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W. F. Bach: Six Sonatas for Two Flutes

Arcana

$20.99 Feb 27, 2026

In a century that saw many illustrious French and German composers write for two flutes, the six sonatas of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach stand out as the most significant, complex and technically demanding of this repertoire. Ever since they were rediscovered and published almost a century ago, they have become a stable part of the flute catalogue, appreciated and performed on both historic and modern instruments. Viewing it as the quintessential work of Friedemann's creative output, the specialist Peter Wollny even sees it as a summa of his entire production, full of quotations and reminiscences of his previous works. After the album devoted to the sonatas of C.P.E. Bach (A 537, Diapason d'or), Manuel Granatiero, accompanied by the Italo-Croatian flautist Eleonora Biscevic, now turns his attention to this masterpiece by Johann Sebastian Bach's eldest son. Arriving some thirty-five years after the first, and only, recorded version on period instruments (by Barthold Kuijken and Marc Hantai), this new recording offers a fresh perspective on music of extraordinary brilliance, passion and virtuosity.

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W. F. Bach: Six Sonatas for Two Flutes
Arcana Feb 2026
CD
$20.99

Mix & Match

Bach's Musical Offerings / Klaassens, Calefax Reed Quintet

PENTATONE

SACD

$21.99 Oct 09, 2020

The Dutch reed quintet Calefax celebrates 35 years of adventurous and versatile musicianship with a collection of Musical Offerings from Johann Sebastian Bach, arranged by the ensemble’s saxophonist Raaf Hekkema. Arthur Klaassens joins the ensemble on a lupophone and English horn for Musikalisches Opfer, the main course of this programme, as well as for the 14 Canons, BWV 1087, creating a unique blend of wind instruments. The album concludes with Bach’s Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel hoch, BWV 769, a piece full of allusions to Christmas-related Bach pieces, including references to his Christmas Oratorio. Bach’s Musical Offerings is Calefax’ third PENTATONE release, after the well-received Dido & Aeneazz (2019), a virtuosic and eclectic recomposition of Purcell’s famous opera performed with trumpetist Eric Vloeimans, as well as Hidden Gems (2018), showcasing the quintet’s versatility with pieces ranging from Corelli and Satie to Nina Simone.

REVIEW:

For those who are intrigued by different readings of Bach’s masterpiece, this is one of the most piquant and unusual, with the composer’s matchless counterpoint given the closest possible attention The Dutch reed quintet’s take on Bach, arranged by the ensemble’s saxophonist Raaf Hekkema. Arthur Klaassens further expands the ensemble’s sonic palette by joining them on lupophone and cor anglaise for Musikalisches Opfer, the main course of this programme, as well as for 14 Canons, BWV 1087. The album concludes with Bach’s Canonic variations on Von Himmel hoch. All nine known versions of the melody have found a place in Raaf’s arrangement, resulting in a many-coloured Christmas collage.

-- Classical CD Choice (Barry Forshaw)

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Bach's Musical Offerings / Klaassens, Calefax Reed Quintet
PENTATONE Oct 2020
SACD
$21.99

The Sacred Apocryphal Bach / Helbich, Alsfelder Vokalensemble [8-CD Set]

CPO

$74.99 Feb 25, 2014

BACH (attr.) THE SACRED APOCRYPHAL BACH • Wolfgang Helbich, cond; Alsfelder Vocal Ens; various performers • CPO 777 878-2 (8 CDs: 432: 03 Text and Translation)

BACH (attr.) Cantatas, BWV 217–222 • Wolfgang Helbich, cond; Johanna Koslowsky (sop); Kai Wessel (alt); Harry Geraerts (ten); Phillip Langshaw (bs); Alsfelder Vocal Ens; Steintor Barock Bremen • CPO 999 139-2 (2 CDs: 101:27 Text and Translation)

BACH (attr.) Motets, BWV Anh. 159, 160, 162–165 • Wolfgang Helbich, cond; Alsfelder Vocal Ens • CPO 999 235-2 (55:27 Text and Translation)

BACH (attr.) St. Luke Passion, BWV 246 • Wolfgang Helbich, cond; Rufus Müller ( Evangelist ); Stephan Schreckenberger ( Jesus ); Mona Spägele (sop); Christiane Iven (alt); Harry van Berne (ten); Marcus Sandmann (bs); Alsfelder Vocal Ens; Barockorchester Bremen • CPO 999 293-2 (2 CDs: 106:17 Text and Translation)

