Ben Wilson

He's like, hey, Bach, you got to invite your dad to come perform for me. And this younger Bach was actually more famous been his father during their lifetimes, especially as a composer. For whatever reason, even though now the father, Johann Sebastian Bach, is known as the great composer, at the time, Carl Philip Emanuel Bach was recognized more for that.

He's like, hey, Bach, you got to invite your dad to come perform for me. And this younger Bach was actually more famous been his father during their lifetimes, especially as a composer. For whatever reason, even though now the father, Johann Sebastian Bach, is known as the great composer, at the time, Carl Philip Emanuel Bach was recognized more for that.

Anyway, so together, Bach's son and Frederick invite him. Basically, Johann Sebastian Bach is coming to see his son and his newly born grandson. And he says, okay, while you're here to see your grandson, come to the court, play for Frederick the Great. It'll be great.

Anyway, so together, Bach's son and Frederick invite him. Basically, Johann Sebastian Bach is coming to see his son and his newly born grandson. And he says, okay, while you're here to see your grandson, come to the court, play for Frederick the Great. It'll be great.

but there's a trap okay uh frederick the great lays a trap for him in that they try and devise for him an impossible puzzle okay bach was known as a composer of fugues and a fugue is a type of musical composition that takes one melody and then introduces new melodies on top and these melodies have to follow a system called counterpoint which has rules for

but there's a trap okay uh frederick the great lays a trap for him in that they try and devise for him an impossible puzzle okay bach was known as a composer of fugues and a fugue is a type of musical composition that takes one melody and then introduces new melodies on top and these melodies have to follow a system called counterpoint which has rules for

what kind of themes can go together, which notes you don't want to play together, how often sequences can repeat, all this sorts of stuff. Okay. There are lots and lots of rules in counterpoint. So you can think of counterpoint as a sort of musical Sudoku puzzle. you take a melody and you have to find one of the few melodies that can go with it.

what kind of themes can go together, which notes you don't want to play together, how often sequences can repeat, all this sorts of stuff. Okay. There are lots and lots of rules in counterpoint. So you can think of counterpoint as a sort of musical Sudoku puzzle. you take a melody and you have to find one of the few melodies that can go with it.

And of course, as you add parts, you know, first you got one melody, now you got two, now you have a three-part fugue, you got three different themes, and you become more constrained in what you can do because every new melody that you add has to abide by the rules of counterpoint with all the other themes that came before it. The puzzle becomes harder.

And of course, as you add parts, you know, first you got one melody, now you got two, now you have a three-part fugue, you got three different themes, and you become more constrained in what you can do because every new melody that you add has to abide by the rules of counterpoint with all the other themes that came before it. The puzzle becomes harder.

And so to have any, you know, artistic merit while you're doing this is very, very difficult. So that's kind of fugue and counterpoint. And so when Bach is invited to the court of Frederick the Great, Frederick invites Bach to improvise, improvise a three-part fugue. Okay, so just imagine how difficult that is.

And so to have any, you know, artistic merit while you're doing this is very, very difficult. So that's kind of fugue and counterpoint. And so when Bach is invited to the court of Frederick the Great, Frederick invites Bach to improvise, improvise a three-part fugue. Okay, so just imagine how difficult that is.

You're sitting down at a piano and coming up with a theme, a melody, and just that, like, if you sat down at a piano and tried to pick out something that sounds good, that's not easy to come up with a little melody. But then you have to come up with three melodies all at the same time, and they all have to follow these rules of counterpoint and have to go together, okay?

You're sitting down at a piano and coming up with a theme, a melody, and just that, like, if you sat down at a piano and tried to pick out something that sounds good, that's not easy to come up with a little melody. But then you have to come up with three melodies all at the same time, and they all have to follow these rules of counterpoint and have to go together, okay?

So this is going to be impossible for anyone who is not like an extremely accomplished musician. However... Bach is an extremely accomplished musician, so being asked to improvise a three-part fugue is perhaps not the craziest thing. What is crazy is that Frederick, probably with the help of Carl Philip Emanuel Bach, has devised an opening theme that is nearly impossible to work with.

So this is going to be impossible for anyone who is not like an extremely accomplished musician. However... Bach is an extremely accomplished musician, so being asked to improvise a three-part fugue is perhaps not the craziest thing. What is crazy is that Frederick, probably with the help of Carl Philip Emanuel Bach, has devised an opening theme that is nearly impossible to work with.

We actually don't know for sure that Carl Philip Emanuel Bach had something to do with this, but the reason that I think he was involved is that This theme is so difficult to write counterpoint to that only a really experienced musician, a musical genius, could have devised it. It's diabolical. It is a theme that is perfectly suited to resist counterpoint.

We actually don't know for sure that Carl Philip Emanuel Bach had something to do with this, but the reason that I think he was involved is that This theme is so difficult to write counterpoint to that only a really experienced musician, a musical genius, could have devised it. It's diabolical. It is a theme that is perfectly suited to resist counterpoint.

And so Frederick the Great says, hey, welcome. So glad to have you. Glad you could play for us. We're going to have you improvise a three-part fugue. And by the way, here's the theme that you're going to be working off of. And so he gives him this theme. I think he actually plays it for him on the flute.

And so Frederick the Great says, hey, welcome. So glad to have you. Glad you could play for us. We're going to have you improvise a three-part fugue. And by the way, here's the theme that you're going to be working off of. And so he gives him this theme. I think he actually plays it for him on the flute.