J.S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565 // Amy Turk, Harp
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My own transcription of one of J.S. Bach's most infamous and popular works. I first had the idea of playing this piece in 2013 after hearing an old Russian transcription performed by the incredible Varvara Ivanova, but couldn't get hold of that version due to it being out of print. I loved the power this piece brings to the harp and was determined to try it for myself as I'm a huge fan of anything where I get to play LOUD! The process of adapting the piece for the harp and preparing for this performance took 18 months and many, many practice hours! Its first public performance was as the opening piece of my Masters final recital at the Royal Academy of Music, London in July 2014. Yes I know, how crazy was I to open my recital with this...I then had to play for a further 35 minutes!
All notes in this transcription are Bach's - there are a few moments where certain notes have been omitted where it was impossible to play, but nothing has been added or embellished in terms of pitches or rhythms. My aim in transcribing this was to be as accurate and respectful to the original as I possibly could, whilst also exploring the greater dynamic possibilities with regards to quiets, crescendos and diminuendos that are possible on the harp. I absolutely loved recreating the sound of different manuals/stops in certain repeated passages of the fugue - this is achieved by playing lower in the strings before returning back to the middle where I'd normally play.
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#jsbach #toccata #baroque
4 minutes in, and I've already considered buying a harp and taking lessons.
@Uintabri NO! If you choose to play an instrument, then you must go with the more expensive since the beginning! You can't play beautiful sounds with a sardine can! Do you can? And don't try to contradict me or do you want I use the hot irons in your back? (Insert Family Guy, Peter's violin lesson citation here)
@@eternafuentedeluzdivina3189 There is actually an old Arabic saying (don't remember from which country...) among musicians, especially ney players, that you should master the hardest to play instrument first to become a great musician. If you can handle that instrument, you can handle all the other [similar] instruments with ease. So in other words; if you learn to play beautiful music on a shitty instrument, you will have a big advantage when later switching a better instrument. Or if you will; if you master how to play beautiful sounds with a sardine can, you will dominate any other instruments similar to the sardine can!
Eterna Fuente de Luz Divina I’m sorry but I’m going to say as a string player for 12 years, go with something not expensive.. consider renting even. You may desire and gain interest in playing an instrument, but it’s if you will continue playing that instrument with a good passion. I only bought my expensive violin after 6 years of playing... you don’t want to lose any money here
As I told: the most expensive model so your teacher& dragon mom/tiger dad could do this: kzhead.info/sun/Zppqma6AZ6WJaok/bejne.html
Play something on a hair-comb first and if you decide it's too hard - don't buy a harp.
I would like to sincerely thank you for taking the thousands of hours of your precious life required to reach that level of proficiency and using the resultant skill to add beauty and emotion to the human experience through your performance.
+wovefish Beautifully said.
+wovefish AMEN!
+Anticapitalist X honestly I was 6 and I play the harp. She's about grade 7 or 8 I'd say. No less. search up Freya Plays The Harp :)
+wovefish wise words
this is the most polite conversation ive ever seen on youtube
Unlocking new appreciation for one of my favourite classical pieces on an instrument i would have never imagined it played on... This is a performance to remember
kzhead.info/sun/e6WiYdSmap14pH0/bejne.html
This is far and away my favorite Bach piece. It's a real piece of work on the pipe organ, but to pull it off this well on the harp is quite an accomplishment.
It's an incredible piece that can sound remarkably good on multiple different instruments isn't it! I've also listened to beautiful solo violin and viola arrangements of it that sound godly. The Fantasia orchestral version still gives me goosebumps every time I hear it - every single time since I first heard it when I was 3 or 4 years old. The harp is such a beautiful instrument, isn't it!
Theme song for Roller Ball movie in the 70's.
@@Kateyangyuqing True! There really is no music more versatile than that of Bach.
This sounds terrifying on a big organ, but somehow on the harp it sounds haunting. It's beautiful.
What strikes me is that even at the harp the music is still that powerful.
Being my favourite piece for organ, I wouldn´t use the word terrifying, but it is definitely overwhelming. It is so intricate and full of changes, flowing from one amazing "scene" to the next. Just when you think it has walked out like Columbo it turns around with another proposition. There is a particular version running around here performed on an organ that has to be the best out there. Last year I finally got to hear it performed on the Organo del Sol Mayor here in Marbella, something I had always missed out and it took the 50th Anniversary concert for it to happen. Anyway, the beauty of music is that there is something for everyone to love, and always a new way to love it even more. Have you heard this artist performing Clair de Lune?
It's said that the last prophet of Islam warned of this instrumental being related and has power in the unseen world...
@@sagasdesbergers2273 fu₹₹ off with the religious bullcrap
Harmonics. The harmonics generated by a string instrument are overtones - higher in pitch. The harmonics generated by a pipe organ are undertones - lower in pitch. These produce entirely different moods.
Impressive - I must confess, I did not imagine that the harp had such potential. Incredible performance
the harp is just as important or meaningful as the violin or cello. it adds weight and variance to the piece.
Eli Butterfield Well it just is kind of uncommon. I mean, I live in Greece, and to the best of my knowledge, there is no harp teacher in a 100km radius from my town.
