Raaf Hekkema – J.S. Bach: Solo (2023) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

Raaf Hekkema - J.S. Bach: Solo (2023) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz] Download

The pandemic in 2020-21 brought little to dispel the gloom among performing musicians. But these months also proved to be a time of reflection and artistic rebirth for many, the arts became a breeding ground for spiritual offspring, and so it proved for me; the genesis of the work you can hear on this album. Finally, there was plenty of time to spend many hours every day working on the project against a background of calm, which made Bach’s music all the more comforting!The prime cut with which I open this album is the Sonata I have assembled from Bach’s three sonatas for solo violin. Even though a sonata in six movements may go against musical tradition, I feel it is a very satisfactory solution from a musical perspective.

Soon after this, I cast my greedy eye over the earlier works for organ and harpsichord. The Chromatic Fantasia symbolises early Bach for me; a composer who was heavily influenced by the fantastical style of his idol and predecessor Dieterich Buxtehude.

I made a pilgrimage to my own hero of early music, Ton Koopman. His enthusiasm for my arrangements grew as our meeting progressed. I am deeply grateful to him for his generous assistance.

The Fantasia BWV 922 seemed to be a bigger task altogether. I was keen to let my own creative juices flow in order to adapt the texture in such a way that I could still do the greatest justice to the music’s harmonic complexity and sweeping argument.

Before this, however, I had already set about arranging Bach’s most famous organ work, the Toccata and Fugue. Generally, I would describe it as a good idea to avoid fugues for what I have in mind, but this one was relatively straightforward for me.

My arrangement of the Partita BWV 1013 is perhaps the simplest of all my Bach transcriptions. All I had to do was transpose this into a key I considered to be better suited to my instrument. I play it on a 1924 curved Buescher soprano saxophone with a matching Buescher mouthpiece. Using historical saxophones may result in a lighter and more transparent sound.

The same argument also applies to the Prelude and Allegro from BWV 998, which I recorded on a straight Buescher alto saxophone made in 1927.

Tracklist:

1-1. Raaf Hekkema – Sonata No.1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: I. Adagio (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (03:27)
1-2. Raaf Hekkema – Sonata No.2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: IV. Allegro (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (06:36)
1-3. Raaf Hekkema – Sonata No.3 in C major, BWV 1005: III. Largo (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (02:36)
1-4. Raaf Hekkema – Sonata No.3 in C Major, BWV 1005: IV. Allegro assai (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (05:03)
1-5. Raaf Hekkema – Sonata No.2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: I. Grave (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (03:40)
1-6. Raaf Hekkema – Sonata No.1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: IV. Presto (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (03:50)
1-7. Raaf Hekkema – Chromatic Fantasia BWV 903 (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (07:43)
1-8. Raaf Hekkema – Prelude in A Minor, BWV 922 (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (06:06)
1-9. Raaf Hekkema – Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-flat Major, BWV 998: I. Prelude (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (02:46)
1-10. Raaf Hekkema – Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-flat Major, BWV 998: III. Allegro (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (03:21)
1-11. Raaf Hekkema – Partita in A Minor, BWV 1013: I. Allemande (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (04:08)
1-12. Raaf Hekkema – Partita in A Minor, BWV 1013: II. Corrente (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (03:36)
1-13. Raaf Hekkema – Partita in A Minor, BWV 1013: III. Sarabande (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (04:15)
1-14. Raaf Hekkema – Partita in A Minor, BWV 1013: IV. Bourrée anglaise (Arranged for saxophone by Raaf Hekkema) (02:44)

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