Monday, 2 October 2017

Bach - Works for Flute - Hazelzet, Ogg


Rating: 5/5

Review: 
A terrific set



I think  this is a terrific set.  Wilbert Hazelzet is a very fine flautist indeed and he has made some excellent transcriptions here.

Needless to say, the A minor flute partita is beautifully played, and the transcriptions of the organ music work very well indeed – as such transcriptions so often do.  Bach's organ music lends itself so well to being played on groups of other instruments that it sounds here as though it had been written specifically for flute and harpsichord.  I was a little dubious about the idea of the Cello Suites played on the flute, but in fact they sound great.  Some of the sonorities are lost, of course, and there is the odd slightly disconcerting moment where the flute can't reach a deep bass note which is played an octave above, but the overall effect is a pleasure to listen to.  Much of the intellectual and spiritual depth of the music is preserved, and the lovely sound of Hazelzet's baroque flute adds its own charm and beauty.  I was surprised by how much I like these transcriptions.

The recorded sound is excellent and the whole set is a pleasure – and quite a bargain at this price, I think.  Warmly recommended.

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