0:00 Solfeggietto original piano version (CPE Bach)
1:00 "Solfeggietto" accordion version (Magnante)
This is a more serious reworking of C.P.E. Bach's most famous composition: "Solfeggietto." This time it's in stereo &, for comparison purposes, starts with the original piano version then the accordion version. This is another monumental piece in the musical repertoire penned by the great J.S. Bach's 2nd son. The piano version is in the form of a monophonic "Toccata" (Italian for 'touch') i.e. a virtuosic piece for the display of a "skillful touch of the fingers." The piano version is a repertoire piece in the Royal Conservatory's Grade 8 piano curriculum & has a leaner sound while Magnante's accordion transcription is highly garnished with a beautiful bass accompaniment & an exciting bellows shake. I found the piano version quite tricky because a single arpeggio or scale run has to be executed with one hand quickly following the other without any noticeable break. In the piano close-up you can see that my monstrously large hands actually bump into each another in some passages. The most beautiful passages in this short masterpiece are the harmonic sequences which even an avant-guard chromatic sequence with hidden tritones, which Bach senior would have never allowed.
