This album was recorded in Italy in the very last days before the country went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Composition History
Bach's harpsichord concertos, including those on this album, were not newly written in the 1730s but derive from older sources, often his own music.
Interpretation
Francesco Corti, the harpsichordist, chose a very small string ensemble for this recording to allow for a freer, more rhetorically expressive approach to Bach's polyphonic writing.
Composer Biography
Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer, was known for his musical tinkering, combining an inventor's curiosity with a craftsman's delight in design and polish.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bach's vision allowed him to see possibilities for greater fullness and polyphonic elaboration in borrowed themes, reworking material for the harpsichord's wider compass and textural richness.
Instruments
Francesco Corti performs on an Andrea Restelli harpsichord from 1998, which is modeled after a Christian Vater harpsichord from 1738.
