Michael Poll 7-STRING BACH

Bach arranged his own music extensively: the first piece on the album, the E Major Suite for Lute BWV 1006a has a Prelude that exists in not one, not two, but three versions and in four different places: it is the Sinfonia that opens Cantata 29 "Wir danken dir Gott, wir danken dir", the opening Sinfonia of the second half of Cantata 120a "Herr Gott, Beherrscher taller Dinge", the Prelude of the Partita for Violin BWV 1006 and the Prelude of the Suite for Lute BWV 1006a. By arranging it once again for the modern guitar, I follow in the tradition of great guitarists of the 20th century, nearly all of whom made their own arrangements of the music of Bach. What the research into Bach's own practice and that of these other arrangers has shown me, however, is that arrangement is essentially a statement of aesthetic: it is a compositional act that draws extensively on stylistic norms of the time as well as the personal taste of the arranger. As such, my desire to leave intact Bach's original bass line reflects my own inclination towards historical performance, and yet using a guitar instead of a lute keeps the project firmly grounded in modern instrumental practice. That it is a seven-string instrument helps to bridge the gap in technical possibility between what is possible on a modern six-string guitar and a Baroque twelve-course lute. 

Probing into the nature of artistic decision making, into the details of how and why Bach transcribed his own pieces has informed not just the 'what' of this project but the 'how' as well. Understanding Bach's diverse influences even within the genre of the unaccompanied instrumental suite, dance styles and practices from four regions: France, Italy, Germany, and England and compositional ancestors as varied as Corelli, Lully, Reincken, Buxtehude, and his own Bach forebears, help the music to come alive for me as a performer and add color and nuance to an otherwise black and white musical score. The goal of this project and this research is to make these insights come alive in music for artist and listener alike. (Michael Poll)