Bach The Musical Offering

In 1747 Bach wrote a note to go with the piece on this disc: "To Your Majesty [Frederick the Great] I dedicate herewith, in deepest submissiveness, a Musical Offering . . . This undertaking has now been accomplished to the best of my ability, and it has no other object than exalting, if even in only a small degree, the fame of a Monarch whose greatness and power in all the arts both of war and of peace, but especially in music, everyone must admire and honor." And composers today complain about having to fill out NEA grant applications! Here we have a warm and carefully-crafted performance by the original group of instruments, Ensemble Sonnerie, made up of some of the most prominent musicians in the British early music scene.

Bach’s Musical Offering, one of the most fascinating works in music history, still raises questions even after countless interpretations and performances. Composed three years before his death, it embodies everything that makes Bach so captivating: magnificent music that is consummate in all parameters, hidden messages, romantic-transfigured history, enigmatic masterpieces, numerology… and most often it is met by nebulous, apprehensive respect.

Florilegium’s latest release contains the complete instrumental trio sonatas of Bach. But if you discount the six-part Ricercar from the Musical Offering itself, which of course is not a trio, but which nonetheless is included here, only two of the remaining items are indisputably products of Bach’s pen. The Trio in G (BWV 1038) may be by Bach, who certainly provided its bass line; but the likelihood is that it was the work of one or other of his two elder sons or perhaps one of Bach’s Leipzig pupils. The Trio in C (BWV 1037), on the other hand, is certainly not by Bach, but by his gifted pupil, Goldberg.

Scherchen recorded an unusually wide range of repertoire, from the baroque to the contemporary. His Mahler recordings, made before Mahler became a part of the standard repertoire, were especially influential; so too were his recordings of Bach and Handel, which helped pave the way for the period-performance practice movement.

Arseniy Gusev's performances have been described as a blend of superb technical proficiency and lyrical romanticism seldom found in equal measure, especially in one so young.