Largo e Dolce, from Bach's Flute Sonata in Bm, BWV 1030
Howard Levy
Did Bach ever write a harmonica piece? No, but a lot of his music can be played on diatonic harmonica by those who have sufficient technique. If you are up for a challenge, this might be something for you to try! (the piano track is a free download) A little background… This particular slow movement from Bach’s Bm Flute Sonata always sounded like
Did Bach ever write a harmonica piece? No, but a lot of his music can be played on diatonic harmonica by those who have sufficient technique. If you are up for a challenge, this might be something for you to try! (the piano track is a free download) A little background… This particular slow movement from Bach’s Bm Flute Sonata always sounded like Blues to me- the opening 6 notes are basically the same as the opening notes of Little Walter’s “Off the Wall”!
So, I recorded a bluesy, gospel-tinged piano part to play harmonica with.
I played a diatonic harmonica in the key of G instead of flute, trying to balance the beauty and elegance of Bach’s writing with the feeling of blues and jazz. Much of my harmonica part is improvised, but I transcribed and notated it exactly. (The entire piano part was improvised, but only after I memorized the piece- the notated piano part is very close to what I played. Classical pianists will find it fairly easy to play.)
Other instrumentalists are welcome to try playing my arrangement as well- it fits perfectly on violin, for example.
