Variations by means of Bachcabachab

An intriguing title! How I would love to hear this performed on radio or TV just to see how the announcer coped with it! Of course it is based on the notes B ' 'A, C.and H. with H being B natural and B being Bb. So it establishes itself straight away after abrief flourish, with the 12 note motto theme that makes up Bachcabachab. The entire piece is without barlines and is a Vivo of 124 crotchets per minute, and is for more advanced players. Having said that, the lack of barlines does not prove to be a problem and the notation is admirably clear and easy to read in spite of the modernity of the piece. After the initial motto theme has established itself in irregular groupings of threes. fours and fives, the single line gradually builds into pairs of notes, then three, and then full chords. The tension in this piece created by the constantly repeated motto, albeit in various different guises, is quite palpable, and the whole thing drives relentlessly along. After a rallentando and a pause, a different tempo is brought into play, where the motto begins to fragment itself. From this point on, the motto goes through numerous transformation including an augmentation in tenths. with the original in repeated notes being played in the middle! It goes without saving that this is very tricky to play, but the effort involved in doing so. would be time well spent. It is not an atonal work, so you need not be put off by its modernity. An interesting piece which is worth playing if you have the necessary abilities. (Chris Dumigan, Classical Guitar)