In my not-terribly-humble and completely irrelevant opinion, in all the annals of classical composition, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti reign supreme – and Brandenburg Concerto Nr. 3 is the pinnacle of the group. It’s been my favorite classical piece ever since I was a boy.
But the Brandenburg Concerti were written for a chamber orchestra accompanied by a harpsichord. Bach didn’t contemplate having them transmogrified to be played on a solo instrument…well, if he did, there’s no record of it. It’s a terrifying challenge to contemplate.
Well, Gentle Reader, allow me to introduce you to a most talented transcriptionist and organist. His name is Jonathan Scott, and here is his solo rendition of the Allegro from Brandenburg Nr. 3:
Frankly, if I hadn’t seen and heard it, I don’t think I would have believed it possible. Bravissimo!
3 comments
Holy cow!
Brandenburg is such light airy music, and the pipe organ is such a ponderous heavy sound. Like watching someone deftly juggling bowling balls. The pipe organ looks like such an amazingly difficult instrument to play. Keyboard alone is hard enough. Try training right and left hands to work independently of one another. But add right and left feet with the added difficulty of not being able to see what they are doing.
Pretty darn amazing.
JWM
Bayou Renaissance Man who puts up a music piece each Sunday has a video of an organist playing and explaining the pipe organ today. Is this a case of great minds think alike? It was very interesting as to the workings of pipes and the weight and how by pushing a button you could change the sound of the pipe.
This really brings back memories! As a cash limited student at the University of Colorado, with a taste for music, I saw a poster for an Organ recital at Macky Auditorium that was free! That was my kind of event. I figured the recital was a performance by some poor graduate student who had to do it to finish their degree. Some guy with the odd name of E. Power Biggs….