With Bach, a great supply finds a great demand
The day it was released this month, Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s recording of Bach’s “Art of the Fugue” was the top-selling classical recording on iTunes. A week later, it debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s classical chart. The CD -- sublime performances of fathomless fugues from Bach’s last days on Earth -- is exactly where it belongs.
Troubled times call for deep and serious abstract art. Suddenly Bach’s instrumental music is in huge demand. And thanks to a panoply of new recordings, supply is not a problem. The solo cello suites appear every which way. Steven Isserlis plays them eloquently on Hyperion. Jaap ter Linden gets unexpectedly forceful results from his Baroque cello on Brilliant Classics. Russian cellist Mischa Maisky emotes alarmingly but also grippingly on a Deutsche Grammophon DVD.
Paul O’Dette offers an alluring lute transcription of the C-minor Suite on his latest Harmonia Mundi disc. Less alluring are Victoria Drake’s harp transcriptions of all six suites; she is a sensitive player, but the music loses a level of expressivity. Best of all is the Archiv reissue of Pierre Fournier’s 1961 recording.
“The Well-Tempered Clavier” comes in various flavors as well. British harpsichordist Richard Egarr, on Harmonia Mundi, makes his limited instrument sing with theatrical gusto in Book I. Andrew Rangell, who has a following among fanciers of eccentric pianists, throws historical style to the wind and plays Book I with impressive 21st century flamboyance on Bridge. The Emerson Quartet turns to stodgy string quartet transcriptions of some of the fugues for a coming DG release.
Even “Art of the Fugue” gets various treatments. Archiv has reissued Helmut Walcha’s profound organ performances from 1960. Bradley Brookshire makes a strong impression on his Bach Harpsichord Inc. set. A DG Concerts release (available as a download on iTunes or at the DG Web Shop) features a live performance by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with string quartet and winds helping direct the ear to individual contrapuntal lines.
Every now and then, Murray Perahia puts out a recording on Sony Classical. Every note in the Partitas 2, 3 and 4 is like a perfectly shaped, luminous pearl.
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