Swingles sing and swing Bach

Note: this is an expanded article on the same subject I published on January 27, 2021. 

Back in the 1960s I was entranced by the Swingle Singers.  What these 8 singers did with their voices seemed impossible!  They influenced me to highly esteem the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. 

In the linked recording, they perform J. S. Bach's "Little Fugue in G Minor."  It's pretty much the way Bach wrote it over 300 years ago, lightly edited and arranged for voices.  (I've often said that Bach's music sounds wonderful on any instrument, as long as it's performed well.) 

A fugue (pronounced feeyoug, all one syllable, or hear it pronounced here) is a special type of musical form that's been used by composers from before the 1700s until even now. 

In order to appreciate it, we listen to a fugue a little differently.  If you'd like to know more about this, you probably want to see "What is a fugue anyway?" on my blog and listen to the link in the article.  If you'd like to hear and see the G Minor played very well on the organ, look here. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vonJhz2COck&list=RDvonJhz2COck&start_radio=1

In this performance (2 ½ minutes) the Swingle Singers bend Bach's rhythms to swing them.  You can hear and see the fugue performed with the original straight rhythms on the organ here. 

Next week: How to Read Music (Reading) 1 of 10

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