Album

This disc is a bit more extreme than it might at first appear—it makes quite a stretch in the music of Bach arranged for recorders. This is not pleasant household recorder music, but a virtuoso production that achieves very unusual effects. Partly this is due to the sheer skill of the players, but partly also to the unusual range of instruments used—the big contrabass recorder, say the players, "simply sucks the air out of you," but it's a spectacular thing that lets the group take on organ music and not violate its spirit. Indeed, much of the music on the disc is organ music; all of it is arranged from music for other instrumental combinations. There are two of Bach's arrangements for organ of Vivaldi violin concertos—especially interesting in these rearrangements for recorder because they seem to redouble the degree of purification Bach applied to Vivaldi. But sample as well some of the pieces for the "low" consort of recorders, alto down to contrabass—track 10, the chorale Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 625 (Christ lay in death's bonds). They're both strange and majestic. "J.S. Bach composed very little for the recorder," writes annotator and group member Bart Spanhowe. "This is the only error that we, as recorder fanatics, can impute to this genius of a composer." It's true that there's something a bit fanatical about this disc, but it's quite striking, and the Super Audio sound has plenty of wonders to reveal to those with the equipment to reproduce it.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Organ Concerto in D-, BWV596 (arr. of Vivaldi's Concerto Op.3, No.11, RV565) Work 9:11 Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
1	1.Allegro. Grave. Fuga	0:41			$0.99
2	2.Largo e spiccato	0:29			$0.99
3	3.Allegro	2:50			$0.99
4	2.Largo e spiccato	2:48			$0.99
5	3.Allegro	2:23			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Vater unser im Himmelreich, BWV737 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
6	Vater unser im Himmelreich, BWV737	2:39			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Vater unser im Himmelreich, BWV636 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
7	Vater unser im Himmelreich, BWV636	1:07			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Prelude and Fugue in A-, BWV543 ('The Great') Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
8	2.Fugue	6:41			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Art of the Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV1080 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
9	1.Contrapunctus 1	3:05			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV625 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
10	Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV625	1:36			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Art of the Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV1080 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
11	3.Contrapunctus 3	2:54			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Passacaglia and Fugue in C-, BWV582 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
12	Passacaglia and Fugue in C-, BWV582	10:18			$1.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Herr Christ, der einig Gottes Sohn, BWV601 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
13	Herr Christ, der einig Gottes Sohn, BWV601	1:38			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Fantasia in C, BWV570 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
14	Fantasia in C, BWV570	3:10			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV545 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
15	Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV545	3:18			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Organ Concerto in A-, BWV593 (arr. of Vivaldi's Concerto Op.3 No.6, RV522) Work 9:49 Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
16	1.Allegro	3:33			$0.99
17	2.Larghetto e spiritoso	3:01			$0.99
18	3.Allegro	3:15			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BWV727 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
19	Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BWV727	1:27			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Fugue in G-, BWV578 ('Little Fugue') Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
20	Fugue in G-, BWV578 ('Little Fugue')	3:40			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Jesu, meine Freude, BWV227 (a5) Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
21	Jesu, meine Freude, BWV227 (a5)	1:25			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Jesu, meine Freude, BWV610 Work Flanders Recorder Quartet Ensemble
22	Jesu, meine Freude, BWV610	2:15			$0.99