Classical music arranged for banjo? For many music listeners, mention of the instrument brings to mind the 1970s pop/country hit “Dueling Banjos” (made famous by the movie Deliverance), or the jangling, strumming rhythmic component of Dixieland music. But the banjo’s history can be traced back to Africa–the original instrument comprised strings drawn taut over a drumhead, with the resulting sound being far less resonant than a guitar and closer to the wooden timbre of a kalimba, making it more suitable for picking than for strumming.
It’s no accident that of the 20 pieces Béla Fleck chose for this album, nine are by J.S. Bach, whose music most of all has that quality of perpetual motion so well suited to the banjo. For two of these, the preludes from Violin Partita No. 3 and Cello Suite No. 1, Fleck goes solo, demonstrating his phenomenally nimble fingers (Fleck learned all of this music fresh for this recording). For the remaining Bach works (as well as those by other composers) Fleck enlists the aid of his talented collaborators, resulting in some intriguing sonic experiments. Some of these, a marimba duet with Evelyn Glennie for Bach’s Two-part Inventions Nos. 11 & 13, Scarlatti’s C major Sonata with Chrils Thile on mandolin, and Beethoven’s “Moonlight” sonata (first movement) rendered as a trio for banjo, cello (Gary Hoffman), and bass (Edgar Meyer), are musically effective and quite enjoyable. Others, such as Tchaikovsky’s Melody in E-flat, which requires more sustained tone than the banjo can provide, are only moderately successful.
Still others don’t work at all. Chopin’s whirlwind C-sharp minor Étude becomes mired in a murky banjo and cello arrangement, while Paganini’s Moto Perpetuo sounds almost comical as the poor pianist plays endlessly repetitive “oom-pah” chords under all that furious pickin’. Regardless of these misfires, you’ve got to appreciate the novelty of this project. And overall, this collection proves a compelling listen–at least for the first go-around. Sony’s recording places the instruments within a moderately reverberant acoustic, allowing for nicely balanced sound with plenty of presence.
