Brandenburg Project
Performing with: Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Uri Caine (piano); Mahan Esfahani, Bjorn Gafvert (harpsichord); Pekka Kuusisto, Roger Olsson, Urban Svensson , Antje Weithaas (violin); Brett Dean, Linn Elvkull, Göran Fröst, Kate Pelly, Tabea Zimmermann (viola); Maya Beiser, Mats Levin, Andreas Tengberg, Rajmund Follmann, Andreas Tengberg, Hannah Thorell (cello); Sebastien Dube, Peter Nitsche (double bass); Margit Csökmei, Håkan Hardenberger, Anders Hemstrom (trumpet); Claire Chase, Fiona Kelly (flute); Marten Larsson, Lisa Almberg, Daniel Burstedt (oboe); Mikael Lindstrom (bassoon); Terése Larsson, Göran Hülphers (horn); Per Gross (recorder); Oskar Ekberg (synthesizer); Lars Fhager (typewriter)
“Dausgaard’s conducting is phenomenal.”
About
Along with Vivaldi’s ‘Seasons’ or Beethoven’s ‘Fifth’, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos belong to those works that are so well-known that we risk taking them for granted. In order to (re-)discover the special qualities that can inspire us today, in 2001 Thomas Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra decided to contact six contemporary composer, asking each of them to compose a companion piece to one of the concertos. Seventeen years later, in 2018, it was time to present the result, with a performance at the BBC Proms of all the works – new and old.
Recorded over a period of 18 months leading up to this event, the present boxed set provides a unique opportunity to experience six very different musical minds and idioms entering into conversation with Bach: Mark-Anthony Turnage, Steven Mackey, Anders Hillborg, Olga Neuwirth, Uri Caine and Brett Dean. Bach’s concertos are remarkable in that they are all scored for different instrumental combinations, and part of the brief to the group of composers was to reflect this. In her Aello, Olga Neuwirth has for instance used several ‘instruments’ to stand in for Bach’s harpsichord, including a synthesizer, a milk frother and a typewriter. Brett Dean, on the other hand, has stayed very close to Bach’s instrumentation, but has chosen to write his work as a preparation for Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 – an Approach to Bach’s extremely tight canonic writing. In performing the twelve works the orchestra and Dausgaard are joined by leading soloists including Clare Chase, Mahan Esfahani, Håkan Hardenberger, Pekka Kuusisto and Tabea Zimmermann.
TRACKLISTING
Disc 1
Johann Sebastian BachBrandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046
01. I. 3’3602.
II. Adagio 3’4103.
III. Allegro 4’2204.
IV. Menuet 6’30
Mark-Anthony Turnage
Maya, for solo cello, two oboes, cor anglais, contrabassoon, two horns and strings
05. Maya 14’35
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047
06. I. 4’41
07. II. Andante 3’19
08. III. Allegro 2’32
Steven Mackey
Triceros, for piccolo trumpet, flute, oboe, solo violin, strings and harpsichord
09. Triceros
Disc 2
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048
01. I. 5’29
02. II. Very tender 1’06
03. III. Allegro 4’44
Anders Hillborg
Bach Materia, for violin and strings
04. Beginning 6’50
05. Cadenza 3’07
06. Bar 110 5’48
07. Cadenza 3’02
08. Bar 191 3’32
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049
09. I. Allegro 6’46
10. II. Andante 3’24
11. III. Presto 4’32
Olga NeuwirthAello – Ballet mécanomorphe
12. I. 8’05
13. II. 5’07
14. III. 4’00
Disc 3
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050
01. I. Allegro 9’32
02. II. Affettuoso 4’54
03. III. Allegro 5’12
Uri Caine
Hamsa, for flute, violin, piano and string orchestra
04. I. Fast 11’17
05. II. Adagio 9’55
06. III. Vivace 9’25
Brett Dean
Approach – Prelude to a Canon
07. Allegro impetuoso, volatile 3’21
08. Calm, serene 5’08
09. Slightly agitated though unhurried 4’21
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B flat major, BWV 1051
10. I. 5’25
11. II. Adagio ma non tanto 4’42
12. III. Allegro 6’06
Album total 207’18