Bach : Sonates en trio, BWV 525-527 pour clavecin, marimba et violoncelle by Luc Beausejour and Stick&Bow
HOW A PROJECT OF BACH FOR HARPSICHORD, MARIMBA, AND CELLO WAS BORN
Several years ago, I was asked to take part in an event entitled “Delirium Vivaldi,” the closing con- cert of the eighth annual Classical Spree festival, put on by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Conducted by Kent Nagano, the concert featured well-known works by the “Red Priest,” with the idea being to perform arrangements on unusual instruments such as octobass, cimbalom, bagpipes, and marimba.
In the transcription for marimba of the slow move- ment of Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos in G Minor, RV 531, I began to sense that the timbres of the harpsichord, marimba, and cello might make a compelling blend. On stage, I felt a fantastic musical connection with marimba player Krystina Marcoux, and we chatted after the concert. Several months later, I suggested to Krystina, over coffee, that we do a Bach concert together. Things were nebulous at first, but as the program took shape, it became clear that Bach’s trio sonatas for organ would be ideal. With the addition of cellist Juan Sebastian Delgado, Krystina’s partner in the duo Stick&Bow, our team was complete.
We perform the sonatas without having to modify Bach’s original scores. The harpsichordist plays the upper part in the right hand and the bass part in the left, doubled by the cello, and the marimba covers the middle part.
© Luc Beauséjour
English translation: Peter Christensen
Source: analekta.com