Jeezargo yeah same here. Harp players are rare. My highschool music teacher said in the 15 years that he'd been there, there'd been only two harpists... and they didn't want to take his class.
Eli Butterfield Yah, but, as we see here, the harp is a damn awesome instrument.
Is It Bad That I Play A Harp?
Idk why but good harp playing makes me cry and this made me cry. It's like a cathartic experience.
this sound its scary in a diferent point of view
It starts off rough, but quickly improves..
I struggle with Metallica one on a six string.. lol
It’s missing a random cough in the audience but, otherwise close.
LOL. I knew it was missing something.
Well hey, bud... when you have Actual Human Beings in an audience, coughs happen. Got a problem with that? Then go buy a CD recorded and edited In some sterile sound studio, and sounds completely artificial. I'll take the "real thing", thanks. And I have been as guilty as everyone else of "coughing" during stage performances during the past seven decades. So maybe I should have just committed Seppuku? 😲😆🤔 P.s.: It may have possibly escaped your notice, perhaps, that Amy and Ben recorded this at her home? Well, duuuuh... your bad.
Conrad In Hawaii You just might want to commit sudoku my friend... I was making the joke that I’m always used to hearing the coughs in performances, this performance is fabulous and clean and I was joking that she missed the cough usually heard and as such, not what I’m used to. I believe we just have a simple misunderstanding but, I appreciate you voicing your opinion. Take are.
@@TylerLL2112 Some people take life to seriously. Specially when it comes to sudoku, art, venting and Godwin's law.
Henk-Jan Bakker I agree. I give the guy some slack though.. it isn’t always easy to tell if someone is joking or not. You get comments of people being serious that you think are joking or the opposite. You take care my friend. I appreciate your comments.
the harp doesn't get the recognition it truly deserves - almost like the forgotten instrument. But what a magnificent thing it is. It transports me back to another time and is sooooo relaxing. It's almost the insides of a piano turned on its' side - beautiful. Thanks for sharing this.
Yes, you translate in words what I realized too. It is not a common sound of this instrument, a common performance in harp, but it doesn't matter, because the presentation is simply magnific!
The really mindboggling aspect is that basically after the drums it's pretty much the most ancient instrument of them all. Basically the mother of them all. Drums, or anything hollow, is about rythm: the foundation of music. Then it is flute, or it's predecessors as wind instruments: breathing(whistling) is life after all. Then harp, as strings came along, with manufacturing and processing resources.
@@marrs1013 the first stringed instrument was probably a bow(archery) that someone strapped to a drum, as soon as they understood the concept of a resonance chamber they expanded upon the concept added more strings and voila, the harp is born.
That’s because it’s not promoted in the consumer mainstream. Only the educated and appreciative people who respect the arts will have been exposed at leas to some of the harp’s influence.
I think you might have it backwards. The harp came first. So a piano is a harp turned on it's side and hidden in a harp-shaped box. ^_^
Bach would hug you, speechless. I am too. Incredible achievement.
Oh. My. God. This is really astonishing - it’s going into my library of videos. I’ve got a version of this by an orchestra of thirty electric guitarists, and what they get out of it is a massive, exhilarating tsunami of raw power that flattens you against your chair with a grin on your face. What Ms. Turk gets is an exquisite tapestry of intertwining musical lines that bring out the clarity of each with subtle variations in volume that make you recognize the brilliance of Bach’s gift for melody that seems to get lost in experiencing the piece in other renditions - this is like Satie to the third power. Just yesterday I came across a quote by Bartok that fits. “Not all musicians believe in God, but all musicians believe in Bach.”
I saw the title of the video and thought to myself: ''There is absolutely no freaking way she plays that on a harp''. After finishing the video and watching her performance, I need medical assistance. My jaw is below ground level.
As a medical practitioner, i would send you straight to heaven for your condition. No cure to harp
My jaw is on the floor,too! No words left to say... calling that performance "awesome", "fantastic" just isn't enough to describe.
My jaw literally dropped when she got to the tone changes at like 4:50 because holy crap. The level of proficiency needed to play this in the simplest form is unreal, let alone the level she is playing at with the dynamic and tone changes. She captures the mood of the piece so well!
I saw this on my home page and immediately had to listen. This is where music transcends mere mortal experience. Bach himself would’ve listened in awe.
🤣🤣
At first, I thought, "You can't play this on a harp. It doesn't have the presence by itself required for this piece." Thank you for promptly correcting me. Magnificent. Simply magnificent.
Thanks for listening! The harp is full of presence, and has amazing bass - it's a big part of why I love playing it.
@@amyturkharp Wow, thanks for replying! I have always very much liked the harp, but never imagined that it was possible to create such intense sounds like you have here on it. I play the organ, and just previously assumed that the harp was too light for this particular piece. But as you said, the bass is significantly more prominent than I have heard before, and you did an absolutely wonderful job with this in its entirety. Truly fantastic, and awe-inspiring to me.
@@amyturkharp dont forget to answer Vinheteiro. A Master just admires you!!!! :-)
The harp is pretty much configured as the piano, except the strings are plucked rather that being struck from pressing the piano key. But the actual physical mechanics involved for playing the harp look WAY more demanding. An incredible disipline. I wonder what happens to a harpist as they get older and their fingernails become more prone to chipping and breaking. They are probably one of the most cared for parts of their anatomy.
