Dancing with J.S. Bach II (2018)

for Solo Oboe and String Orchestra

Commissioned by the Chelsea Music Festival and Michael Sporn, in memory of Kitte Sporn

Orchestrations of selected J.S. Bach keyboard works

Duration: c. 20 minutes

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I. [Untitled] (from Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971)
II. Bourrees I/II (from English Suite No. 2 in A minor, BWV 807)
III. Sarabande (from French Suite No.5 In G Major, BWV 816)
IV. Bourrees I/II (from English Suite No. 1 in A major, BWV 806)
V. Echo (from French Overture in B minor, BWV 831)

Live performance by Amanda Hardy (oboe), Chelsea Music Festival Strings, Ken-David Masur (conductor)

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Streaming via Spotify (begin on track 7)

Program Note

My two Dancing with J.S. Bach suites arose out of a love of Bach’s music and desire to engage more intimately with it. Dr. Michael Sporn approached me with a vision for this project, wanting to commission new orchestral suites assembled from favorite movements from J.S. Bach keyboard works. In this second suite, I have orchestrated Bach’s keyboard music for solo oboe and strings, assembling together movements Bach composed years apart, with the hope of illuminating connections between them.

I view the art of orchestration as both an interpretive and creative act. If you were to look at the scores of Bach’s original music and my orchestrations next to one another, you would notice that Bach’s has few dynamics while mine are filled with instructions for the players. In solo performances, I feel that Bach’s music comes to life through the choices a performer makes in how they “speak” his music – much as a great actor brings new meaning to a Shakespearean text. I worked to imbue my orchestrations with a similar vibrancy that a pianist might bring to a solo performance, while also searching deep within these keyboard works to find, and imagine, hidden dialogues that could exist between the oboe and strings. I have tried to honor Bach’s music and bring it to life in my own way, giving it space to breathe in this orchestral setting.

Dancing with J.S. Bach II was commissioned by the Chelsea Music Festival and Michael Sporn, in memory of Kitte Sporn.