Bach essencial, per a flautes de bec i travesseres

Contents

The years that Johann Sebastian Bach spent in the city of Köthen from 1721 onwards were highly productive for his musical creation, spurred on love and the knowledge of music exhibited by members of the court of Prince Leopold. Over the course of these years, the maestro’s activity focussed on composing, playing the organ and conducting an orchestra formed by 18 musicians. From this period some of his major works stand out: the Brandenburg concertos, the works for violin and solo cello and many other works of a chiefly teaching-based fashion such as The Clavierbüchlein, The Wohltemperierte Clavier and The Orgelbüchlein. In his instrumental works he forged an innovative, highly creative language founded on the tradition of the individual idioms of the instruments, conveying the melody via a compact counterpoint, harmony, and beats imbued with new ideas and effects. From the perspective of his personal criterion whereby composition is a creative tool shrouded in its own life force, he frequently reworked his pieces, elaborating on them with new expressive and phrasal indications, or re-adapting them to new instrumental idioms, as is the case with A. Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins, arranged in a version for four harpsichords and orchestra.

Most of these adaptations follow educational criteria; indeed, in this respect we ventured to adapt the works in this compilation – preserved in other versions intended for string instruments – to the idiom of the recorder, an instrument extensively used and cherished by J. S. Bach himself. In order to draw up this edition, we used as a basis the originals held at the Preussische Staatsbibliothek in Berlin and at the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek. The autographed manuscripts of the suites for cello reviewed were copied by Anna Magdalena, Bach’s second wife (1722) and they transcribe the music in a version for cello with the relevant legatos and expressive indications. Some were no doubt incorporated later in everyday use, heightening their relevance for educational purposes. These works are geared to progressing the musical technique, language and personality of the performers in the new expression of the Baroque and its rhetoric, dictated from the standpoint of the creativity of the mastermind of J. S. Bach.

Throughout the 20th century and even during the 21st century these works still symbolise an invitation and a challenge to explore these marvellous musical landscapes in greater depth using a variety of instruments, casting new light on a journey of discoveryinto the realm of emotions they convey to us today. Through this edition we strive to offer present-day performers a version based on the original phrasing which adapts to the technical and acoustic features of wind instruments with hints of arrangement founded on the specific technique of the instruments from the era; a technique passed down through prominent former traditions, described in a host of treatises. Examples we can find and practice range from the La Fontegara treatise by Silvestro Ganassi (Venice, 1535) to the Principles of the Flute, Recorder and Oboe by Hotteterre Le Romain (Amsterdam, 1728). In 1752, in J. J. Quantz’s treatise On Playing the Flute, the composer points out that “The strike and arrangements on flutes, imbued with language, are resources that are tantamount to the violin bow technique”, underlining that they are essentially useful for genuine expression in musical phrasing.
In the 17th century, the leading musical styles of the Baroque were developed in parallel to new instrumental techniques, harnessed for new expressive and dynamic approaches. With the voice, these instrumental languages share common expressive features and idioms allowing you to translate and share specific repertoires among instruments from differing families (flutes, oboes, cornetos, violins, etc.). This principle has inspired and encouraged us to present the works in this volume translated into the language of the recorder – and optionally the transverse flute – with the aim of gaining an initial acquaintance of the respective style and technique, in keeping with new demands and expressive resources. The various movements for each piece provide us with instructional guides incorporating various instructions in order to perform them based on each specific style. In certain pieces, we shall appeal to the performer to personally provide these annotations, rooted in both the specific style of the transcriptions and the examples set out previously.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Romà Escalas. July 2019