In February 2022, the talented jazz guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel headed to 25th Street Recording in Oakland, California, to work on his 24th album as a leader. Joining him were the skilled acoustic bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade, both of whom had collaborated with Muthspiel on numerous occasions, including his previous album, ”Angular Blues,” released in 2020. While Muthspiel had some precomposed material prepared for the session, he also left room for spontaneous improvisation, allowing the trio to explore new musical avenues.
During one improvisational moment, Muthspiel picked up his custom-designed classical guitar by luthier Jim Redgate and played a series of captivatingly dissonant chords. Colley responded by using his bow to create a deep drone with eerie upper harmonics, while Blade added texture with cymbal washes and subtle tom rumbles. As the piece intensified in volume, Muthspiel unexpectedly introduced the melody of “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” (“O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”), a solemn chorale from Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. The bass and drums gradually faded away, allowing the acoustic guitar to render the passage in solitude.
The spontaneous creation of the track “Prelude to Bach” on Muthspiel’s latest album, “Dance of the Elders” (ECM), captures the essence of the magical moment that unfolded in the studio. Although the melody itself is credited to early Baroque composer Hans Leo Hassler, Bach’s arrangement of the piece for choir and orchestra has made it closely associated with the iconic Leipzig composer for centuries.
In a recent interview from his home in Austria, the 58-year-old Muthspiel emphasized that the incorporation of “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” was completely impromptu. Reflecting on the session, he shared, “I had never played that chorale before in the studio or during a concert. It all transpired organically, and when we arrived at that tremolo section between the bass and drums, it felt like the perfect moment for a recognizable melody. That was the first tune that popped into my head. It fit the tonality, and I wanted to play it softly underneath Colley and Blade. It was a stroke of luck.”
Muthspiel’s seamless transition from free improvisation to a classic Bach quote highlights his deep connection to the Western classical tradition. Moreover, his choice of the Redgate classical guitar underscores his enduring love for nylon-string acoustic guitars, which precedes his ventures into electric guitar and jazz music.