Alan Mearns - incredible Bach arrangements / playing

[BWV]

Here is the famous prelude from BWV 1007, the first cello suite. Alan not only adds the implied bass line, as others have done, but additionally fills out the inner voices, approaching how a period keyboardist would have approached the piece

And on his new album he does the same thing with the famous violin chaccone

Here is Alan discussing his approach

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

Thanks for that, seems like a nice project, and a lot of good hard work.

I still prefer the sound of the original, or rather transcription of the original. Irina Kulikova’s version on YouTube is tough to beat.

[Bad Son]

Irina Kulikova's version is indeed jaw-droppingly good!

[BWV]

Thanks for that, seems like a nice project, and a lot of good hard work.

I still prefer the sound of the original, or rather transcription of the original. Irina Kulikova’s version on YouTube is tough to beat.

she’s a fine player, took a master class with her once - mother was a cellist if I recall correctly. But nothing special - plays it like every other CG player does

[kris]

she’s a fine player, took a master class with her once - mother was a cellist if I recall correctly. But nothing special - plays it like every other CG player does

Alan is a great player.

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

she’s a fine player, took a master class with her once - mother was a cellist if I recall correctly. But nothing special - plays it like every other CG player does

Of course she's special, and the classical guitar world recognizes her as such. I've seen her on tour(s) a long, long way from her home. She tells a humorous story about her mother, the cello, and the guitar.

Her Bach performance was splendid indeed, as was her Ponce.

Sorry! Something went wrong!

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

Alan Mearns sounds great.

The extra layers in that Cello Suite Prelude are nice but thicken it up too much - for me anyway. The guitar transcription already does that relative to the cello, then we add more layers to emulate a harpsichord? I don't see the point, as we have enough keyboard already. But that's just one listener's impression...

[kris]

Probably the best performance of Chopin on the guitar.Exelent!Amazing musicianship of the artist.

[BWV]

Probably the best performance of Chopin on the guitar

That is a rather low bar

I tend to cringe when guitarists attempt to play Chopin, which is so idiomatic to piano, but agree these are very well done.

he also has a nice folk thing going

[BWV]

Of course she's special, and the classical guitar world recognizes her as such.

Yes she is a great player, but the recording of the cello prelude is no different than any other guitarist would play. Its not a particularly difficult piece, hear intermediate players pull it off all the time. In their standard transcriptions the cello suites are far easier than the keyboard pieces commonly called the lute suites. The Ponce is another matter, that is a concert-level piece

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

Yes she is a great player, but the recording of the cello prelude is no different than any other guitarist would play. Its not a particularly difficult piece, hear intermediate players pull it off all the time. In their standard transcriptions the cello suites are far easier than the keyboard pieces commonly called the lute suites. The Ponce is another matter, that is a concert-level piece

Yeah well, is that all there is? How easy the piece is, or how well it's played? And as far as "concert-level piece" is concerned..... it's Bach, it's a famous prelude (hence your OP), it's only a prelude, it IS played in concert, and it helped put Yo-Yo Ma on the map.

As you may know, classical guitarists have been playing short and appealing pieces in concert for some time now. (don't even think about the names and performances of Cavatina from The Deer Hunter, lol)

But go ahead - post some "spare-to fair" guitarists that played it as well - or better - than Irina.

[kris]

Yeah well, is that all there is? How easy the piece is, or how well it's played? And as far as "concert-level piece" is concerned..... it's Bach, it's a famous prelude (hence your OP), it's only a prelude, it IS played in concert, and it helped put Yo-Yo Ma on the map.

As you may know, classical guitarists have been playing short and appealing pieces in concert for some time now. (don't even think about the names and performances of Cavatina from The Deer Hunter, lol)

But go ahead - post some "spare-to fair" guitarists that played it as well - or better - than Irina.

There are a lot of classical guitarists playing at a similar level and they don't necessarily have to be on youtube...:-)

[kris]

[kris]

[kris]

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

There are a lot of classical guitarists playing at a similar level and they don't necessarily have to be on youtube...:-)

Off topic. Cello prelude.

[kris]

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

Thanks. Yifang played it differently. She played it with much more romantic expression, bordering on rubato. Tempting these days. And nice. Some would say not period-correct, but nice. Lacked the kind of forward motion that Irina's rendition did though. (IMO).

The bonus for her of course is that she got to sit in that GSI chair where I sat, in Santa Monica.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I find it hard to judge different performances of the prelude, so I'm going to say whoever trudges through the most snow wins.

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

Her tone production was not nearly as... luscious either. Maybe it's the guitar's fault? Not a helpful selling point for GSI in that case (ouch). So, I'm goin' with the player.

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

I find it hard to judge different performances of the prelude, so I'm going to say whoever trudges through the most snow wins.

Oh sure, it's hard. Of course that's what everybody does at guitar competitions, though, and they're not all guitarists, or even musicians (the nerve!).

Then at intermission everyone opines about this player or that, and many disagree.

[Christian Miller]

Thanks. Yifang played it differently. She played it with much more romantic expression, bordering on rubato. Tempting these days. And nice. Some would say not period-correct, but nice. Lacked the kind of forward motion that Irina's rendition did though. (IMO).

The bonus for her of course is that she got to sit in that GSI chair where I sat, in Santa Monica.

It’s not period correct to play preludes metronomically. That said I wasn’t very fond of Yifang’s choices on a musical level. Not that I could do any better lol.

I quite like the way he pulls it around here. I assume as he’s playing one of those period correct cello de spalla things he’s a baroque music boffin. Not sure if these choices would work on guitar.

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

It’s not period correct to play preludes metronomically. That said I wasn’t very fond of Yifang’s choices on a musical level. Not that I could do any better lol.

I quite like the way he pulls it around here. I assume as he’s playing one of those period correct cello de spalla things he’s a baroque music boffin. Not sure if these choices would work on guitar.

who said metronomically other than you? And now we’re back to cello? When do we bring in Yo-Yo?

[BWV]

[BWV]