Colors of Bach
Eldbjørg Hemsing (violin)
rec. 2024, Oslo Opera House, Norway
Sony Classical 19658899582 [62]
There is no doubt that this recording by Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing will divide opinions. It comprises around twenty Bach melodies, most of them very well-known, arranged, or perhaps reimagined is a better word, for solo violin and small ensemble (mostly string quintet, some with piano and/or harpsichord). Now I can imagine some of you are about to hit the Back button on your browser at this point, but please hold off. These are not tacky crossover arrangements, but ones that give imaginative but still respectful views of Bach’s immortal music. If you are familiar with Jacques Loussier’s Bach, that will give you a good sense of the level, but not the style, of reimagining here. I think the appropriate expression is “new light through old windows”.
None of the pieces, which are called “variations”, lasts more than 3:37, so there isn’t any sense of them overstaying their welcome. The majority, while certainly different to their original guise, still feel classical but clearly of this century – filmic is the best adjective I can summon. They aren’t over-elaborate or feel forced or artificial. There are a few that have been taken into a different world. The opening work, Partita Variation, using the Prelude from the Violin Partita No. 3, is redolent of the hoedown and barn dance, while Ave Maria Variation has the relentless repetitive nature of a Philip Glass work.
The standout for me is the one that perhaps goes furthest from Bach’s original thoughts: the Melancholy Variation, based on the Allegro final movement from the Violin and Oboe Concerto. You will have gathered from the name of the arrangement that the tempo is considerably altered; furthermore, the oboe’s part is taken by an accordion. Please don’t recoil in horror – the result is quite stunningly beautiful, and the solo violin part has definite resonances of John Williams’s famous score for Schindler’s List. Air Variation takes the famous Air from the third orchestral Suite in the opposite direction, imparting it with a dance-like energy, albeit a gentle one.
Two selections from the Matthew Passion are included, with the first Befiehl du deine Wege Variation continuing a long tradition of adaptation of the main melody. Bach himself borrowed it from an early 17th century secular song by Hans Leo Hassler, and thought it was so good, he used it in at least three other works. After him, it was taken up by Reger, Liszt, Rubbra and Langgaard in the classical world, in a folk song All Men Are Brothers made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary, and Paul Simon in his 1981 song American Tune.
Interestingly, Hemsing has chosen to include an “untouched” performance of the Violin Concerto in E, by which I mean it has not been arranged in any way beyond accommodating the small ensemble (six strings and harpsichord). The booklet notes describe it as “bridging Bach’s own innovations with the album’s spirit of reinterpretation”, which I will let you contemplate. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the concerto’s reading; the opening and closing Allegros are cold and driven, very much outshone by the wonderful version by Alina Ibragimova on Hyperion. For me, it would have been better had one of the movements been “reinterpreted” (as was done with the A minor Concerto’s Andante); it would have sat better among the other pieces.
I had not heard of Eldbjørg Hemsing before this, but I have been impressed by her playing and that of her fellow performers. I have seen a number of “concept” albums like this, especially from the major labels, where the booklets were completely pointless, with a page of airy-fairy guff from the performer, and a lot of stylised photos. Yes, there are some quirky photos of Hemsing here, but each piece receives an intelligent commentary. The sound is very immediate but does not spotlight any extraneous noises.
Bach’s music seems to be endlessly adaptable, surely a marker of his extraordinary genius. In some ways, this release is a “pop” album because of the length of the pieces and the relatively simple nature of the arrangements, but that’s fine: sometimes, a few minutes of beauty is all we need. I know there will be many who will think this too kitschy or dumbed-down, very possibly without giving it a hearing, but in each successive listen, I have found new delights. At the same time as auditioning this, I was also reviewing a “normal” Bach recording, a set of the violin concertos featuring James Ehnes (review). In every way, Hemsing won out over Ehnes.
I suspect if you have made it this far in the review, you have will have some sympathy for the ethos underlying the recording, and will find much to enjoy.
David Barker
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Contents
Bach partita variation
(After Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006: I. Preludio)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff
Ertönt uns durch dein güte variation
(After Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22, No. 5: Ertönt uns durch dein Güte)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel
Ave maria variation
(After The Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846: I. Prelude)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet and Piano by Tim Allhoff
Minuet in g major variation
(After Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, BWV Anh.116, No. 7: Menuet in G Major)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel
Concerto in a minor variation
(After Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, BWV 1041: II. Andante)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel
Melancholy variation
(After Concerto for Violin & Oboe in C Minor, BWV 1060R: III. Allegro)
Arr. for Violin, Accordion, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel
Herz und mund und tat und leben variation
(After Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147: VI. Wohl mir, daß ich Jesum habe)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel
Air variation
(After Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068: II. Air)
Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff
Bach Brandenburg concerto revisited
(After Brandenburg Concerto No.1 in F Major, BWV 1046: I. Allegro)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jarkko Riihimäki
Ich steh an deiner krippen hier, BWV 469
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel
Aria goldberg variation
(After Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff
Prelude in c major variation
(After Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 553: I. Prelude)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff
Es ist gewisslich an der zeit variation
(After Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein, BWV 734)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jarkko Riihimäki
Invention in f major variation
(After Invention in F Major, BWV 779)
Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Jan-Peter Klöpfel
Organ Sonata Variation
(After Organ Sonata No. 4 in E Minor, BWV 528: II. Andante)
Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff
Befiehl Du Deine Wege Variation
(After Matthäuspassion, BWV 244, No. 53: Befiehl du deine Wege)
Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff
Erbarme Dich, Mein Gott Variation
(After Matthäuspassion, BWV 244, No. 47: Erbarme dich, mein Gott)
Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff
Ich Ruf Zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ Variation
(After Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639)
Arr. for Violin, Cello & Piano by Tim Allhoff
Concerto In D Minor Variation
(After Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974: III. Presto)
Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Jan-Peter Klöpfel
Violin Concerto No. 2 In E Major, BWV 1042
Choral Aria Variation
(After Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54: I. Aria)
Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff
Other performers
Elise Båtnes, 1st violin
Liv Hilde Klokk-Bryhn and Maria Angelika Carlsen, 2nd violins
Ida Klokk-Bryhn, viola
Louisa Tuck, cello
Kenneth Ryland, bass
Tim Allhoff, piano
Christian Kjos, harpsichord
Martynas Levickis, accordion
