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Bach: Complete Concertos For Solo Harpsichord / Elizabeth Farr
Naxos

Bach: Complete Concertos For Solo Harpsichord / Elizabeth Farr

$29.99 Only 2 left

Details

Composer
BACH, J.S.
Artist
Elizabeth Farr
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Nov 17, 2009
Catalog #
8572006-07
UPC
747313200672

About



BACH Concertos for Solo Harpsichord: BWV 972-93, 975-76, 978, 980 (after Vivaldi); 974 (after A. Marcello); 979 (after Torrelli); 981 (after B. Marcello); 977, 983, 986, 985 (after Telemann); 982, 984, 987 (after Ernst). Prelude and Fugue in a, BWV 894 • Elizabeth Farr (hpd) • NAXOS 8572006-07 (2 CDs: 150:35)


This recording hit me like a ton of bricks in three ways. First, there is the music itself, not actually by J.S. Bach but rather transcriptions he made for harpsichord of concertos by Vivaldi, Torelli, Alessandro and Benedetto Marcello, Johann Ernst, Telemann, and unknown composers, in addition to his own Prelude and Fugue in A Minor. Second, there is the extraordinarily high quality of Elizabeth Farr’s performances, dramatic, nuanced, and extraordinarily colorful. And third, there is the sound of the instrument, a rare Baroque-era harpsichord with a 16’ set of strings as well as damper and sustain pedals. When this CD first started pouring out of my speakers, I thought I was listening to Wanda Landowska in digital stereo. It turns out that such fabulous beasts did exist, after all, in the Baroque era, in fact from as far back as the 16th century. Well, well, well. It turns out that Landowska, who has been lambasted for more than half a century for her “grotesque,” “gargantuan-sounding” instruments, was on the right track after all. Not having an authentic instrument to play, she simply had Pleyel create one for her. Granted, it had a grand piano frame because she was a touring musician and even a newly minted harpsichord with 16’ strings would have gotten pummeled on trains, but the sound was not that far removed from this.


Farr is also an interesting annotator. In order to save space I refer you to her liner notes, which explain why Bach transcribed 22 concertos by primarily Italian composers for harpsichord (six of them are for two harpsichords). The key to the project was young Prince Johann Ernst, the nephew of Duke Wilhelm, who in fact composed three of the concertos transcribed here. The young prince, an outstanding musician, wanted them to play on his instrument. Bach was willing to oblige for one particular reason: By writing out these concertos he could study their composing methods, and apply what he learned to his own “Italianate” music.


Farr’s playing is in the style of Leonhardt and Kipnis, using a great deal of rubato—some of it obvious, some of it quite subtle—to break up the very regular rhythms. I love this style. It is antithetical to British harpsichordists like Trevor Pinnock (whom I also highly admire), but very much in line with the type of “hesitating” style that Bach himself later employed in so many solo harpsichord works, a style he undoubtedly picked up from his friend and older colleague Buxtehude. She also plays very dramatically—heavy chording and rich textures when emulating the full tutti of the orchestral passages, lighter and airier in slow movements and when emulating solo passages. This took me some getting used to, but I came to enjoy this approach.


Some listeners may feel cheated that only one work (the Prelude and Fugue) is actually by Bach, but as a compendium of Baroque style transcribed by a musical genius, played to perfection and stunningly recorded, this set is very highly recommended.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

