Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer: Boris Andrianov, Yuri Medianik
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Melodiya
Catalogue: MEL CD 1002411
Release: 2013/2015
Size: 223 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Sonata No. 1 in G Major for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, BWV 1027
01. I. Adagio
02. II. Allegro ma non tanto
03. III. Andante
04. IV. Allegro moderato
Sonata No. 2 in D Major for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, BWV 1028
05. I. Adagio
06. II. Allegro
07. III. Andante
08. IV. Allegro
Sonata No. 3 in G Minor for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, BWV 1029
09. I. Vivace
10. II. Adagio
11. III. Allegro
Sonata in C Minor for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1017
12. I. Siciliano
Melodiya presents an unusual interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord.
Written during the Köthen period (1717 to 1723), the sonatas, along with the solo suites for cello, violin and harpsichord, are the highest chamber instrumental accomplishments of the great German master. Today they belong to the golden repertoire of cello music, although at times they are played on other stringed instruments.
Yuri Medianik, a versatile talent (he plays the bayan and violin, conducts and arranges), made a rendition of Bach’s sonatas for cello and … bayan. The cello part is performed by Boris Andrianov, one of the best cellists of the new generation, a brilliant representative of Natalia Shakhovskaya’s school and prize-winner of the International Rostropovich Cello Competition in Paris and the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
The combination of instruments that may appear strange at first sight is found attractive by many contemporary composers owing to the timbre likeness of sound. Yuri Medianik’s repertoire encompasses very different styles and directions, and this is not the first time he turns to Bach’s music. While the author of the arrangement preserves the original text as much as possible, he showcases the broad capabilities of the bayan as an academic concert instrument.
Yuri Medianik’s arrangement has drawn attention of a number of instrumentalists, but is released for the first time. This new interpretation of Bach’s sonatas performed by the top class soloists will indeed be a decoration to any music collection for sophisticated professionals and a broad circle of music lovers alike.