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Mandolinist Alon Sariel continues his series of Bach transcriptions with Plucked Bach II. On his first Plucked Bach album, Sariel played the Cello Suites on a wide range of plucked instruments. Yet in this new recording, he performs works for the lute, organ and violin - all performed on 'only' two types of mandolins. By offering a distinctive and groundbreaking interpretation of his own transcriptions and arrangements, Sariel manages to breathe new life into some very well-known works by Johann Sebastian Bach.

The iconoclast Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (BWV 565) for the organ receives a contemplative and intimate character on the mandolin. Excerpts of the Lute Suite (BWV 998) and the Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major (BWV 1006) are drawn in a whole new palette of colors. For Bach's Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor (BWV 1003), Alon Sariel shows the in-credible suitability of the mandolin for Bach's music. And as an encore, you will hear his rendition of Ysaÿe's dazzling Obsession. Alon Sariel is one of today's most versatile performers, known as a multi-instrumentalist in the realm of plucked strings with a growing reputation as a fascinating Bach interpreter.

Skillfully crafted, meticulously executed and utterly enjoyable, Giulia Nuti's solo recordings include three anthologies of keyboard music, the last two released with Arcana. These albums feature historically significant instruments carefully chosen by the artist to enhance the repertoire with which they are associated: Le Cœur et l’Oreille (2017), recorded on the 1658 Louis Denis harpsichord and, more recently, The Fall of the Leaf (2022), featuring the splendid Italian “Rucellai” virginal built around 1575.

Her albums have been met with critical acclaim and awards, such as the “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik” (German Record Critics’ Award) and the “Diapason d’or”.

For her fourth solo recital album, Giulia Nuti explores a different path, performing one of the pinnacles of keyboard literature, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Six Partitas. In this recording, she uses a splendid harpsichord by Christian Kuhlmann (2016), a copy of the magnificent Henri Hemsch of 1751.

The large-scale Bach Organ Landscapes project featuring J.S. Bach’s entire organ oeuvre recorded on a range of instruments aims to provide an overview of organ-playing and organ-building traditions that were key to Bach’s composing. With a keen eye to the unique cultural organ legacy of the places associated with Bach, Halubek has placed Bach’s original sound at the heart of his project. The recordings are accompanied by digital material that offer an almost tactile access to the great composer’s sound universe. This album represents the experimental phase of J.S. Bach, which is linked to Arnstadt.

For their 25th anniversary, caterva musica has recorded virtuoso concertos for all instrumental groups in the ensemble. L‘arte del virtuoso (The Art of the Virtuoso) is a four-part series released by MDG. The programme on Vol. 3 includes Franz Benda's dramatic flute concerto, lively chamber music by Telemann, Graun and Vivaldi, as well as a very special rarity: Johann Sebastian Bach's large-scale Sinfonia BWV 1045 with concertante violin.

The legendary English organist E. Power Biggs became a household name when his Sunday morning CBS broadcasts introduced radio listeners all over North America to the sound of historic pipe organs and the classical organ repertoire from every period. In a lifelong search for authenticity, the indefatigable Biggs visited places in Holland, North Germany, England, France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland where some of the great organist-composers of the Renaissance and Baroque had lived and worked. Between 1961 and 1970, Columbia recorded him in a “Historic Organs of Europe” series, performing music by Bach, Buxtehude, Couperin, Dunstable, Frescobaldi, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, Purcell, Soler, Sweelinck, Tallis and many others.

In his original notes to this ambitious project, which Sony Classical is now reissuing complete in a collection of 6 CDs, Biggs wrote: “It is fascinating to play a composer’s music on the organ he played. You feel that you have touched the lifeline of history… Beethoven’s orchestra, Bach’s choir are all gone, but the same organs on which great musicians played are still available.”