BACH (attr.) Masses, BWV Anh. 25 and 26. Magnificat, BWV Anh. 21 • Wolfgang Helbich, cond; Dorothee Mields (sop); Henning Voss (alt); Henning Kaiser (ten); Ralf Grobe (bs); Alsfelder Vocal Ens; I Febiarmonici • CPO 999 834-2 (51:47 Text and Translation)

BACH (attr.) Cantatas, BWV 15, 141, 142, 160 • Wolfgang Helbich, cond; Dorothee Mields (sop); Henning Voss (alt); Henning Kaiser (ten); Ralf Grobe (bs); Alsfelder Vocal Ens; I Febiarmonici • CPO 999 985-2 (58:48 Text and Translation)

BACH (attr.) Cantata, BWV 150. Magnificat, BWV Anh. 30. Masses, BWV Anh. 24 and 167. Sanctus, BWV 237, 239, and 240 • Wolfgang Helbich, cond; Bremen Musikhochschule Solo Qrt; Gesualdo Consort Amsterdam; Alsfelder Vocal Ens; Hannover Hofkapelle • CPO 777 561-2 (58:17 Text and Translation)

Conductor Wolfgang Helbich died of a stroke on his 70th birthday, on April 8, 2013. Here, CPO has assembled (by simple virtue of an outer cardboard box around the original separate releases) the six sets of eight CDs comprising Helbich’s project of recording vocal works once attributed to Bach but now (with two exceptions) generally considered to be spurious or dubious, or now definitely known to be by another composer. The dates of the recordings span 1991 to 2009 and are listed above in their original order of release. Three of them were previously reviewed in these pages: the two-CD set of cantatas by George Chien in 16:2, the St. Luke Passion by Ralph V. Lucano in 21:1, and the second disc of masses and mass movements by yours truly in 36:2. All of those performances were highly praised, and that praise is equally applicable to the other three discs in the series as well.

Given the detailed coverage given to three of the releases, I will confine myself here to an overview of the set as a whole, with a few specific comments on the three discs not previously covered. First, a scorecard of current attributions, if any, of the various compositions, in order of the sets listed above and using their front tray card titles:

Apocryphal Bach Cantatas:

BWV 217, 220, and 221—Anonymous

BWV 218 and 219—Georg Philipp Telemann

BWV 222—Johann Ernst Bach (1722–1777)

Apocryphal Bach Motets:

BWV Anh. 159—authentic J. S. Bach

BWV Anh. 160—Georg Philipp Telemann, portions reworked by Bach

BWV Anh. 162—Georg Gottfried Wagner (1698–1756)

BWV Anh. 163—Bach “di Eisenach”—unknown; possibly Johann Ernst Bach?

BWV Anh. 164—Johann Christoph Altnickol (1719/20–1759)

BWV Anh. 165—Johann Ernst Bach

Apocryphal St. Luke Passion:

BWV 246, Anh. II 30—unknown; possibly Johann Melchior Molter (1696–1765)

Apocryphal Bach Masses (and Magnificat):

BWV Anh. 21 (Magnificat)—Georg Melchior Hoffmann (c. 1679–1715)

BWV Anh. 25—unknown; Italianate in style, probably by a Neapolitan composer

BWV Anh. 26—Francesco Durante (1684–1755), revised by Bach

Apocryphal Bach Cantatas II:

BWV 15—Johann Ludwig Bach (1677–1731)

BWV 141 and BWV 160—Georg Philipp Telemann

BWV 142—unknown; possibly Johann Kuhnau (1660–1722)

Apocryphal Bach Masses II:

BWV 150 (Cantata)—authentic J. S. Bach

BWV Anh. 24 (Mass)—Johann Christoph Pez (1664–1716)

BWV Anh. 167 (Mass)—unknown

BWV Anh. 30 (Magnificat)—unknown

BWV 237, 239, and 240 (Sanctus movements)—unknown

Second, a few remarks on the three previously unreviewed discs. The unaccompanied motets all set German texts; the most substantial in terms of length are BWV Anh. 160 and BWV Anh. 163. For the latter, the suggestion of Johann Ernst Bach (the son of a second cousin of J. S. Bach) as the most likely of the Eisenach Bach clan to be the work’s author is mine, on the grounds that he personally studied with J. S. Bach, who copied out two other works by him listed above, including another motet. The one apocryphal motet that sounds most like an authentic piece by J. S. Bach, however, is BWV Anh. 164 of Johann Christoff Altnickol, a son-in-law of J. S. Bach who served as organist at the Wenzelkirche in Naumburg until his untimely death. Georg Gottfried Wagner was a pupil of J. S. Bach and of Bach’s predecessor in Leipzig, Johann Kuhnau. Like Altnickol, he obtained a lifetime appointment on the strength of a recommendation from his teacher, in Wagner’s case as Kantor to the Johanniskirche in Plauen. Only one other composition of his besides this motet is known to have survived.

