BACH ON THE BANJO! No, I'm not kidding, nor have I taken leave of my senses.
Michael Miles, a wonderful banjo player from Chicago, has transcribed three cello suites for banjo with taste and musicianship, and plays them with more of the same on his CD, American Bach. No less well-informed a critic than Janos Starker, the great, great cellist, has said glowing words about Miles's treatment. Lest you think, "Blasphemy!" I point out that banjo is a member of the lute family, and also that Bach himself treated instruments pretty interchangeably, recasting for this or that instrument according as the occasion or the available artists required. And more: Bach was a great material-thief himself, fueling that fantastic productivity in part with the music of other composers. In this case, however, Miles doesn't rewrite Bach; he transcribes and plays Bach in a straightforward Bachian way.
Also on the CD is Miles's own composition, Suite for the Americas. This is a suite in the tradition of Bach, a string of dances, but dances of the Western Hemisphere, of today. Good, good stuff!
The CD is available, among other places, at Elderly instruments, URL www.elderly.com. HIGHLY recommended!