Like a few other keyboardists of the halcyon days of the '60s & '70s, Jon Lord knows what "classical rock" means in a literal sense. In 1976, Lord took time out from his day job with Deep Purple, and with good company captured Sarabande in a fascinatingly narrow window of time, over the course of four days in Germany's Stadthalle Oer-Erkenschwick.
Jon Lord's previous symphonic rock venture Windows had featured the vocal talents of Tony Ashton and Purple mates David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. Drummer Pete York and conductor Eberhard Schoener participated in the realization of Windows and were on hand for the all-instrumental Sarabande. To complete the band Lord recruited future Police guitarist Andy Summers, bassist Paul Karass, and future Ian Gillan and Bill Laswell sideman Mark Nauseef for additional percussive aspects. (An interesting side-note: Summers and Schoener would again collaborate not long after — along with the other two Police-men — on a pair of back-to-back electro-rock records by the latter.)
From the Philharmonica Hungarica Orchestra's cymbal crashes and horn blasts that open "Fantasia," there is an immediacy and looming organicness to the music. The textural beauty and bombast of the orchestral arrangements are complemented by the electric instrumentation. Lord's ARP synthesizer colorations and Summer's spritely lead guitar come into being on the title piece for an instant mesh with the Philharmonica. "Aria" is an elegant statement for keyboard and strings, whereas "Gigue" reveals a frenetic and percussion-laden movement topped by a sublime electric guitar solo and a concert-styled drum solo. A similarly propulsive opening introduces the eastern-flavored "Bouree," which subsequently calms and shapes a foundation off which violins can sing in the aftermath of Lord's lengthy Clavinet passage and Summers' angular guitar solo. "Gigue" and "Bouree" both clock in at the eleven-minute mark and are arguably the most textured, most colorful pieces of the album.
"Pavane" is a mellower exercise comprised of silken strings, intricate acoustic guitar work and bluesy piano musings. "Caprice" is an uptempo short, the most overtly "rock" type track and the only one that will likely draw a comparison to Rick Wakeman due to it's jubilant feel and Lord's quick soloing on the ARP Pro Soloist. "Finale" is a bit of a cacophonic closer as it encapsulates and reprises every textural nuance thus heard within a span of two minutes.
Newly reissued by Eagle Rock Entertainment, Sarabande is considered by many to be Lord's crowning achievement. Inspired by Bach, who according to Lord was responsible for most refining the sarabande or Baroque dance, this namesake album was the culmination of the Deep Purple keyboardist's classical rock experiments and the last release of the '70s under solely his name.
Tracks:
1. Fantasia (3:32)
2. Sarabande (7:25)
3. Aria (3:48)
4. Gigue (11:10)
5. Bouree (11:07)
6. Pavane (7:45)
7. Caprice (3:13)
8. Finale (2:04)
Total time — 50:04
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