Johann Sebastian Bach - Piano Transcriptions Vol. 3 - Friedman, Grainger & Murdoch (Piers Lane)

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Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

1. Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (arr. Percy Grainger)
2. Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BVW 659 (arr. Ignacy Friedman)
3. Concerto in D minor, RV 565, BWV 596 (Antonio Vivaldi, arr. J.S. Bach & William Murdoch): Largo
4. Concerto in D minor, RV 565, BWV 596 (Antonio Vivaldi, arr. J.S. Bach & William Murdoch): Fuga
5. Concerto in D minor, RV 565, BWV 596 (Antonio Vivaldi, arr. J.S. Bach & William Murdoch): Largo
6. Concerto in D minor, RV 565, BWV 596 (Antonio Vivaldi, arr. J.S. Bach & William Murdoch): Allegro non troppo
7. My heart ever faithful (No. 2, Aria from Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, BWV 68) (arr. Ignacy Friedman)
8. [Allegro] (Movement 1 of Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048) (arr. Ignacy Friedman)
9. Morning Song (Arrangement of Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645) (arr. Ignacy Friedman)
10. Bourrée (Movement 7 of Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002) (arr. Ignacy Friedman)
11. Sheep may safely graze (Movement 10 from Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd!, BWV 208) (arr. Ignacy Friedman)
12. Rondeau (Movement 3 of Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006) (arr. Ignacy Friedman)
13. Fugue (No. 20 in A minor, BWV 865. Movement 2 from The well-tempered Clavier Book 1, BWV 846-869) (arr. Percy Grainger)
14. Fugue (No. 9 in E major, BWV 878. Movement 2 from The well-tempered Clavier Book 2, BWV 870-893) (arr. Percy Grainger)
15. Siciliano (Movement 2 of Sonata in E flat major, BWV 1031) (arr. Ignacy Friedman)
16. Blithe Bells (Movement 10 from Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd!, BWV 208) (arr. Percy Grainger)
17. Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (arr. Ignacy Friedman)

Piers Lane, piano
Date: 2003
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67344

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Review

An exhilarating addition to Hyperion’s superb Bach transcriptions series

Volume 3 of Hyperion’s continuing series of Bach transcriptions could hardly be more exhilarating or enterprising. Even when there is much unceremonious pulling of ears and tweaking of noses (notably by Percy Grainger) in these sometimes wildly off-the-wall recreations, their underlying devotion to the cause is rarely in doubt. ‘An Aussie take on Bach’ as Piers Lane puts it in his delightful accompanying essay, ‘they perhaps hark back to a time when it was felt that Baroque and Classical works needed tarting up to appeal to modern ears’. He goes on to stress their intricacy – to a greater or lesser extent all three transcribers were remarkable pianists – saying, perhaps a trifle ruefully, ‘this is piano music, and make no mistake’.

For Grainger the opportunity both to pay tribute and elaborate proves irresistable. His transcription of Cantata 208’s ‘Sheep may safely graze’ will give purists and die-hards, or the sort of PC souls referred to by Kathryn Sturrock in her detailed and sympathetic commentary, an attack of apoplexy. The entire transcription is mischievously out of accord with the original’s simplicity and includes an extravagant harmonic lushness and a sense not only of ‘Blithe Bells’ (his title) but of a blithe spirit happy to outrage all possible conservatives. Yet, as Sturrock argues, surprise so often turns to delight in the majority of these works, and never more so than when played with such an unfailing mix of flamboyance and lucidity.

Piers Lane launches Grainger’s transcription of the D minor Toccata and Fugue with a special sense of its drama and rhetoric and continues with a dazzling alternation of thunder and glitter. Shovelfuls of notes are dispatched with an immaculate brio and virtuoso aplomb and with an open-hearted relish rather than fear of multi-layered textures and registers. The recorded sound, whether in highest treble or lowest bass, is magnificently spacious and resonant and the scholarly work of both Leslie Howard and Robert Quinney is duly acknowledged.

A memorable as well as enticing disc. As Piers Lane puts it: ‘Australia suggests space and something a smidgeon different and adventuresome to me. The transcriptions proffer similar promise.

-- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: *****
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/h/hyp67344a.php
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Transcriptions-Friedman-Grainger-Murdoch/dp/B00008OP2J

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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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Piers Lane (born 8 January 1958) is an Australian classical pianist. He graduated with a Medal of Excellence from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, where his teacher was Nancy Weir. His performance career has taken him to more than 40 countries. His concerto repertoire exceeds 75 works. Lane has an extensive discography on the Hyperion label and has also recorded for EMI, Decca, BMG, Lyrita and Unicorn-Kanchana. Lane is a well-known voice on BBC Radio 3, having written and presented more than 100 programs, including a 54-part series called The Piano.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Lane

http://www.pierslane.com/

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