Mr. Bach, pull out those stops!

By the time he was 40 years old, Johann Sebastian Bach had been married twice and sired 10 children. We can thank our lucky stars that a presumably chaotic home life did not drain his creative, er, juices. (Though perhaps all those little “Bachlets” wore powdered wigs and practiced the clavichord for 10 hours a day.)He was already a prodigious composer and had long since surpassed his contemporaries as a keyboard virtuoso, says Peter Sykes, Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Historical Performance Department at Boston University, who will be playing a program of Bach organ works composed before 1725, the year Bach turned 40. “There is a famous story that Bach went to hear the composer and organist Buxtehude, and ended up meeting (Dutch-German organist Johann Adam) Reincken,” Sykes relates. “Bach sat down and improvised for him for half an hour. Reincken, legendary for being stingy with compliments, told Bach, ‘I thought that art of organ playing was going to die with me, but I can see it lives on with you.’” “It was also said that simpleminded people thought Bach was possessed of superhuman strength, because he played with such ease.”In the organ, Bach found an instrument to give him free reign to explore his “audacious” harmonic ideas and intricate contrapuntal style. Aside from the fact that it is “big and loud and fun to play, the organ has the most sustained sound, which allows one to hear harmony, voice leading, and polyphonic textures very clearly. Like many teenagers, Bach probably went on a power trip and occasionally pulled out all the stops.” (That phrase, fittingly, derives from the “stops” on an organ.)As the Capellmeister and court musician in numerous German cities, Bach had to turn out organ music to suit his employers. Most of his organ works were composed before 40. After that, he turned his attention largely to his cantatas, as well as larger orchestral works and concertos.Though we think of Bach today as the most progressive and sublime of composers, even visionary, it is curious to note that as he got older, Bach’s contemporaries thought of him as an avatar of conservatism. The style of the mid-1700s, represented by composers such as Telemann, turned to “lighter and less complex” fare, whereas Bach’s music became increasingly cerebral. He was interested, says Sykes, in “the science of music.”The program for Berkshire Bach includes two preludes, a toccata, a passacaglia – 10 works in all. It will be played on the magnificent pipe organ at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pittsfield.Sykes’ own trajectory echoes that of Bach. He grew up in Cape Cod and attended the Cape Cod Conservatory of Music. By age 11 he was playing chamber music, by 12 concertos, and at age 13 “I discovered the harpsichord, and I was on my way to a career as a professional musician.” At age 16 came his first experience with the organ, and since then he has divided his playing fairly evenly between the organ and harpsichord.Here's hoping he pulls out all the stops!Berkshire Bach’s recital “Bach at Forty” featuring Peter Sykes takes place on Sunday, February 17, at 4:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, call (413) 528-9277 or go to www.berkshirebach.org.