When these famous recordings were released on LP, Gramophone’s reviewer wrote that “the commanding sweep of the whole panorama makes compulsive listening… The enthusiasm of Mr. Power Biggs for his subjects makes him the ideal guide: he can turn his hand to any organ and make a neat job of the music, however recalcitrant the actions may be. His performances are sumptuously recorded.” Organ aficionados will relish this new opportunity to experience these musical milestones in this new box set.

CONTENTS:

• Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue in B minor, BWV544
• Bach, J S: Chorale Prelude BWV691 'Wer nun den lieben Gott lässt walten'
• Bach, J S: Chorale Prelude BWV751 'In dulci jubilo'
• Perotinus: Hec dies
• Leoninus: Hec dies
• Dunstaple: Agincourt Hymn
• Paumann: Mit ganzem Willen wünsch ich dir
• Kotter, J: Präambulum in F
• Tallis: Gloria Tibi Trinitas
• Dalza: Pavana ala venetiana
• Purcell: Chaconne in F
• Raison: Passacaglia in G minor
• Couperin, F: Pièces de clavecin IV: Ordre 22ème in D major: Le Trophée
• Clérambault: Basse et Dessus de Trompette
• Anon: Sit Gloria Domini
• Anon: Orientis partibus
• Anon: Christo psallat
• Anon: Hymn to St. Magnus
• Anon: 'Estampie' Anon 13th century
• Anon: Te Deum-Verse
• Soler, A: Organ Concert No. 6 in D 'Kaiserfanfare'
• Soler, A: Keyboard Sonata No. 53 in A major 'Sonata de Clarines'
• Dandrieu, J F: Euo en cors de chasse sur la trompete
• Angles, R: Aria in D minor
• Seixas: Sonata in G minor No. 25
• Seixas: Toccata in D minor
• Cabanilles: Batalla imperial
• Pasquini, B: Partite sopra la Aria della Folia da Espagna
• Milán: Pavana VI
• Valente, A: La romanesca
• Valente, A: Lo ballo dell’intorcia
• Anon: Fabordon glosado VI de sexto tono
• Frescobaldi: Gagliarda Prima
• Frescobaldi: Gagliarda Seconda (1627)
• Frescobaldi: Gagliarda Terza (1627)
• Frescobaldi: Capriccio sopra la Battaglia (1637)
• Gesualdo: Gagliarda del Principe di Venosa
• Trabaci: Gagliarda No. 2
• Trabaci: Gagliarda ottava
• Gabrieli, G: Fuga sul IX Tono
• Pasquini, B: La Follia Variations
• Marcello, B: Psalm 19, "The heaves declare the glory of God"
• Zipoli: Sonata d'intavolatura Book I
• Gabrieli, A: Canzon ariosa
• Banchieri: Dialogo secondo
• Storace, B: Ballo della Battaglia (organ)
• Fantini: Corrente detta dello Staccoli
• Couperin, F: Fanfare
• Couperin, F: Rondeau
• Couperin, F: Offertoire sur les grands jeux
• Lebègue: Basse de trompette
• Balbastre: Joseph est bien marié
• Clérambault: Caprice sur les grands jeux
• Couperin, L: Chaconne
• Couperin, L: Chaconne in D minor, G. 55
• Couperin, L: Chacone in G minor
• Dandrieu, J F: Or nous dites Marie
• Dandrieu, P: Quand le Sauveur Jesus-Christ fut ne de Marie
• Handel: Aylesford Pieces
• Stanley, J: Voluntary Op. 7 No. 6 in F major
• Stanley, J: Voluntary Op. 6 No. 5 in D major: Andante
• Dunstaple: Agincourt Hymn
• Dunstaple: Compositions on a Plainsong
• Aston, H: A Hornepype
• Preston, T: Upon La Mi Re
• Tallis: Gloria Tibi Trinitas
• Tallis: Iste confessor Domini sacratus
• Tye: Point
• Byrd: A Gigg, BK22
• Dowland: The King of Denmark, His Galliard
• Holborne: Allemande
• Purcell: Ground in Gamut
• Clarke, Jeremiah: An Ayre T452
• Anon: Ritornell
• Anon: Packington's Pound
• Bach, J S: Chorale Prelude BWV676 'Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'
• Scronx: Echo in F
• Scronx: Echo in G
• Telemann: Aria dell’ Omphale
• Sweelinck: Fantasia met bindigen, D8
• Sweelinck: Fantasia Contraria in G Dorico
• Buxtehude: Ihr lieben Christen, freut euch nun BuxWV 51: Sinfonia
• Buxtehude: Lob Gott, ihr christen, allzugleich BuxWV 202
• Paumann: Mit ganzem Willen wünsch ich dir
• Cornet: Courantes
• Koetsier: Partia für Englischhorn und Orgel Nr. 1 Op. 41

