"Bachiana: Music by the Bach Family"
Johann Ludwig Bach:
Ouverture in G
major
Concerto in D major
Heinrich
Bach:
Sonata a 5 in
C
Sonata a 5 in F
Johann Christoph Bach:
Aria Eberliniana pro dormente Camillo
Cyriacus Wilche: Battaglia
— anno 1659 composita
Signr. Pagh: Sonata & Capriccio in G
minor
Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto in D (after BWV
249)
Musica Antiqua Köln
Reinhard Goebel (director)
Deutsche Grammophon Archiv
In his essay accompanying this disc, Reinhard Goebel explains that
"this recording presents recently rediscovered [works] by older members of the
Bach family." Goebel has carried out such projects before, but Bach fans have
desired more of this obscure yet engaging music on disc for years. The good news
is that the musical invention and skill of Johann Sebastian is evident in even
the most obscure member of his compositionally minded clan.
It is a shame that this family tree is not included in the disappointing booklet notes — due to re-marriages and cousins with similar names, Bach genealogy is not a simple matter for the uninitiated. The most senior family member represented on the disc is Heinrich Bach (1615–1692), the grandfather of Maria Barbara Bach (Johann Sebastian's second cousin and first wife); the "Signr. Pagh" who composed the Sonata and Capriccio in G minor is thought to be Johann Michael Bach (Maria Barbara's father). Heinrich's two well-crafted sonatas in five parts prove that the Italianate influence arrived early in the Bach family, and both works get sonorous biting performances. However, probably the oldest piece of music on this disc is a conventional battaglia ["battle piece"] composed in 1659 by Cyriacus Wilche (d. 1667), the grandfather of Johann Sebastian's second wife Anna Magdalena.
The most substantial works, and those that bear closest comparison to Johann Sebastian's music, are an overture and a concerto by his distant cousin Johann Ludwig Bach (1677–1731), the first member of the family to hold a leading musical position at a court. The close relationship between the cousins is underlined by Johann Sebastian's use of 18 of Johann Ludwig's cantatas at Leipzig in 1726. Johann Sebastian is also known to have used motets by his father's first cousin Johann Christoph (1642–1703), and described his predecessor as a "profound composer" — but the long harpsichord solo "Aria Eberliniana pro dormente Camillo" does not reveal anything interesting, although it provides an interlude bringing some variety to what would otherwise be a one-dimensional program. It would be more illuminating to hear some of the motets and cantatas that Bach probably performed.
Yet it is Johann Sebastian — perhaps unfairly for his competent ancestors — who provides the real excitement here: the spectacular overture to his Easter Oratorio, followed by the opening chorus performed in an orchestral arrangement. It is difficult to listen to this familiar music without imagining the singers' parts, yet the performance has all the bold and assertive qualities for which Musica Antiqua Köln is known.
Ironically, after the useful exercise of hearing works by the obscure Bachs given first-rate performances, the inclusion of Johann Sebastian's marvelous music undoes all the good work done by instantly reaffirming his innate superiority. Still, one is left with a desire to hear more of the music that must surely have had some direct influence on the young Johann Sebastian's musical mind. Happily, this is only a temporary frustration: this disc is the first of a series from DG Archiv; the label promises a forthcoming sequel volume featuring the mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozená.
This title is available for
purchase at Amazon.com,
Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de and Amazon.fr.
