By Orazio Gentileschi - scan of painting, Public Domain

As a professional musician, much time goes into the preparation of videos and audio tracks that go public. In addition to the necessity of paying for colleagues if I want to make a video/track. So, all the music that I have shared on Steemit has been from my personal archives from projects that had previously been recorded as a side note to the actual concerts.

I thought it would be nice to collect the posts into a single post update that collected my favourite recordings that I had released onto Steemit (via Soundcloud), so they weren't lost forever in the bottom of my feed!

All these performances are live and unedited, if you are interested you can also listen to these tracks on my Musicoin artist page..

At the bottom, I've listed some of the music that I've uploaded already onto Musicoin, eventually I will get the two co-ordinated with Steemit.

Excerpt from the Markus Passion

The Markus Passion by J.S. Bach was uncompleted. There have been many attempts to reconstruct the Passion, which is missing arias, recitativi and chorals.
There have been many completions attempted, with varying degrees of stylistic success.

Jorn Boysen (our director) completed the Passion after extensive research (over 2 years) into Bach's writings about the Passion and also in-depth study of the compositional style of Bach. Perhaps the best compliment that one could give the completion is that it is next to impossible for even a knowledgeable audience to distinguish between the "real" Bach and the modern additions (which are quite substantial!).

This aria for soprano is near the end of the Passion and it is really one of my favourite pieces that I have ever played. It is a moment of beauty and relief following the dramatic story of the Passion of Christ. Solo violinist is @bengy and the orchestra is @musicapoetica. The aria also appears in a different form in the 6th Violin sonata with obligato for Harpsichord.

Ein Mädchen from Die Jahreszeiten - Haydn

This is "The Maid" from Haydn's Seasons, arranged for string quartet by myself. It was performed as an encore piece to a concert that I gave with my group, in a string quartet and soprano setting (the configuration changes as required!). It is a light hearted piece about a young girl trying to fend off the unwanted advances of a nobleman. Who will win?

Musicoin link

English translation

A Lord rode out one sunny morn to view the meadows round,
And spied a pretty country maid come tripping o’er the ground.
Dismounting from his milk-white steed he said “Come kiss your Lord”.
She trembling stood there and obeyed, poor girl, quite overawed.
[‘Fie, fie, why not say no?’]

He took this fair maid for a walk, her hand within his own;
“I want to purchase your true heart: ‘tis you I love alone!
I’ll make you happy. Take my purse, my ring, my watch so fine;
And if you want still more from me, then speak and it is thine!”
[‘Fie, fie, that sounds too good!’]

“Kind sir” she said, “I pray take care; my brothers - they might see.
And if they spread the tale about, what would become of me?
Were they not working quite so nigh I fear that I might yield.
Climb up upon that bank and see if they are in the field.”
[‘Ha, ha, what happened then?’]

Now as the Lord rose up to look, the maid to his dismay
Leapt on his steed, and like the wind she quickly tore away.
“I’ll go no more a-roving with you, kind sir” she cried.
He stood there in a fearful rage: denied, and then defied!
[‘Ha, ha, a pretty pass, the clever lass!’]

Crucifixion by Biber

... and for a bit of fireworks, a virtuosic piece by Biber from the Mystery (Rosary) sonatas for scordatura (mistuned) violin. This one was great fun to play, and it one of my "go to" pieces for a bit of an audience pleaser!

Oddly enough, the original setting for the piece, before becoming the Crucifixion, was a depiction of the Turks at the gates of Vienna!

If you listen closely, there is a funny Easter egg near the end. Something that is oddly fitting given the subject of the sonata. The perils of live recording!

Musicoin link