Monday 30 July 2018

Bach - Harpsichord Concertos Transcribed for Mandolin - Ferella


Rating: 3/5

Review:
Not very successful transcriptions

Bach’s works often lend themselves very well to transcription but I don’t think that these transcriptions are very successful. There’s nothing wrong with them in principle and the playing throughout is very good, but the overall effect just isn’t very satisfying. For me, the mandolin can’t capture either the resonance or harmonic capabilities of the harpsichord and as a result the effect is somewhat diminished and a little empty.

Avi Avital’s disc of Bach on the mandolin avoids this to an extent by including pieces originally for violin or flute, but even in his brilliant hands the mandolin’s limitations show rather, and they are more obvious here. I’m sorry to be unenthusiastic about a disc of good performances, but this one isn’t really for me.

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