“Bach-Centric” BACH: Sonata in a; Ave Maria; Little Fugue in g; Sel. from Cantata 29, Sonata No. 2, Cello Suite No. 1, Two-Part Inventions, Concertos in d and F – Teal Creek Music MICHAEL PAGAN: 12 Preludes & Fugues – Colorado Sax. Quartet – Tapestry

by | Jan 15, 2011 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

“Bach-Centric” BACH: Sonata in a; Ave Maria; Little Fugue in g; Sel. from Cantata 29, Sonata No. 2, Cello Suite No. 1, Two-Part Inventions, Concerto in d, Concerto in F – Teal Creek Music Enhanced CD TC-2019, 58:18 ****:

(Dave Camwell – soprano, alto, tenor & baritone sax; assisted by saxophonists James Bunte, Nathan Nobb, Stephen Page & James Romain)

Bach seems to work better in transcriptions for a variety of instruments than almost any other composer’s music, so being an avowed fan of saxophone quartets, I’m bound to enjoy this release. Dave Camwell is a dynamic performer and a professor of saxophone at a college in Iowa. He did some of these transcriptions himself, and others are by Ron Caravan, Charlie Vetter and Ken Abeling. Camwell’s transcriptions of Bach and others have been performed around the world.

The most unusual aspect of this fine collection of beloved Bach works is that five of the 26 total tracks feature Camwell in multiple overdubbed tracks.  For example, in the closing Allegro Assai from the Concerto in F BWV 1057, eight separate parts were recorded in sequence from bottom to top. In other pieces on the CD, Camwell is assisted live by additional guest saxists.

In 16 selected Two-Part Inventions Camwell is joined by alto saxist Stephen Page – each one handling one of the two contrasting parts in each piece, for a fascinating spatially-separated examination of Bach’s clever counterpoint. The seven-minute opening movement of the famous Harpsichord Concerto in d – also used as the opening Sinfonia for one of the cantatas – features all four of the guest saxists joining Camwell for a rich and exciting sound. The CD also has QuickTime videos showing Camwell in some excerpts from the album; that’s a very useful extra that I wish more CDs would offer.  Physical and digital distribution of the album is via CDBaby, iTunes and Amazon.com

MICHAEL PAGAN: 12 Preludes & Fugues – Colorado Saxophone Quartet – Tapestry (Capri Records) 76014-2, 71:20 [michaelpaganmusic.com] ****:

This unique work for sax quartet comes from a composer/jazz pianist/arranger/conductor and educator, and is already being regarded as a major contribution to the sax quartet literature. While the idea of a set of Preludes and Fugues makes one think of Bach, the 24 tracks actually cover a very wide range of styles and genres – including romantic, neo-classical, contemporary, third stream and jazz.   

The mix of jazz with the virtuoso counterpoint adds a twist to several of the Preludes & Fugues.  It is first heard in the Prelude IV. There are some interesting quotes and influences in other of the pieces: The Fugue II has a main theme which will be immediately familiar to most – taken from Granados The Maiden and the Nightingale. Fugue VIII has strong Bartok-like qualities, and Hindemith is alluded to in the Fugue X.  The baritone’s solo in Fugue VI is marked bossa nova. Fugue XI is highly chromatic – using a 12-note row, but was not composed using serial technique. Any fan of sax quartets and/or the melding of classical and jazz styles should have this one in their collection.

 — John Sunier

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