Bach + [Various]: Transcriptions (Weissenberg, Rösel, Bax, Grimaud, Glemser)

A selection of various performances of Bach transcriptions by various composers. I don’t usually recommend this, but here I’d really encourage you to listen to these with a pair of good headphones – a lot of the subtler voicing (especially in the quieter transcriptions, like Bax’s or Glemser’s) can get lost otherwise. The performances here are arranged in a more-or-less logical order, with a something of a reverse recapitulation at the end.

It’s basically impossible to go through every single performance here in detail, so here’s something of a brief overview of the performers:

Weissenberg – W. is the quintessential anti-romantic Romantic pianist. His playing is marked by near-fanatical aversion to any unnecessary expressive gestures or technical gimmickry (technically amazing as it is). The tempi he chooses are uncompromising, and his dynamic range in these performances surprisingly large (see the fortissimos in Jesus bleibet and Nun komm). In these performances W.’s sort of neo-Baroque approach pays off beautifully – there is something granitic and monumental about the chorale transcriptions, and a crystalline delicacy in the Siciliano.

Rösel – I’d always known vaguely that Rösel’s performaces of the Bach transcriptions were supposed to be fairly good, but when I listened to them I was shocked by how good they were. Rösel plays like a Glenn Gould without the neuroticism or odd flashes of interpretive pique: there is stunning clarity and sparing use of pedal (see Nun freut euch), but also hyperfine dynamic control (listen to how voices are introduced in Wachet auf [33:29, 35:44]) and some very neat coloration (the closing pages of the Prelude and fugue in D [19:03, 21:14]).

Bax – Bax’s performance of Schafe können sicher weiden is the centerpoint of this video, and for good reason: it’s one of the most tender and intelligent performances I’ve heard, with lovely voicing and lots of attention paid to harmonic buildup and release. Sometimes you’ll hear critics speak of a shining or numinous sound, and this is a pretty good example of what they mean. (It’s also mostly wasted without good headphones or speakers, unfortunately.)

Grimaud – When playing a transcription of a piece for organ it’s perfectly possible (and most performers do this, I think) to forget entirely about the origin of a piece and just play it as written, as essentially a piece for piano. There’s another approach, and that’s the one which Grimaud takes, to quite interesting effect – to mimic, to at least some degree, the sound of the organ. Grimaud’s deliberate blurring of melodic contours, episodes where the music descends into a tide-like harmonic wash [47:21], and finely etched (but quiet) upper lines seem to be deliberate recreations of organ-like sounds, and make for pretty fun listening.

Glemser – G.’s not particularly well known, which is a pity, as he’s a consistently excellent pianist. His performance of Hess’ famous transcription is unparalleled in the attention in pays to the hidden voices in the apparently decorative RH. His playing is marked by a simplicity and warmth that’s (to my ear, at least) pretty moving.

00:00 – Bach-Myra Hess: Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring), BWV 147 [Weissenberg]
03:25 – Bach-Busoni: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Now Comes the Gentiles’ Saviour), BWV 659 [Rösel]
07:44 – Bach-Busoni: Nun freut euch (Rejoice, Beloved Christians), lieben Christen g'mein, BWV 734a [Weissenberg]
09:33 – Bach-Stark: Siciliano from Flute Sonata in E-flat Major, BWV 1031 [Weissenberg]
11:10 – *Bach-Busoni: Prelude and Fugue [17:11] in D Major, BWV 532 [Rösel]
23:05 – Bach-Siloti: Prelude in E Minor from Klavierbüchlein, BWV 855a [Weissenberg]
25:16 – Bach-Busoni: In Dir is Freude, BWV 615 (In You is Joy) [Rösel]
27:27 – Bach-Egon Petri: Schafe können sicher weiden (Sheep May Safely Graze), BWV 208 [Bax]
32:40 – Bach-Busoni: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, the Voice Commands), BWV 645 [Rösel]
36:15 – Bach-Busoni: Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ (I Call on Thee, Lord Jesus Christ), BWV 177 [Weissenberg]
39:25 – Bach-Liszt: Prelude and Fugue [43:00] in A Minor, BWV 543/S.462a [Grimaud]
48:50 – Bach-Busoni: Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein (Rejoice, Beloved Christians), BWV 734a [Rösel]
51:07 – Bach-Busoni: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Now Comes the Gentiles’ Saviour), BWV 659 [Weissenberg]
55:20 – Bach-Myra Hess: Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring), BWV 147 [Glemser]