The Art of Transcription

To arrange or to transcribe, is it really a question?

Before I begin this missive, I must offer my apology to the Bard of Avon for twisting his perfectly poetic phrase. In doing so, I raise the question concerning the question: Why change a composition after the composer has finished it to satisfaction? This has been a conundrum for me for nearly fifty years!

When we begin our musical studies in our youth, we must rely on carefully written studies and educational works to practice and perform. Some of these materials we must either borrow from other instruments and/or simplify the work to the students abilities. Here I cite the wonderful musical pedagogue, Himi Voxman who spent his lifetime creating such wonderful material for our (particularly woodwind) edification.

Some of the first works I performed for public performance or competitions (whether for seating arrangements in school bands or state educational competitions) were transcriptions of works originally created for other instruments. Repertoire for the Clarinet and Saxophone could not compete with the vast wealth of material for these more popular and older instruments.

At first, I thought nothing of this; my teachers assigned works for me to study and I did just that as there were more immediate concerned such as technique, articulation and the like. After a while, aesthetics kicked in and I became upset that I had to wear ‘hand-me-downs’ from my older siblings in the string family. This set me on the course to write music for my own instruments and to commission others to do the same. To date, I have commissioned over 200 works and written over 600 ‘editions’ myself. (I will address the term ‘editions’ in a latter ‘rambling’).

Now to my epiphany: after many decades of self-debate resulting in ‘My head being bloody, but unbowed’ (nod to Henley), I have come to the holistic conclusion that - to paraphrase Duke Ellington - is this: Good music is good music - PERIOD! Why should I go hungry when there is a feast of musical delights laid before me! Have I not grown as a human being, let alone a musician, by exploring literature that I would never had necessity to know and study?

There is such a wealth of material available to us and we have but to look to enjoy it. My knowledge of not only music but culture in general has been increased through this process. Whether it is painting or politics, religion or economics, all intersect at one point or another. One tangent pinging off another tangent has taken me through time and place and enriched my understanding of this world we all must live in. My favourite pastime is spending hour upon hour in various libraries and archives around the world, exploring the lives and works of my predecessors both known and unknown.

This love of learning, if you will, has led to some dead-ends and to some exquisite discoveries. I look forward to sharing all of them with you for years to come……

Tristan Willems