J.S. Bach’s Invention 14 BWV 785 arranged for soprano and tenor saxophone duo sounding in the original key of F. An excellent movement to improve ensemble playing and intonation requiring saxophone players to listen to each other and be constantly aware of the eighth note or quaver pulse. This is a challenging rhythmical work and a movement in which figuration is a substitute for ornamentation. Players need to have a vision and understanding of the phrasing needed before playing this movement. In this arrangement the Bach’s music is from the baroque era in music history and presents the added challenge that there is generally minimal score detail in place in sheet music scores. What is important is to play the note values as written and acknowledge rests notated in the score. The realisation plays back at 52 quarter note or crotchet beats to the minute. The music editor suggests playing the movement with an awareness of an eighth note or quaver pulse. An 8/8 time signature would in many ways be very appropriate for this movement. There are a number of octave transpositions in the tenor saxophone 2 part enabling the part to be kept to the instruments range. Accompaniments are in place allowing alto saxophone players to participate in ensemble activities as part of practice routines. The soprano saxophone sounds on one side of the stereo channel and the tenor saxophone 2 on the other. The accompaniment tracks play back at 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 59 and 61 quarter note (crotchet) beats per minute. Accompaniment backing tracks are recorded with a dry acoustic to encourage accuracy in playing. There is one bar count in /click track at the beginning of the accompaniment tracks. There are generally similar approaches to playing this invention although instrumentalists should spend time listening to performances of the work by a range of musical instruments and instrument combinations on streaming media. The Bach Inventions are generally intermediate level movements when played on a keyboard instrument. The principle behind J. S. Bach’s two part Inventions is to take a musical idea or motive and then process it following the rules of good contrapuntal writing using the compositional processes of the baroque and at the same time referencing the closely related keys in the key journey. Inversion, repetition, sequence, transposition, augmentation/diminution amongst other processes are evident in Bach’s inventions as most other music of the baroque period. J. S. Bach composed 15 Inventions in a collection dating from 1723 intended to introduce keyboard players to composition techniques of the baroque. They are excellent pieces for developing secure performing techniques whatever the instrument being played.
