A newly recorded collection of highlights from Bach’s great corpus of
instrumental writing, in transcriptions by Luigi Attademo himself. Bach
left us a few isolated pieces and suites for the lute, predecessor of
the guitar, but guitarists have always found the rest of his music as
amenable to adaptation as every other musician. Luigi Attademo recorded
all of Bach’s lute music a decade ago on a 2CD Brilliant Classics album
(94294) which attracted glowing reviews in the international press for
the combined rigour and imagination of his playing.
On
this new recording he turns to pieces originally conceived for cello
(the Preludio of the First Cello Suite), violin (the Chaconne from the D
minor Partita), harpsichord (the Aria from the Goldberg Variations) and
flute (the Siciliano from the E flat major Sonata) which have gained
iconic status in the three centuries since their composition for their
surface simplicity and expressive depth. The recital includes several
stimulating pairs: the Aria from the Goldbergs with the Air from the
Third Orchestral Suite; Gavottes from the Sixth Cello Suite and E major
Violin Partita; the Siciliano from the G minor solo sonata for violin
preceding the more famous flute example. These pairs only serve to
underline the variety of Bach’s response to a particular genre. Grandest
and most superficially complex of the works here, the famous D minor
Toccata and Fugue proves highly idiomatic on the guitar, relating the
virtuosic and extrovert writing back to what we now think must be a lost
violin original for the piece (possibly not even by Bach) rather than
the form for organ which is now universally known. Attademo contributes a
personal introduction to the album which explains his choice of
repertoire and interpretative approach, taking inspiration from great
Bach players of the past such as Mstislav Rostropovich and Dinu Lipatti.
Praise
for Luigi Attademo’s Bach: ‘Attademo overcomes these obstacles in a
brilliant and original way, treating the score in an extremely rigorous
but always musical way… It is clear that Attademo pondered deeply how to
make this landmark recording… making the essence of this music resonate
in all its fullness. The attention paid to the examination of these
elements acts as a counterpoint to the personal taste of the performer.’
Il corriere musicale - The guitar as we know it did not exist in Bach's
(1685-1750) time - there was the baroque guitar, but it was not
widespread in Germany.
The closest chordophone instrument to Bach
was the baroque lute, an instrument that the genius from Eisenach had
among his instruments but probably did not play. - Bach’s music is often
described as indestructible, in the sense that no matter how it is
performed, or in whichever arrangement, its essential spirit survives.
Therefore transcriptions of the Master’s works are common, today as they
were in Bach’s time. Bach himself was an ardent transcriber of his own
music and that of others! - This new recording presents instrumental
works by Bach transcribed for and played on the modern guitar.
Included
are many famous and popular works: Air (from the Orchestral Suite No.
3), Chaconne (for violin solo), Jesu, meine Freude, Sicilienne (original
for flute and harpsichord), Aria from Goldberg Variations and many
more.