Tracklist 55 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 I. [Allegro] 02:33
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    02:33
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  3. 2 II. Larghetto 02:47
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Larghetto
    Duration
    02:47
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  4. 3 III. Allegro 02:50
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    02:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  5. 4 I. [Allegro] 03:03
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    03:03
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  6. 5 II. Largo 01:59
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Largo
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  7. 6 III. Allegro 02:56
    Track
    6
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    02:56
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  8. 7 I. [Allegro] 03:42
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    03:42
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  9. 8 II. Largo 03:09
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Largo
    Duration
    03:09
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  10. 9 III. Gigue: Presto 02:05
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Gigue: Presto
    Duration
    02:05
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  11. 10 I. [Allegro] 04:14
    Track
    10
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    04:14
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  12. 11 II. Largo 02:57
    Track
    11
    Title
    II. Largo
    Duration
    02:57
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  13. 12 III. Allegro 03:42
    Track
    12
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    03:42
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  14. 13 I. Allegro 02:46
    Track
    13
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    02:46
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  15. 14 II. Largo 01:45
    Track
    14
    Title
    II. Largo
    Duration
    01:45
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  16. 15 III. Allegro 03:00
    Track
    15
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    03:00
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  17. 16 I. [Allegro] 04:24
    Track
    16
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    04:24
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  18. 17 II. Largo 03:15
    Track
    17
    Title
    II. Largo
    Duration
    03:15
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  19. 18 III. Allegro 02:13
    Track
    18
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    02:13
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  20. 19 I. [Allegro] 02:58
    Track
    19
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    02:58
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  21. 20 II. Adagio 01:13
    Track
    20
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    01:13
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  22. 21 III. Giga 03:07
    Track
    21
    Title
    III. Giga
    Duration
    03:07
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  23. 22 I. [Allegro] 03:53
    Track
    22
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    03:53
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  24. 23 II. Adagio 02:22
    Track
    23
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    02:22
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  25. 24 III. Allegro 02:43
    Track
    24
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    02:43
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  26. 25 I. [Allegro] 02:30
    Track
    25
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    02:30
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  27. 26 II. Adagio 01:04
    Track
    26
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    01:04
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  28. 27 III. Allegro 02:45
    Track
    27
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    02:45
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  29. Disc 2
  30. 1 I. [Adagio] - Allegro 01:39
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. [Adagio] - Allegro
    Duration
    01:39
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  31. 2 II. Adagio 00:42
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    00:42
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  32. 3 III. Allegro 03:42
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    03:42
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  33. 4 IV. Andante 01:10
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Andante
    Duration
    01:10
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  34. 5 V. Adagio 00:43
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Adagio
    Duration
    00:43
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  35. 6 VI. Allegro 04:16
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Allegro
    Duration
    04:16
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  36. 7 I. [Andante] 03:13
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. [Andante]
    Duration
    03:13
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  37. 8 II. Adagio 03:05
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    03:05
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  38. 9 III. Presto 02:26
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Presto
    Duration
    02:26
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  39. 10 I. Adagio 01:48
    Track
    10
    Title
    I. Adagio
    Duration
    01:48
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  40. 11 II. Vivace 02:14
    Track
    11
    Title
    II. Vivace
    Duration
    02:14
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  41. 12 III. [Adagio] 01:59
    Track
    12
    Title
    III. [Adagio]
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  42. 13 IV. Prestissimo 02:54
    Track
    13
    Title
    IV. Prestissimo
    Duration
    02:54
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  43. 14 I. [Allegro] 02:44
    Track
    14
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  44. 15 II. Adagio - III. Allegro 03:45
    Track
    15
    Title
    II. Adagio - III. Allegro
    Duration
    03:45
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  45. 16 IV. Allegro 02:13
    Track
    16
    Title
    IV. Allegro
    Duration
    02:13
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  46. 17 I. [Allegro] 03:24
    Track
    17
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    03:24
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  47. 18 II. Adagio e affettuoso 01:52
    Track
    18
    Title
    II. Adagio e affettuoso
    Duration
    01:52
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  48. 19 III. Allegro assai 03:10
    Track
    19
    Title
    III. Allegro assai
    Duration
    03:10
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  49. 20 I. [Grave] 02:26
    Track
    20
    Title
    I. [Grave]
    Duration
    02:26
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  50. 21 II. [Allegro] 02:49
    Track
    21
    Title
    II. [Allegro]
    Duration
    02:49
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  51. 22 III. Adagio 00:33
    Track
    22
    Title
    III. Adagio
    Duration
    00:33
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  52. 23 IV. [Vivace] 01:17
    Track
    23
    Title
    IV. [Vivace]
    Duration
    01:17
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  53. 24 I. [Allegro] 02:51
    Track
    24
    Title
    I. [Allegro]
    Duration
    02:51
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  54. 25 II. Adagio 01:50
    Track
    25
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    01:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  55. 26 III. [Allegro] 02:47
    Track
    26
    Title
    III. [Allegro]
    Duration
    02:47
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  56. 27 Prelude 06:38
    Track
    27
    Title
    Prelude
    Duration
    06:38
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr
  57. 28 Fugue 05:30
    Track
    28
    Title
    Fugue
    Duration
    05:30
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Elizabeth Farr