@@jacktheripoff1888 you are my hero....
Being a classical guitarist, I was mesmerized by the incredible performance of this harpist, using a pedal while plucking strings, and missing not one string! The gracefulness of her arms was so beautiful, and the power in her hands gave the music even more loveliness…I loved every moment of this magnificent piece by Bach!
Just Imagine if your wife plays this to you when you return home from work realising that today is your wedding anniversary which you forgot. She does not speak but expresses her anger, disappointment and sadness through playing the harp.
Музыку исполнила сама Муза, спустившаяся с небес. Браво
I lack the appropriate vocabulary to truly describe how beautifully she played this piece.
Well go to night school or summit.
lol, I'll just say that she's good and this is a cool tune too 😎
You did fine, buddy. 👍🏻
Nobody has that vocabulary
Right!
One of the most beautiful videos I've ever seen! Thanks for sharing! Lord
Vinheteiro saludos capo
look it’s you
Maestro
Houla, muito gusstossa minha musica
Vinheteiro salve Lord
After this performance, I am speechless. Just think of the 1000s of hours it took to get there, and the level of perfection reached, and how her fingers must be conditioned and protected to be able to practice day after day after day to remain flawless.
OMG! To a layman's ears, this transcription is PERFECT, and her playing is absolutely masterful!! :^D
Just imagine J.S. Bach was 17 or 18 years old when he wrote that beautiful music.
That has not been established and even now it is debated that J. S. Bach is the original composer. In fact, it would have been lost forever if not far a single surviving transcription by Ringk found a century later. Wikipedia has a fascinating history about it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toccata_and_Fugue_in_D_minor,_BWV_565
who cares? we’re all retards now
@@machtschnell7452 BUT I think it is from Bach! Period!
Golly, Superman.
@@alpinemaximus7085 Your choice.
I have never in my life heard anything so dramatic and beautifully played as Bach’s Fugue on a harp. Outstanding
kzhead.info/sun/e6WiYdSmap14pH0/bejne.html
Speechless. So well performed. Beautiful 😍
Virtuoso. A masterpiece performed by a magnificent Lady. Thank you for these incredible minutes of music.
So used to hearing it on the organ. What stands out is her speed she is playing the piece. You hear organists who tend to rush it, rather than enjoy the organ actually breathing the music as Bach intended it. Amy has managed to make it sound like an organ's breath. Very smart move. You have captured Bach young lady.
Thanks for telling us how Bach intended it
@@dfarzan1234 Can you explain your comment further?
You should listen to Xaver Varnus play it in the Berlinner Dom. No rushing there.
She got pretty much everything out of the harp that it can give to the song though i still say it is more imposing and impressive when played on an organ. The harp just misses the sheer volume of sound that the song needs.
mikemather5 -- What a great comment ...
Hours, months and years of dedication go into a performance like this.
You got a 100
Decades
*lifetimes
And then it turns out they don’t have ears
Also... mind, heart, soul & some damn sore fingers!
"This video helps me focus on the positive things in life and stay away from the negative."
The most beautiful version of this piece I have ever heard ❤
You made that sound as if Bach wrote it for your instrument.
+alipitogen Agreed, simply amazing!
+Amy Turk Yes, it is, but it is also true.
tecso47 True things that are also lovely are my favourite.
maybe he did, c; doesnt get any better than this
*Can't image how much practice one needs to reach this level of divinity!* ❤️🏆
40 hours a day
@@masshysteria1757 accurate if you lose the 0.
It takes 10 lives to have the soul, about 20 years to master the harp to that level, plus about a year to master this masterpiece and record it. Thats my estimate :)
@@mialotusmusic its all in the head, depending on the person it can take 10x more or 10x less
@@lilsimon420 yes and no . Its also in the fingers if you want to record it. Plus... soul is not your head ;)
All that wonderful music played by ear not a sheet of music is sight… fantastic bravo😊
that was my first emphasizing no muzicsheet.!
Как хорошо, что есть интернет.Наше тв только развращает, отупляет, ничего путного не показывает.спасибо за такую музыку и за талантливых исполнителей.
If Bach were alive, he would give you a great applause
You are not Bach. You do not know whether he would be impressed.
ArchHighLordOmega -Revelation19:17,18 Bach did the liturgical accompaniment for the Lutheran Mass in the parishes in the City of Leipzig, which is used at St. Clement's Episcopal Church (Anglo-Catholic) in Philadelphia.
I agree for sure.
yeah no shit
Michael Park please shut up, you're making yourself look so dumb right now.
Watching the fingers of this great musician, I learned a new thing : harp is piano without a keyboard.
TV Oommen yeah! with a bit of stringy feel.
+Pixelson Way easier ?.......I see there are pedals to be done with ........I am not sure.
Everytime, "hey this instrument doesn't look too hard to learn !" suddenly, *pedals*
watch "a night at the Opera"
The harp is way harder than piano, even without pedals.
Who knew that Toccata and Fugue in Dm could be played so wonderously on a harp...Outstanding skill from this young lady...Bravo
The single most enjoyable Harp performance I've ever heard. Wonderful.