Regarding the two apocryphal masses, it beggars belief that anyone would have thought either one to be by Bach given how obviously Italian they are in compositional style, though in the case of BWV Anh. 26 Bach did make some emendations to the score, particularly in the Kyrie. Francesco Durante was a Neapolitan composer of sacred music and a noted pedagogue (particularly notorious for his insistence that all his students rigidly adhere to a single unvarying set of compositional rules) who successively taught at the Conservatorio di Sant’ Onofrio and the Conservatorio di Santa Maria di Loreto. For his part, Georg Melchior Hoffmann studied first in Dresden and then in Leipzig, where he succeeded Telemann as director of the famed Collegium Musicum which J. S. Bach also would later head. During his short life-span he was both quite prolific and highly regarded. As with the apocryphal motets, his Magnificat lies squarely within the stylistic confines of the late German Baroque. As for the second disc of apocryphal cantatas, Johann Ludwig Bach was an uncle of J. S. Bach. Both the BWV 15 cantata now attributed to him, and the BWV 142 that is possibly by Bach’s Leipzig predecessor Kuhnau, exemplify the less elaborate compositional style of the generation before Bach, whereas the works by Telemann bear all the hallmarks of that composer’s sophisticated and more eclectic musical palette.

Each set within this compilation has its own booklet with CPO’s usual copious notes, artist biographies, and complete original texts with English translations. Aside from being a posthumous tribute to Helbich, however, one must also wonder if the issuance of this set also signals the end of CPO’s Apocryphal Bach project. One hopes that is not the case, for there still remain some items to be covered that could all fit onto one or two CDs. Using the Teldec Complete Bach Edition that I reviewed in 36:2 as a guide, still eligible for inclusion in this series are:

- Cantatas BWV 53 and 189 (both composed by Georg Melchior Hoffmann);

- Cantata fragments BWV 216, 223, and 224;

- Motet BWV 231 (a contrafactum of the second movement of the Cantata BWV 28, presumed to be by another hand);

- Miscellaneous fragments BWV 1081 (an introduction to a Credo by Giovanni Battista Bassani), 1082 (an adaptation of a Magnificat by Antonio Caldara), 1083 (a transcription of a Stabat mater by Giovanni Pergolesi), and 1088 (a bass arioso contributed by Bach to a Passion pastiche, the majority of it composed by Carl Heinrich Graun but also including movements by Telemann, Kuhnau, and Altnickol).

In any case, this entire set deserves a warm recommendation, which I am happy to provide.

FANFARE: James A. Altena

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The Sacred Apocryphal Bach / Helbich, Alsfelder Vokalensemble [8-CD Set]
CPO Feb 2014
CD
$74.99

Kieling: St. Matthew Passion / Finke, La Protezione delle Musica

arcantus Musikproduktion

$29.99 Oct 01, 2021

Founded by Jeroen Finke in 2015, the Ensemble La Protezione della Musica has quickly developed into a recognized ensemble for the performance of music from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. With this double album, the musicians dedicate themselves to the St. Matthew Passion by Johann Cyriacus Kieling (1670-1727), a composer from baroque Saxony-Anhalt. This Passion is written in a mixed style between Schütz and Bach, which is partly very emotional, and contains many short, song-like, expressive arias, figuratively designed recitatives and virtuoso choirs. The Gospel text is very arios and is strongly reminiscent of the sound aesthetics of the histories of the 17th century. In it's musical structure with choirs, chorales, recitatives and commentary arias, the Passion also points in advance to the monumental, high baroque settings of the St. Matthew Passion, for example by Johann Sebastian Bach, which was composed around 20 years later. The very young musicians from the area, including the Thomanerchor in Leipzig and the music academies in Leipzig, Bremen and Weimar, play extremely lively and gripping music, and after listening to this world premiere you will be looking forward to further projects with this ensemble.