Born in Grottkau, a town close to Wroclaw in Lower Silesia (modern day Poland), Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750) is for the lute what Johann Sebastian Bach represents for harpsichord and organ. Since 1706, in his hometown, he served Count of Palatinate Charles Philippe, brother of Prince Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, patron of the arts and dedicatee of Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerti Grossi, Op VI.

Starting in 1718, he settled permanently in Dresden, refusing the salary offered by the Viennese Court –which was almost twice as much as he was earning in Dresden – and dedicated his efforts to composing more than 600 lute pieces, either solo or with other instruments. In Dresden, he took part in the musical life in court and met numerous musicians; he was particularly friendly with Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Johann Sebastian’s son and organist at Saint Sophia’s Church. In 1739, the two friends travelled to Leipzig where they were hosted by Johann Sebastian for four weeks. We don’t know for sure for the music played by Bach and Weiss during their meeting, but it seems legitimate to think that they played their music on their instruments composing, arringing or improvising together. This programme is meant to witness this precise type of practise, and in some manner aims at recreating the musical atmosphere of these two musicians’ meeting, during which, as reported by Johann Friedrich Reichardt in the Berlinische Musikalische Zeitung,"being aware of the difficulty in performing controlled and elegant phrases on the lute, eyewitnesses ensure that the great lutenist from Dresden, together with the great organist and harpsichordist Bach improvised many fugues and fantasies together".

By popular demand, this Berlin Classics recording is reissued on Vinyl. Featured on it are J.S. Bach's Oboe Concertos played by one of the greatest German oboists Burkhard Glaetzner and the Mitteldeutscher Bach Convent. An ensemble specialized in the music of Bach. J.S. Bach's oboe concertos stand as a testament to his mastery in crafting music that transcends time. These captivating compositions musicologically constructed showcase Bach's profound understanding of melody, harmony, and orchestration. Burkard Glaetzner was one of the greatest oboe virtosos in Germany if not the whole world. These recordings withstood the test of time and now are considered a reference for this repertoire.

Music has its own language. Its beauty immediately discloses emotions but sometimes also conceals its meanings. The musician is compelled by this dualism to make choices, which are not always painless. To enhance one of them entails attenuating what is immediately perceptible, in order to highlight what, although existing, is not. This peculiarity makes both studying and performing a piece difficult, and must always be taken into account. This often occurs in Johann Sebastian Bach. He is always searching for some kind of absolute truth. However, we are not given to grasp it in its entirety and in its incomparable complexity: only through continuous research and assiduous work we are able to comprehend a small part of it. The art of music resembles an extraordinary journey encompassing infinite dimensions; the most important aspect is treasuring what we experience and discover along the way, not just reaching the destination, because even then we would realize that the journey is far from over. As Bach suggests in his Musical Offering, there is only one road: quaerendo invenietis, seeking you will find; this is what I have tried to accomplish in this new recording project dedicated to the genius from Eisenach. The anthological choice of this CD stems from the need to provide a significant overview of this interpretative philosophy, which allows us to shed new light on the kaleidoscopic world of Bach. My previous recording project “Domenico Scarlatti alio modo” followed this same criterion, albeit on different bases.

