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

The blind Welsh pianist, composer and satirist Alec Templeton (1909-1963) really made his name in the USA in the 1930s, having moved there as a member of the Jack Hylton Band - he later hosted a popular radio show. He is famous for his swing pieces echoing the styles of classical composers. 'Bach goes to Town' is probably the best known. It is a big-band piece, and the published (1938) solo piano arrangement (which I use) occasionally lacks the effect of the instrumental contrasts, and is sometimes awkward to play. The musicalogical problem in playing it is to settle on the degree of swing to use. I have been guided in this by the 1985 Allegri String Quartet (plus many guests!) version on their album 'Stolen Gems', which swings the prelude, but mostly plays the fugue as written (the swing element being incorporated in the notated dotted rhythms).
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Played by Phillip Sear
http://www.psear.co.uk

Category:

Music

Tags:

• piano
• swing
• jazz
• American
• classical

[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.

[PSearPianist]

@KWachenfeld Herzlichen Dank!

[KWachenfeld]

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

beste grüße!

Kristin Wachenfeld

[PSearPianist]

@TopherJC4 That's kind!