Song of the Day 12/20: David Qualey, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”
New Age guitarist David Qualey recorded a few LPs for Windham Hill, and his arrangement of this famous Bach piece was one of the label’s standout tracks. It featured not only on the compilation disc “A Winter Solstice III,” released in 1990, but was even pressed as a promotional single.
Most people think of this as one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s greatest hits, but the melody was actually composed by a violinist named Johann Schop in 1642. There were no copyrights back then, but surely it would have run out by the time Bach repurposed the tune in 1723, rearranging it for four solo voices, a four-part choir and a small chamber group.
What we now call “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” was given that title in 1926 by British pianist Dame Myra Hess, who revived interest in the composition by publishing her transcription for solo piano. Most versions heard today are based on her arrangement.
No matter how many times you have heard this tune, you have never heard it played like this — on a woodblock xylophone through a forest in Japan.
