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Plucked Bach II

Alon Sariel (mandolin)

Plucked Bach II
Bach’s Toccata and Fugue on the mandolin? It’s surprising how well this translates in the capable hands of Alon Sariel...In place of scale and bombast there’s nuance and precision – and a cleanness...

Plucked Bach II

Alon Sariel (mandolin)

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Bach’s Toccata and Fugue on the mandolin? It’s surprising how well this translates in the capable hands of Alon Sariel...In place of scale and bombast there’s nuance and precision – and a cleanness...

About

Mandolinist Alon Sariel continues his series of Bach transcriptions with Plucked Bach II. On his first Plucked Bach album, Sariel played the Cello Suites on a wide range of plucked instruments. Yet in this new recording, he performs works for the lute, organ and violin - all performed on 'only' two types of mandolins. By offering a distinctive and groundbreaking interpretation of his own transcriptions and arrangements, Sariel manages to breathe new life into some very well-known works by Johann Sebastian Bach.

ThToccata and Fugue in D Minor (BWV 565) for the organ receives a contemplative and intimate character on the mandolin. Excerpts of the Lute Suite (BWV 998) and the Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major (BWV 1006) are drawn in a whole new palette of colors. For Bach's Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor (BWV 1003), Alon Sariel shows the incredible suitability of the mandolin for Bach's music. And as an encore, you will hear his rendition of Ysaye's dazzling Obsession. Alon Sariel is one of today's most versatile performers, known as a multi-instrumentalist in the realm of plucked strings with a growing reputation as a fascinating Bach interpreter.

Contents and tracklist

I. Toccata
Track length2:21
II. Fugue
Track length6:02
I. Grave
Track length3:53
II. Fuga
Track length8:20
III. Andante
Track length4:57
IV. Allegro
Track length7:08

Awards and reviews

February 2024

Bach’s Toccata and Fugue on the mandolin? It’s surprising how well this translates in the capable hands of Alon Sariel...In place of scale and bombast there’s nuance and precision – and a cleanness of line that lays bare Bach’s gorgeous harmonic architecture.

March 2024

This is an all-round stunning recording that has me desperately holding out for a ‘Plucked Bach III’...here lies an interpretation of Bach’s Andante that belongs more in heaven than on earth.
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