BAIN MUSC 726C
The Canons & Fugues of J.S. Bach

Bach & Friends

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"Bach with two notes: one in the right hand, the other in the left hand – he can build a cathedral."
– Joáo Carlos Martins


Director Michael Lawrence's inspirational 2-hour documentary film Bach and Friends (Lawrence 2010) provides a variety of unique perspectives on the music of J.S. Bach. Leading performers, composers, critics, musicologists, and scientists share the stories of their relationship with Bach's music in profound and compelling ways.

The complete film is available in USC's Music Library (DVD 786). Selected video segments are available on YouTube (via the links below) or on Lawrence's Bach & Friends website:

http://www.mlfilms.com/productions/bach_project


Lawrence, Bach & Friends (Lawrence 2010)
Opening Sequence {YouTube}

Recommended Segments:
    1. Joshua Bell, violin {YouTube; Website}
    2. Simone Dinnerstein, piano {YouTube; Website}
    3. Béla Fleck, banjo {YouTube; Website}
    4. Hilary Hahn, violin {YouTube; Website}
    5. Matt Haimovitz, cello {YouTube; Website}
    6. Felix Hell, organ {YouTube; Website}
    7. Bobby McFerrin, voice {YouTube; Website}
    8. Edgar Meyer, bass {YouTube; Website}
    9. Chris Thile, mandolin {YouTube; Website}
      • J.S. BACH, Violin Partita No. 3 In E Major, BWV 1006, I. Prelude {YouTube}
      • Bach on the mandolin {YouTube}
    10. Swingle Singers, choral group {YouTube; Website}

Bach Scholars:
  1. Christoph Wolff, musicologist {YouTube; Website}
  2. Andrew Talle, musicologist {YouTube; Website}

Glenn Gould
  1. McFerrin, Dinnerstein, Page, Thile, et al. on Glenn Gould {YouTube; Website}
  2. Tim Page, music critic {YouTube; Website}
  3. John Q. Walker, on the 2006 Zenph Studios re-performance of Glenn Gould's 1955 recording of the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 {YouTube}


Other Interesting Topics, Points of View, and Outtakes:

    1. Bach [Project] Cut for EG '07 - Bach and Friends {YouTube}
    2. Zuill Bailey, cello {YouTube: Website}
    3. John Bayless, piano
      • John Bayless, piano, Bach Meets the Beatles {YouTube}
      • John Bayless & Anatoly Larkin, pianos, Improvisation on the Aria from the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 {YouTube; Website}
      • Charles J. Limb, M.D. (music and the brain researcher) and John Bayless, on fMRI and improvisation)  {YouTube}
    4. Manuel Barrueco, guitar {YouTube; Website}
    5. Harlan Brothers on fractal geometry and Bach (feat. Emerson String Quartet) {YouTube; Website}
    6. Uri Caine, pianist/composer, on Bach and jazz {YouTube; Website}
    7. Mike Hawley, piano {YouTube; Website}
      • Mike Hawley, Chorale Prelude, " I Call to You, Lord Jesus Christ, BWV 639 {YouTube}
    8. Hilda Huang, piano {YouTube; Website}
    9. Benjamin Ivry, writer, translator, and critic {YouTube}
    10. Philip Glass, composer {YouTube; Website}
    11. Sharon Isbin, guitar, on Rosalyn Tureck {YouTube}
    12. Joáo Carlos Martins, pianist/conductor {YouTube}
    13. Sid Meier, video game developer, on CPU Bach {YouTube; Website}
    14. Peter Schickele & P.D.Q. Bach, composer {YouTube; Website}
    15. Jake Shimabukuro, ukelele {YouTube; Website}
    16. Richard Stoltzman, clarinet {YouTube}
    17. The Mind of Music: Yehudi Menuhin & Dr. Lewis Thomas {YouTube}
    18. Robert Tiso, glass harp (with Mike Hawley) {YouTube; Website}


Reference

Lawrence, Michael. 2010. Bach & Friends. DVD. Baltimore, MD: Michael Lawrence Films. {Website; IMDB; WP}


Updated: July 15, 2025

Reginald Bain | University of South Carolina | School of Music
https://reginaldbain/vc/musc726c/