March 21, 1995 marks the 310th anniversary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach, so works of Bach figure prominently in this program.
J. S. Bach: Toccata in F major (CD: Inaugural (David Higgs, organ) Recital)
The Swingle Singers originally released Jazz Sebastian Bach in 1965. Since then, the 8-voice chorus has moved and completely changed several times over, but they have maintained an amazing consistency in their jazz interpretations of Bach's music, up through the 1994 release, Bach Hits Back.
Bach: Fugue in d minor (LP: Jazz Sebastian Bach) Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, 1st movement (CD: Bach Hits Back) Bach: Fugue in D major (LP: Jazz Sebastian (The Swingle Singers) Bach)
The following set of organ music begins with some programmatic music that a very young Bach wrote to commemorate an event in his personal life. It is followed by other programmatically written organ music which makes use of unusual sounds from the instrument.
Bach: Capriccio "On the Departure to Distant Climes of (CD: Gargoyles and his Dearly Beloved Brother" Chimeras) Michel Corette: Grand Chorus with Thunder Gheradeschi: Sonata for Organ in the Guise of a Military Band Which Plays a March (David Britton, organ)
Here's a cantata Bach wrote for the Feast of the Visitation of the Virgin (actually in July), but tonight is a forward reference for the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25).
Bach: Cantata No. 147: 1st movement (CD: Cantatas) (Monteverdi Choir; English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner)
The following set contains music performed by the San Francisco Choral Artists. Following a Shakespearean theme, the "Sign No More" text is repeated from the recent movie Much Ado About Nothing (along with a bit more film score material, as a tip of the hat to Jenny B. Good, who kindly substituted on Mixed Up Class on March 13).
Judith Lang Zaimont: Sigh No More, Ladies (San Francisco Choral Artists) Patrick Doyle: Sigh No More, Ladies (CD: Soundtrack from Overture Much Ado About Nothing) Shenandoah (arrangement by James Erb) (San Francisco Choral Artists)
Now, some more Bach, from his Partita No. 3 for Unaccompanied Violin. First, a groundbreaking transcription for guitar, done by Segovia, then a more traditional performance on violin.
Bach: Gavotte en Rondeau (CD: The Segovia (Andrès Segovia, guitar) Collection, Vol. 1) Bach: Minuet I & II (CD: Sonatas and (Nathan Milstein, violin) Partitas)
We try to please the listeners! This selection was requested by Grandmaster Rob in Menlo Park.
Johannes Brahms: Symphony 4, 3rd movement (LP: Brahms Symphonies) (New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein)
Mussorgsky's anniversary also falls on March 21, so here's an organ transcription of his most popular work, arranged and performed by Jean Guillou. Also, to acknowledge Klee's assistance on March 6, we have a Guillou improvisation.
Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (CD: Pictures at an Exhibition) Paraphrase pour Don Giovanni (CD: The Art of (Jean Guillou, organ) Improvisation)
Finally, another nontraditional vehicle for Bach -- an outdoor carillon.
Bach: Bourrée anglaise (CD: The Belfry (Aimé Lombaert, carillon) Bells of Bruges)
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