I never saw such fierce intensity on the harp. I'm amazed.
+caveatemp She reminds me of Jaqueline DuPrez - that lady had the same intensity with her 'cello that Amy Turk shows here on her chosen instrument. A fantastic performance...and now I'm going to watch it again!
+Jonathan Peden Thanks for the tip!
caveatemp Enjoy beautiful music and Happy New Year to you!
+caveatemp If you enjoy an intense harp maybe you should have a look at the south-american harp tradition. Maybe check Edmar Castaneda.
andramoie tks!
Imagine being married to a harpist. When you have trouble sleeping they will send you to heaven..
I am so memorized...
And neighbors to hell
I am married to a hooker, she don't need no harp.
Paulo Fortza :: for sure!!
lol
as a piano player it amazes me how one can be so dynamically accurate on the strings.
Like the harp, I play many instruments. Your heart and soul are in every note of every piece you perform. Your time involved in this music was very well appreciated, Thank You! In my life, I doubt I will ever hear again a harp piece so devotedly and exquisitely performed this side of heaven! Bravo!
Well described! Music like this is as if it has come from heaven, gracing us on "this side" with what can only be described as magic. That any creature is capable of producing such a phenomenon is like a miracle, definitely one of humanity's greatest facets.
The harp plays many instruments?
If I ever become a super villain I'm hiring you to play at all my power lunches, absolutely fantastic :)
hahahaha that is the spirit!
Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
H Angeli he is smooth haha
roll on floor laughing lol thumbs up....good one
Will it be in a volcano? A volcano would be one hell of a backdrop.
I can't even play the triangle
Don't be ashamed, triangle can be surprisingly difficult to play :) That said, making music isn't too difficult, you've just got to take the time to get into it (which is less than you might imagine).
Percussion playing has one big problem....timing is *everything*.
a sixteenth note is a quarter note divided into four. but it's got 3 sides?
Harry Andruschak how is that a problem? let alone a big one? it is intrinsic to its nature, organic.
Gary Nicol lol
EXTRAORDINARY!! On the harp, I see Amy "knit up" this familiar and beloved music as I have never seen it before. Gratitude!
I'm so glad I happened to stumble upon this! It's not every day that you hear a harpist tackle music such as this and make it sound so powerful. Sheer mastery. Thank you!
kzhead.info/sun/e6WiYdSmap14pH0/bejne.html
A 9 minute performance memorized without sheet music? At this level and complexity? Virtuoso at its definition.
A top concert pianist will typically have 100 hours of music memorised. Probably similar for other instruments like violin, cello etc..
@grodhagen they can play 100 hours of music from memory, its memorised.
@grodhagen he never made a distinction between different types of memory. youre just getting into semantics
@grodhagen youre ego is bigger than your bite.
@grodhagen the irony
How can 2.4K people not like this?! Obviously it has different feel to the original organ version but it's a stunning interpretation.
They are jealous they can't play harp.
So True!
Lets clarify, to not like is passive, these people for some moronic reason chose to actively dislike what is a display of mastery beyond their understanding.
I think, that this people are Bach and his relatives.
I think those 2.4K ZEROS are headed where there are NO HARPS, and never will be! I'm an amateaur organist who never learned the basics of playing a hymnal let a lone the Sleepers Awake given to me to try and commit to memory....I failed to play music like I wanted too including this one.... but learn to "play" music on the radio spinning records and CD's 5 yrs before the death of my mentor an idol, E. POWER BIGGS, the ONLY true interrupter of Bach on the organ, and not the quack, Virgil Fox, Biggs was The clear outstanding Bach player of his own Interruptation of this piece, from Bach's notes, according to the Biggs Book I have. Many more true organists I heard from Williamburg to Seattle, including petite, Marie Claire Alain, twice, who recently passed a few years ago. So, I still got to "needle" people with an excellent spin of his music as a DJ. Only much later, taking Nina Rota's Love Theme from the movie Romeo & Juliett, that Mancini made famous, did I take the chord progressions and transposing electronically some, to make my own compositions of 8, in 3/4 time signatures, 6 recorded, but they have with their composer's freshman views and Mindfull of orchestra sound not played thru the keys, nor written down missing a chance to connect a midi interface to an apple scoring application, but also they suffered unfortuneately, their creators first time playing from memories, "sameness" good for some composers / performers and bad like me, with others with too much of a repetative orchestrations sounds and rollimg 3 note left hand fills in all 8 pieces and also with fixed chord.choir sounds to have 4 out of 8 of them, played with some fun themes and then some seriousness means, especially on the very last piece with it's 7:20 length about Birth, Life, Separation, and death. That last piece used more of the electronic coupling of 3 manuels (pedals included) and full classical organ sounds of "CHURCH" to finish the series out, ALL played on a Yamaha US-1 from a 1987 design. My instrument recently, not the one I recorded on in 1990 now gone, fell ill and no longer sings due to its 32 year old boards and aging circuits, dead or dying. $24k for an original and $500 and change for mine + $1.25k to ship from the east but didnt fix it when I had the chance.... Sorry Amy, that it took me so long.... I thought you did an outstanding performance! I can recognize a true artist. Live a long life and reach many to play and teach. I hope to be able to tell Bach himself that a fine Harpist is coming and she has great skills and Chops! Keep it up Girl! All the best. I'm going to be sending a lot of wood for that fire below, for those future 2.4k residents! They don'r deserve to hear the work you put into my favorite ckassucal piece behined Rhapsody in Blue, and Copeland's Appalachian Spring....and 'Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber, arguably his best known, from the 2nd movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11....an awesome piece performed by All Angels (England/Britt group) with choir Accapella. Intense and so beautiful! Good luck finding new pieces to play.
