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Harmonia Mundi's Bach: Alio modo features esteemed period viol consort Fretwork performing keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach as adapted by group leader Richard Boothby. The idea of playing Bach on a viol consort would have been a little retro for the composer, who was a capable violinist himself and regularly led groups that were among the predecessors of modern orchestras. Bach's flowing contrapuntal lines lie well on these instruments, and in terms of getting his counterpoint across, this setting works, although a good organist or harpsichordist is perfectly capable of achieving the same end in this music. Not every listener can stand to listen to a recording of a pipe organ at home, as it reminds them of being in church, and others may share actress Joan Crawford's alleged disdain of the harpsichord. Perhaps this is the audience Fretwork is hoping to reach -- indeed, a listener afflicted with such inclinations would be missing out on some of Bach's finest musical utterances. The playing here is fabulous, as smooth as silk and perfectly in tune, although it's odd to hear a viol consort in music that is so "tonal," as much of the standard literature for viol consorts predates the regular establishment of keys, tending toward modality and therefore sounding harmonically thornier. Sometimes the purity of the tonality lends a harmonium-like "wheezing squeezebox" sound to the proceedings, and the lack of vibrato employed by Fretwork seems a little alien to Bach. Nevertheless, as a recording Bach: Alio modo is very easy on the ears; it is like a very still pool with ripples slowly radiating out from the center. And toward the end of the disc, two pieces from The Musical Offering are played, and as this openly scored work is well-established among ensembles of string players, we find ourselves nearing a somewhat familiar shore toward the end of the disc. Reviewing a disc such as Bach: Alio modo is potentially a hot potato; one doesn't want to damn it with too faint a praise, as it is a very fine recording. Should the public discover it, then Bach: Alio modo deserves to do well in the marketplace. Hard-core fans of J.S. Bach are probably not going to dig this one; to many of them it will fall somewhere in between the work of Ferruccio Busoni and the Windham Hill compilation The Bach Variations. Look for Fretwork's Bach: Alio modo to become a hot topic over the classical music water coolers of the world; perhaps one should not risk being left out of the conversation. © TiVo

In April 2019, the brass ensemble phil Blech Wien for the first time joined forces with Olivier Latry (titular organist Notre Dame, Paris) to form a new, unique body of sound under the baton of Anton Mittermayr. The concept for this extraordinary listening experience was worked on for over a year: the declared aim was not the usual juxtaposition, but the merging of the two sound worlds, realized through trombonist Mark Gaal's arrangements. After the great success of the first performance in the sold-out Kulturpalast Dresden with the new Eule organ, the concert was repeated a week later on April 25, 2019 in the great Musikvereinssaal in Vienna. Olivier Latry on the Rieger organ with its 6,138 pipes and the 17 musicians create atmosphere, beauty, as well as powerful sound normally associated with large orchestras. © Deutsche Grammophon

Emmanuel Despax returns to Signum with a programme of JS Bach transcriptions. The title quotes Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (“Breathe, Hope”), brought to Despax’s mind following the news of the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral, where he had attended many concerts of Bach’s music as a child. Despax describes Bach’s music as being “of such clarity, coherence and expressive power, that it is able to transcend its original medium, and to some extent, style”. This virtuosic programme combines both well-known transcriptions, such as the mighty Bach-Busoni Chaconne and Saint-Saën’s Overture, with recordings of several arrangements by the late 19th/early 20th century pianist Theodor Szántó’s – featuring his monumental and uncompromising transcriptions of the Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, and the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. © Signum Classics

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has long been renowned for the sound of its brass section. This CD features the symphony's brass in a selection of pieces that span almost 250 years, including some works originally written for brass and some transcriptions of works for keyboard, orchestra, or band. It's a diverse and appealing program that effectively shows off the players' virtuosity and should interest any fans of brass. The three Renaissance antiphonal pieces by Giovanni Gabrieli are especially successful highlighting their agility; their very clean handling of the music's rapid-fire pyrotechnics is hugely impressive. The various voices of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor shine out with absolute clarity in this arrangement that projects the work's contrapuntal complexities with gleaming clarity. In contrast to the refined elegance of the Bach is the brutal aggressiveness of Silvestre Revueltas' powerful Sensemaya, originally for orchestra, which has a rhythmic propulsiveness reminiscent of The Rite of Spring. Pieces like Walton's Crown Imperial and Grainger's Lincolnshire Posy let the listener hear the radiance and Romantic warmth the players can produce. In some of the pieces, the brass ensemble is augmented by percussion, string bass, and clarinet. Much credit goes to the various arrangers, whose skill and imagination make these pieces sound as if they had originally been conceived for brass ensemble. The sound of the album on CSO, the Chicago Symphony's own label, is clean and bright, but it also has plenty of warmth. The spatial separation of the players in the Gabrieli is handled especially well. This is a recording that fans of brass will not want to miss. © TiVo