other titles...
- Prelude to Prelude
- Prelude No. 9 in E Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I BWV 854
- Prelude No. 6 in D Minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I BWV 851
- After Bach: Toccata
- Partita for Keyboard No. 4 in D Major BWV 828: II. Allemande
- After Bach: Cavatina
- Prelude No. 20 in A Minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I BWV 865
- Between Bach
- Fugue No. 20 in A Minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I BWV 865
- Intermezzo Variations on Bach’s Goldberg Theme:
- Aria-like
- Variation I Minor 58 a
- Variation II Minor 58 b
- Variation III Major 74
- Variation IV Breakbeat
- Variation V Jazz
- Variation VI Finale
- Prelude No. 7 in E-Flat Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I BWV 852
- Postlude
Brad Mehldau
AFTER BACH II
NONESUCH
The Bach album comprises four preludes and one fugue from the 'Well-Tempered Clavier', as well as the Allemande from the fourth Partita, interspersed with seven compositions or improvisations by Mehldau inspired by the complementary works of Bach – including Mehldau’s 'Variations' on 'Bach’s Goldberg Theme'.
Mehldau, speaking of the “universality” of Bach’s music, says in his liner note: “The more you try to engage with him, the more your own personality becomes visible, unavoidably. You are not playing Bach – Bach is playing you, in the sense that he lays you bare... The greatest choice you make at all times is not out of an absence, but from what is there, in its totality. Specifically, it is the constant choice you make in how to negotiate between harmony and melody.” He continues, “This is why Bach is a model for me as a jazz musician. In my improvised solos, I want to make melodic phrases that carry harmonic implication, and create harmony that moves in a melodic fashion. This is a crucial component in the storytelling.”
'After Bach II' follows 2018’s After Bach album, which originated in a work Mehldau first performed in 2015 – commissioned by Carnegie Hall, The Royal Conservatory of Music, The National Concert Hall, and Wigmore Hall – called Three Pieces After Bach. Two of Mehldau’s compositions from that program were presented on the After Bach album; his virtuosic third piece, Toccata, is included on After Bach II.