Bach BWV 1007 Prelude
I do think Martin was right to encourage me to prepare something I'm already familiar with for the concert, but I decided go forward anyway with this to see how far I can get and might switch to something easier/familiar for the concert if I get in over my head. This is my first daily practice post but I've been working on this pretty intensively for a few days as this is a stretch for my current level.
In the excellent tonebase lesson Sanel recommends dividing this into 4 sections, so my goal was to memorize most of the first (bars 1-9) by today which what I'm playing here. I listened and looked at several different transcriptions but for now am using the Koonce transcription as I liked that one the best. Perhaps not the easiest for my level as I struggle with a few fingerings, but I'll see as I get further along.
-
Brett Gilbert That was beautiful! I remember this piece being my gateway to baroque music, I just couldn't get enough of that melody!
I think, you don't have to be soo careful about the right hand fingering though, I see that you alternate between a and am for the top string. But since there's a slur in between and the piece isn't too fast anyway, I would simply repeat the top finger but don't tell anyone
! -
Great work, Brett! This is such a rewarding piece to play, and it's already sounding beautiful.
-
Hi Brett this is a beautiful piece! I found that this video of a cello masterclass was very inspiring to me when I was learning the piece, compares the prelude to the flow of a river https://youtu.be/CTPls_aozMw It is in French though but only listening helps for the interpretation. You are doing a great job so far . Congratulations
-
Thanks Emma , an interesting video! My French is passable enough where I could understand most of it. Speaking of Campanella and Bach, before upgrading to a guitar I learned ukulele for a while and in that world everything is arranged Campanella style because of the standard uke tuning. Check out this video of guitarist Kevin Loh (when he was a kid!) playing the prelude on a uke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RPp-A0qtEQ
-
Brett Gilbert I went to see Kevin last Saturday. A wonderful guitarist. He played Bach cello suite no 6 to open the concert. Looking forward to hearing you play this
-
-
Hi Brett - It's really is a beautiful piece and it's already sounding geat - well done1
-
Brett Gilbert I just proposed this piece to a student of mine, she should buckle up though if she wants to have it time for Christmas and perform it for her parents!
-
Martin Very cool! What transcription do you use for your students? What transcription do you prefer? The nice thing about transcriptions like this is they can be adapted a bit to different levels.
-
-
Brett Gilbert , Just had a chance to see your work on the Prelude - sounding very solid already. The Koonce transcription is very good. Best, Rick
-
A beautiful music Gilbert, and I can enjoy it when you are playing it...a very nice sound ! great ! thanks!
-
Beautiful Brett. Looking forward to hear the continuation and your progress on this masterpiece. I have a few different transcriptions. It’s good to compare them, not easy to make your own decisions. But in all cases the music is irresistibly beautiful.
-
Well done...I like this preludio, and I will learn it for sure
-
Brett Gilbert great start Brett! you impress me each time... how quick you took and learn the guitar. I'm eager to hear the remaining...
-
Thanks everyone for the nice comments above. Sorry for the delayed response as I've been sick for a few days
. Hope to resume practice on this soon and listen to what everyone else has been up to. -
Brett Gilbert take care, we want you top shape!
-
Brett Gilbert Hope you'll feel better soon!
-
-
Brett, I love this piece! Keep up the great work….I look forward to hearing the full piece soon.
-
Nice work Brett. You're making great progress.
-
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement, sorry I was unable to respond. I have finally resumed practice on this although I will probably shift focus to the Holiday challenge for the next few weeks. Even though I was unable to play for a few weeks I did a deep dive into many of the transcriptions for the suites and here are some thoughts for someone who may stumble across this thread in the future.
Transcriptions vs Arrangements
Lots of interesting articles and debates about whether the cello suites should be "arranged" for guitar (adding some of the implied polyphony) or transcriptions that more closely follow the original cello score.
I had started using the Frank Koonce version in D which has detailed fingerings and also offers alternative arrangements for some measures. I liked it but then came across Richard Wright's arrangement which is in C and is a true transcription with very few additional notes.
I had to wait a few weeks to get his book which covers suites 1-4 and it's by far my favorite and the one I'm going to continue practicing. You can find yt videos of a very young Kevin Loh performing the entire 1st suite using Wright's version.
I especially like the fingerings as he uses a lot of of clever campanella techniques that are fun to play. It may not be to everyone's taste, but it's worth a look if you're considering studying the cello suites.
I hope to resume updates/videos after the holiday challenge!
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
