Bach: 2 Harpsichords

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I defy even the most hardened anti-harpsichord person not to raise at least an eyebrow, and, I hope, a wide grin. With a programme filled with familiar and less well known music by J.S. Bach... — MusicWeb International, 1st January 2016 More…

Release Date: 30th Oct 2015
Catalogue No: PA0014
Label: Paradizo
Length: 63 minutes

Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue in C major, BWV545

Work length5:11

$2.00

$2.50

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

I. Prelude

Track length1:34

$1.00

$1.25

II. Fugue

Track length3:37

$1.00

$1.25

Bach, J S: Violin Sonata No.3 in C Major, BWV 1005: III. Largo

Work length2:25

$1.00

$1.25

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

Bach, J S: Adagio in D Minor, BWV 974

Work length4:06

$1.00

$1.25

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

Bach, J S: Adagio in G major, BWV968

Work length3:31

$1.00

$1.25

Skip Sempé (soloist)

Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue in G major, BWV541

Work length6:36

$2.00

$2.50

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

I. Prelude

Track length2:26

$1.00

$1.25

II. Fugue

Track length4:10

$1.00

$1.25

Bach, J S: Concerto in D Major, BWV 972: II. Larghetto

Work length3:26

$1.00

$1.25

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

Bach, J S: Concerto in G Major, BWV 973

Work length6:49

$3.00

$3.75

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

I. Allegro

Track length2:52

$1.00

$1.25

II. Grave

Track length2:07

$1.00

$1.25

III. Presto

Track length1:50

$1.00

$1.25

Bach, J S: Prelude in E-Flat, BWV 1010

Work length3:22

$1.00

$1.25

Skip Sempé (soloist)

Bach, J S: Praeludium in C, BWV 966

Work length1:59

$1.00

$1.25

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue in C major, BWV547

Work length7:35

$2.00

$2.50

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

I. Prelude

Track length3:11

$1.00

$1.25

II. Fugue

Track length4:24

$1.00

$1.25

Bach, J S: Allegro in C, BWV 595

Work length3:42

$1.00

$1.25

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

Bach, J S: Adagio in A Minor, BWV 965

Work length2:12

$1.00

$1.25

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

Bach, J S: Organ Concerto in A minor (after Vivaldi), BWV593

Work length9:18

$3.00

$3.75

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

I. Allegro

Track length3:20

$1.00

$1.25

II. Adagio

Track length2:44

$1.00

$1.25

III. Allegro

Track length3:14

$1.00

$1.25

Bach, J S: Preludio in A, BWV 1006

Work length3:15

$1.00

$1.25

Olivier Fortin (soloist), Skip Sempé (soloist)

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About

This CD is one of Skip Sempé’s rare Bach recordings and brings the listener ever-closer to both new listening experiences and a re-discovery of some of Bach’s masterpieces in alternative versions. The choice of two superb harpsichords, with contrasting timbres - one based on a German instrument and the other on a French model, but by the same maker - creates a unique alchemy of sound. With this project of Bach transcriptions, Skip Sempé and Olivier Fortin - two of the top harpsichordists today - demonstrate once again that the score is only the beginning of an interpretation. Based on an assortment of Bach’s abundant repertoire, the programme provides contrast after contrast, fully exploiting the rare and opulent sonority of two harpsichords. Sempé and Fortin have also been heard in two-harpsichord transcriptions of works by Rameau, Scarlatti and the Elizabethan virginalists.

In Bach’s works, the overwhelming evidence for multiple harpsichord performances is the concerti for two, three and four, harpsichords, most of which are themselves transcriptions of earlier works. Pianists in the 19th and early 20th centuries often played orchestral repertoire on two pianos at home to enjoy music that they could not otherwise access. This long-awaited re-issue [from Astrée 1998] marked a new celebration of the harpsichord and of fresh, inventive Bach interpretation when it was initially released. It is now re-released concurrent with the 2015 Terpsichore Festival in Paris, of which Skip Sempé is the artistic director. Harpsichord connoisseurs will be delighted with the remastering of this recording - a new chance to discover the remarkable liberty of interpretation and expression and the overwhelming sonority of the two remarkable harpsichords.

Reviews

1st January 2016

I defy even the most hardened anti-harpsichord person not to raise at least an eyebrow, and, I hope, a wide grin. With a programme filled with familiar and less well known music by J.S. Bach or sprinkled with his magic dust as an arranger, this is as exciting a harpsichord disc as I’ve heard for many a year.

Bach: 2 Harpsichords

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