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L O R F E O B A R O C K O R C H E S T E R
BACH CONCERTOS
JOHANN
SEBASTIAN
BACH
16 85 1750
HARPSICHORD CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MINOR BWV 1 0 5 2
Two Marimbas: Bogdan Bacanu, Christoph Sietzen
01 I A L L EGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07:27
02 I I A DAGIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06:10
03 I I I A L L EGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07:24
04 I A L L EGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06:36
05 I I A DAGIO OV V E RO LA RG O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03:16
06 I I I FUGA . V IVACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05:10
07 I [ A L L EG RO ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03:30
08 I I A NDA NT E E PIA NO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05:27
09 I I I A L L EGRO A S S A I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04:22
10 I [ A L L EG RO ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03:44
11 I I L A RGO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02:17
12 I I I A L L EGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03:10
L O R F E O B A R O C K O R C H E S T E R
M I C H I G A I G G CONDUCTOR
It is generally assumed today that with the exception of the Fifth C ONCERTO FOR TWO HARPS ICHORDS
Brandenburg Concerto, all of Bachs harpsichord concertos apart IN C MAJOR BW V 1061
from BWV 1061 were originally intended for melody instruments. The present piece dates from around 1730 and, as such, is one of
In many cases these works have survived only in the form of harp- the first of its kind. Almost certainly it is the only concerto that was
sichord concertos. Bach had recourse to existing pieces, which he originally written for two harpsichords rather than being based on
reworked with considerable care. an original piece for other instruments.
H ARPS IC HORD CONCERTO he orchestral part must have been added afterwards for the
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IN D MI NOR BW V 1 0 5 2 orchestra does not have an independent role to play but mere sup-
Bachs First Harpsichord Concerto in D minor BWV 1052 is based ports the cadenzas, while in the middle movement it is completely
on a lost violin concerto that is believed to date from the compos- silent. A second version senza ripieno has survived, in other words,
ers years in Cthen (171723). Bach evidently liked the piece and without strings. The solo writing is remarkably identical.
recycled passages from it in Cantata 146 (Wir mssen durch viel
Trbsal) and Cantata 188 (Ich habe meine Zuversicht). In 1734 he Whereas the D minor Concerto inhabits a world of darkness, the
lent the score to his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, who used it to pre- present piece exudes a sense of joy from the very first phrase
pare an arrangement for harpsichord and orchestra, BWV 1052a. In of its opening movement, a joy which, for all its lightness, never
around 1738 Bach himself arranged his violin concerto as a harpsi- loses its undertone of pride and which is celebrated by the solo-
chord concerto, and this is the version that we know today. It is his ists and orchestra together. But even within the opening bar this
best-known harpsichord concerto. It already enjoyed great popu- tutti is already interrupted by the solo instruments, a feature typi-
larity in the early 19th century: Mendelssohn, for example, included cal of the movement as a whole. This memorable first impression
it in his concerto repertory. recurs in the manner of a ritornello, but Bach varies it each time by
including only sections that are not even repeated in their original he works origins are plain to hear from its very first bar, even
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order. The second movement is sustained by a siciliano rhythm, though Bach needed to add something in order to create four com-
while the orchestra falls silent, only for it to return in the fugue-like plete harpsichord parts from the four solo violin lines of the original.
third movement, the various instruments entering one by one to He elaborated the bass lines and added chromatic elements as well
support the solo voices, so that the concerto ends with a display of as scalar passages and sometimes even new melodies.
full-toned sonorities.
To be able to perform this concerto has been a dream come true
CONC E RT O F OR TWO HARPSICHORDS for the Wave Quartet. For a long time it seemed an unattainable
IN C MI NOR BW V 1 0 6 2 dream, since we needed no fewer than eight marimbas, which in
The present piece is an arrangement of Bachs famous Double Violin many respects is a challenge.
Concerto in D minor BWV 1043. In order for Bach to adapt it to the
compass of the two harpsichords, he transposed it to C minor. The ut it was clear from our very first rehearsals that the effort was
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two solo violin parts were entrusted to each of the right hands of the well and truly worth it. The effect of only four marimbas starting
harpsichord players, while bass lines were added for their left hands. the proceedings, only for the full orchestra to enter after the first
few bars, followed by all of the other solo voices, is indescribable.
he result is much denser texturally than the original Double Con-
T On top of everything, the combination of Vivaldis inspired lightness
certo, and the apparent lack of lightness and cantabilit in the harp- and Bachs complexity produces a fascinating symbiosis.
sichord writing has led some commentators to adopt a critical note
Christoph Sietzen, The Wave Quartet
when writing about this arrangement. We were conscious of this
Translation: texthouse
challenge, not least because the number of instruments is once
again necessarily doubled in our version for four marimbas. As a
result we have sought a particularly warm and rounded tone and
attempted to draw on the broad palette of colours and dynamics
that is typical of the marimba. At the same time we were keen to
avoid too massive a sound.
Whrend im zweiten Satz, getragen durch einen Siciliano-Rhyth- er Ursprung dieses Werks ist von den ersten Noten an zu hren,
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mus, das Orchester zur Gnze pausiert, setzt es im fugenartigen obwohl Bach einiges hinzufgen musste, um aus den vier Solostim-
dritten Satz nach und nach ein, um die Solostimmen zu unterstt- men vier komplette Cembaloparts zu gestalten. Er arbeitete Bassli-
zen und so das Konzert in groer Klangflle zu beenden. nien aus und fgte zustzliche Chromatik sowie Lufe, manchmal
sogar neue Melodien hinzu.
KONZ E RT FR ZWEI CEM BA L I
IN C-MOL L BW V 1 0 6 2 ieses Konzert zu spielen war fr das Wave Quartet ein Traum, der
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Um die zugrundeliegende Komposition, das berhmte Doppel- lange nicht greifbar schien, da es dafr ganze acht Marimbas ben-
konzert fr zwei Violinen in d-moll, dem Tonumfang der Cembali tigt, was in vielerlei Hinsicht eine Herausforderung darstellt.
anzupassen, transponierte J. S. Bach dieses Werk nach c-moll. Die
Stimmen der Soloviolinen legte er jeweils in die rechte Hand der chon von den ersten Proben an war aber klar, dass sich der Aufwand
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Solo-Cembali und fgte fr die linken Hnde Basslinien hinzu. fr uns voll und ganz gelohnt hat. Der Effekt, wenn nach den ers-
ten Takten, in denen nur vier Marimbas spielen, pltzlich das ganze
ufgrund dieser Verdichtung sowie der scheinbar fehlenden Leich-
A Orchester sowie alle weiteren Solostimmen einsetzen ist unbe-
tig- und Sanglichkeit der Cembali gegenber den Violinen wurde schreiblich. Darber hinaus ist die Kombination von Vivaldis genialer
diese Bearbeitung oft sehr kritisch gesehen. Leichtigkeit und Bachs Komplexitt eine faszinierende Symbiose.