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Kieling: St. Matthew Passion / Finke, La Protezione delle Musica
arcantus Musikproduktion Oct 2021
CD
$29.99

C.P.E. & J.C. Bach: Virtuosity & Grace - Viola da Gamba Sonatas / Balestracci, Corsi, Houillon

Arcana

$20.99 Apr 28, 2023

This album is a story of family and friendship. Positioned between homage to a father figure and modernity, the viola da gamba sonatas of Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian Bach are a revealing element in the history of the Bach family and its ties of friendship with two families of virtuoso instrumentalists, the Abels and the Hesses, who had already inspired the work of Johann Sebastian. Carl Philipp Emanuel was active in Berlin, encouraged by the presence of the violist Ludwig Christian Hesse and the enthusiasm of his patron Frederick the Great ("When I am not reading, I am writing, and when I am not writing, I am playing the viol" wrote his nephew, the future Friedrich Wilhelm II). The friendship between Carl Friedrich Abel and Johann Christian gave rise to the latter's sonatas in London. This Arcana release is not only a continuation of Guido Balestracci's recording of J.S. Bach’s viola da gamba sonatas that was awarded a CHOC by Le Monde de la Musique, but is also a celebration of one of the greatest families in the history of music. Guido Balestracci, together here with keyboard player Paolo Corsi, presents another instalment of his long-term project with the l'Amoroso ensemble: the re-evaluation of the viola da gamba and the other members of its family, with a special focus on the lesser-known post-baroque repertoire. His programmes of music for viol by Schaffrath, Haydn's Divertimenti for baryton, and a Schubertiade based on the arpeggione all bear witness to this.

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C.P.E. & J.C. Bach: Virtuosity & Grace - Viola da Gamba Sonatas / Balestracci, Corsi, Houillon
Arcana Apr 2023
CD
$20.99

J. S. Bach: Complete Organ Works, Vol. 14 / David Goode

Signum Classics

$27.99 Aug 07, 2020

David Goode continues his new series of the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach, played on the Metzler Söhne organ of Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge. This fourteenth volume includes ‘Clavier Ubung III: Prelude (“St Anne”), BWV 552a’ and the ‘Clavier Ubung III: Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr (Fughetta), BWV 677.’

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J. S. Bach: Complete Organ Works, Vol. 14 / David Goode
Signum Classics Aug 2020
CD
$27.99

Bach: Arrangements & Transcriptions

Audite Musikproduktion

$20.99 Jun 20, 2025

Jean-Baptiste Dupont performs transcriptions of works by Johann Sebastian Bach on the organ of Saint-Sernin. The layering of composition, transcription, instrument, and interpretation emphasizes the polyphonic depth and dynamic colouring of the pieces. Timeless masterpieces merge with the expressive potential of the Cavaille-Coll organ, itself a masterpiece of the 19th century.

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Bach: Arrangements & Transcriptions
Audite Musikproduktion Jun 2025
CD
$20.99

Bach: Cantatas Vol 46 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

BIS

SACD

$21.99 May 01, 2010

This hybrid disc plays on both CD & SACD players.

BACH Cantatas: No. 17; 1,2,3,4 No. 19; 1,3,4 No. 45; 2,3,4 No. 102 2,3,4 • Masaaki Suzuki, cond; Bach Collegium Japan (period instruments); 1 Hana Blažíková (sop); 2 Robin Blaze (ct); 3 Gerd Türk (ten); 4 Peter Kooij (bs) • BIS 1851 (SACD: 76:24 Text and Translation)

Masaaki Suzuki continues his estimable series with Volume 46 of the complete Bach cantatas. The latter half of the year 1726 saw the creation of these pieces, done at a time when Bach was not writing as many of his own and making use of the work of other composers in his churchly duties. Johann Ludwig Bach composed the texts for these cantatas, from a cycle of the church years published in Meiningen in 1704, and evidently a great inspiration for Sebastian Bach. All except No. 19 are bipartite in form, beginning with a quote from the Old Testament, followed by a parallel quote from the New at the beginning of part I. No. 19 is dedicated to Michaelmas.

