Classical Appreciation Post

Bach - Busoni: Ich ruf zu dir

At the conservatory, I had weekly lessons with my main teacher, focused on jazz. It was called ‘hoofdvak’—my principal subject. We explored the genre in depth: playing through different pieces, working on accompaniment styles, voicings, and all the ins and outs of the piano.

Alongside that, to develop proper piano technique (which I really needed), I also had classical lessons every week—my so-called ‘bijvak’. These focused on posture, finger placement, hand position, and control. But above all, I got to play beautiful classical works.

Some of those pieces—and eventually some new ones too—I’m hoping to (re)learn and bring back into my hands.

The Song

The chorale prelude Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ (BWV 639) is one of Bach’s most inward-looking works. The title means I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ, and the despair embedded in those words is echoed in the music itself. Originally written for organ as part of the Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book), a collection Bach began around 1713 at the request of his employer in Weimar, it was intended as both a liturgical companion and a teaching tool for young organists.
In just a couple of minutes, Bach creates a suspended atmosphere: the slow, pleading chorale melody in the right hand rests above a steady stream of eighth notes in the left, a flowing undercurrent that gives the piece its heartbeat.

The transcriber

Bach was a church musician, so he wrote for organ. These works were treasures, but weren’t playable for pianists. Ferruccio Busoni wanted to change that. He set out to bring this repertoire to life on the piano. It is impossible to move a piece from one instrument to another, without leaving your own fingerprints on it. So Busoni’s work were not literal translations; they are interpretations. Busoni had to make active choices how to voice the writings of Bach on the piano. By his time, the piano had long surpassed the harpsichord in resonance and expressive range. (Also see my post above about Scarlatti L33). That allowed him to capture something of Bach’s intention in a new medium. His transcriptions opened up Bach’s organ works to pianists everywhere.

Why this piece

I first met this piece during my classical minor. My teacher handed it to me as if to say: “Here, try living inside this sound world for a while.” And I did. It became one of those pieces you never really stop working on. Interestingly, the tempo is not fixed at all. Compare Horowitz, who plays it in a flowing, almost conversational way, with Tatiana Nikolayeva, who takes it slowly, with weight and gravity. Both are convincing, but in very different ways.

Challenges

The left hand is a true trial. Busoni translates the organ’s deep sounding pedal bass into three-note chords on the low end of the piano: root, fifth, and octave. In the guitar world this would be called a power chord. On the piano, though, they need to sound soft and transparent. That’s a tall order: the natural weight of the bass easily turns boomy and cluttered, yet here it has to be played gently and with control.
Then there’s the independence of voices. You can think of the texture as three instruments: the slow-paced, almost vocal soprano line; the flowing, rhythmical inner voice; and the deep, moving bass. Keeping them separated in volume yet unified in time is an endless balancing act.

I’m curious what you think!

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