Arvo Pärt. If Bach Had Been a Beekeeper (1976)

Arvo Pärt (1935, Estonia -- God grant him many years!) If Bach were a beekeeper (1976) Wenn Bach Bienen gezüchtet hätte (1976) Если бы Бах разводил пчёл, для фортепиано, духового квинтета, струнного оркестра и ударных (1976) Владимир Спиваков (дирижер), Камерный оркестр `Виртуозы Москвы“ The video was made with the help of AI in Bing Image Creator using phrases like “If Bach were a beekeeper “ with or without a style mention (e.g. Byzantic art, fractals, etc). Information from Arvo Pärt Centre: Composed in 1976, the work has been repeatedly rearranged by the composer in later years. Originally composed for harpsichord, instrumental ensemble and tape, Arvo Pärt created a new arrangement for piano, wind quintet, string orchestra and percussion in 1984. Now, 35 years later, he has returned to the same material and revised the entire score again in spring 2019. “I wanted to make the work more compact and engaging, and to bring out the musical structure even more clearly. This required slimming the score, so to say,” Arvo Pärt explains. “As it is a very strict system based on the number four and the notes B-A-C-H, it could not be done only with an eraser and scissors,” he adds. “I had to make new calculations throughout the work and change the formula hidden in the music.” Since 1976, If Bach Had Been a Beekeeper... has been dedicated to the music critic Ofelia Tuisk (1919–1981), a committed supporter and advocate of Arvo Pärt’s work and avant-garde music in general. The unofficial subtitle of the work, Portrait of a Musicologist Against the Background of a Wasp Nest reflects to the taught relationship with the censorship of the time, but also contains references to musical shapes, such as the motif of the letters in Bach’s name and the string part reminiscent of the buzzing of bees.“