As a lifelong musician blessed to be proficient in piano, harp, and hammered dulcimer, I woke up one morning eager to record a classical album. Pondering this, I realized doing so would allow me to further explore a classical artist as well as better understand my hammered dulcimer and my own role as a performer. After carefully considering the works I wanted to record, I settled on the music of Bach for a number of reasons: I had already learned the Prelude to the first Cello Suite, and I wondered if the following Allemande would be suited to the dulcimer as well. I determined to learn all the suites and record them—which was the motivation needed to embark upon this adventure. My journey of recording Bach: Complete Cello Suites Performed on Hammered Dulcimer has produced what I believe is a timeless collection of suites, leaving the performer and the listener with a sense of discovery, insight, and renewal on a profound scale, and something new to learn and enjoy.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) composed the Cello Suites sometime between 1717 and 1723 during a period of prolific creativity in the German town of Köthen. This time period produced additional works such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Violin Sonatas and Partitas, among others. As I began to analyze the music, two things stood out to me: its complex architecture and the seemingly “prophetic” quality of the music.

Bach has often been referred to as a “master architect,” and I believe this is quite evident in the Cello Suites. Throughout the suites, there exists three levels of architecture: the micro-level, the macro-level, and the universal level. On the micro-level, each individual piece is a world of its own, each one a unique miniature or place. On the macro-level, each suite depicts a particular mood or area, much like a travel guide depicts various locales in a given country, or how similar paintings can together depict a certain subject. On the universal level, the entire group of suites represents the symbolic “hero’s journey,” or the quest undertaken to achieve a goal, along with obstacles encountered, friends made, and experiences gained along the way. The process of learning and playing through the suites felt similar to reading many of the myths and fairy tales we have all read as children, but which proved equally—if not more—exciting. Because this music is highly subjective, it will mean something unique to each listener. Considering that I have had a lifelong fascination with stories, I have always had a deep connection to music that tells a story or paints a picture, ranging from George Winston to Franz Schubert. Thus, I have my own highly-personalized vision of the story told by the suites.

In the suites, Bach demonstrated his unusual gift of being a “musical prophet.” His Sarabande of the D Major Suite could quite easily find a home in the Romantic Era alongside Schumann, while the Sarabande of the C Minor Suite could readily exist in the Modernist Era with Webern. While Bach was quite familiar with and built upon the genres and styles of his past—to the point of being encyclopedic— he truly created his own unique music adapted to the era he deemed most suitable. Bach also demonstrated this somewhat more subtly in other pieces: the Prelude to the D Minor Suite hints at Gregorian Chant (or maybe the works of Arvo Pärt), while the tempestuous nature of the C Minor Courante reminds me of the sense of war and turmoil later found in the works of Shostakovich. Indeed, this gift of being able to transcend one’s own musical era has undoubtedly added to the prophetic quality that these works possess and to the timeless nature that has allowed people separated by space and time to enjoy them.

My method for getting each piece ready for recording was a simple three-step process taught to me by my longtime music teacher and mentor Joshua Messick: memorize, metronome, and mesmerize. My memorization advanced quickly as I listened to recordings, allowing me to retain the music in my head. From there, utilizing that muscle memory, I worked out the music on my Master Works DulciForte hammered dulcimer. I memorize much more quickly by listening to music rather than working off of the page; however, I did meticulously check every note with the score, as artists sometimes add or subtract notes from the sheet music. After this, I metronomed each piece until I felt that my rhythm suited the arrangement. I then worked out the interpretation of the pieces—or made the pieces “mesmerizing” for the sake of alliteration. This involved exhaustively reviewing the music and determining how I wanted it to sound, which proved to be quite a task! Because Bach did not leave instructions on how the cello suites should sound, it is up to the performer to determine the interpretation—and to be fair, even if Bach left instructions, I wouldn’t have exactly followed them as I prefer to make the music my own. Things involved with interpretation include determining the tempo, dynamic levels, phrases, rubato, and the addition or subtraction of specific notes, among many other variables. Once I went through this process and felt that the piece was ready, all that remained to do was the actual recording.

Most of the recording took place in Black Mountain, NC, at the recording studio of hammered dulcimer composer and artist Joshua Messick. As we neared the end of recording, Joshua moved his studio to Colorado Springs, CO, necessitating a trip to Colorado to finish the project. Completing my recording and exploring the beautiful surroundings of Colorado Springs was the experience of a lifetime. Joshua is an ongoing source of insight, knowledge, and encouragement. Without him, I would not be the musician that I am today!

Recording Bach: Complete Cello Suites Performed on Hammered Dulcimer ultimately taught me that both music and life are about the journey: while the final destination is important, the friends you make, the trials you overcome, and what you learn from the journey are equally as important. This pilgrimage has truly been the learning experience and adventure of a lifetime, and I am grateful for having had the opportunity to record it. I personally hope that you enjoy the adventure of the music as much as I have.

Gratefully,
Benjamin Barker