Wonderful. I love the fact that she allows the resonance to subside before she continues
Phenomenal! As Bach himself is supposed to have said, “If you press the right keys in the right order, the music practically plays itself.”
Fantastic! She's playing it as if the piece was written for a harp. She doesnt cater to expectations, making it "her own". Loved it!
As far as I understand the video description, she actually transcribed it herself for harp.
@@Kosekans That;s amazing, I think that;s what Xavier de Maistre does too. He said somewhere, that since he'd discovered how little has been transcribed for harp, he decided to transcribe as many pieces as he could.
kzhead.info/sun/e6WiYdSmap14pH0/bejne.html
Bought the song on iTunes for .99 cents 🥰
To everyone complaining about 'histrionics', 'acting', or physical movement of any kind during this performance, I have to ask you - have you ever actually seen a performance of live music before? Or do you just sit stony-faced listening to midi sequences of Bach preludes in a dark basement all day with your eyes shut?
Good Sir, I am certainly _not_ one to complain about anything in this beautiful performance. But I must say that Bach sequences in midi _are_ excellent pastime.
@@stalhandske9649 to be honest with you it does sound like a lot of fun
More importantly have the complainers ever performed live music themselves? I doubt it (and yes, I have!). The complexity of this very piece and to transpose it to harp, I am sure JSB would applaud.
I don't criticize performances, but I do listen and edit a lot of midis and also uploading some to youtube :(
Some players move around a more than others. I don't believe there's any direct association with the quality of the playing. The whole original instruments / period performance thing 20 years ago does seem to have given rise to this idea that baroque music must be played ABSOLUTELY straight, no rubato, no Fortissimo, no fun...
A piece normally utilized on an Organ, requiring dexterity of hands and feet. Played on an instrument requiring the finest of reflexes and ears. This must've been a pain in the neck to make work--and it's done extremely well. This is phenomenal. Astounding. Wonderful work!
I imagine this must shred your shoes playing all those black notes. Showing the footwork is an added bonus that some may not appreciate without seeing it.
Personally I think Johann Sebastian would have been very happy to hear this. Superb, more please!
I'll bet Beethoven would've loved to hear it to! 😂
@@evolutionglitch4739 also einstein.
@@evolutionglitch4739 Something that powerful would give enough vibrations he could feel, especially if he was up close.
My thought exactly! What if Herr Bach could have enjoyed the transcription for harp as performed by this most talented artist, Ms. Turk. Brava!
Makes one wonder that if Mister Bach had heard Amy play this wonderful work of his on her harp, he may have thought to himself... "Damn... I wrote this for the wrong instrument!" 🤔🤣💖
Amazing. I used to play it with a piano but cannot imagine it can be played by a harpist. Fantastic skills. Music of heaven.
Russians in the chat
kzhead.info/sun/nd6LYphqcHltlpE/bejne.html
What's the word I'm looking for? What's the word...? Oh ya, Amazeballs! :O)
Beautiful rendition of one of my favorite classical pieces.
This is the most convincing transcription and performance of a Bach organ piece on the harp that I've come across yet. You are indeed outstanding, Amy!
kzhead.info/sun/e6WiYdSmap14pH0/bejne.html
I know! If you would have told me Bach wrote it for the harp I would have believed you
The timing, the poise, the technicality, the heart/passion. This is a Master level piece. What a beautiful addition to the human race. Thank you for your dedication to your craft. Sharing your gift with the world is a service to humanity.
It is truly a service to humanity. She is a lighthouse.
Hyperbole
Indeed so beautiful in many ways
It's still boring to play something you've played a hundred times before. I get it's awesome, but put yourself on her shoes. It's just the same repetitive work.
Armchair Rockstar! That’s just a sour grapes thing someone who doesn’t know the pleasure of dedication and passion of practising an instrument. Also you can practice different pieces.........🙄
holy crap does that look difficult and magnificent
Purple Petunia thats what she said
Thank you very much sir! You are a gentleman and a scholar.
Consider the fact that the music was written for the organ; an instrument boasting 2-6 keyboards that give voice to anywhere from 200 to 10,000 pipes. A decent organist needs several helpers to play this music. A phenomenal one could get away with one. The ability to condense the grandeur and scope of such a large composition into a piece that can be played by a single person on an instrument that uses a single voice without losing the essence of the music is awe-inspiring. :)
A magnificent, stunning performance, thank you!
This was one of those videos that just show up. It took 2 listenings,, close your eyes and let the music touch your center, a being. I would imagine Bach would have enjoyed this piece. Many thanks
Things like this just show how bloody amazing human beings just are.
