Coming Soon, Bach to Moog

It does the Presto team the world of good to get out of our Strictly Classical comfort-zone once in a while, and so on Tuesday evening Chris and I found ourselves at the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square for a record-launch with a difference: an introduction to Sony Music's Bach to Moog, which re-imagines a selection of JS Bach's best-known works for Moog Synthesizer, strings and solo violin (former BBC Young Musician of the Year Jennifer Pike, whose recent recordings of Czech and French repertoire on Chandos have received much acclaim).

The project is the brainchild of record-producer, composer and arranger Craig Leon (whose eclectic career has included collaborations with Pavarotti and Blondie!), and is a sequel of sorts to Columbia's immensely popular Switched-On Bach album of 1968, one of the first classical albums to sell half a million copies; its impact on the world of classical and non-classical recordings was such that a special 25th anniversary edition was re-released in 1992. This new disc is also an anniversary tribute in its own right, commemorating the passing of the synthesizer's inventor Doctor Robert Moog, who died in 2005; it was announced in January that Moog Music would be manufacturing a limited edition of System 55 modular synthesizers (which haven't been produced for over three decades), and it's this model which is showcased on the album.

The disc will be based around popular excerpts from Bach's works, including the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, the aria from the Goldberg Variations and of course the Air on the G string from the Third Orchestral Suite (which also appeared on the original Switched-On Bach), as well as a complete performance of Brandenburg Concerto No. 4; Pike and Leon are joined by the strings of Sinfonietta Cracovia.

Bach to Moog will be released on Sony Records in the autumn. In the meantime, here's a photo of Ms. Pike and the mighty Moog in action, which Chris sneaked on Tuesday night!

Works by Craig Leon