Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating and worthwhile addition to Hewitt's Bach series, 17 Aug 2001
By A Customer
This collection of Bach 'arrangements' makes a fascinating addition to Angela Hewitt's excellent ongoing series of Bach recordings for Hyperion. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the disc is that Hewitt avoids the well-known transcriptions by Busoni and opts, alongside transcriptions by Wilhelm Kempff and Myra Hess, for less frequently heard pieces. Kempff's transcriptions have of course been made famous by his own stunning recording for DG (recently reissued!). They are gems of their kind and Hewitt gives lovely performances of five of them here - including the chorale preludes 'Ich ruf zu Dir', 'Wachet auf' ('Sleepers' wake') and the haunting G minor Siciliano. Alongside Myra Hess's famous arrangement of 'Jesu, joy of man's desiring' other highlights of the disc are Mary Howe's 'Sheep may safely graze' and Lord Berner's 'In dulci jubilo'. The disc also contains three transcriptions by Hewitt herself, who imparts to them a wonderful and tender reflective quality. Hewitt's own beautiful and simple version of 'Wenn wir in hoechsten Noeten sein' (from the Orgelbuechlein) was for me the most exquisite piece of playing on the recording. An important feature of the disc is that Hewitt - whose Bach recordings are of an exemplary purity - plays the pieces as transcriptions and as products of the time when the works were transcribed, not afraid to invest them with a pianistic flourish or a romantic gesture when appropriate. All of which makes for a rewarding release: possibly the best Bach piano transcription recording since Kempff himself?
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended for the "ordinary" listener too, 21 Jun 2004
It's worth emphasising that this CD is in the best sense music for everyone. You don't need any knowledge of the original works to enjoy these transcriptions which are often vastly different in tone and vigour but still retain their essences of reflection and spiritual uplift. I received it as a surprise gift and was won over by the first track. Expert listeners will not be disappointed by the quality and Ms. Hewitt's sleeve notes are superb. Having played a few tracks back-to-back vs. the Deutsche Grammophon Orgelwerke CDs I suspect that even the most austere Bach followers will find some of the changes stimulating - for example, releasing the Passacaglia (track 16) from slow pedal work on the organ. You will not regret adding this to your CD collection.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A unique CD in Angela Hewitt's Bach Cycle, 22 Feb 2006
Amassing now over a dozen CD's in her Bach cycle, Angela Hewitt puts her focus on several famous - and some not-so-famous - piano transcriptions of Bach. The overall flavor and tone of this set is a little different than her other Bach recordings. Not present in this music are the lively dance rhythms of the French courante, menuet or bourree found in the Suites or Partitas - or even much of the intellectual fugues from the "Well-Tempered Clavier" and others. Rather, there is a more introspective, gentle and often tangibly spiritual essence to the selections on this CD - largely due to many being transciptions from choral and church cantatas. In many of the more familiar pieces, there is a comforting and assuring atmosphere that Miss Hewitt communicate most sensitively - which when reading the German translation of the original works in the liner notes, would seem to be the intent of the Lutheran Kappelmeister Bach. In her most-informative notes, Hewitt points out how "the ability to translate spirituality into sound at the keyboard is of certainly important to avoid famous tunes sounding banal or hacknayed." Her versions of the famous "Jesu" and "Sheep may safely graze" (as well as her own three lovely transcriptions) do seem to succeed in conveying a spiritual core to avoid sounding trite. In the great Bach pastoral work ("Sheep may graze"), she convincingly summons the highly endearing and nurturing quality that D. Myra Hess exuded in her piano transcription which was played frequently over the radio during the great war to comfort many a troups and families in hardship. Maybe in a couple pieces Ms. Hewitt draws out the tempo a bit, but I found this gave the piece a more introspective tone that I appreciated later upon further listening. Other works on a more grand scale (like the Passacaglia for organ) reveal Bach as a daunting church composer and sound reasonably authoritive on Hewitt's piano. Her best pieces here may be also her most personally involved ones - her own three transcriptions - which embody a most moving, introspective and heartwarming quality. I think these are a humble highlight of the set. The Hyperion sound is clear and full bodied while the substantial CD notes offer valuable history of the transciptions and Ms. Hewitt's perspectives on how she approached them. Significant coverage is given to the past legends of the piano like Kempff, Hess, Howells, d'Albert that will be appreciated especially by pianists. In short, a unique, spiritual and lovely set of recordings in Angela Hewitt's ever-growing quiver of Bach recordings.
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