Musical Time Travel

Transcriptions of vocal works reach even further back however. I have recently enjoyed playing a guitar arrangement of Christ Est Erstanden which, as the title (Christ is Risen) suggests, is an Easter song. My arrangement is attributed to Hans Judenkunig (1445-1526) but the hymn can be traced back at least as far as 1100 and has enjoyed a distinguished career from the Renaissance through Johann Sebastian Bach , Franz Liszt , Carl Orff up to twelve-processing of Johann Nepomuk David (adapted from Wikipedia ). One cannot listen to such works without recognising that they come from quite another world aesthetically.

Personally I draw meaning from these links into the past. On a certain, perhaps academic level, one must acknowledge the worth of a culture which has not only created, but preserved such works through the turbulence of subsequent history. But as a player and composer I also like to imaginatively salute my temporally removed fellows: "Well done - music splendide indeed!"