Together, Together
On Sunday mornings I play in a cello ensemble at the 92nd Street Y.
Currently we are rehearsing a Prelude and Fugue (BWV 555) from J.S. Bach's Eight Little Preludes and Fugues.
Bach composed this piece for organ, but our version was arranged for cello choir by Carole Neuen-Rabinowitz.
The first movement, the Prelude, is made of thick chords that the arranger has pulled apart so each instrument adds one voice to create the texture.
The second movement, the Fugue, is built on recurring themes which make it a little predictable, but with Bach there is always something unexpected that comes along to keep things moving forward.
The challenge in rehearsal and performance is putting everything back together, together.
Together, together?
As an ensemble. With the right timing. And intonation. And dynamics.
Our conservatory-trained instructor and conductor Mindy Asher helps us accomplish this. Patiently.
"OK, let's try it again. Just Cello 1 and Cello 2. From measure sixty-seven."
Compared with one musician playing this piece on a single instrument (organ), performing it in a chamber group of six requires a lot of individual study and group rehearsal.
For me, this is where I find the satisfaction.
Each musician needs to do the work on their own. To learn their part, bars and beats.
Knowing one’s part is essential so that when playing ensemble, the focus can be on other important things. Like the conductor. And listening to each other. And appreciating the resonance.
You can hear the organ version of BWV 555 performed by Marie-Claire Alain, here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myR7kPeeZxo
Coda. If you are curious about BWV numbers, the special cataloging system for music composed by J.S. Bach, you can learn more at the link below. BWV stands for "Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis" which translates to "Bach Works Catalog". It is a thematic list, identifying compositions by type rather than chronologically. This is useful because there are eight Prelude and Fugues (each with different BWVs) in just the book I mentioned above. The lower numbers in the BWV start with vocal music (Cantatas, Motets, Masses, Oratorios) and the higher numbers go up through instrumental music (Organ, Keyboard, Lute, Chamber Music, Orchestral Music). The cello suites are BWV 1007 to BWV 1012.