But what sets these apart is the almost symphonic conception of the opening choruses, boisterous and energetic, and even the timings indicate that something is up—4:07, 4:08, 5:19, and 5:35, respectively (according to the order in the head note) are quite extensive for the cantatas in general, and it gives Bach ample opportunity to develop his music in the way that perhaps only the Passions allow. The extended division of the works also gives him time to accentuate the differences in mood among movements, more dramatically than in some other cantatas. Though these pieces are taking place in comparatively bland seasons—10th (102), eighth (45), 14th (17) after Trinity, and St. Michael (19) Sundays, respectively, the depth of compositional effort is a little startling. The last particularly was always celebrated with much splendor and high drama, and Bach does not disappoint; right from the start, without benefit of orchestral introduction the choir enters the fray with blazing coloraturas. This is after all, music about a war in heaven. But the trumpets and timpani ensure that by the end no one is in doubt as to the victor, and all leave the church suitably exalted.

O Lord, Are Not Thine Eyes Upon the Truth (No. 102) must have blown away some parishioners with its massive sweep and concise themes used as the basis for the entire cantata. No. 45, He Hath Showed Thee, O Man, What Is Good takes as its theme obedience, and Bach demonstrates this musically by using only one theme in the opening movement, expanding the argument brilliantly combining fugal and concertante elements. This is perhaps the most relaxed of the works on this disc, each movement in possession of noble bearing and high stature. Whoso Offereth Praise Glorifieth Me (No. 17) is the most joyous on the disc, amplified by the tight and unified structure of the opening movement, even though the final chorus may be considered more reflective as it speaks of mankind’s very short passage through life, and implores pity from the Father.

As I have mentioned before, Suzuki’s renderings are definitely a believer’s Bach, more impassioned and assertive than others. Recently I have had a chance to listen to all of Koopman’s recordings and have to fess up to a mistaken judgment; while they are not as demonstrative as these, they are a valid take on a many-faceted music, and I now reverse myself on my previously harsh opinions. Even so, this one sounds great in Super Audio, and if push came to shove I would still recommend these over all others currently offered. Bring on Volume 47!

FANFARE: Steven E. Ritter

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Bach: Cantatas Vol 46 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS May 2010
SACD
$21.99

J.S. Bach: Orgelwerke, Vol. 2 - Triosonaten

MV Cremona

$22.99 ~~$29.99~~ Save 25% Aug 16, 2024

The Italian organist Massimiliano Sanca proposes in this CD (Vol.2 of a project of five cds of Bach complete Organ works) the famos Triosonatas. 1733). In 1727 Johann Sebastian Bach started drafting a manuscript of organ music which included the Leipzig Chorales and the Canonical Variations BWV 769, as well as the six trio sonatas for organ (BWV 525/530). "Trio sonatas" in this case refers to the fact that the two manuals and the pedal are handled independently, though closely related to each other, in "a musical discourse, as if they were three different instruments dialoguing between each other through notes and figures" (N. Harnoncourt). We ought not to forget that in Bach's time, "to play" in the German language was not expressed through the verb spielen, as it is today, but through vortragen, whose translation means "to deliver a speech" through the organ, violin, and so on. Bach did not name the whole work, but he titled each sonata instead, such as "Sonata a 2 Clav. And Pedal by J. S. Bach". According to his biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel, the trio sonatas might have been composed between 1727 and 1732, in order to introduce Bach's oldest son Wilhelm Friedemann (who was, from Johann Sebastian point of view, the most gifted of his sons) to the organ practice. As a result, my own interpretation is aimed at highlighting every technical, discoursive and sound detail that Bach teaches us through the use of rhetorical musical figures. The choice of registers in the recording and interpretation performed here is meant to "paint through sounds" the "colour" and feeling into the movement of each sonata, also expressed through "affections" in the different tonalities in a very crystal clear way. Massimiliano Sanca plays on the organ made by Ilic Colzani (2007) for the Sanctuary of Vallio Terme (BS). It is made with mechanical transmission, is strongly inspired by the production of the famous organ builder Gottfried Silbermann, who worked in Germany in the first half of the 18th century in close contact with Johann Sebastian Bach. But this is not a copy, but a totally original project that combines the particular sounds of the pipes made according to the construction specifications and the measures adopted by Silbermann.

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J.S. Bach: Orgelwerke, Vol. 2 - Triosonaten
MV Cremona Aug 2024
CD
~~$29.99~~ $22.99

J.S. Bach, Rachmaninoff, Reger & Schubert: Sparks of Spirit

Audite Musikproduktion

$20.99 Apr 05, 2024

On its second CD, the piano duo Neeb presents works that illustrate the beginning of an auspicious period in the life of various composers: Full of creative energy, Max Reger threw himself into creative work after surviving years of health and mental strain. Franz Schubert fared similarly after an attack of syphilis, who, in addition to a permanent position at Esterházy Palace, was even inspired to new creative vigour by a secret love. Johann Sebastian Bach was motivated to write new concert repertoire by conducting the high-calibre Collegium Musicum, while Rachmaninov overcame his depression with the Suite op. 17, which had prevented him from composing for three years after the failure of his first symphony. The piano duo Neeb illuminate these emotional worlds in their intelligent interpretation - with creative imagination and effervescent joy of playing.

