With this volume 4 in a complete recording of Bach’s keyboard works whose ingenuity has been underlined by every reviewer (e.g. Gramophone, July 2020), Benjamin Alard continues to explore the Weimar period, known as that of his ‘early mastery’. After À la française, we turn to Italy, where the Vivaldian concerto reigned in Venice. The young Bach created here a wonderful space of freedom between the transcriber and the improviser. For ‘if transcription is a matter of freedom, it is also a matter of powerful imagination: each piece on this recording transports us into a Venetian universe that fascinated Bach as much as it inspired him’, as Benjamin Alard demonstrates on three exceptional instruments.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH [1685-1750] Concerto in G major BWV 973 Sol majeur / G-Dur After Violin Concerto in G major (op. 7 no. 8, RV 299) by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) · I. [no indication] (2'13) · II. Largo (1'58) · III. Allegro (2'27) Concerto in G minor BWV 975 Sol mineur / g-Moll After Violon Concerto in G minor (RV 316) by A. Vivaldi I. [no indication] · I. [no indication] (3'10) · II. Largo (3'10) · III. Giga Presto (2'08) Concerto in B minor BWV 979 Si mineur / h-Moll After a Violin Concerto in D minor by A. Vivaldi (olim Giuseppe Torelli) · I. Allegro (1'16) · II. Adagio (0'41) · II. Allegro (3'19) · III. Andante (1'10) · IV. Adagio (0'49) · V. Allegro (3'47) Concerto en ré majeur BWV 972 Ré majeur / D-Dur After Violin Concerto in D major (op. 3 no. 9, RV 230) by A. Vivaldi · I. [no indication] (2'07) · II. Larghetto (3'05) · III. Allegro (2'17) · Fantasia and Fugue in A minor BWV 944 (harpeggiando) La mineur / a-Moll (8'01) Concerto in D minor BWV 974 Ré mineur / d-Moll After Oboe Concerto in D minor (S. Z799) by Alessandro Marcello (1673-1747) · I. [no indication] (3'07) · II. Adagio (3'23) · III. Presto (3'56) Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV 894 La mineur / a-Moll · I. Prelude (5'51) · II. Fugue (4'39) Concerto in G major BWV 980 Sol majeur / G-Dur After Violin Concerto in B flat minor (RV 381) by A. Vivaldi · I. [no indication] (3'59) · II. Largo (3'07) · III. Allegro (4'08)
Organ Concerto in A minor BWV 593 La mineur / a-Moll Arr. of the Concerto for 2 Violins in A minor (op. 3 no. 8, RV 522) by A. Vivaldi · I. [Allegro] (3'52) · II. Adagio (3'41) · III. Allegro (3'54) Concerto in F major BWV 978 Fa majeur / F-Dur After Violin Concerto in G major (RV 310) by A. Vivaldi · I. Allegro (2'22) · II. Largo (1'29) · III. Allegro (2'36) Organ Concerto in D minor BWV 596 Ré mineur / d-Moll Arr. of the Concerto for 2 Violins and Cello in D minor (op. 3 no. 11, RV 565) by A. Vivaldi · I. [Allegro] (0'53) · II. Grave (0'17) · III. Fuga (3'06) · IV. Largo e spiccato (2'38) · V. [no indication] (3'08) Concerto in C major BWV 976 Do majeur / C-Dur After Violin Concerto in E major (RV 265) by A. Vivaldi · I. [no indication] (4'07) · II. Largo (3'11) · III. Allegro (3'11) · Prelude and Fugue in G minor BWV 535 Sol mineur / g-Moll (7'00) Organ Concerto in G major BWV 592 Sol majeur / G-Dur Arr. of a lost violin concerto by Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar (1696-1715) · I. [Adagio] (3'15) · II. Grave (2'02) · III. Presto (1'55) · Fantasie and Fugue in G minor BWV 542/2 (excerpt) Sol mineur / g-Moll
II. Fugue (6'12)
Organ Concerto in C major BWV 594 Do majeur / C-Dur Arr. of the Violin Concerto in D major 'Grosso Mogul' (RV 208) by A. Vivaldi · I. [Allegro] (7'15) · II. Recitativ. Adagio (3'35) · III. Allegro (8'47) · 'Wo soll ich fliehen hin' BWV 694 Chorale Prelude (3'17) · Trio for organ in D minor BWV 583 Ré mineur / d-Moll (5'00) · 'Valet will ich dir geben' BWV 736 Chorale Prelude (4'08) · Trio super 'Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr' BWV 664 (5'37) · 'Wir glauben all an einen Gott' BWV-Anh. 69 Chorale Prelude (3'07) · 'Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her' BWV-Anh. 65 Chorale Prelude (1'16) · 'Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele' BWV-Anh. 52 Chorale Prelude (3'31) · 'Jesu, meine Freude' BWV-Anh. 58 Chorale Prelude (3'10) Toccata in C majeur BWV 564 Do majeur / C-Dur · I. Toccata (5'41) · II. Adagio (4'42) · III. Fugue (5'06)
