In addition to the practice - highly popular today - of scoring for trumpet and organ, there has been an increasing tendency in recent years to explore the total affects of other wind instruments in combination with the organ. Again, owing to the distinct preferences for Baroque music and the nigh absence of original directions pertaining to instrumentation, one is faced with the frequently arduous task of undertaking transcriptions of orchestral scores for organ. Organ arrangements of this type however usually tend to run counter, in essential detail, to the musical style and customs prevailing during the period in which the works in question came to be written. This happens despite the adequate number of authentic examples available of baroquetranscriptions involving a whole variety of different Instrumental combinations.
In arranging Bach's arias and chorales for trombone and organ, it is my aim to adhere to the principles set forth in the original transcribed versions both as regards selection and style. Since in Bach's cantatas the trombone has only to emphasize the cantus firmus, use has been made of adopting vocal parts, whose melodic progress and level of pitch are suitable for adaptation. In conformity with the techniques displayed by Bach himself in the so-called Scubler chorale preludes, linearity has been applied in realizing the organ part without obscuring figured bass while including additions here and there in keeping with character of the instrument.
This form of instrumental combination of us provides access to some of box most highly value compositions, the adaptation of which in no way interferes with the essence of the original material. The transcriptions are based on the following works.
—Eberhard Kraus