Bach for Two

Featuring

Romina Lischka
Marnix De Cat
Johann Sebastian Bach

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Both the organ and the viola da gamba were considered instruments that could most closely imitate the human voice due to their unique timbres.

Composition History

The first movement of Bach's Organ Sonata IV in E Minor (BWV 528) was a trio that Bach himself reused as a Sinfonia in his 1723 cantata, Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes (BWV 76).

Recording & Production

The recording was made in the church in Kettenis, Belgium, using an organ built by the Thomas organ firm, chosen for its intimate sound and the church's less resonant acoustic.

Interpretation

The performers began this project by playing Bach's three sonatas for viola da gamba at home with a positive organ, a practice that existed in the early 18th century.

Composition History

Bach's six organ sonatas, compiled in the late 1720s, include movements that are reworkings of earlier material from cantatas, organ works, and chamber music.

Compositional Technique

Bach's organ sonatas were considered both chamber music works and technical practice material for keyboard players, and copies exist for two harpsichords.

Compositional Technique

Bach's chorale trio on Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr (BWV 676) showcases a perfect balance between mathematical form and imaginatively creative polyphonic lines, imitations, canon, and mirroring.