We have recorded the works on modern instruments, with one player to a part ('Hausmusik' as Bach would have performed them). What we have tried to do is to present these pieces (mostly very well known works, Double violin Concerto, Flute Suite etc) as Bach 'in modern dress', playing in a manner informed by period instrument practice, but minus the sandals!
READ MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT
READ FLORIAN UHLIG'S VIEWS ON USING THE MODERN GRAND PIANO FOR BACH
READ REVIEWS OF THE BACH CD
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
The pieces on this disc are perhaps most familiar to listeners today played by a soloist, or group of soloists, accompanied by an orchestral-sized string section. There is much to suggest, however, that Bach's orginal conception of these purely instrumental works was closer to chamber music than the conventional concerto. Given the small forces and chamber sized venues that Bach had at his disposal at Cothen and in Leipzig, the terms Concerto and Orchestral Suite are perhaps misleading in this context. Indeed, there is nothing in the autographs of these works to suggest that Bach intended anything other than one player to a part.
Performing the pieces in this way has certainly been a revelation in terms of clarity of counterpoint and ease of balance. As a soloist, there is never any need to force, and much more subtle nuances can be effected than is ever the case with an orchestral-sized 'ripieno'. Such is the complexity of this music that every line is in itself a melody, and a rich texture is built up by each individual line alone. Whatever exact forces Bach had in mind, from a modern performer's perspective, the very complexity of the music makes a strong case that 'less is more'.
Playing Bach on our modern instruments, we have nevertheless attempted to capture what is best about period instrument practice, namely purity of phrasing and economy of vibrato, whilst enjoying the full tonal capability that our modern instruments can give."
Daniel Pailthorpe
Flautist, London Conchord Ensemble
back to top
GENETIC AND GENERIC CODES IN THE MUSIC OF JS BACH, by Florian Uhlig
These days, the vast majority of performances of classical music are dedicated to interpretations of works by composers who are no longer around. Though there are many exciting and fresh approaches now, the classical music scene appears to be mainly dominated by a museum culture. Even by such standards, the figure of JS Bach presents a special situation as the composer has been dead for over 250 years.
The historical distance between the composer himself and performers today, in particular, the absence of specific interpretative information in Bach's music text against the profound knowledge of conventions and styles among Bach's contemporary co-musicians has created a performance practice discourse of Bach's music on a number of levels ever since. Curiously, despite the invaluable input of the early music movement and the awareness of performers today, the permissiveness of Bach's oeuvre continues to inspire a wealth of approaches, ranging from orthodox to commercial - well beyond past times which saw Glenn Gould's eccentric readings and Jacques Loussier's playful adaptations to reflect only two distinct Bach treatments.
Ultimately, the various disseminations and mimetism techniques of the Bach genome exemplify what must be one of the most successful processes of evolution in the history of music. Such dazzling degrees of disguise have led to a dissolution of certain parameters of the genetic and generic codes in Bach's music.
The performance site, for instance, has undergone radical changes as performances of Bach's music are no longer commissioned and paid for by the clergy or the nobility. The early nineteenth century saw the rise of the middle classes and thanks to Mendelssohn's efforts, in particular, the Bach reception arguably underwent a genetic mutation, too, to accommodate the new interest of the musical bourgeoisie.
The habitat of instrumentarium has been at the centre of debates led by musicians and musicologists alike. The present recording pays tribute to the superiority of the modern grand piano to the harpsichord from an evolutionary point of view, offering the possibilities of colour, brilliance and adaptability – just three chromosomes constituting the virtuoso keyboard part in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no. 5. As a disadvantage, perhaps, the modern grand piano is less appropriate as a continuo instrument, which, for this recording, has led to the decision to omit all continuo passages in the piano part with very few exceptions including, of course, the whole of the second movement.
The clarity of the modern grand piano, together with the one-to-a-part approach for the 'tutti' instruments in this recording, helps to communicate the ingenuous transparency and energy of Bach's writing in his Brandenburg Concerto no. 5. The choice of instrumentarium here, moreover, highlights the notion of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no. 5 creating a certain generic instability. The juxtaposition of three solo instruments with an orchestral block in the first movement leads, via the delicate interweaving of the three soloinstruments only in the second movement, to the finale, in which every single instrument contributes equally to the overall concertante momentum. The generic archetype of the concerto is thus filled with new life as Bach creates a new species.
It was George Bernard Shaw who aptly referred to Bach as 'belonging not to the past, but to the future – perhaps the near future'.
Florian Uhlig, August 2006
back to top