Alec Templeton: Bach goes to Town: Prelude & Fugue in Swing (Piano solo version)

[cacata98]

i am enjoying this.

[PSearPianist]

@cacata98 I'm very pleased to hear that!

[TheTamsinJones]

This rendition has undone so many wrongs visited upon us by Jacques Loussier

[PSearPianist]

@TheTamsinJones Thank you. I was actually a Jacques Loussier fan as a child, but am not so enthusiastic now - however, he has a great talent and a career that I envy!

[TheTamsinJones]

@PSearPianist Jacques always tended towards excess in my opinion and was always somewhat formulaic, but a wonderful technician (obviously). Keep recording your performances of lesser-known composers because they'll always have an audience here on the outer edges ! Good luck to you

[PSearPianist]

@TheTamsinJones Thank you. My aim is to do a few videos of pieces that a lot of people like to play and that will be popular (I have already done some) and lots of obscure music, which will be reasonably evergreen here, as anyone googling the composers will find them!

[ChocloManx]

@TheTamsinJones dude has some pretty terrible recordings, but he really nails a lot of the pieces.

[KWachenfeld]

Finde diese Fassung toll! *********

beste grüße!

Kristin Wachenfeld

[PSearPianist]

@KWachenfeld Herzlichen Dank!

[TopherJC4]

This is just so fantastic!

[PSearPianist]

@TopherJC4 That's kind!

[hermanshermits124124]

This goes just to show that Bach's music is unrape-able

[oogleblerp]

"Paul Laval and his Woodwindy Ten" made a great arrangement and recording of this in the 1940s -- woodwinds, rhythm, and even celesta!

[PSearPianist]

Thanks for that interesting info!

[heinbanjo12]

I enjoyed it very much and it realy swings.

I first listened the Goodman version and then yours. Goodman has a drummerman , but the value of the notes are simular. Thanks for sharing. Hein

[PSearPianist]

Thank you Hein. I wouldn't like to compare myself with Benny Goodman, but I am glad that my version is not too many miles off!

[13243546abcdef]

simply fantastic! I salute you! I've shared this with all my muso friends :)

[PSearPianist]

That's very kind - I hope they will not be disappointed at my decision not to swing the fugue too much!

[PaulBartonPiano]

Great version! glad I found it, makes me want to replay it :)

[PSearPianist]

Thank you! It is not easy with this piece to determine how much swing to use in the fugue - I went for very little!

[GGxodus]

nice, but this piece, especially the fuga part, should contain a lot more swing feeling

[PSearPianist]

You may be right, certainly in the band version, but I couldn't seem to get the fuga to work for me with a lot of swing!

[lexo30]

I could be that it's not such a great piece, then... :)

I remember hearing this in an orchestral version at a schools concert in the 80s. I have to admit, now that I now a lot more about both Bach and swing music, I don't think it does either of them any favours. But I think you play it about as well as it can be played.

[PSearPianist]

Thanks for your interesting observation - and apologies for being so slow to acknowledge it!

[GeorgeMaxwellDuPre]

Very nice work young man! Do you know where I can get an arrangement of this for chambre group with piano or chamber group alone?

[PSearPianist]

Thank you! The piece was originally written for band, so there must be an arrangement somewhere - but I would not know where to look!

[PSearPianist]

I would be phenomenal if I could signtread this piece straight to video! Actually, although I play from a score I do practice everything I video!

[PSearPianist]

Yes. Have a look at my website (details on my channel homepage) and you can see my bio.

[PSearPianist]

The way to have a good life out of music is to study at a major conservatory. This will give you a network of contacts that it is very hard to get any other way! In music there are a few big stars who earn fortunes but where I live really good teachers can make good livings as long as they are prepared to put in a lot of hours and have infinite patience!

[PerrrfictKats]

J.S.BACH: LOL!!  [This would be great on a harpsichord too!]

[PSearPianist]

Thank you - I'm not sure whether the swing element would work on on harpsichord - but I would love to hear someone try!

[Babejuda]

Great! Thanks for bringing this and the info. Playing Bach's pieces, I started lately to try 'swinging' them (not with that professionalism and success, of-course). The beauty of this piece you played is that Bach remains Bach with all the same 'Baroqueish' elements, and yet it sounds so modern. Marvelous to the ear! Bravo!

[PSearPianist]

Thank you - it is very difficult to decide the degree of swing to use in pieces like this, and what works with a band may not work on the piano!

[re6356]

Excellent!. I bet you`d do a fine job of some of the piano works of Billy Mayerl.

[PSearPianist]

Thank you. I do play them, but have not put any here because (in Britain at least) they have been exhaustively recorded by many good pianists.

[BachScholar]

This is nice and fun sounding! Well played, although I would probably do more swinging in the fugue (sorry, but I don't know how it's notated).

[PSearPianist]

Thanks for your kind comment. The Allegri recording definitely does not swing the fugue at all, but I agree that it could possibly be swung. The problem lies in the fact that the swing seems to be written out in this piece, and if you swing the quavers, the counterpoint does not fit together properly. This is never a problem in the prelude.

[PianoScales]

This is sooo fun!... An complete and exaustive adaptation to jazz. Is this in line with two albuns, namely "Bach to Afrika" and "Bach to Brazil"... do you ever heard these? 5 stars, anyway...

[PSearPianist]

Thanks - I don't know the pieces you mention, but I must look them out!