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J.S. Bach, Rachmaninoff, Reger & Schubert: Sparks of Spirit
Audite Musikproduktion Apr 2024
CD
$20.99

Bach: Mass in B Minor / Blomstedt [Blu-ray]

Accentus Music

Blu-Ray

$53.99 Nov 03, 2017

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD
Nothing else that he wrote is as all-encompassing as the Mass in B minor, not even the great Passions,” says Herbert Blomstedt about Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Opus summum”. The Dresdner Kammerchor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the musical direction of Herbert Blomstedt have merged ingeniously to conclude the Bachfest Leipzig with this unrivaled work – a work that bears close connections to choir and orchestra, as well as to Herbert Blomstedt himself. J. S. Bach Mass in B minor, BWV 232 Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Performing this monumental work is the ever-capable Dresdner Kammerchor conducted by Herbert Blomstedt. Featured soloists include Christina Landshamer, soprano, Elisabeth Kulman, alto, Wolfram Lattke, tenor, and Luca Pisaroni, bass.

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Bach: Mass in B Minor / Blomstedt [Blu-ray]
Accentus Music Nov 2017
Blu-Ray
$53.99

J.S. Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080
DUX Jul 2024
CD
$32.99

PASSION
Hitasura Jun 2018
CD
$20.99

Bach: Cantatas Vol 44 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

BIS

SACD

$21.99 Jul 01, 2009

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Rachel Nicholls, soprano; Robin Blaze, counter-tenor; Gerd Turk,tenor; Peter Kooij, bass; Bach Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki. JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - CANTATAS, VOLUME 44: Wir mussen durch viel Trubsal in das Reich Gottes eingehen, BWV 146; Siehe, ich willviel Rischer aussenden, BWV 88; Gott fahret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43.

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Bach: Cantatas Vol 44 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS Jul 2009
SACD
$21.99

A Bach Notebook for Trumpet

Linn Records

SACD

$16.99 ~~$21.99~~ Save 20% Apr 30, 2013

This recording is a celebration of the famous Johann Sebastian and ten other lesser-known Bachs, re-imagined for trumpet and piano. Bach specialist Daniel-Ben Pienaar arranged music from a great uncle, close cousins, distant cousins, and five sons, all related to the great J. S. Bach in a unique recital program.

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A Bach Notebook for Trumpet
Linn Records Apr 2013
SACD
~~$21.99~~ $16.99

Bach: Sonatas for Violin & Harpsichord / Butterfield, Wollston

SOMM Recordings

$24.99 ~~$32.99~~ Save 25% Mar 31, 2023

SOMM Recordings announces a double-disc set of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord brilliantly performed by two virtuosos of their instruments, Adrian Butterfield (violin) and Silas Wollston (harpsichord).

The selection of eight sonatas includes six works for violin and obbligato harpsichord (BWV 1014-1019), likely composed between 1720 and 1723 during Bach’s final years in Cöthen, and the later Violin Sonatas in G major (BWV 1021) from 1732, and early (though belatedly catalogued) E minor (BWV 1023) from around 1709. Bonus tracks include three alternative movements composed for the BWV 1019 Sonata in G major that illustrate the development of Bach’s thinking in relation to sonata form and intimate musical expression. These intricately designed sonatas also serve to reveal Bach’s innovative way of employing the harpsichord’s singing voice as an equal to the violin and are surely precursors to the rich sonata tradition that emerged in the 19th century.

Butterfield and Wollston’s erudite booklet notes place the sonatas within the context of Bach’s own musical inheritance and influences while arguing for their abiding appeal: “More than 300 years after their composition, they still sound excellent, give much joy and continue to tug at the listener’s heartstrings”.

Making his SOMM debut, Silas Wollston is partnered by Adrian Butterfield, whose previous releases for the label feature him alongside London Handel Players colleagues in Handel’s Complete Sonatas & Works for Violin and Continuo with Katherine Sharman (cello) and Laurence Cummings (harpsichord), described by Early Music Review as “required listening” (SOMMCD 068); the Seven Trio Sonatas, Op.5, judged “assured and surprisingly lyrical” by Gramophone (SOMMCD 044); and Geminiani’s Complete Sonatas, Op.1 (SOMMCD 248-2), featuring performances that International Record Review declared “want for nothing in terms of technical brilliance and musical integrity”.

