heilig, Heilig, Heilig Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873289 13 Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873302 14 O, Haupt voll Blut und Wunden Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873304 15 Christ lag in Todesbanden Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873306 16 Erstanden ist der heilig Christ Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873311 17 Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873315 18 Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heilige Geist Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873318 19 Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873320 20 Alle menschen mussen sterben Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873323 21 Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873325 22 Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873527 23 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
1873863 2. Tableaux [48] Natalya Pasichnyk Public domain
1873870 2. Tableaux [60] Natalya Pasichnyk Public domain
1873875 2. Tableaux Natalya Pasichnyk Public domain
2188421 230605 Tableau Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
2188423 B. Tableau @Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
2188432 1. Written part Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
2188434 A. Written part Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
2188435 Written reflection part Natalya Pasichnyk Public domain
2188438 B. Tableau Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
2188443 230605 Tableau Natalya Pasichnyk Public domain
2188464 Errata N. Pasichnyk - signed Natalya Pasichnyk All rights reserved
2188479 Errata N. Pasichnyk - signed Natalya Pasichnyk Public domain

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