Transcription, performance and recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's works for lute on a ten-string guitar

Abstract

'Transcription, Performance and Recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Works for Lute on a ten-string Guitar' is research that participates in the wide discourse on transcribing and performing Bach’s lute works on the guitar. Building upon an examination of the primary sources and previous guitar transcriptions, but also presenting new information and points of differentiation, the research sheds new light on an area of interest that is rightly shared by performers and scholars.

The submission comprises of five elements: in the written discussion, I consider selected issues from my research, describing the course that led to specific choices, but also the concerns and lines of enquiry that influenced or derived from my practical musical experience. In the commentary upon the examination of the primary sources, I justify my editorial choices in detail, commenting further upon details that can be inferred from this examination, elements that support the interpretive process of editorial decision-making, but also the features of an editorial process that pertains to musical works. The transcriptions condense the knowledge derived from my editorial engagement and my performance practice, but present it in such a way that aims at, and awaits, the individual performer’s further unfolding of the music. The recordings capture a possible way of completing this process, but also contribute to the argument that the use of a ten-string instrument offers new perspectives on these crucial works. Finally, facsimiles of certain primary and secondary sources are presented to further facilitate the critical reading of my choices and my concerns – to support the continued discourse in this area.

This submission is, therefore, a record of my engagement with the works in question, but also an invitation for continued dialogue.