Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Released 1959 by Decca Records, Gold label series DL 10012 (MG6503) Mono
This monaural Long Play record can also be played on a Stereo phonograph resulting In even better sound reproduction than that obtained from conventional phonographs
Released 1962 by Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft LPM 18780 Mono
Vorderseite: Johann Sebastian Bach, Gemälde von Elias Gottlieb Hausmann, 1746 . Archiv fur Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin
Aufnahme der Decca Records, Inc., New York (U.S.A.)

A-SEITE:
Italienisches Konzert F-dur, BWV 971
00:00 – Allegro
04:16 – Andante
08:26 – Presto
12:24 Toccata D-dur, BWV 912

B-SEITE:
24:05 Franzosische Suite Nr. 5 G~dur, BWV 816
40:30 Contrapunctus XV, (Canon per augmentationem in contrario motu) aus »Die Kunst der Fuge« d-moll BWV 1080
45:38 Fantasie c-moll, BWV 906 (BWV 562 indicated in the German version, thanks David for noticing!)

For the music historian – especially if in all humility he feels that
he can match the creator of the Art of the Fugue at least in the
number of his years if not in the full comprehension of that unique
and unsurpassed genius – Bach seems to be the center, the pinnacle
of music’s evolution. It seems to him that this central and highest
position would be true from the point of view of the evolution of
tonality – our musical system – developed slowly since the infiltra·
tion of thirds and sixths, later of triads, into the Church Modes
since about the 11th century, It would be true from the point of
view of the combination of several distinct melodic elements (po·
lyphony) from that of the functional use of chords; (rom that of
the exp re s~ il’ e power of melody and harmony, of the incomparable
art of I’ariation. of the IIniversality of the creative musician who is
equa lly a t home in. and master of. all the idioms – sacred and
~e(‘ lIlar , I’ocal and in”trunwntal, wheth er keyboard, strings or “ind;
of the IInparalle led a rt of fu sing the two seemingly antithetical and
unmixable element,. polyphony and harmony, into perfect equi.
p” i”e, It seeml’ 10 him that musicians up to the arrival on the sceJ1f~
of Bach ~pe nt thei r lives in and became fam ous for developing all
thcl'(, in gredi ents only in order to make it poss ible for Bach to avail
him,,(‘l{ of th em and to sum up all that they achieved in a more
perfect way. It I”eems to him that ever since Bach left in 1750,
music. in spite of the marvel ous creations produced later, was
grad1Ja lly diluted or disintegrated – from the point of view of the
perfect tonal sy”tem. as formulated and employed in the Well
Tempered C/acier: from tbe point of “iew of polyphony, of the per·
f-eel fu”ion of polyphony and harmony, of the universality of creative
talent. of superlati” e craft ,;man, hip. It seems to him as though the
hil”’,ry of mu ~ ic cou ld he ex pressed with the graph of a crescendo
and decre”ccndo. with Bach in the epicenter.
Fllrthernlllre, it seems to him that all past and present species of
our 1ll1l :; ic can he related to Bach: he repre,ents either the final
n.,finement of a “pec ies that ‘had been evolving since the !Ylidd le
: ge”. or the source of a later one that can be led hack to Bach,
And the sheer quantity of his output is so tremendous, the works
are ,,0 manifold, that one is tempted to say that one could li”e an
entire life without resorting to any other music, and still have
enough variety.

#SylviaMarlowe