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Bach: Sonatas for Violin & Harpsichord / Butterfield, Wollston
SOMM Recordings Mar 2023
CD
~~$32.99~~ $24.99

Bach: Transcriptions / Stefano Molardi

Brilliant Classics

$12.99 ~~$16.99~~ Save 25% Jul 22, 2022

Transcription has always been a widespread musical practice, following the desire to arrange pieces originally written for an instrumental and/or vocal ensemble for an instrument like the organ or harpsichord or, later, the piano. The eighteenth century was a very fertile period for transcriptions, reaching its pinnacle among Johann Sebastian Bach’s circle. The transcriptions Bach (1685-1750) made during his time in Weimar both for organ (three concertos by Vivaldi and two by Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar) and an astonishing 14 for harpsichord (by various Italian composers) are of great artistic value. However, Bach also adapted his own works originally written for instruments or voices, ‘appropriating’ them for the keyboard. These included the first movement of his Trio Sonata No. 4, taken from the sinfonia from the cantata Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes BWV 76 (for oboe d’amore, viola da gamba and basso continuo) and the Schübler chorales, which started off life as arias in various cantatas.

The aim of this recording is to offer a series of transcriptions that were originally written for instruments other than the organ. The transcribers include Bach himself, contemporaries of him, two 19th century composers: Alexandre Guilmant and Robert Schaab, a pupil of Mendelssohn, ending with the present organist, Stefano Molardi himself.

Stefano Molardi is a “renaissance man”, organist, harpsichordist, scholar, historian and writer. He recorded extensively: the complete organ works by J.S. Bach, organ works by Bach family members, complete organ works by Kuhnau and other repertoire. His playing is clear, crisp, free and rhythmically vibrant. His recordings received 5 star reviews in the international classical magazines. Played on the Johann Nepomuk Holzhey (1797) organ at the Neresheim Abbey, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, the specifications of which are included in the booklet.

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Bach: Transcriptions / Stefano Molardi
Brilliant Classics Jul 2022
CD
~~$16.99~~ $12.99

De Profundis

arcantus Musikproduktion

$18.99 Oct 17, 2025

Around the central work of the CD, the "Friedenskonzert" by Daan Manneke, Gudrun Sidonie Otto, soprano, and the cathedral organist of the Basel Minster, Andreas Liebig, present a very multifaceted and expressive programme. The "Friedenskonzert" is part of the Baseler Psalms, which were commissioned for the millennium celebrations of the Basel Minster. In the programme, it is framed by two chorale arrangements on the Lutheran chorale "Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir", one by Johann Sebastian Bach, the other by Max Reger. Furthermore, Gudrun Sidonie Otto sings two extremely demanding works, "Aus den Visionen der Hildegard von Bingen" by Sofia Gubaidulina and "Djamila Boupachà" by Luigi Nono. The whole programme is framed by two of the most important works of organ music, Bach's Fantasia et Fuga g-minor, BWV 542 and the organ sonata "Der 94. Psalm" by Julius Reubke, both masterly played at the organ of the Basel Minster by Andreas Liebig.

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De Profundis
arcantus Musikproduktion Oct 2025
CD
$18.99

Mix & Match

Bach: The Trio Sonata Project

Arcana

$11.99 Apr 05, 2019

Johann Sebastian Bach has always been considered one of the greatest music transcribers of all times. Many of his transcriptions (mostly the ones from Italian composers Vivaldi and Marcello) have become instant classics, and they are still viewed as masterpieces of the baroque repertoire. Bach has always been very active as a transcriber of his own music too. His masterful transcription of his Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 1, which he transformed into a trio for two flutes and continuo, has given the inspiration for this project. Tripla Concordia and Walter van Hauwe decided to transcribe even the other two Gamba Sonatas as Trio Sonatas, walking in Bach footsteps. In doing so, the members of the ensemble actually fulfilled their desire of offering a new listening experience of this set of sonatas, with fresh colors and textures. Tripla Concordia sincerely hopes that those new versions will cast a new light on these works, thus giving the listener the opportunity of discovering new details and fresh instrumental combinations. Transcriptions of other two Bach masterpieces, the Organ Sonata No. 3 (transcription by Sour Cream) and the Partita for Lute BWV 997, complete the recording.