To me it shows how amazing our Creator Yahuah is 💕
Yeah, credits to us, wooo! XD
Amy is an amazingly talented human 👑 ❤️
You're privilege is unbelievable
@@thememeoverlord.1949... Your* 😬
I love watching random musicians in a state of absolute euphoria practically shaking while they play.
Their soul and the instrument become one
@@laurab703 beautifully written!
in college concert band I was moving to the music as we played and the conductor stopped the band to ask if I was having a seizure. I was not...
This random musicians sometimes is the best 👈👈👉👉
I did that before... The music gets you in an unplanned moment..but you become..your heart beats ..
If Bach were alive today he would be VERY impressed no doubt! The harp I've never played (I'm a guitarist) but this makes me want to start playing one, wonderful playing!
8.5 million views, gives me hope that the world is not totally lost.
Such a truely beautiful comment ... and how so incredibly true - this is the sheer joy of experiencing the brilliance of Bach via Amy’s incredible talents ... luv the joy of enjoying most of the days week in total awe of such talent - cheers and take care
turn you damn TV off the world my spin a woooble here and there but the sun will come up tommorrow! and yyyeeeessssirebob 8 and counting!
8 billion at last count, so 1% appreciates the arts.
Fr
There are a lot of great people with great tast but you have to find them.
Put this on national TV. We may finally calm down.
National TV doesn't want us to calm down.
Doubtful. This is privilege to them. And darkness can't comprehend light.
Our telescreens are too busy telling us how to think and what to buy to show us anything this pure.
who needs national tv. this is global! and as good as it gets! welcome to the future 2020
@@speedysandisk78 thats a great comment, propaganda. been around since the dawn of scribes scrolls and trolls!
Beauty that moves one to tears. Well done. Thank you.
Wow. That reintroduces the piece, and I am hearing it anew, aspects I have not heard on the organ, yet the power and urgency remain. I had goosebumps throughout. 🌹👍🍻
Amy I absolutely love how you aren't afraid to "attack" the harp (for use of a better word). Alot of people think it's delicate and fragile, but you demonstrate it's true power. And the cinematography allowing us to see the pedal work was a great idea. Really allows us to see how much work and effort is really being put into the performance. I especially love the section were you switch between pres de le table and the heart of the strings frequently. Gives an edge to the piece that the organ/piano can't. Dread to imagine the blisters you got learning this from memory. So from a novice harpist... We'll done and Thankyou :)
***** but can an organ be played pres de la table? Haha All jokes aside you seem to have misunderstood my point. I was simply saying I thought it was clever how the transcription incorporates a good use of techniques specific to the harp... pres de la table allows a different timbre to be created. No instrument is better than the other, they all create the beautiful sound that is music. But if we're talking about "Edge" with regards to power and volume, then of course an organ would out perform any other instrument volume wise, after all, something that requires a whole building to itself isn't gonna be quiet now hahah.
***** fair point, can't argue with that :)
David Bell Brougham Thanks so much for listening! Yes, I really do love to attack the harp, I love to play loud and to hear and feel the sonorities at the low end of the instrument. The section you mention with the alternating PDLT and normal positions is something I decided to do to replicate this moment in the original version, in which the organist switches between manuals to utilise different pipes and change timbres with each repeat of the figure. I really enjoyed working on subtle dynamic changes, long cresc/dims and so on in the fugue, that's really something I felt the harp could bring to this that the organ couldn't. Pretending to be an organ and playing as loud as possible is fun too, although obviously there is a limit to how much I can compete in sheer volume, but the impression of volume that you can get is effective enough, I think! Any excuse to play brutal harp really. :P
I managed to afford 6 lessons with a teacher a few years ago. She knew I would only be having that amount before going off and doing my own thing, so she stressed to me just how versatile and powerful the harp can be... for me you're proof of what can be achieved :)
***** Are you an organ manufacturer or something? What are you trying to achieve here exactly?
I'm a clarinettist, and after seeing you perform this difficult piece on a harp has made me realise that I must practice harder.
Magnificent. I have never enjoyed Bach's Toccata/Fugue more than this.
If only Bach could have been alive to have heard this. Thank-you.
It's a completely different, and very wonderful experience to hear this as opposed to the pipe organ. I'm a professional organist, and I can say that she is doing gorgeously musical things with this piece that I'm sure most organists wish they could do! I'm so glad I ran across this!
Love the different way harp needs to get the other notes too. I'm originally a keyboardist, so all the notes are there, but she needs to do the pedals to change the notes in the scale. Totally different way of thinking about it. Very cool!
@@seejayjames Harps have pedals too, I learned something new today!!! 😁
If course it shows the pedals 10 seconds after my comment lol
I am totally speechless. My God Ms. Turk. you are incredible.
7:50 that part is insane
That's it. Not kidding :). Always thought strings can be played better than any keyboard instrument. Myself playing guitars, I do enjoy the polyphonic richness of the harp. Thank you for sharing
--- I play classical ukulele with low g & cutout... I love the voice on this harp & the skill it takes to make it sing! Well done, Amy!
What took KZhead four years to present me with this one!?
Turkey's desire to join the EU.
You needed to develop first?
