Bach: The Transcriptions
Leopold Stokowski (2021 Remastered, New-York 1957-58)
1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
Total length: 01:10:48
Here are some of Bach's most famous and beautiful works. Leopold Stokowski, a very controversial conductor, made it known to the general public thanks to Disney's Fantasia. Stokowski's transcriptions are today references that many conductors have subsequently performed.
TOCCATA AND FUGUE IN D MINOR. Of all the music of Bach, this Toccata and Fugue is among the freest in form and expression. Bach was in the habit of improvising on harpsichord and organ, and his Toccata probably began as an improvisation in the church of St. Thomas in Leipzig.
PASSACAGLIA AND FUGUE IN C MINOR. The present work was originally composed for harpsichord, but Bach himself rewrote it for organ, and it is the later version which Mr. Stokowski has transcribed for orchestra. In many instances the listener feels the approach of a closing cadence in climactic crescendo—as if the composer were satisfied to end. Instead, as each of the expected "endings" approaches, Bach, as if tempted further by the endless possibilities of the theme, embarks on yet another variation, and yet another. The work is crowned with a gigantic double fugue (on two subjects heard simultaneously), which rises to a powerful edifice of sound.
AIR ON THE G STRING. This celebrated Aria for Strings from the Suite No. 3 in D was composed in Bach's late period, some time after 1723. It was arranged as the "Air on the G String" by the 19th-century violinist August Wilhelm. The melody has been termed sublime, and is one of the most beloved shorter pieces in all of Bach's work.
SHEPHERD’S SONG. The Christmas Oratorio, a cycle of six cantatas, was composed in 1734, in the composer's fiftieth year. This Shepherd's Song, or Pastoral, is the instrumental introduction to the second cantata. The serene character of the music portrays the shepherds on their night watch, just before the appearance of the Angel of the Lord (Luke 2:8).
SARABANDE (from Violin Partita in B minor, BWV 1002). The sarabande was a dance of Spanish origin and was of such a rude and wild character that it was once banned by the dour Spanish king, Philip Il. Following a mysterious path of evolution probably imposed by an unfriendly environment, the sarabande assumed a slow, subdued character, moving in courtly elegance. In his transcription Mr. Stokowski has realized the implicit harmonies and contrapuntal voices in a quiet and still-chaste cantabile for strings and woodwinds with gentle harp arpeggios.
"LITTLE" FUGUE in G minor. In no other work of Bach is the art of the fugue so clearly defined, though short in time, the "Little" Fugue in G Minor has been termed by Mr. Stokowski "one of Bach's greatest creations."
PRELUDIO. In contrast with Mein Jesu, this Preludio, from the Partita in E major for solo violin is extrovert music. Bach's first employment was as a violinist in Weimar, and even late in life he began to play the viola. But aside from actual playing, his knowledge of the violin was encyclopedic, and this Preludio stands with some of the early, brilliant organ works as the expression of musician's delight in the mastery of an instrument. Stokowski's transcription is Bach's original played by a full string section.
BOURRÉE (from English Suite No.2, BWV 807). About 1725 Bach composed for harpsichord six suites of dance movements which have been dubbed "English Suites." This Bourrée is a fast-paced example of the early French dance that was once the favorite of Louis XIV. In this orchestral setting violins and flutes carry most of the melodic burden, in the spirit of a stylish dance at the court of le roi-soleil.
KOMM, SÜSSER TOD. In it's quiet somber expression, this poignantly beautiful chorale melody conveys an acceptance, not a fear, of death. This, indeed is the personal Bach, speaking simply and directly of a deeply felt human experience.
MEIN JESU, WAS FÜR SEELENWEH BEFÄLLT DICH IN GETHSEMANE. Bach wrote down his songs "In Discant und Bass"—that is, for soprano and figured bass, in a kind of musical shorthand consisting of bass notes with numerals indicating the harmony. Stokowski's symphonic transcriptions of Mein Jesu are a realization of that figured bass in terms of a string orchestra. The melody consists of two long sentences, each repeated. Nothing could be simpler than this tiny song form. Yet in the hands of Bach, it's dimensions are no measure at all of the musical content. For all its intimacy, Mein Jesu is profound and deeply moving music.
EIN’ FESTE BURG IST UNSER GOTT (from Cantata No.80, BWV 80). This, of course, is the famous old melody of Martin Luther that has remained an inspiration for generations of German composers. In the Stokowski transcription the harmonies of Bach's chorale are heard first in a stately scoring for strings and woodwinds. A second verse, in bright voicing for large brass choir, builds to a tower of magnificent sound.
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