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Bach: The Trio Sonata Project
Arcana Apr 2019
CD
$11.99

Bach, Böhm & Reger: The Kreutzbach Organs / Meyer

Genuin

$20.99 Mar 01, 2024

Gregor Meyer, director of the GewandhausChor, fulfills a dream by returning to "his" instrument, the organ, and recording an album at GENUIN that gathers sounds from Saxon organs of an organ-building dynasty: the Kreutzbach family from Borna. Meyer plays organs from three eras, taking us through Saxony from Johanngeorgenstadt to Wiederau and Zwickau-Marienthal. Meyer's organ playing utilizes the full range of the highly characteristic and historically valuable organs to faithfully and differentially portray music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Böhm, and Max Reger. A must for lovers of historical, regionally anchored organ craftsmanship!

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Bach, Böhm & Reger: The Kreutzbach Organs / Meyer
Genuin Mar 2024
CD
$20.99

Passages - German Ritual Music 1600-1800 / Colson, InAlto

Ricercar

$20.99 Nov 11, 2022

Ceremonies, both festive and solemn, lie at the heart of all the works in this program devoted to German music of the 17th century, beginning with music by Heinrich Schütz and ending with Johann Sebastian Bach. These occasional works make frequent use of brass instruments, whose sound is both the foundation and the identity of the InAlto ensemble. This 17th century tradition is reflected in Beethoven’s Aequales for trombone quartet; these are presented here together with their sung texts. InAlto aims to explore both vocal and instrumental music, bringing them to a sort of dialogue.

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Passages - German Ritual Music 1600-1800 / Colson, InAlto
Ricercar Nov 2022
CD
$20.99

Bach: The Complete Organ Works, Vol. 8 / Goode

Signum Classics

$19.99 Jul 06, 2018

David Goode continues his new series of the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach, played on the Metzler Söhne organ of Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge. is the eighth volume for June 2018.

This digital-only recording is available from all major download stores and streaming services in MP3, CD Quality and Studio Quality/24-bit audio. It is also available to buy as a ‘Presto CD’ – made to order by Presto Classical with a printed booklet and inlay.

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Bach: The Complete Organ Works, Vol. 8 / Goode
Signum Classics Jul 2018
CD
$19.99

Bach: Works For Baroque Violin & Organ / Annegret Siedel, Ute Gremmel-Geuchen

Aeolus

SACD

$21.99 Mar 19, 2021

Throughout his life, Johann Sebastian Bach arranged and parodied his own and other composers' works. This openness to the practice of transcription, which has been demonstrated in so many ways, encourages the composer to venture into new instrumentations even in modern times. This is what the baroque violinist Annegret Siedel and the organist Ute Gremmel-Geuchen practice here with great joy in experimentation. Particularly exciting are, for example, the famous Toccata and Fugue BWV 565 in the presumed original version for violin solo as well as organ arrangements of some individual movements of the choral motet Jesu, meine Freude BWV 227. Of course, both also play together, for example in the Trio Sonata in E minor BWV 528.

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Bach: Works For Baroque Violin & Organ / Annegret Siedel, Ute Gremmel-Geuchen
Aeolus Mar 2021
SACD
$21.99

Bach Without Words: Transcriptions Of Bach Chorales And Choral Preludes

Genuin

$20.99 Nov 13, 2015

The piano duo of Anna Christiane Neumann and Anja Kleinmichel bring Bach Without Words their Genuin debut containing transcriptions of chorales, chorus and arias taken from Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas and passions. In arrangements for both two and four hands, as well as transcriptions by Neumann; this is a unique opportunity to hear these masterpieces in a radically different musical configuration.

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Bach Without Words: Transcriptions Of Bach Chorales And Choral Preludes
Genuin Nov 2015
CD
$20.99

Bach: Cantatas Vol 32 / Suzuki, Blaze, Kooij, Et Al

BIS

SACD

$21.99 Jul 01, 2006

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
Includes cantata(s) by Johann Sebastian Bach. Ensemble: Bach Collegium Japan. Conductor: Masaaki Suzuki. Soloists: Peter Kooij, Robin Blaze, Yukari Nonoshita, Andreas Weller.

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Bach: Cantatas Vol 32 / Suzuki, Blaze, Kooij, Et Al
BIS Jul 2006
SACD
$21.99