@Terminator X It is said that among the Kelts in the primacy of their alliance that spanned from the Atlantic to the Black Sea, they had this proverb among them: "We fear nothing, but that the stars should fall down upon us, the earth itself open to swallow us up, or the old gods return for their revenge." Perhaps in modern times, it may sound something like this: "Omnia - Etrezomp ni Kelted" from the Pagan Folk Lore concert
Degeneracy took it
...... great work. Would like to see / hear some modern stuff. Simon and Garfuncle, Cat Stevens etc !!! 😀😊😇🗽🗽😇😊😁
Not a harp fan, but that was freakin' awesome. That bit at 7:49 made me smile, and I don't even know why.
+JasmineLindros She - and J.S. Bach - made you very happy!
Inefable ! Vuelvo a ella de vez en cuando para deleitarme con esta magnífica interpretación 🥹
Ganz liebe Grüße aus Leipzig ❤
I know this is a decade old video but I've just seen it for the first time and you made me sob my eyes out from your pure precision and talent.
kzhead.info/sun/e6WiYdSmap14pH0/bejne.html
Brava! As an organist who has played this particular work multiple times, it's refreshing and eye-opening to hear it performed in a new (to me) way. By sharing your musical expertise with others, you have enriched the human spirit. For that, you not only have my appreciation and gratitude, you have my RESPECT.
This is a beautiful way of describing music - by sharing her expertise, she has enriched the human spirit. Indeed, musicians do provide so much beauty that touches us in the deepest parts of our souls. Their passion enriches their own lives, at the same time as it enriches the lives of those who listen. Music is one of the most incredible and magical things that humanity is capable of. I wonder how many hearts J.S. Bach's music (in its various forms and arrangements) has touched over the last 300 years or so! And then there's all the great composers that were influenced by him too. Truly one of history's great geniuses.
If you look up in the dictionary the word mastery, there's a link to this video.
Strangten i tried it, ur full of shit
To the people who tried it, he was just trying to express the fact of how awesome this is.
you are an idiot toloa
Lol I was being sarcastic
OMG Strangten, All the IQ tests in the world may have dubious value, but you Sir, have devised "the" perfect test to filter out the humourless, arrogant, imbeciles! Your unique compliment to Amy is greatly appreciated. I concur.
Wow. When I saw Toccata and Fugue FOR THE HARP I just had to look. And I have not been disappointed! That was Rock and Roll baby!! Fabulous.
At just 37years old, I suffered a brain aneurysm/ severe stroke in 2020. I was flown to the hospital in a chopper due to my critical state. After 2 weeks in ICU God healed me. I can walk, talk, run. Thank you Jesus. Great is your faithfulness
Had mine at 29 and like you medical practitioners along with my sheer will to live kept me alive. No fairy tales required, without the ICU you'd be dead,after all Jesus didnt call for the helicopter(another man made marvel incidentally!) Plus if you believe that guff then 'God' did it to you,what a nice guy eh? C'mon dont be silly
To GOD Be The Glory 🙌🏾 I praise GOD for your healing! May He continue to bless you 🙏🏾
I believe this would make Bach smile. Beautiful!
Doubtless :)
Perhaps …. Tears of talented appreciation … this is emotionally uplifting
Your brilliant technique aside, you are one of the few musicians on any instrument who understand how to phrase Bach, that there are a succession of phrases and not just a run-on bunch of notes. It is this understanding that enables you to put so much feeling into it. No one who sees this could continue to think that Bach is cold and mechanical. A world-class performance.
Wonder if it's something to do with the instrument itself? I'm not sure how but it might be easier to apply different pressure etc to each note than say a violin.
No, that's not what I'm talking about. Most players approach Bach as if the music is a string of notes which must be played as evenly (and rapidly) as possible from the beginning of the piece to the end, as if it consisted of one sole phrase. The closer to a computer rendition they can get the better they consider the performance. Try listening to Itzhak Perlman's Partita No. 2, or Caleb Hudson's Partita No. 1, both on youtube. In fact, there is a succession of phrases connected to each other by what are called dove-tailed cadences, cadences which overlap, but which are cadences (that is, conclusions, no matter how subtle) nonetheless. The give and take of these question-and-answer phrases is what music is all about, and it didn't just disappear during the Baroque period.
I prefer my Bach cold und precise, like my Kantian imperatives. If Bach wanted syncopation he would've invented ragtime. Bah! You've offended my Prussian sensibilities again!
kzhead.info/sun/YJuedqZwiV-PqZs/bejne.html Stiffening your spine might help you get through this.
What a savage
Absolutely fabulous! You maintained the dynamic and feeling of the piece while presenting it in a new and unique way.
There is something I absolutely love about the harp. It’s angelic. Instantly calming. This musician is so accomplished. Thank you for your beautiful gift .
I cannot imagine what it must be like to be this proficient on your instrument. One thing is for sure, there are hundreds/thousands of hours practise involved. Seriously impressive - absolutely flawless.
Genetic lottery. I ripped my ticket and threw it in the trash.
At least 1,800 to 2,000 hours of practice a year I'd say. Then say it takes some 20 years to get to that level.
Not only proficiency on the instrument but the ability to translate the piece FROM A FUCKING PIPE ORGAN and replicate the textures of every chord, every musical idea, every echo from dissonance to resolution, and fucking own it
@@hectorcorkidi6067 It only takes 1,000 hours to become a master at anything, that includes instruments and indeed the harp. If you set aside 1,000 hours you would be able to play this piece.
