Bach, J.S.: Sonatas, Bwv 1001, 1003 And 1005

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Cat No: 8553193

Release Date: 12 January 1999

Label: Naxos - Nxc / Naxos Classics

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 730099419321

Genres: Classical

Composer/Series: BACH, J.S.

Description
J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750) Sonatas Nos.1-3, BWV 1001, 1003 & 1005 (Transcribed for Guitar) In 1717, Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen offered the position of court Kapellmeister to Johann Sebastian Bach. Despite the fact that Bach did not subscribe to the Prince's Calvinist beliefs, he accepted the offer. Leopold employed an exceptionally talented chamber orchestra, and he himself was capable of singing bass and of playing the violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord. As a result, Bach found himself in an atmosphere conducive to his work, and produced a profusion of compositions. A great part of his output from these years is lost, but what has been preserved -works such as the six Brandenburg Concertos, the Well-Tempered Clavier, and the Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin -reflects the exuberance of an artist discovering new opportunities for expression and the peace of mind of a composer who had found genuine understanding and appreciation in his new patron. Johann Sebastian Bach's Three Sonatas and Three Partitas, BWV 1001 -1006, completed in 1720, stand among the most powerful manifestations of his genius. The three Sonatas are patterned after the Italian sonata da chiesa, the origins of which are rooted in the earlier Italian liturgical practice of performing instrumental interludes during the Mass. The sonata da chiesa was popularised outside the church in the works of many composers; in their mature form these sonatas were usually constructed in four movements arranged in the order slow-fast-slow-fast. The first was of a solemn introductory nature, often elaborated spontaneously by the performer. The next, usually fugal in style, was the most cerebral and weighty of the four. A tranquil aria would follow, leading to a virtuosic, bravura, and dance-like finale.Bach's exposure to the sonata da chiesa was surely augmented by his study of the extensive Italian music collection in the library of Prince Leopold at Cöthen, and his fascination with the Italian style is apparent in his own works from this period on. In this enthusiasm he transcribed several of Vivaldi' s violin concertos for the harpsichord, yet in the process of assimilation, Bach combined Italian and German traditions to create unique hybrids which are characterized by greater polyphonic elaboration and more complex harmonic vocabulary. The transcription of music for bowed stringed instruments to plucked stringed instruments was widely practiced in the Baroque and was often used by Bach himself. Bach left several models from which much information may be acquired: he transcribed several movements of these sonatas for the lute and the harpsichord, and for the organ as well. The editions heard on this recording follow Bach's example in their treatment of texture, range, ornamentation, phrasing and articulation. Performed here in Bach's original keys to preserve Baroque affect, the three sonatas traverse a wide range of Baroque expression, from the dark density of Son
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