A Tribute to Bach – Oboe Concerto in F; Musical Offering, Ricercar à 6; Flute Sonata in G minor; Trio Sonata No. 3 in D minor; Flute Sonata No. 6 in E; Concerto for Harpsichord & Two Recorders (all arr. recorder & orchestra)
Maurice Steger (recorder); La Cetra Barockorchester Basel
Berlin Classics 0303072BC 77:20 mins
Few, if any, composers in the past half century or so have attracted the vast and varied arrangements and transcriptions to the extent of JS Bach. To these, of course we must add those of Bach himself, for such were a Baroque composer’s stock-in-trade. While Bach’s obituary is regrettably silent on Leipzig’s concert life and his activities with the city’s Collegium musicum, it nevertheless refers to all sorts of instrumental pieces for a variety of instruments which were in all likelihood performed there.
In this album, recorder virtuoso Maurice Steger with La Cetra Barockorchester Basel has arranged or transcribed pieces for which, as far as we know, recorders of various sizes were not originally envisaged. The exception is a sparkling performance of Bach’s own reworking of Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 as one for harpsichord, two recorders, strings and continuo, BWV 1057. The programme makes for thought-provoking listening, though my ears, at least, do not always respond positively. For instance, in the reworked concerto from the harpsichord concerto in E major, BWV 1053 it is impossible to delete Bach’s own familiar sound spectrum from our minds. More successful are the darkly coloured realisation of the Ricercar à 6, belonging to the Musical Offering and the three sonatas. In the case of the G minor piece, BWV 1020 authorship and instrumentation is in perpetual dispute so it is fair game for the recorder and it works well. Most surprising, perhaps, is the conviction with which the E major Sonata for traverso flute and continuo, BWV 1035, translates to the recorder.
The Basel instrumentalists and above all the harpsichordist Sebastian Wienand, who also played a prominent role in the reconstructions, provide lively and stylish support throughout. Nicholas Anderson