The three Suites recorded on this CD (BWV 1007, BWV 1008 and BWV 1010) were transcribed for guitar by the performers themselves, following a practice customary for Bach and absolutely familiar to him (the Fifth Suite for cello has come down to us in two versions, one for cello and one for lute: we are not sure which came first). One should therefore recognise the full aesthetic legitimacy of the guitar transcription of these compositions, a practice, moreover, that has now been established for decades. This procedure is ultimately legitimised by the primacy, in Bach’s language, of the harmonic and contrapuntal dimension over their sonic realisation, a primacy that led Ferruccio Busoni, for whom the concept of “transcription” occupies a position of absolute centrality in his aesthetic thought, to transcribe for piano not only numerous compositions for organ by Thomaskantor, but also the Chaconne from the Second Partita in D minor for solo violin. With specific regard to the guitar, one cannot fail to mention the name of Andrés Segovia, who transcribed for his instrument and recorded in 1946 the highly famous Chaconne.

The internationally renowned pianist Caroline Fischer has put together an evocative holiday gift with her new GENUIN CD. For the recording, she sought out old and new Christmas melodies, well-known and unknown, and combined them to form a harmonious whole. Included are treasures such as Otto von Walden’s tender fantasy on “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” and Gustav Lange’s enchanting version of “Silent Night” – some of these windfalls have been recorded on CD for the first time. Thoughtfully curated and recorded to the highest standard, the only thing really missing is the wrapping paper!

The German radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk Kultur, the German Music Council, and GENUIN once again jointly present the debut CD of a promising young musician: organist Aurel Dawidiuk is the winner of the 2022 German Music Competition in the organ category. His stellar career, however, goes far beyond that, as Dawidiuk is also celebrating his first international successes as a pianist and conductor. Exploring the theme of B-A-C-H in his organ debut, the major organ works assembled here span three centuries and include music by Johann Sebastian Bach himself, Johann Krebs, Franz Liszt, Zsigmond Szathmáry, and Max Reger – a rich diversity of music covering a wide range of styles!

Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Platée is a masterpiece of the French operatic repertoire and was highly regarded by critics during the composer’s lifetime. Composed for the marriage of the Dauphin Louis, son of Louis XV, to the Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain, it was first performed at Versailles in 1745 and became an instant hit. The plot concerns the ugly and conceited frog Platée, the victim of a machination of the gods who make her believe that she is loved by Jupiter. Is this Rameau mocking Princess Maria Teresa of Spain – reputedly a woman of little beauty? Or the French court, which saw itself as a new Olympus? This classic production from the Opéra de Paris by Marc Minkowski and Laurent Pelly returns to the stage with an entirely new cast, featuring Julie Fuchs, Mathias Vidal, Jean Teitgen and Lawrence Brownlee.

Argentine violinist Tomás Cotik now resides in the U.S. He is a professor of violin at Portland State University. Here, he performs his own arrangements for violin of the J.S. Bach Six Cello Suites. This is, of course, some of the greatest of all of the solo cello literature, beautifully arranged for and performed on violin.

Almost all major composers have written important transcriptions, some even reaching the status of a masterpiece. Transcriptions often reflect the period in which they were written. The Liszt-Bach transcriptions being very different from the masterly Bach Chaconne for
violin and his choral preludes by Ferruccio Busoni. Liszt is basically urtext-true in his Bach and Beethoven transcriptions, while Busoni incorporated in his transcriptions not only the text of the work but also the total acoustical end result. 

The catalogue of Johann Sebastian Bach's works comprises 1128 numbers, but he actually composed more than that: many compositions have unfortunately not survived to the present day. Some works, moreover, have reached us incomplete, either because the composer himself did not finish them or because part of the manuscript has been lost. This recording presents all of Bach's organ works that have reached us as fragments, brought to completion by me. In this not easy task, I have tried to adhere to Bach's style, knowing full well that such a supreme artist is inimitable. At the same time, in this way, it is possible to listen to largely forgotten pages.