HARMONICA INTERPRETATIONS by GEORGE FIELDS The Prelude from the Second Suite for Solo Cello is eminently suitable for the opening selection on this collection, if only by virtue of its key: D Minor. This key is one of the most grateful for the harmonica and allows a very fluid and flexible manner of execution. Careful attention was paid to the readings of Pablo Casals, Pierre Fournier, Janos Starker, and others; and much justification was found for the liberal use of a rather romantic rubato. The piece is performed an octave higher than written, as is customarily done on the viola, and the only concession to practicality is the arpeggiation of the triple and quadruple stops at the coda. The Eighth Prelude in Book Two of the Well Tempered Clavier is a further extension of the form Bach explored so profoundly in his Two Part Inventions, and in this musical microcosm can be found a wealth of harmonic structure and melodic inventiveness. I chose to approach this piece with a very staccato, toccata like execution, in keeping with the dance-like characteristics inherent in all of Bach's keyboard music. Here, a concession to playability was made, and the piece was transposed up a tone to the key of F Minor, in order to facilitate the execution of the many baroque ornamentations and the demisemiquaver passages. The Fugue in D Flat Major Number 3 in Book Two of the Well Tempered Clavier was chosen for a number of reasons. It is also cast in a good key for the chromatic harmonica, and might conceivably have been written expressly for it. However, the main inspiration here was the recorded performance of this work by the late great interpreter of Bach's keyboard music, Glenn Gould. The noble good humor and delicacy of his reading were studied, absorbed, memorized, and liberally applied to this harmonica transcription, which is offered as a tiny tribute to a departed giant. The Fugue is in three voices, with the bottom voice taken by the ponderous bass harmonica, and the other two by the four octave chromatic. The Gavottes 1 & 2 from the Third English Suite are in a ternary structure: 1, 2 and then 1 again. The gavotte is characterized by its beginning on the third beat of the bar, and was probably the most popular dance form in Bach's time. A good example of its present day survival can be found in Prokofief's Classical Symphony. The Two Part Invention #10 follows; a veritable cascade of arpeggios, trills, and ornamentations; and then, once again from the Fifth Cello Suite, the final movement, a playful little Gigue that frolics in and out, pauses teasingly once or twice, frolics some more, and then subsides majestically to a deafening pianissimo. A delightful tidbit from the baroque master. Next the Two-Part Invention #13, after which we return to the Cello Suites, with the charming little Second Gavotte from the 5th Suite in C Minor. This piece presents a bit of challenge to the enterprising harmonicist. I was introduced to it by the eminent bassoonist Don Christlieb, who rattles it off on his bundle of sticks with incredible virtuosity, and to whom I dedicate this tiny breath-taker. The Fugue #22 in B Flat Minor, from Book Two of the Well Tempered Clavier weaves a complex four voice fugue, the lower voice of which presents a formidable challenge to the limited capabilities of the bass harmonica. The fugue's crisply delineated marcato-like subject, progressing from half notes to quarter notes to eighths, is in stark contrast to the ascending chromaticism of the countersubject, and the lavish use of thematic inversions and stretti make this fugue one of the master's best. The Two Part Invention #1 is next, followed by one of the best loved of all Bach's compostions: the stately and majestic Little Fugue in G Minor. Fugues as complete stand-alone compositions were the exception to the rule in Bach's day. They were more often combined with preludes, fantasias, toccatas, and such; and were usually considered the disciplined culmination of a freer, more rhapsodic structure. This work, "Little" in name only, is a prize example of the fugue as an entity unto itself. Then we have the Sinfonia #8, a three part invention, followed by the Fugue #6 from Book II of the Well Tempered Clavier. Next, the Two Part Invention #6, followed by the Fugue #7 from Book 2 of the Well Tempered Clavier. To respectfully quote from the late great Wanda Landowska: "a concise and powerful Fugue which evokes an a capella choir. In the magnificent episode from the forty-third to the fifty-eighth measures the voices converse with humor, and the Fugue concludes in overwhelming joy . . . " The Sinfonia #11 in G Minor follows, a quiet contemplative work of great melodic beauty that is unique in its use of the minor second interval, creating occasional bitter-sweet dissonances that would even be appropriate to the most avant-garde of contemporary works. An amazing example of the timelessness of Bach's output. Next we have the Two-part Invention #15, a piece that lends itself admirably to a bravura style of execution. Replete with a lavish sprinkling of baroque ornamentation, trills, and mordents, this sparkling little opus is another example of Bach's genius at creating, with the strictest economy of means, a miniature masterpiece. Most of Bach's keyboard music is primarily dance music, as is tellingly demonstrated by the Bourrees 1 & 2 from the Second English Suite. The bourree was a lively dance style in quadruple time starting on an upbeat. It was usually presented in the classical suite in a ternary format: 1st bouree; 2nd bouree; followed by the 1st bouree again. Great fun to play, and again, a perfect vehicle for the harmonica.