Echoes — Bach's Breath and Chopin / Cord Garben

$12.99
Label
Musicaphon
Release Date
January 3, 2025
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      Johann Sebastian Bach, Frederic Chopin
    • PERFORMER
      Cord Garben
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      January 03, 2025
    • UPC
      4012476569932
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      M56993
    • LABEL
      Musicaphon
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Piano
    Works ⌄

    1. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846-869: Prelude No. 13 in F-Sharp Major, BWV 858

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    2. Nocturne No. 5 in F-Sharp Major, Op. 15, No. 2

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben

    3. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846-869: Prelude No. 3 in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    4. Berceuse in D-Flat Major, Op. 57

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben

    5. 24 Preludes, Op. 28: No. 14 in E-Flat Minor

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben

    6. Fugue No. 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 852

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    7. Prelude No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 857

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    8. Nocturne No. 16 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55, No. 2

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben

    9. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846-869: Prelude No. 11 in F Major, BWV 856

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    10. 24 Preludes, Op. 28: No. 23 in F Major

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben

    11. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846-869: Fugue No. 21 in B-Flat Major, BWV 866

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    12. Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben

    13. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846-869: Prelude No. 8 in E-Flat Minor, BWV 853

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    14. Etude No. 6 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 10, No. 6

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben

    15. 24 Preludes, Op. 28: No. 6 in B Minor

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben

    16. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846-869: Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 869

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    17. 24 Preludes, Op. 28: No. 5 in D Major

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben

    18. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846-869: Fugue No. 5 in D Major, BWV 850

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    19. Etude No. 10 in A-Flat Major, Op. 10, No. 10

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben

    20. Fugue No. 3 in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    21. Prelude No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Cord Garben

    22. Nocturne No. 18 in E Major, Op. 62, No. 2

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Cord Garben


Chopin is said to have played in time (the metronome was always on the instrument), his left hand relentlessly keeping the tempo. Students also reported that he never played a piece in the same way, and that each performance produced a different result. And yet the composer's rubato playing was by no means as free as it is today. There are no reports of Chopin's playing of Bach in particular, but his admiration for the composer is certain. We therefore put the legend that he himself—according to his own statement—played only Bach for fourteen days before a concert into perspective and simply imagine that he worked intensively on "Bach" before his already rare performances. We can assume that the preludes and fugues of the "Well-Tempered Clavier," some of which are also heard in this project, were the focus of his interest.

A closer look at Chopin’s works, especially those of a smaller dimension, repeatedly catches the eye of modules that we think we already know from Bach. Individual bars of the Préludes op. 28 (1836-1839) and Études (op. 10 no. 4) (1833/1837) could be retransformed into a nucleus in Bach’s character with just a few “hand movements.” Chopin’s veneration of Bach preserved these highly condensed musical tools of the Baroque composer well into the Romantic century. He still used them in his late works, such as his last Nocturne in E major, which in a sense takes stock of “Bach.”

This recording, which feels entirely experimental, aims to create a unique musical experience through the direct connection of tonal, for example key, variations. The sound of some structurally related works clearly shows how much Chopin was influenced by Bach's work, whose formal stability with its geometric structures often prevented him from sowing too much "tinsel, trinkets, and pearls," something Robert Schumann once had the courage to accuse his rival of. The aim of this project tempted us to play "Chopin like Bach" here and there and to achieve the greatest possible transparency with extremely economical use of the pedal. Above all, to breathe Chopin's breath into Bach's melodic beauties with a "romantic" touch. The approximately 40-year-old Steinway B grand piano was chosen because of its slim bass section.