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Fretwork|J.S. Bach: Alio modo - "Passacaglia" & other keyboard works transcribed for viols (Fretwork)

J.S. Bach: Alio modo - "Passacaglia" & other keyboard works transcribed for viols (Fretwork)

Fretwork

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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

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J.S. Bach: Alio modo - "Passacaglia" & other keyboard works transcribed for viols (Fretwork)

Fretwork

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1
Pièce d'Orgue in G major, BWV 572 à 6
00:05:43

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

2
Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV 641 à 4
00:01:53

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

3
Prelude & Fugue XVI in G minor, BWV 885 à 4 (from Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II)
00:04:45

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

4
Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582 à 5
00:11:15

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

5
Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit (unaccompanied chorale tune, from Clavier Übung, Part III)
00:00:54

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

6
Christe, aller Welt Trost (harmonization from Riemenschneider Chorale No. 132, from Clavier Übung, Part III)
00:01:31

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

7
Kyrie, Gott Heiliger Geist, BWV 671 à 5 (from Clavier Übung, Part III)
00:04:41

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

8
Dies sind die heiligen zehen Gebot, BWV 678 à 4 (from Clavier Übung, Part III)
00:04:01

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

9
Dies sind die heiligen (alio modo), BWV 679 à 4 (from Clavier Übung, Part III)
00:01:53

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

10
Prelude & Fugue XXII in A minor (originally, B-flat), BWV 867 à 5 (from Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I)
00:05:02

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

11
Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV 686 à 6 (from Clavier Übung III)
00:04:38

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

12
Fugue in E-flat major, "St. Anne", BWV 522.2 à 5 (from Clavier Übung III)
00:06:34

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

13
Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit, BWV 668 à 4 (from Clavier Übung III)
00:04:30

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

14
Prelude & Fugue XI in F major, BWV 880 à 5/à 3 (from Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II)
00:05:35

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

15
Wir gläuben all an einen Gott, BWV 680 à 5 (from Clavier Übung III)
00:02:42

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

16
Fugue IV in D minor (originally, C-sharp), BWV 849 à 5 (from Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I)
00:03:27

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

17
The Musical Offering: Ricercar, BWV 1079 à 6
00:06:52

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

18
Canon triplex, BWV 1076 à 6
00:01:08

Fretwork, Performer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer

2005 harmonia mundi usa

Album review

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

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