Organ Bach Sielbermann

This recording brings together all the arrangements for harpsichord by Bach of instrumental concertos by his Italian contemporary Antonio Vivaldi, adding those of one concerto each by the brothers Alessandro and Benedetto Marcello. They are performed by Sophie Yates who has made a series of solo CDs for Chandos, many of which have won international awards. She has been described by Gramophone as ‘hugely talented’ and by BBC Music as playing ‘with exceptional poise’.

This recording brings together all the arrangements for harpsichord by Bach of instrumental concertos by his Italian contemporary Antonio Vivaldi, adding those of one concerto each by the brothers Alessandro and Benedetto Marcello. They are performed by Sophie Yates who has made a series of solo CDs for Chandos, many of which have won international awards. She has been described by Gramophone as ‘hugely talented’ and by BBC Music as playing ‘with exceptional poise’.

The B Minor Mass is a fine performance by The Sixteen and Harry Christophers, which is subtle and well-sung. The choir, which is fairly large at 26 singers (whereas some recordings in recent years have used much smaller groups) is nevertheless of a size that allows the individual voices to stand out in the choral melange. The instrumentalists also play in perfect balance with the choir - the obbligato instruments fit perfectly with the vocal texture, and the overall sound of the orchestra is excellent.

Here, again, Brilliant Classics has licensed recordings of the passions, masses and other works. The St. Matthew and St. John passions are good recordings by the Brandenburg Consort and the King's College Choir; I find these two passions to be a bit weak, and this is a shame.

The six Sonatas, which are often described as 'Trio Sonatas for Organ,' hold a unique place in Bach's oeuvre. In a sense, 'trio' is the most natural organ texture: right hand, left hand, and feet each takes one line of counterpoint. However, in the six Sonatas, the contrapuntal lines are granted a degree of independence that is unmatched in Bach's surviving organ music. Thus, they are atypical of Bach's output for the instrument, and indeed oforgan music in general. The Sonatas are, in effect, 'ensemble music for one player' indeed, several movements originated as actual ensemble pieces.

With the complete recording of Bach's organ works on various instruments, Jörg Halubek's "Bach Organ Landscapes" project paints a panorama of organ landscapes and organ building traditions. Since 2020, he has portrayed nine different locations and their unique organs on six double albums to date. With a careful eye for the unique cultural heritage of the instruments of the Bach regions, he is in search of the original Bach sound.

Concerto Copenhagen's musicians present six new "Brandenburg Concertos" - based on Bach's organ trio sonatas\u200B. J.S. Bach's six organ trio sonatas represent some of his most imaginative and attractive music - by transforming the format through an orchestration inspired by the original Brandenburg Concertos, Concerto Copenhagen is offering a unique new orchestral repertoire. Oboist Antoine Torunczyk has created these six new Brandenburg Concertos with special focus on varying instrumental mixes and sizes - including flute, recorder, oboe d'amore, oboe da caccia, viola d'amore, natural horn, violoncello da spalla, bassoon.