J.S. BACH: The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello transcribed for Marimba – Gwendolyn Burgett Thrasher, marimba & transcription – Blue Griffin

by | Feb 4, 2008 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

J.S. BACH: The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello transcribed for Marimba – Gwendolyn Burgett Thrasher, marimba & transcription – Blue Griffin BGR151 (2 CDs) *** [Distr. by Albany]:

I had just auditioned some of the Bach Suites on solo cello before slipping this new release into my player.  What an interesting contrast! Ms. Trasher is a professor of percussion at Michigan State University, and says when she started out in piano and violin she felt a powerful connection to the music of Bach.  Knowing the cello suites had been adapted to a number of other instruments, as many of Bach’s works have been, and that the modern marimba now has five full octaves and could handle the works, she decided to transcribe them for marimba.

Bach himself transcribed one of the cello suites for the lute, and Ms. Trasher started with that as a guide to her transcriptions. It seems that Bach’s music transcribes to almost any other instrument or instruments better than any other Baroque composer.  She uses a four-mallet technique in order to accommodate the complex contrapuntal writing; interesting since all Bach had was the single bowed cello. 

I found the first of the two discs quite enjoyable listening. Some of the movements seemed to work better than others in transcription. But by the second CD I had frankly had enough of the “bonk” sound of the concert marimba in this music.  Ms. Thrasher mentions in the notes of the powerful sound of the marimba in the low to mid registers.  Well, that’s right, but the treble registers don’t work quite as well.  It’s like a very poor MP3 recording that dulls all the extreme high end.  I was wondering if this would work any better on the vibraphone – which has lots more of a high end?

– John Sunier
 

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