Baroque music - his elixir of life: A portrait of Bach specialist Ton Koopman | Documentary

Can Bach's music bring you happiness? If you were to ask Ton Koopman – the answer is a resounding “Yes!” The Dutch conductor, organist, and harpsichordist considers Johann Sebastian Bach the greatest composer of them all. Time and again, Koopman has delved into Bach's music; reading source texts, studying original notation, and embracing the work's spirit with his historically-informed performance practice. It's no surprise, then, that the 1944-born musician and scholar is one of the best-regarded interpreters of Bach's music – and indeed of Baroque music in general. It's a key passion of his to introduce younger people to Early Music – one for which he brings a great deal of humor to play.

Captured during the 2023 Bachfest Leipzig, this portrait of Ton Koopman introduces you to an extraordinary musician, whose work with the Baroque has brought him the greatest sense of personal fulfillment.

At a glance:
00:00 Johann Sebastian Bach, Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66.3, No. 1 (excerpt)
00:43 Bach, Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66.3, No. 3 (excerpt)
01:48 Ton Koopman on performing in Leipzig's St. Thomas Church – one of Bach's places of work
02:16 Bach, Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4.2, No. 3 (excerpt)
02:45 Koopman on complexity in Bach's music
03:19 Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (excerpt)
03:47 The meaning Koopman finds in Bach
04:20 Bach, Wer da gläubet und getauft wird, BWV 37, No. 2 (excerpt)
04:49 Koopman has written endings for incomplete Bach works. Could he could compose in the exact same way?
05:25 If Koopman were to meet Bach 'on the other side' – what would it be like?
06:03 Rehearsing with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir at the 2023 Bachfest in Leipzig
06:35 Koopman on his role as conductor
06:45 Bach, Du Hirte Israel, höre, BWV 104, No. 1 (excerpt)
07:25 The challenges of historically-informed performance practice
08:20 Ton Koopman’s Baroque Vlog #4 (excerpt)
08:40 Approaching the incomplete knowledge of historical performance styles
08:56 Ton Koopman’s Baroque Vlog #4 (excerpt)
09:19 Koopman‘s expectations of the younger generation in researching historical performance practices
09:48 Bach, Du Hirte Israel, höre, BWV 104, No. 5 (excerpt)
10:17 What it's like to hold a Bach signature in your own hands
10:33 In the Leipzig Bach Archive
10:53 Koopman on Bach's handwritten score of the Quodlibet, BWV 524
11:58 'Caecilia' – musical theater by Marieke and Ton Koopman (excerpt)
12:25 Koopman on the musical theater he makes along with his daughter Marieke, introducing children to classical music from an early age
13:18 Koopman as the nerdy organist
13:39 Bach, Fantasia G major, BWV 572 (excerpt)
14:09 On the creation of his extensive and rare library on music
15:08 On the sale of part of his library, and on collecting
15:45 Koopman and his wife, Tini Mathot
16:04 If you love your work, you never tire of it
16:31 Coffee helps fight of sleepiness
16:55 Koopman on his excessive coffee consumption
17:40 Bach, Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 (excerpt)
18:08 What makes Ton Koopman such a happy person
19:05 Credits

© 2023 Deutsche Welle

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Thumbnail: © Foppe Schut

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