De occulta philosophia

Orgues, Toccatas, et Fantaisies(fr)

Director Bruno Monsaingeon stages this live musical journey into the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, featuring virtuoso Marie-Claire Alain playing organs hand-selected to best represent Bach's Baroque style. The tour incorporates venues at which the maestro himself would have performed, such as Haarlem, Rötha, Groningen and Dresden, and includes masterpieces such as Toccata in F Major, Trio Sonata no. 1, Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor, and more.

Jean-Sébastien Bach : "Jésus demeure ma joie"(fr)

An Art of the Fugue(en)

In Part II of the series "Glenn Gould Plays Bach", Gould concentrates on the fugal form in Bach's works, showing us how Bach uses keys like stops on an organ, and how they give him ideas and colours. He performs various fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier and reveals why he feels the "Art of Fugue" is the work that summed up Bach's life.

The Silence(fa)

Khorshid, a blind child growing up in Tajikistan, is constantly distracted by music and sounds. This frequently causes him to be late to his job as an instrument tuner even though he runs the risk of being fired at a time when his family is in danger of being evicted from their house.

All the Mornings of the World(fr)

Following the death of his wife, a renowned musician ostracises himself from the outer world and dedicates his life to music. However, his life changes when a young man approaches him to learn music.

Christmas Oratorio(en)

This recording of all six cantatas from the Salle Henry Le Bœuf in the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium, in December 2012 features internationally renowned Bach expert Philippe Herreweghe and the Collegium Vocale Gent.

Resonancia(es)

Raul Lara, an Ecuadorian luthier, works around seven months in the construction of each instrument. Sometimes staying for four consecutive months inside his workshop, place in which time and space are surreal. The guitar becomes alive and receives its soul in here.

Pianoforte(en)

The world’s most talented young pianists compete in the International Chopin Piano Competition, held every five years in Warsaw, Poland. A rare behind the scenes look at the triumphant highs and crushing lows of competition, Pianoforte is both a testament to the remarkable power of music and an intimate coming-of-age portrait.

A Little Summermusik(en)

A film pastorale set in the early summer near Elora, Ontario, where music students practice out-of-doors. Lush green fields, towering elms and a rippling stream near an old farmhouse provide a rich setting for young musicians playing solo or in groups on flutes, strings, and piano. Music has charm indeed when the mood is of lilac and the sweet pipings of spring.

Bach pour tous(fr)

A musical journey in the footsteps of conductor Michel Brun, an atypical character, an atheist, who nevertheless plays sacred music, and who devotes his life to Johann Sebastian Bach. With the musicians of the Ensemble Baroque de Toulouse.

The Goldberg Variations(en)

Part III in the series "Glenn Gould Plays Bach" spotlights Gould recording Bach's "Goldberg Variations" in a sound studio. In a brief introduction, he reminisces about his first recording of the pieces and explains why he wanted to record them again now, a quarter of a century later. It was to be his last recording of the "Goldberg Variations" and perhaps the last time he played the work: Glenn Gould died the year after the recording was made.

Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey(en)

After escaping Russia's communist revolution, Léon Theremin travels to New York, where he pioneers the field of electronic music with his synthesizer. But at the height of his popularity, Soviet agents kidnap and force him to develop spy technology.

Appalachian Journey Live In Concert(en)

April 5th, 2000... On the heels of their unanimously acclaimed albums "Appalachia Waltz" and "Appalachian Journey", "Appalachian Journey Live In Concert" captures three of the world's most extraordinary musicians live in concert, along with very special guests James Taylor and Alison Krauss, from their sold-out performance at New York City's Avery Fischer Hall.

Bach - A Christmas Miracle(de)

Leipzig, December 1734: Christmas brings the Bach family together. The first snow has fallen and the children Gottfried and Elisabeth are delighted about the arrival of their older brothers Friedemann and Emanuel. The Thomaskantor has retired to his music room. Anna Magdalena supports her husband, as there are only a few days left and his latest work, the six-part "Christmas Oratorio", must be finished on time. It is awaited with suspicion by the city council and the gentlemen of the consistory, who have long found Bach's waywardness a thorn in their side and fear that, after the premiere of the St. Matthew Passion a few years earlier, the St. Thomas Church will once again be filled with "operatic" music. With the oratorio, Johann Sebastian Bach hopes that he will finally become court composer in Dresden. And, as always, he demands that all members of the family join forces to help him. But differences of opinion are increasingly delaying the completion of Bach's most famous work.

Strings Attached(en)

This documentary delves into the lives, on and off stage, of four young classical musicians who give up the prospect of solo careers to form The Dover Quartet. We are with them from their meeting as students at the Curtis Institute of Music, through their breakthrough win at a prestigious string quartet competition, and when they find themselves touring internationally as their careers take off.

Erbarme dich - Matthäus Passion Stories(nl)

Erbarme dich - Matthäus Passion Stories is a labyrinthine narrative in which notables such as Peter Sellars, Emio Greco, Simon Halsey and painter Rinke Nijburg explain their special relationship with Bach’s St Matthew Passion to Ramón Gieling (Johan Cruijff: en un momento dado). They speak against the backdrop of a church which has fallen into disrepair, while a choir of homeless people and Pieter Jan Leusink’s Bach Choir & Orchestra rehearse the Passion. Leusink isn't just the conductor, he is one of the main characters himself, with a painful past in which this musical piece has played a dominant role. Stories from the others alternate seamlessly with this. We learn how the St Matthew Passion played a decisive role in the relations between men and women, fathers and sons, fathers and daughters, mothers and their unborn children, and finally that in spite of our differences we all find a common denominator in the secret of Bach's music.

Magic in the air, Bantry House Music(en)

A behind-the-scenes look at the 1998 West Cork Chamber Music Festival

Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, Sir András Schiff(en)

Distinguished Bach specialist Sir András Schiff returned to the BBC Proms in 2018 to present Book II of The Well-Tempered Clavier. Bach's effortless brilliance and new-found sonorities push harmony and counterpoint further than ever with a combination of ancient and modern styles, church austerity and galant lightness. Schiff has said that no-one combines the sacred and the secular as Bach does, and this is comprehensively demonstrated in Bach's fascinating and challenging sequence. This performance in the Royal Albert Hall was described as a musical meditation for our troubled times by the Independent.

Tori Amos: Live from New York(en)

On January 23, 1997, Tori Amos gave a sell-out benefit concert at the Felt Forum in New York City to launch "Unlock the Silence", a year-long promotional and fund-raising campaign sponsored by cK Calvin Klein to raise awareness of the extraordinary work undertaken by RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, a non-profit organization who offer support and counseling to survivors of sexual assault. Tori performs compositions from her three albums, including "Silent All These Years", which appeared on her 1992 debut album "Little Earthquakes" and is the touchstone track for the "Unlock the Silence" campaign.

Bach Brandenburg Concertos & Coffee Cantata(en)

Deutsche Grammophon celebrates Nikolaus Harnoncourt's 80th birthday with this 2-DVD release of rare, vintage, period Bach performances for the first time. Never released on DVD and, to the dismay of fans, long unavailable--these glorious Bach pieces are conducted by period instrument pioneer, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, as only he can. Harnoncourt, a notable cellist, performs in two concertos and on gamba in one. Harnoncourt warns, "If we lose contact with the great works of Bach, we lose our contact with humanity." Vocalists Janet Perry, Robert Holl, and Peter Schreier sing with distinction in the Coffee Cantata. The Surround Sound makes clear that they revel in the acoustics of the visually magnificent Baroque library of Wiblingen Monastery.