Product Description
Contents: Preludio; Loure; Gavotte en Rondeau; Menuet I and II; Bourree; Gigue.
Bach never wrote for the guitar, though his works have often been arranged and played on the instrument since at least the 19th century. Tárrega arranged a selection of Bachs works, and Barrios performed selected movements from Bachs violin partitas. In the early 20th century, Bachs lute suites, which were mainly arrangements of works for other instruments, have become popular apparently due to the transcription for a 10-string guitar by Hans Dagobert Bruger which Segovia used as a basis for his performances. Musicians have later studied and made further arrangements of Bachs lute suites, perhaps most notably the works by Willard and Koonce. Following Koonces distinction between arrangements and transcriptions, the latter being more authentic to the original version, I have made this version a transcription that it as close as possible to the violin version whilst remaining playable.
The working dynamic range of the classical guitar and violin are similar, albeit with an octave difference in pitch. The fact that the classical guitar notation is written an octave higher than it is in relation to the notation for other instruments makes transcribing the violin work for guitar relatively straightforward and so very few changes are mandated for technical playability.
Consequently, I have made very few changes to the violin version, e.g. the Geschellshaft edition. The key changes are a transposition of an octave in two places in the Preludio, and repeating long-duration notes in the second Menuet where it is not possible to sustain the notes over several bars. These changes are consistent with most lute arrangements for guitar. Other than this, the version remains faithful to the original version.
The main difference between this version and the lute version is that bass notes from the lute version are not present. This is an advantage for speed and playability, eg. in the Gavotte, Bourrée, and Gigue, though this is countered by a sparser harmonic texture and smaller dynamic range.
It is my view that this contribution makes some of the works more accessible for players compared to the lute versions and hopefully will enable a broader range of classical guitar players to enjoy the works.
contact: dec30@cantab.net
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.