Guitarist Zuzanna Bonarska playing David Russell’s arrangement of Johann Sebastian Bach at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music (from a YouTube video released by the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts)
This past Sunday saw the release of the latest Omni on-Location video. Guitarist Zuzanna Bonarska played one of the best known compositions for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach. This was the BWV 645 chorale prelude based on the hymn “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” (wake up, calls the voice). (One of my colleagues at the campus radio station preferred to translate this as “Watch out for the raft on the steamer!”) I have to confess that I have been familiar with this music ever since my parents bought their first long-playing album of Bach music. I also have to confess that all of the selections were arranged by Eugene Ormandy for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and it was decades before I first heard this music played on an organ as it was intended.
Bonarska played an arrangement by guitarist David Russell, whose respect for Bach was far greater than Ormandy’s! The chorale preludes were composed for organ with two manuals and a pedal. Usually, one of the manuals would play the basic theme of the hymn, while the other would unfold a series of elaborations on that hymn. The pedal would then be responsible for the bass line.
Bonarska knew how to exploit the different sonorities of her guitar. As a result, her account of the interplay of the three voices was as clear as it would have been under the hands of any competent organist. Put another way, Bonarska’s arrangement showed far more respect to Bach’s original setting than Ormandy ever did! As a result, my listening experience found itself a “comfort zone” far more conducive than any of my past experiences with a full symphony orchestra!
No comments:
Post a Comment