2020 Lenten Project – 24 Bach Preludes in 40 Days

When January 2020 came, I was feeling good about everything; teaching felt creative and dynamic, students seemed to be dialed-in and motivated, and business was going stable and strong.  So I thought this is the year when I would work on a project. I decided to use the 40 days of lent to do something that would be challenging yet achievable with 1-2 hours of work a day. So I picked Bach (because Bach requires work, attention, and dedication) and I decided to learn his preludes (because preludes are easier than fugues — they’re also more enjoyable).

When I decided to do this, I had no idea that Seattle and King County would be the epicenter of the first outbreak of COVID-19 in the US. As an educator and a business owner, I had to work through many different concerns and scenarios, make the best decisions for each day, and diligently work on carrying out those plans for each day.

I could’ve given up on this project — but somehow it was fitting. These beautiful, timeless, un-egotistical, melodies — in their humble beauty, felt transcending, yet grounding.  As it’s stated in each of the videos, only videos of one-takes (no editing except for color adjustment) were posted. All videos were recorded on my iPhone. As part of the process,  I allowed and accepted imperfections, but with the time I had, tried to perform them as musically and expressive as possible. Click the link to access the 24 videos of 24 Preludes by Bach from Well-Tempered Clavier (WTC) Book 1.