Air on a G String

Item details

Description +
- Arranged by Scott Weatherson
  Duration: 4 min.
  
  Air, the popular 2nd movement from Johann Sebastian Bach's Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068 (also known as the Air on a G String) is arranged here for vibraphone and three marimbas. To perform in the original key, the lowest marimba part requires a 5 octave instrument, and it is possible to perform parts 1 and 3 on the same marimba, reducing the number of instruments required for performance. This arrangement by Scott Weatherson was originally written for his own 'For 4 Percussion Quartet' to include in their chamber repertoire.
Instrumentation +
- Percussion Quartet (4 players)
  
  Required Instruments:
  1 Vibraphone
  3 Marimbas (parts for both 4.3 octave and 5 octave instruments included)
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About the composer +
- Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and over three hundred cantatas of which around two hundred survive. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth.
  
  Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
Reviews +
- Percussive Notes, November 2016
  
  Scott Weatherson’s arrangement of the J. S. Bach masterpiece “Air on a G String” (from “Suite No. 3 in D Major” BWV 1068) has been published in two versions: one in the original key of D major and the second in an altered key of A major (to accommodate the range of three 4.3-octave marimbas). While there is nothing extraordinary about these 19-measure arrangements/ transcriptions, they do provide ampleopportunities for the intermediate-level keyboard percussion quartet to perform one of Bach’s timeless Baroque masterpieces. Only two-mallet technique is required of the four keyboard percussionists. This quartet could be performed at the high school or college- level concert.
  
  —Jim Lambert
Credits +
- Front Cover Graphics and Layout: Ronni Kot Wenzell
  Engraving: Scott Weatherson & CPH Engraving
  Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
  Copyright © Edition Svitzer
  www.editionsvitzer.com

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