Bach: Fantasia and Fugue in A minor, Aria Variata, etc.

2004-07-17 / Daily Telegraph / Geoffrey Norris

Here is another out-and-out winner from Angela Hewitt. Admirers will be grieved to know that this is the last planned disc in her anthology of Bach´s keyboard music, but it is an essential addition to the nine earlier ones. Those all concentrated in particular groups of pieces ( The Well-tempered Clavier , the Goldberg Variations , the French Suites, the Partitas and so on), but this one is more of a miscellany.
Not that it is any sense a mopping up of odds and ends. The programme is framed by two substantial but very different Fantasias and Fugues in A minor. In between, the music ranges through such works as the D major Sonata, the Partie (or suite) in A major, the F minor Suite, the Aria variata “in the italian style”, and two chorale preludes, Jesu, meine Zuversicht and Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten.
Hewitt´s instinct in choosing repertoire that shows the rich variety of Bach´s keyboard writing is as sound as the decisions she takes in interpreting this music for the piano. Listen to the catchy final fugue of the D major Sonata – “in imitation of the chicken and cuckoo” – to appreciate how entertaining she can make Bach sound. The hallmark of her playing derives from just such a sharp definition of musical character. Be it light or solemn, her outlook on Bach is consistently enlivening.

Privacy Overview

We use cookies to give you the best experience on this website. You can find out more in our Privacy Policy.