Description
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, always a popular favorite of Bach, is arranged for the first time for guitar and piano. The work is suitable for the concert stage, yet accessible for church musicians and advanced students.
In this arrangement for guitar and piano, the two instruments work together more like a chamber ensemble than a duo. The guitar often plays the well-known and beloved melody, and most of the chorales. Through careful fingerings, pedaling, and articulations, the piano realizes, and brings to life, the rich orchestral texture of Bach’s original cantata.
Notes for the pianists: Pianists may want to be “conductors from the piano bench” to mend together this chamber ensemble. It’s a very pristine composition. In this transcription, a melodic line that belongs to one instrument sometimes travels between right hand and left hand and between staves, as in m. 39. Like a conductor, the pianist should grasp the “current” of the unfolding phrase, imagining the sound of the specific instruments of the orchestra. Touche is very crucial. A heavy touch would overpower the guitar. Recreating the sound and articulation of the bowed strings, instead of merely striking the key, is essential. Part of this sense of touch is the specific articulations, which were derived from string bowings.
The fingering I chose serves the delivery of Bach’s ideas of melodic and rhythmic expression. The pianist becomes an orchestra and a conductor. The line and voice of each orchestral instrument should be heard. Often, one hand must play the parts of three instruments, with a different articulation for each (mm. 13-16 and m. 47 and m. 51). When the chorale appears in the piano part in mm. 52-55, it is interwoven with the 2nd violins and viola parts, all in the right hand. I suggest overcoming these difficulties by practicing the voices separately and following the written fingering. The fingering may not seem comfortable at first, especially when the voices are practiced separately, but it will reveal the expression of the polyphonic textures (mm. 27-31). The result will be very rewarding! Think as if you are working on Bach’s fugue.
Pedaling is very important source of interpretation in this arrangement, and should be carefully practiced to achieve technical ease, controlled by the ear. The bass line (continuo) is marked as tenuto (under quarter notes). Using delicate, short pedal strokes with each quarter note, at only half pedal depth, and only as rhythmic pedal (on the beat), will support the moto, the “current”, will clarify the sonority of the two instruments playing in low range (mm. 1-8).
The sostenuto (middle) pedal (not usually used very often) was necessary in this arrangement to keep all the voices of the original score, even if I had to “flip the parts over” (mm. 60-63). Notice, also, how in mm. 60-63, the pedaling switches from sostenuto (middle) pedal to the sustain (right) pedal, and back.
Dynamics vary from pianissimo (sometimes supported by the una corda pedal) in interludes to full forte in the chorale. Parts are often “layered” with different dynamics. This will help the performer not only to achieve the ideal balance and sonority, but also help to navigate the proper voice-leading (mm. 43-46). When the guitar plays the chorale, notice how the piano’s dynamic markings are varied to achieve the sonority of the chorus, rather than only emphasizing the top voice in the piano part (mm. 9-12).
Coda: Each instrument of the original score is represented with its melodic and rhythmic “code”. Overall, each of those parts has their own character, like a “portrait”. It calls for special characteristics (based on rhythmic and melodic patterns):
Oboe (and Violini I) obligato: angelic-sounding lines of unfolding triplets, that envelope whole piece, never sounding harsh or dominating (mm. 13-16).
Violini II: based on ostinato rhythm, evoking a Gigue. This rhythm first appears in mm. 1-8, where the second violins are placed below the viola line in the right hand. This requires a “listening hand” to define different dynamics and articulations all in one hand (mm. 14-23).
Viola: characterized with patterns of three walking quarter notes. This portrays wisdom. The viola part in this arrangement was difficult to bring up and keep all the authenticity of the voicing. The viola line often travels between hands and staves (mm. 31, 59). Performers should recognize the maps in the score (sometimes indicated with lines; sometimes through stem direction and beaming), and take pleasure in practicing it alone to let it sink in. Bach had a passion for viola. Whenever he had a chance to sit in the orchestra, he would pick up the viola.
Basso Continuo: has a similar rhythm to the viola’s quarter notes. But the bass line has more responsibility to define the harmony and mend whole piece together. We should remember that musician at the clavier doubled the bass, improvising the supporting harmony and texture, and was also often “conducting from the bench”.