Johann Sebastian Bach - Sonatas for Viola and Harpsichord (Antoine Tamestit; Masato Suzuki)

Information

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

• (01) Sonata in G minor, BWV 1029
• (04) Aria 'Ergieße dich reichlich' (from cantata 'Wo soll ich fliehen hin', BWV 5)
• (05) Sonata in D major, BWV 1028
• (09) Sonata in G major, BWV 1027

Antoine Tamestit, viola
Masato Suzuki, harpsichord

Date: 2019
Label: Harmonia Mundi
http://www.harmoniamundi.com/#!/albums/2526

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Review

There are multiple points of interest to this recording of Bach's sonatas BWV 1027-1029. There is the presence of the growing renown of Masato Suzuki, for instance, who, like his father Masaaki, is a formidable keyboard player as well as a choral conductor. There is the fact that these sonatas, plus a transcription of a melody from a church cantata, are top-notch Bach not terribly often played. The real news, however, is that they are played by France's Antoine Tamestit on a viola, not on the original viola da gamba. As the artists claim via the medium of the cover blurb, "both instruments use the same alto clef, but the projection of the sound is entirely different. So this is no transcription, but leaves the artists in total freedom to rediscover with delight these all too rarely played masterpieces." The performances live up to this claim: the effect of hearing the music on the viola is quite different. Listeners' reactions will necessarily be various, but the performances are well worth hearing. Tamestit, playing a 1673 Stradivarius viola, does not really attempt a historical-instrument reading, but he does keep the temperature low. The resulting sound is a bit gamba-like, but you realize that he is selecting from the viola's greater dynamic range, and the effect is often haunting. Sample the later parts of the Andante of the Sonata in G major, BWV 1027, in the remarkable passage where the viola holds a low note while the harpsichord builds structures around it. This was surely a passage written with the sound of the gamba in mind, but with a viola it has an almost Romantic-era effect. You may or may not want to hear these sonatas played this way, but the entire performance carries the feeling of hearing the performers become fascinated by what they themselves are doing, and you may well have the same experience.

-- James Manheim, AllMusic

More reviews:
https://www.audaud.com/bach-sonatas-viola-da-tamestit-suzuki-harmonia-mundi/
https://www.thestrad.com/reviews/antoine-tamestit-masato-suzuki-bach/9399.article
https://earlymusicreview.com/j-s-bach-sonatas-for-viola-da-gamba-and-harpsichord/

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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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Antoine Tamestit (born 1979) is a French violist. Tamestit studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, and won first prize at the 2000 Maurice Vieux International Viola Competition, 2001 Primrose International Viola Competition, 2003 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, 2004 Munich International Music Competition and a Borletti Buitoni Trust Award in 2006. He was also a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2004 to 2006. Tamestit has performed at such venues as the Royal Concertgebouw, the Vienna Musikverein, and Carnegie Hall. He plays a viola made by Stradivarius in 1672.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Tamestit
https://www.antoinetamestit.com/

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Masato Suzuki (born 1981 in The Hague, the Netherlands) is a Japanese conductor, composer, pianist, harpsichordist and organist. His father is famous conductor Masaaki Suzuki. Masato studied at the Tokyo National University for Fine Arts and Music and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He is the music director and the co-founder of Ensemble Genesis, and a regular player and soloist of Bach Collegium Japan under the direction of his father. Masato Suzuki is the principal organist of Ensemble Vox Luminis since 2009, and is the organist at Tokyo Oncho Church and Japanese Reformed Church in The Netherlands.
https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Suzuki-Masato.htm
http://suzukimasato.com/

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