Track Listing

1. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 1 in G major, BWV 1027: Adagio
2. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 1 in G major, BWV 1027: Allegro ma non tanto
3. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 1 in G major, BWV 1027: Andante
4. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 1 in G major, BWV 1027: Allegro moderato
5. Capriccio sopra la lotananza del suo fratello dilettissimo, for keyboard in B flat major, BWV 992 (BC L181): Arioso. Adagio
6. Capriccio sopra la lotananza del suo fratello dilettissimo, for keyboard in B flat major, BWV 992 (BC L181): Andante
7. Capriccio sopra la lotananza del suo fratello dilettissimo, for keyboard in B flat major, BWV 992 (BC L181): Adagissiimo
8. Capriccio sopra la lotananza del suo fratello dilettissimo, for keyboard in B flat major, BWV 992 (BC L181): untitled
9. Capriccio sopra la lotananza del suo fratello dilettissimo, for keyboard in B flat major, BWV 992 (BC L181): Aria di Postiglione. Ada
10. Capriccio sopra la lotananza del suo fratello dilettissimo, for keyboard in B flat major, BWV 992 (BC L181): Fuga all'imitazione dell
11. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 2 in D major, BWV 1028: Adagio
12. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 2 in D major, BWV 1028: Allegro
13. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 2 in D major, BWV 1028: Andante
14. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 2 in D major, BWV 1028: Allegro
15. Capriccio in honorem Johann Christoph Bach ii, for keyboard in E major, BWV 993 (BC L180)
16. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 3 in G minor, BWV 1029: Vivace
17. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 3 in G minor, BWV 1029: Adagio
18. Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 3 in G minor, BWV 1029: Allegro

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #220420 in Music
• Released on: 2000-10-10
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Amazon.com
Bach's sonatas for viola da gamba and continuo seem to be quite popular among performers--surprisingly so, considering that they're not original compositions, but adaptations by Bach of trio sonatas he wrote for other instruments. Perhaps that's why they've been performed and recorded more often over the years by cellists (on both Baroque and modern instruments) and even violists than by gamba players. During Bach Year 2000, however, these works have gotten a great deal of attention: the present recording is the fifth to appear since late 1999. Why take any notice of this one? It's just plain gamba and harpsichord: no marquee names like Jordi Savall and Ton Koopman, no unusual instruments like the lautenwerck (keyboard-lute) or early fortepiano featured on other recordings. Why did Harmonia Mundi add this release to the pile instead of saving it for a couple of years?

Because it's very, very good. The viola da gamba is a reticent instrument, and Jaap ter Linden doesn't make the lustrous sound Savall does, but he transmits a sense of the melodic line's ebbs and flows even better than his famous colleague. Richard Egarr (and Harmonia Mundi's recording engineers) give a crystalline sparkle to the harpsichord's sound. The tempos are just slightly slower than on the other recent recordings of these works, but the pace never seems to drag. The other recordings mentioned above each have something to recommend them, but this release is at least their equal. --Matthew Westphal