1. Bach goes Turkey (Turkiye) – page 1 (pdf)
2. Bach goes Greece – page 1 (pdf)
3. Bach goes Romania – page1 (pdf)
Videos on Youtube:
Bach goes Turkey
Bach goes Greece
Bach goes Romania
The idea of these three pieces arose on the occasion of a concert with the “Trans Orient
Orchestra” as part of the International Düsseldorf Organ Festival on October 18th 2025
entitled “Bach im Orient Express”.
What would Bach have made of it if he had had the opportunity to travel to Turkey,
Greece and Romania and hear the music there? Maybe he would have adopted some
elements and bring them as a contrast to his own style.
In Bach goes Turkey (Turkiye) “he” uses a typical scale of Turkish maqam music, Zirgüli
Hijaz, a heptatonic scale with two augmented second steps. The underlying scale is also
used in music of the Balkan region and other Eastern cultures.
In Greece he would perhaps be amazed by the asymmetrical metres and choose the 7/8
metre of the Kalamatianos dance and use it by transforming the entrance theme of his 3rd
Brandenburg concerto, and also insert a wink of his meeting with Alexis…
In Romania he would have been thrilled by the virtuoso passages of Romanian folk music
and adopt those figurations, here one by Grigoras Dinicu (1889-1949) from his famous
“Hora staccato”.