Bwv 1062

Four harpsichord concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 1052, 1061, 1062 and 1065) in an exciting new arrangement for marimba ensemble and orchestra. The Wave Quartet has been hailed as one of the most interesting newcomers in the field of classical music. Partnering on this album with the renowned L´Orfeo Barockorchster under the direction of Michi Gaigg. This new arrangement makes these popular concertos sound refreshingly light and modern. Specialist promo & marketing activity.

The music on this album gives rise to two intriguing questions. Firstly, are these concertos original Bachian creations? Secondly, should they be played on modern pianos. The two issues are in fact closely linked by the idea of transcription.

Four harpsichord concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 1052, 1061, 1062 and 1065) in an exciting new arrangement for marimba ensemble and orchestra. The Wave Quartet has been hailed as one of the most interesting newcomers in the field of classical music. Partnering on this album with the renowned L´Orfeo Barockorchster under the direction of Michi Gaigg. This new arrangement makes these popular concertos sound refreshingly light and modern. Specialist promo & marketing activity.

Johann Sebastian Bach has always been a fixed point in the musical cosmos of Sigiswald Kuijken and La Petite Bande. Over the years, the ensemble has recorded the cantatas for an entire church year, the great sacred works, but also important instrumental works by Bach. Nevertheless, there was still a gap that Kuijken wanted to fill. The present recording is the first part (of a series of three albums) with Bach's six harpsichord concertos, his three harpsichord double concertos and finally the corresponding two violin concertos and the double concerto for two violins.

The practice of composing for two keyboard instruments, very common in the illustrious Bach family, naturally achieved its apotheosis with Johann Sebastian, whose three concertos for two harpsichords are performed here by Olivier Fortin and Emmanuel Frankenberg with the Ensemble Masques. These works, particularly the concertos in C minor, are among the composer’s most admired. They suggest a conception of the concerto specific to Bach: rather than a dialogue between several individual entities, the piece presents a subtle intertwining of melodic lines and blurs the distinction between solo and tutti parts by making them respond to and quote each other, thus illustrating the principle of harmony dear to the composer. Finally, the recording on two harpsichords of the Prelude and Fugue BWV 552, originally composed for organ, is in keeping with the nineteenth-century tradition of transposing Bach’s works with the aim of giving their refined polyphony greater clarity.

The practice of composing for two keyboard instruments, very common in the illustrious Bach family, naturally achieved its apotheosis with Johann Sebastian, whose three concertos for two harpsichords are performed here by Olivier Fortin and Emmanuel Frankenberg with the Ensemble Masques. These works, particularly the concertos in C minor, are among the composer’s most admired. They suggest a conception of the concerto specific to Bach: rather than a dialogue between several individual entities, the piece presents a subtle intertwining of melodic lines and blurs the distinction between solo and tutti parts by making them respond to and quote each other, thus illustrating the principle of harmony dear to the composer. Finally, the recording on two harpsichords of the Prelude and Fugue BWV 552, originally composed for organ, is in keeping with the nineteenth-century tradition of transposing Bach’s works with the aim of giving their refined polyphony greater clarity.

Co by było, gdyby Johann Sebastian Bach mógł grać na akordeonie? Pytanie to nurtuje wielu grających na tym instrumencie muzyków, którzy z marzycielską tęsknotą spoglądają na jego krótką historię. Niniejszy album […] jest swego rodzaju eksperymentem, próbą zestawienia współczesnego instrumentarium akordeonowego z obsadą kwintetu smyczkowego grającego na instrumentach historycznych.