Christopher Jones started with cello at age three, played in the family orchestra as a kid, and went on to earn a Bachelors in Cello Performance, and a Masters and Doctorate in Music Composition from West Virginia University. In West Virginia, Jones delved deeply in traditional Appalachian folk music, and, like Clark Kent, has been Music professor and Doctor of Composition by day and bluegrass stringduster by night, playing with a well-known local folk act aptly named 18 Strings.
As a big fan of reinterpreting old music, Jones made a conscious decision to try to merge two different styles—one old, the other older still—to see how each could be enriched by drawing connections between them. Jones saw both Baroque and Appalachian styles had origins in improvisation, similar tonal and harmonic language, and both are very counterpoint-oriented. The idea to arrange and record the Goldberg Variations arose from this drawing of connections.
Based on range and the color, he assigned mandolin to the soprano/alto range, banjo to tenor, and guitar to bass. Finally, Jones had to master the performance itself. “My wife, Helen, was also very involved” Jones explained. “Not only was she willing to talk through ideas with me, but she was also okay with hearing a very loud banjo for hours every day for months on end.”
What came out of the studio is a faithful, deeply compelling re-imagining of an iconic piece of music. Anyone versed in bluegrass but not in Bach, will know the sounds of the instruments, but maybe not the style of counterpoint, while Bach aficionados might want to explore the work of Bill Monroe, Bela Fleck, or Chris Thile.
“I have two very different circles of musical friends that could have a great time if they got to know each other,” said Jones.
He told Elmore, “The Aria from Bach’s Goldberg Variations is an enigmatic seed that will eventually grow into an entire forest, and its simplicity is only a cover for the limitless depth of possibility. It’s a slow dance, a Sarabande, that summarily foreshadows every idea that follows in the next hour fifteen.”
Did you get all that? Well, just listen here.
Hear the 18 Strings Band HERE
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