Bach, J S: Goldberg Canons, BWV1087 (14 Canons on the 8 first bass notes of the Goldberg Variations)

In their vivid new recording, The Bach Players introduce the music of Johann Pachelbel, a friend of the Bach family and 30 years older than Johann Sebastian. Each disc of this double CD presents cantatas with texts set by both Pachelbel and Bach: ‘Christ lag in Todesbanden’ and ‘Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan’. In the first case the older composer’s influence on Bach’s writing is very clear; in the second, we hear the mature Bach. A generous helping of Pachelbel’s music is given: the beautiful Canon and two of his sacred concertos. Bach is represented also by his cantata for solo alto, ‘Widerstehe doch der Sünde’, and the lesser known canons from the Goldberg Variations in an arrangement by the group’s keyboard player, Silas Wollston.

A 28-page booklet includes an essay on this music by the composer Hugh Wood and a note by Silas Wollston on his arrangement of the Goldberg canons. Texts of all the vocal pieces are given in German with English translations. There are photos of the recording session. The CDs and booklet are held in a packet made of card and without plastic.

Having opened the eyes and ears of the classical music world with his recording of the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas (AV2209), Daniel-Ben Pienaar offers further revelations with J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, complemented with Fourteen Canons, BWV1087 and Bist du bei mir. Pianist Daniel-Ben Pienaar opened the eyes and ears of the classical music world with his release of Mozart’s complete Piano Sonatas (AV2209), earning plaudits such as Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice and CD of the Week from The Sunday Times. His recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations is destined to do the same. Pienaar’s probing intellectual interpretation combines with his dazzling finger work and perfect pianistic touch, to deliver a classic recording of Bach’s evergreen Goldbergs. As a bonus, he includes Fourteen Canons BWV1087, based on the first eight bass notes of the Goldberg’s Aria, and Bist du bei mir from Bach’s Anna Magdalena Notebook, where the Aria from the Goldberg Variation first appeared.

On this CD, Schola Buccina perform a repertoire (mainly composed for the baroque trombone) spanning more than five hundred years, from Dufay to Beethoven. Perhaps the most notable accomplishment is their interpretation of Bach’s Ten canons on the first eight notes of the Aria ground from the Goldberg Variations, which was found discovered in France in 1975, jotted down in the margin of the original manuscript of the Goldberg Variations. A beautiful improvisation on bronzelurs (faithful copies), recorded at Lake Båven one Swedish summer night, is also included.

Bach Trio Sonatas / Bach Sonatas and Chorales” explores the music of Bach’s Leipzig and includes the complete trio sonatas as well as some beautiful arrangements of chorales.

The Palladian Ensemble (originally Rachel Podger, Pamela Thorby, Joanna Levine and William Carter) was a double-award winning group even before they released their first album, and made their Wigmore Hall debut in 1993. Gamba player Susanne Heinrich and the prize-winning violinist Rodolfo Richter replaced Joanna Levine and Rachel Podger, but the Palladian Ensemble continued to tour extensively throughout the UK enjoying consistent popularity with audiences and critics.

The Palladian Ensemble were five times winners of the prestigious Diapason d'Or Award, (1993, 1994, 1998, 1999 and 2000) and twice had albums named Gramophone "Editor's Choice".