Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), the German composer and a giant of musical art, is one of the most significant creators humanity has ever produced. His oeuvre is monumental not only in its scope but also in its profound aesthetic values. Bach’s personality was deeply humane and noble; his energy and inventiveness were inexhaustible, marked by a powerful individuality and a quiet self-awareness.
Bach composed both secular and sacred music. He created works for solo instruments, toccatas, fugues, preludes, concertos for solo instruments and orchestra, orchestral suites, overtures, the Brandenburg Concertos (six in total), as well as music for a wide variety of instrumental and vocal genres. Among Bach’s vocal-instrumental works, we should mention the immortal cantata Matthäuspassion (St Matthew Passion). Its performance, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn in 1829, marked the beginning of the “Bach Renaissance,” which has continued to the present day.
Although Bach incorporated both earlier and contemporary dance forms into his works, he never composed music specifically for opera or ballet. Nevertheless, numerous twentieth-century choreographers discovered an analogy between the structures of dance and the structures of Bach’s music. Through their own artistic means of expression and visual interpretation, they convey this relationship to the audience, allowing them to not only hear but also “see” Bach’s music, carried by its powerful emotional intensity.
Such a visualization of excerpts from the Overture No. 3 in D major (“Air”) and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major (Allegro, Adagio, Allegro) is presented for the first time in our country by choreographer Ekrem Husein. He identifies his own vibrant ballet temperament with Bach, inspired by his music, and with a finely crafted and vivid choreographic imagination transports us into the world of Bach’s “Divine Symphony” (how else could one describe his music?).
Although the music, movement, costumes, and décor transport us into the era of the Baroque, it seems as though Botticelli’s Primavera (Spring) unfolds before us—a spirited and spiritual “symphony of youth.”
The participation of ballet artists Zoica Purovska and Zoran Velevski in the ballet The Great Bach represents an announcement of the celebration of their 20-year artistic jubilees in their successful ballet careers.
