Bach & Italy Vol. 2 – Chiara Bertoglio

Even though a piece of music needs no translation and can be appreciated by people from all cultural backgrounds, undeniably there are specific musical idioms which developed in particular geographical and historical situations. One such idiom is that of Western Baroque music, which in turn assumed particular features – or one might say “dialects” – in different places and social contexts. Thus, to listen or to play pieces of music bearing the mark of another culture was to embark on an artistic journey, to visit the soundscape of another country, to get an insider’s knowledge about its characterising features and individual traits.
Therefore, it may be said that Johann Sebastian Bach “knew” Italy, even if he never set foot on Italian soil; his knowledge of Italian music was deep, extensive, and creative, since Italian music was for him not just an exotic idiom, but rather a cherished instrument for the expression of his own genius-like fantasy.
On the other hand, the music written by Bach represented a fundamental source of inspiration for later Italian musicians, who ceaselessly engaged with his creative ideas, in the form of editions, arrangements, transcriptions and original works.
The project “Bach&Italy”, now at its second volume, aims at exploring the dialogue between Bach and Italian culture, as revealed in the pieces he wrote under the influence of Italian models and in those written by Italian artists as a homage to Bach.