Johann Sebastian Bach - Piano Transcriptions Vol. 9 - A Bach Book for Harriet Cohen (Jonathan Plowright)

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Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

1. Little Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 (arr. Leonard Borwick)
2. Be contented, O my soul (Nos. 1 & 4, Recitativo - Aria from Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange?, BWV 155) (arr. Harriet Cohen)
3. Adagio (Movement 2 of Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564) (arr. Myra Hess)
4. Jesu, joy of man's desiring (Part 2 No. 10, Choral from Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147) (arr. Myra Hess)
5. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645 (arr. Granville Bantock)
6. Gravement (Part 2 of Fantasia in G major 'Pièce d'orgue', BWV 572) (arr. Arnold Bax)
7. In dulci jubilo, BWV 729 (arr. Sir Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, Lord Berners)
8. Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, BWV 614 (arr. Arthur Bliss)
9. Komm, süsser Tod, BWV 478 (arr. Frank Bridge)
10. Andante (Movement 2 of Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047) (arr. Eugene Goossens)
11. O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde gross, BWV 622 (arr. Herbert Howells)
12. Meine Seele erhebt den Herrn, BWV 648 (arr. John Ireland)
13. Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich, BWV 605 (arr. Constant Lambert)
14. Ach bleib' bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 649 (arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams)
15. Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BWV 727 (arr. William Walton)
16. Wir glauben all an einen Gott, BWV 740 (arr. William Gillies Whittaker)
17. O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig, BWV 656 (arr. Leonard Borwick)
18. See what his love can do (Movement 5 of Ich bin ein guter Hirt, BWV 85) (arr. Hubert Foss)
19. Sarabande (Movement 4 of Cello Suite No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012) (arr. Herbert Fryer)
20. Komm, süsser Tod, BWV 478 (arr. Ronald Stevenson)

Jonathan Plowright, piano
Date: 2010
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67767

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Review

Tributes to a much-loved pianist by the great composer names of the 1930s

This superb recital is the ninth in Hyperion’s Bach Piano Transcriptions series. Ronald Stevenson, who confirms his acidic attack on “A Bach Book for Harriet Cohen” (“a manual of how not to write for the piano”) with his own grand and effulgent transcription of Komm, süsser Tod, may have scorned writing which he found timid and conventionally British, and yet there is so much to surprise and delight in tributes that, for the most part, seem bathed in a seraphic and unearthly light. Whether elaborate or near-minimalist, the majority of these arrangements are clearly on holy ground. At the same time Leonard Borwick’s way with the “Little” Fugue in G minor quickly expands beyond its modest title. Herbert Howells offers a remarkable reinterpretation of Bach, and who would miss the gentle peal of bells that concludes William Gillies Whittaker’s Wir glauben all an einen Gott?

Constant Lambert offers a welcome shaft of sunlight among so much sobriety and Herbert Fry’s Sarabande would make a perfect encore after a long and strenuous recital. Finally, Ronald Stevenson’s opulence in his Komm, süsser Tod makes an ideal end to this dream recital. Jonathan Plowright’s playing is of unfaltering poise and sustained eloquence, and his work for Hyperion means that he receives the ideal sound and presentation that eluded him earlier in his career.

-- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/Nov10/bach_transcr9_CDA67767.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/aug/29/bach-book-harriet-cohen-jonathan-plowright
https://www.amazon.com/Piano-Transcriptions-Bach-Harriet-Cohen/dp/B003UW6WCK

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Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from Italy and France. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach

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Jonathan Plowright (born 1959 in Yorkshire) is a British concert pianist. He studied with Alexander Kelly at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and with Julio Esteban at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. His USA debut was at Carnegie Hall in 1984, followed by his UK debut in 1985, at Wigmore Hall. Plowright performed worldwide as recitalist, appeared with leading orchestras and ensembles, made many commercial recordings and appeared on radio and TV broadcasts. He championed neglected music from Polish Romantic composers, Stojowski, Paderewski and Melcer, which he has recorded for Hyperion Records.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Plowright

http://www.jonathanplowright.com/

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