@@katejay9786 Lets not get two over the top, music theory teaches us how to do this. Get in 100, or 1,000 hours in to an instrument yourself.
All these years, and I never knew that harps had dynamics pedals.
Thanks for listening! Pedals alter the length of the strings to produce sharps, flats and naturals at the player's request - all dynamics are created with the hands.
That's insane :) :)
I also didn't realise there were so many pedals. This was amazing and I listen to it all the time
I know. Does the universe hold any other secrets for us?
De Lord what
Exquisite! Riveting! Beautiful! My whole family is in awe, with chills. Amazing is an understatement. Thank you.
When was a kid I always thought that Harp was a heavenly instrument... I still haven't change my mind till now.
What
What do you mean?
You make no sense
I think you mean "even now." Saying "till now" means that you have now changed your mind.
Meaning God likes this instrument because it’s music just puts your soul at peace
The most impressive to me is her internal metronome. The timing and pacing are immaculate. Supremely good!!!
This performance is nothing short of astonishing! Amy, you are are an amazing harpist and musician
What a fantastic performance. Amy - you are an incredible musician. Thanks for sharing.
I’m guessing 2.1k organist down thumbed this because they couldn’t play with this much power and emotion with 4 manuals and 75 ranks of pipes. This was truly amazingly rendered. I went in for a taste and stayed in awe of the soulful execution. I love the pipe organ for this piece but you brought this to a new level. Congratulations and thank you.
But have you ever heard it played by a rock band? Well actually a classical/rock fusion band. That is just what the UK-based band SKY did, and the result can be enjoyed here: kzhead.info/sun/hMubl7mqp2OXamg/bejne.html Personally i have loved every version of this piece that i've come across.
I'm an organist and can play this work on the organ. I've never heard a harp version before and I thought it was superb. I also think it must be far easier to play it on the organ. Apart from the medium of the instrument, she did full justice to the work musically, more so than many organists are able to do, including me.
@@ZL54JK8 I completely agree. My mother, a classically-trained and pianist and career church organist, played this beautifully on our church's two-register, full pedalboard electronic pipe organ, beginning in the late 1950s. I was with her as her page-turner and "gentle critic" during the many hours she spent learning it, many times on the verge of tears of frustration. No piece of cake, Mister Bach's masterpiece. But I know that Mom would have been amazed at Amy's absolutely beautiful original transcription and performance of this amazing work. I would not bet that it is any "easier" to play on organ, but you do, at least have ten fingers and both feet to accomplish it, whereas Amy has only her thumbs plus index and middle fingers and the heels of her hands as string dampers, plus two VERY busy feet on the seven three-position pedals to accomplish all of that. Sheeeeesh... 😲😊💖
@@BertGrink ANY time John Williams is playing guitar, it is worth stopping and listening, carefully and repeatedly. 😊💖
I spent the first few minutes thinking 'wow that looks really difficult,' and then realised she's doing stuff with her feet too?! That's crazy. Such an amazing performance :)
Yes, the pedals give the sharps, flats. Each note has a pedal: there's a C, D, E, F ,G, A and B pedal. Each pedal has 3 positions. Top position makes the note flat. Middle position makes the note natural. Lowest position makes the note sharp. Ex: if you put the G pedal all the way up, all the Gs will become G flat. Put the pedal in the middle position, all Gs become G natural. Put the G pedal all the way down then all Gs will be G sharp.
@@annschwankhaus3735 Thanks, that's exactly the info I came to the comments to learn!
@@annschwankhaus3735 Thank you for explaining that. It's just incredible. I always wanted to play the harp. I sing instead, but man, if I could afford a harp and lessons - I'd practice hard and probably learn to play badly! hehe
@@annschwankhaus3735 Thank you 😊
@@annschwankhaus3735 Amazing. What a wonderful way to address and simplify different keys. I bet it makes frequent key changes a nightmare, tho!
Outstanding, amazing Amy ! Thanks for playing this piece!
Какие талантливые люди есть ещё, просто удивительно. Красивая женщина!
When the mothership of an alien race arrives and threatens to destroy humanity unless we can give them reason as to why we should be spared, we can point to this and say, 'Because there are those of us that can do this!'
AMYS PLAYING IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HUMAN GREATNESS. ANY ALIEN WOULD BE IN AWE OF HER.
That is vile anti-communist thought. This is in fact another example of greedy Capitalist fixation on domination through excellence This behaviour must be stamped out by stronger indoctrination in socialist miseducation system! It makes me so sick to see young people being taught they can succeed by hard work and individual effort. So counter revolutionary! I must clear my mind by have drink while cleaning beloved AK. Rifle functions best when assembled by worthy Progressive with vodka on breath!
Dont send the aliens to me. We'd be doomed.
@@kayharker712 wtf. you seriously seem to want the aliens to pulverize us all
What's to stop the aliens from beaming Amy Turk aboard their spaceship and then blowing up the planet anyway?
she’s completely in the ZONE! feeling every note in her soul.
wow... i've never heard it on harp and now my favourite classical piece seems even more beautiful and less haunting