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Track(s) taken from CDA67306

Duet in G major, BWV804

composer
from Clavier-Übung III, published in 1739

Angela Hewitt (piano)
Recording details: October 2000
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Ludger Böckenhoff
Engineered by Ludger Böckenhoff
Release date: January 2001
Total duration: 3 minutes 24 seconds

Cover artwork: A Panoramic View of Rome from Monte Mario (detail) (1749). Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-1765)
 

Other recordings available for download

Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord)
Tatiana Nikolayeva (piano)
Christopher Herrick (organ)
Lucy Carolan (harpsichord)
David Goode (organ)
Jeremy Filsell (organ)

Reviews

‘Hewitt remains today's finest exponent of Bach's keyboard music’ (Gramophone)

‘One of the most convincing Bach pianists at the present time. These performances rate highly in my league table and deserve ‘benchmark’ status’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘This enticing collection once again confirms Angela Hewitt's reputation for playing Bach on the piano’ (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

‘This disc is one of the finest volumes in Hewitt’s continuing Bach cycle, with marvellous engineering to match. Highly recommended’ (International Record Review)

‘Captivating’ (The Times)

‘Hewitt's playing radiates joy, wit and profound understanding of the composer's keyboard style. This series is one of the record glories of our age’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Stunningly beautiful … interpretations that are winning in every way. Not a note is slighted, not a phrase undernourished. She possesses a wonderful command of the music's overall architecture and wastes no time in letting us know what it is all about’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Hyperion’s good sense in signing Angela Hewitt deserves yet another round of applause. Hot on the heels of her superlative account of the Goldberg Variations comes another disc that proves her status as one of today’s finest Bach interpreters’ (International Piano)
Far removed from the world of the Italian Concerto and French Overture are the Four Duets, BWV802–805. They are curiously included in the third volume of Clavierübung, published by Bach himself in 1739. This is otherwise a collection of works for organ, and certainly their two voices (hence ‘Duets’) sound just as well on that instrument as on any other. They resemble the two-part Inventions, but are much more characteristic of Bach’s later style. Written in ascending keys, the first in E minor opens with a scale but then tacks on an awkward figure that can be very clumsy to play. It reminds me of the A minor Prelude from Book II of The Well-Tempered Clavier, with its chromaticisms and invertible counterpoint. The second in F major starts out happily enough, but then proceeds to a middle section almost entirely written in canon and with quite a wild subject. The third in G major is perhaps the most immediately attractive with its lovely pastoral rhythm in 12/8 time. Finishing in the key of A minor, the fourth duet is rather rugged and angular, with two chromatic sequences bringing some startling harmonic progressions. To the usual dedication ‘for music lovers to refresh their spirits’ Bach adds ‘and especially for connoisseurs of such work’. These four duets are definitely ‘musicians’ music’ which, despite their beauty, makes them relatively obscure.

from notes by Angela Hewitt © 2001

Other albums featuring this work

Bach: Angela Hewitt plays Bach
CDS44421/3516CDs Boxed set (at a special price)
Bach: Clavier-Übung III
Studio Master: SIGCD7442CDs Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Bach: Italian Concerto & French Overture
SIGCD030Download only
Bach: Italian Concerto & French Overture
Studio Master: CDA68336Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Bach: Organ Miniatures
CDA67211/22CDs Download only
Bach: The Art of Fugue
CDA66631/22CDs
Bach: The Complete Organ Works
CDS44121/3616CDs Boxed set (at a special price) — Download only
Bach: The Complete Organ Works, Vol. 14
Studio Master: SIGCD8142CDs Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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