Review

Henry Wolking
Sinfoniae Metamorphose: based on five of J.S. Bach’s Two-Part Inventions

Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2013
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 5 brass

Using Bach’s musical foundation, Wolking uses jazz harmonies he believes are implied in the source material to give these five original vignettes a distinctly modern harmonic quality. He retains the original key of Bach’s inventions but liberally alters their melodies and structural elements like form and rhythm.
 
Melodic lines are continually divided amongst all five voices, though many times the tuba feels significantly less involved than the higher voices. Performers must be sensitive to dynamics as balance may be an issue due to the relay-like approach to the melodic material. Metric shifts are persistent and numerous in each of the five movements but most can be easily navigated. The technical demands and range requirements are reasonable for all instruments with the understanding that the work is best suited for a proficient quintet comprised of players with solid individual rhythmic acuity. The composer intends for the work to be performed in its entirety, though each movement does have the capability of standing on its own.
 
The result of Wolking’s efforts is an exercise in five-part brass counterpoint that offers a contemporary twist built upon the bones of Bach. Listeners familiar with the original inventions will be able to easily recognize the fragments interspersed within Wolking’s new framework.

-Joseph Frye
The University of Tennessee at Martin