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Plucked Bach: Cello Suites nos. 1 & 2 on Plucked Strings / Sariel
PENTATONE

Plucked Bach: Cello Suites nos. 1 & 2 on Plucked Strings / Sariel

$19.99

Details

Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach, Alon Sariel
Artist
Alon Sariel
Format
CD
Label
PENTATONE
Released
Jun 24, 2022
Catalog #
PTC5186985
UPC
827949098567

About

Alon Sariel makes his PENTATONE debut with Plucked Bach, a program exploring Bach’s cello suites performed on different mandolins, lutes, baroque guitar and oud, concluding with Sariel’s own Bach-inspired Mandolin Partita. Bach’s suites are often considered to be “the cellist’s Bible”, but the transferability of his music between instruments – a practice to which the composer himself also contributed frequently – seems to justify this fresh approach. Sariel aims to realize the timeless and universal character of Bach’s music in a multifarious sound world of plucked instruments, through a program that employs an interplay of light and dark, embodied by the first and second suites respectively.

Another objective has been to bring out the youthful élan of this music, composed years before Bach’s Passions. Altogether, this album presents Bach’s music in a new, enticing light. Alon Sariel is one of the most versatile performers of his generation, whose guiding principle is a changing perspective; giving new life to existing material, as well as creating completely new works.

REVIEWS:

It’s a pleasure to hear Israeli lutenist Alon Sariel once again...Sariel’s artistic insight is just as keen as I remembered it. Here, he plays several mandolins and lutes, baroque guitar, and oud, all of which are displayed on the album cover and all are performed with his usual class and style.

The program of Sariel’s arrangements of various Bach cello suites begins with the Prelude from Suite No. 5 in C Minor, arranged for mandolin, an instrument whose classical voice is usually heard, if at all, in song accompaniments. Here, Sariel makes a fine impression for it as a plaintive, searching voice. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, heard in Sariel’s arrangement for lute, establishes the instrument’s authentic voice right off in an urgently strummed 2-part setting. Gavottes I and II from Suite No. 6 in D Major make a nice encore, clarified in thought and feeling. Suite No. 2 in D Minor, if anything, makes an even finer impression as a lute arrangement, beginning with a slow, contemplative Prelude with a haunting echo. As an encore, the Sarabande from this suite is performed once again, this time in Sariel’s arrangement for the Oud, an instrument of North African or Arabic origin without frets and with a short neck and, most importantly, a distinctively low, passionate voice that makes for a fine arrangement in this instance.

Sariel concludes the program with his own Mandolin Partita for what would appear to be a round-backed Neapolitan model. It is in six movements: a mystery-laden Prelude, intriguing Allemande, florid Courante with cascading notes, gently poignant Sarabande, Minuets I & 2 characterized by lively syncopations, and a Gigue handsomely decorated with grace notes. All of which reveal his knowing grasp of the Baroque style.

-- Audio Video Club of Atlanta

Tracklist 21 tracks

  1. 1 Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: I. Prelude (arr. A. Sariel for mandolin) 06:03
    Track
    1
    Title
    Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: I. Prelude (arr. A. Sariel for mandolin)
    Duration
    06:03
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  2. 2 I. Prelude 03:32
    Track
    2
    Title
    I. Prelude
    Duration
    03:32
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  3. 3 II. Allemande 05:31
    Track
    3
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    05:31
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  4. 4 III. Courante 03:25
    Track
    4
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    03:25
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  5. 5 IV. Sarabande 02:36
    Track
    5
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    02:36
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  6. 6 V. Menuets I and II 03:52
    Track
    6
    Title
    V. Menuets I and II
    Duration
    03:52
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  7. 7 VI. Gigue 01:55
    Track
    7
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    01:55
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  8. 8 Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: V. Gavottes I and II (arr. A. Sariel for guitar) 04:04
    Track
    8
    Title
    Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: V. Gavottes I and II (arr. A. Sariel for guitar)
    Duration
    04:04
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  9. 9 I. Prelude 04:18
    Track
    9
    Title
    I. Prelude
    Duration
    04:18
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  10. 10 II. Allemande 04:04
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    04:04
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  11. 11 III. Courante 02:37
    Track
    11
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    02:37
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  12. 12 IV. Sarabande 04:03
    Track
    12
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    04:03
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  13. 13 V. Menuets I and II 02:50
    Track
    13
    Title
    V. Menuets I and II
    Duration
    02:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  14. 14 VI. Gigue 03:20
    Track
    14
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    03:20
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  15. 15 IV. Sarabande (performed by oud) 04:17
    Track
    15
    Title
    IV. Sarabande (performed by oud)
    Duration
    04:17
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  16. 16 I. Prelude 02:10
    Track
    16
    Title
    I. Prelude
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Alon Sariel
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  17. 17 II. Allemande 01:43
    Track
    17
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    01:43
    Composer
    Alon Sariel
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  18. 18 III. Courante 01:47
    Track
    18
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    01:47
    Composer
    Alon Sariel
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  19. 19 IV. Sarabande 01:45
    Track
    19
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    01:45
    Composer
    Alon Sariel
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  20. 20 V. Menuets I and II 01:50
    Track
    20
    Title
    V. Menuets I and II
    Duration
    01:50
    Composer
    Alon Sariel
    Performer
    Alon Sariel
  21. 21 VI. Gigue 01:24
    Track
    21
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    Alon Sariel
    Performer
    Alon Sariel