A very appealing Bach collection played in a variety of transcriptions with complete mastery by Andrew Lawrence-King. Players of the modern harp may look with trepidation on anything with 'chromatic' in its title and velocity on the agenda, imagining a need for a third foot - and for all three to be hyperactive.

But the baroque double harp which Lawrence-King uses here has no pedals; there are separate strings for every note, but their selection calls for skill and speed, talents he has in abundance. Nor does he lack any other of the attributes needed to approach such a demanding programme. His view of the Chromatic Fantasia is contemplative rather than dramatized, occupying 1032" (par for the keyboard course is six or seven minutes) and in his annotation he rightly refers to the harp-like textures in which it abounds. Given its success it is a pity he severed it from its companion Fugue but doubtless he had his own good (perhaps technical) reasons. Technical reasons may also account for the changes of key for BWV997 (C minor to D minor) and BWV1004 (D minor to A minor), which should disturb no one.

-- Gramophone [12/1999]