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Keep Calm and Play Bach

Many people hear classical music selections for the first time at the cinema. Some of us first heard Johann Sebastian Bach's Keyboard concerto No. 5 in the Woody Allen film "Hannah and Her Sisters". The  second movement was featured in a scene with Michael Caine and Barbara Hershey. It was the only movement from the concerto featured on the soundtrack album. But there are three movements in all, and they'll all spectacular.

If Top Forty radio stations existed in the 1700's, they would have played orchestral suites. Orchestral suites were all the rage then. There are 135 suites for orchestra by Georg Philipp Telemann still in existence, and it is known that he wrote hundreds more!   Johann Sebastian Bach, however, wrote only four. But they are amazing works. The second suite features the flute as the primary instrument. Bach gives the flutist some fun  virtuosic tunes to show off the musician's talents.

If you want more Bach, check  this site every Friday, when the Netherlands Bach Society will add a new recording of one of Bach's 1,080 works.

Daniel Gilliam is Program Director for LPM Classical. Email Daniel at dgilliam@lpm.org.