Air in G string by: Johanne Sebastian Bach A Term Paper

In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements in Humanities 101 M

Therese Marie V. Militante

June 30, 2011

Air in G string is an original composition of Johanne Sebastian Bach. The original orchestral suite was written by Bach for his patron Prince Leopold of Anhalt sometime between the years 1717 and 1723.The title comes from violinist August Wilhelmj's late 19th century arrangement of the piece for violin and piano. By transposing the key of the piece from its original D major to C major and transposing the melody down an octave, Wilhelmj was able to play the piece on only one string of his violin, the G string.

The Air on the G String was the very first work by Bach to be recorded. This was by the Russian cellist Aleksandr Verzhbilovich and an unnamed pianist, in 1902 (as the Air from the Ouverture No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068).

An arrangement of Air on the G String gained notoriety after featuring in a prominent series of British television adverts for Hamlet cigars.The popular visual novel G-Senjou no Maou derives its title from Air on the G String. This arrangement was performed and interpreted by a lot of musicians like Misha Quint, Sarah Chang,Sung Ha Jung and even sung by the Libera choir. This was also played in other instruments may it be on an orchestra, solo piano and even with the guitar.

The intended listeners for this music are those who can appreciate classical music, and for those who are inlove and the music can be used for wedding ceremonies. This music can also be for those who seek comfort and for those who want to relax and release tension and stress.

The Air on G string is a very soothing and relaxing music, the music was originally an orchestral suite, The song is in ternary form, the tempo of the music remains the same all the time, only the melody is giving different variations to the music, the melody suggests a very soothing and relaxing mood to the listeners, with the strings as the main instrument being used in the composition.

The arrangement of the music is like a question and answer type, the main string instrument that is very dominant in the music is playing the melody while the other string instruments answers back the melody that is being played

Bach successfully achieved the highlights of his music, He started with a very relaxed melody to establish the peaceful mood in his music, when the melody is going up in section B it creates a feeling of anticipation to the listeners. Even though the tempo of the music is stationary all throughout, the music can set a different mood to the listeners, it can establish calmness and peace but as the music goes on, it establishes anticipation and a sort of excitement to the listeners.

I chose this music because personally I like the music, some of the weddings I have attended used this music for their bridal march. Whenever I hear this on weddings, I cant help but to envy the bride walking at the aisle, and every time I hear this music I cant help but to have the feeling of being in love.

One time I watched the ballet recital of my sister, their choreographer made a choreography of this music, the story of his choreography speaks of letting go of the one you love, at that moment I can say that this music can be very universal, the music can talk of love and at the same time it can also talk of heartaches. I

was able to have a personal experience and encounter to the music while watching that choreography, that made me love the song more, the music carries a very strong emotion that can make the listeners reflect about themselves a lot more, it can be everybodys music and it can have a lot of interpretations, maybe depending on what that listener is experiencing when they listen to the music, but this music of Bach can be very personal to the listeners.

I also love this music because every time I listen to this song, it gives me peace and help me release my stress and tensions; it eases my mind and makes me focus on whatever I am supposed to do.

Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2j-frfK-yg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJJV69xnR8k http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6MKOY9x_ds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_FfAi68aW8

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I named the picture letting Go as my visualization of the music because when I heard this music on the ballet recital, and while watching the dance it made me think of those people who became part of my life, but they are no longer with me, it made me miss their company but on the other hand I feel at ease and happy because these people have become a part of my life and we have shared very good and happy memories together, and I am happy for them because I know that they are living their dreams and they are successful in their chosen fields, as I mentioned in my personal view in the music, I have a personal encounter with this music, and it made me reflect on those people who are no longer with me. As the saying goes, there is no constant in this world but change we sometimes meet people that can leave a very great mark in our lives, some can change our outlook and principles in life but still, sometimes we need to let go of these people and we need to move on without them.