To close out Classical Music in Popular Songs, here's Procol Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale and a bunch of Bach. (Lots of Bach this week, which of course is no accident.) If you believe what Wikipedia says, this song may be based on Bach's Air on the G String, which is the name of an arrangement of the second movement of BWV 1068, the third Orchestral Suite (D Major). The little video on the left is Reinhard Goebel conducting Musica Antiqua Köln. Skip to about 10:24 if you just want to hear the second movement. Or it may be based on the Sinfonia from the cantata Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156 -- which uses the same theme as the second movement of the Harpsichord Concerto in F Minor, BWV 1056. Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert perform the concerto in the little video on the right. The second movement starts at about 3:04. (Or, if you'd rather, click here for the cantata Sinfonia.)
2016-03-27: Whiter Shade of Pale
To close out Classical Music in Popular Songs, here's Procol Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale and a bunch of Bach. (Lots of Bach this week, which of course is no accident.) If you believe what Wikipedia says, this song may be based on Bach's Air on the G String, which is the name of an arrangement of the second movement of BWV 1068, the third Orchestral Suite (D Major). The little video on the left is Reinhard Goebel conducting Musica Antiqua Köln. Skip to about 10:24 if you just want to hear the second movement. Or it may be based on the Sinfonia from the cantata Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156 -- which uses the same theme as the second movement of the Harpsichord Concerto in F Minor, BWV 1056. Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert perform the concerto in the little video on the right. The second movement starts at about 3:04. (Or, if you'd rather, click here for the cantata Sinfonia.)
