Home
The Experts: The Bach & Silbermann Dynasties
The Experts: The Bach & Silbermann Dynasties in Bloomington, MN
Current price: $25.99
Loading Inventory...
Size: OS
The title of this 2024 release on the
Harmonia Mundi
label may promise a little more than the album delivers. The family of German musical instrument builders named
Silbermann
contained various members, but only one, the patriarch
Gottfried Silbermann
, is represented here, and only two of the three instruments are actually built by him; the harpsichord is a modern copy of an anonymous instrument. There is nonetheless plenty of variety, and the performances by keyboardist
Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas
, baritone
Marc Mauillon
, and the small
Ensemble Les Surprises
will startle with the variety of sounds produced. The program is framed by a pair of works featuring a fortepiano copied from a
instrument, a fascinating, exercise-like
Solfeggietto
by
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
and the Ricercar à 3 from
J.S. Bach
's
Musikalisches Opfer, BWV 1079
. The latter relies on the fact that the elder
Bach
definitely heard the new fortepianos at the end of his life; he didn't like them and sent the builder,
, back to the drawing board, but what's heard here is something of an idealized representation of the piece. In between, there are a variety of works that as a group add up to an examination of the relationship between music and technology during this period. There's a fascinating organ by
, heard in a unique performance of the
Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 562
, a spiky duet by
, and various other cutting-edge works by
's sons. Hear the two Lieder by
C.P.E.
accompanied by fortepiano; they are extremely early examples of a genre that continues to resonate today. Highly listenable even for those beyond the circles of historical keyboard aficionados (and for them it's an essential purchase), this release inspires hopes of a sequel; there is, after all, plenty of material, and plenty of musical instruments, that could provide a second program. ~ James Manheim
Harmonia Mundi
label may promise a little more than the album delivers. The family of German musical instrument builders named
Silbermann
contained various members, but only one, the patriarch
Gottfried Silbermann
, is represented here, and only two of the three instruments are actually built by him; the harpsichord is a modern copy of an anonymous instrument. There is nonetheless plenty of variety, and the performances by keyboardist
Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas
, baritone
Marc Mauillon
, and the small
Ensemble Les Surprises
will startle with the variety of sounds produced. The program is framed by a pair of works featuring a fortepiano copied from a
instrument, a fascinating, exercise-like
Solfeggietto
by
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
and the Ricercar à 3 from
J.S. Bach
's
Musikalisches Opfer, BWV 1079
. The latter relies on the fact that the elder
Bach
definitely heard the new fortepianos at the end of his life; he didn't like them and sent the builder,
, back to the drawing board, but what's heard here is something of an idealized representation of the piece. In between, there are a variety of works that as a group add up to an examination of the relationship between music and technology during this period. There's a fascinating organ by
, heard in a unique performance of the
Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 562
, a spiky duet by
, and various other cutting-edge works by
's sons. Hear the two Lieder by
C.P.E.
accompanied by fortepiano; they are extremely early examples of a genre that continues to resonate today. Highly listenable even for those beyond the circles of historical keyboard aficionados (and for them it's an essential purchase), this release inspires hopes of a sequel; there is, after all, plenty of material, and plenty of musical instruments, that could provide a second program. ~ James Manheim
Shop Similar Products
