rebekah_franklin_blog_image__large.png

COCA Spotlight: Bach Party

Musician Rebekah Franklin encountered the baroque cello like a new dance partner. The “gut” strings, made from animal intestines, provided a warm, mellow resonance that differed from her modern cello’s steel strings and projecting sound.…

Musician Rebekah Franklin encountered the baroque cello like a new dance partner.

The “gut” strings, made from animal intestines, provided a warm, mellow resonance that differed from her modern cello’s steel strings and projecting sound. Fifteen years of muscle memory helped guide her fingers as she rested the instrument’s substantial body against her legs. 

Exploring the historic instrument’s range as part of the Tallahassee Bach Parley helped her to feel closer to one of her favorite composers, J.S. Bach. Even in the current absence of live concerts, Franklin is still finding ways to connect with musicians and early music aficionados with the virtual Bach Parley Book Party on Sunday afternoons. 

“Music is able to create community,” says Franklin. “I’m making playlists of the pieces we’ll discuss so people can listen to what we’ll be talking about on Zoom. It’s a fun way for people to learn about the music the Bach Parley performs and still hear music even though it’s not live and in person.” 

Each session focuses on a particular chapter in Christoph Wolff’s “Bach’s Musical Universe: The Composer and His Work,” and creates discussion around the history behind Bach’s musical accomplishments. Franklin co-facilitates each meeting with Bach Parley music director Valerie Prebys Arsenault and harpsichordist Dr. Charles Brewer. 

She is looking forward to leading her chapter on the Bach Passions — a series of choral and instrumental works that were once composed for Friday church services, but now serve as long-form storytelling events. This confluence of scripture, song and characters comprises much of Franklin’s research as a PhD candidate in musicology at Florida State University. The first time she heard one played live was as an undergraduate student at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. 

“You get all these layers of drama, story and reflection, and it’s all very beautiful because it's Bach’s music and there are all kinds of symbolic text painting,” Franklin said. “A lot of people connect thematically with the love and sacrifice in these works. Bach writes this music in such a human and connected way that, even if you don’t ascribe to his original purpose, you can still get a lot out of it.”

The Passions bring together Franklin’s love for hearing cello played alongside a chorus of voices. She was often the on-call cellist at Wheaton for choirs and toured with many groups around the Chicago area. Her zeal for performance stems from her parents’ influence.

Her father, a professional organist, taught her piano until high school, while her mother, a soprano singer and music teacher, provided encouragement to further her own education. Franklin joined Alabama’s Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra and greatly admired the technique of her cello instructor and mentor, Alexander Russakovsky.

Read the rest of the story by visiting the Tallahassee Democrat

or read more by downloading the article here