Somm Recordings and former BBC Young Musician Competition prize- winner Cordelia Williams present two sublime voices together for the first time on album in a poetic and probing coupling of the solo piano music of JS Bach - musical laureate of 17th-century Protestantism - and Arvo PÃ¤rt, principal voice of contemporary Holy Minimalism. Although a quarter of a millennia separates their births, both share a conviction that faith in God, as Williams notes in her introductory essay, "is the foundation of the creation of music." This pioneering coupling of the two composers reveals a surprising latticework of connections in their constant, shared striving for economy and essence. PÃ¤rt's signature chiming 'tintinnabuli' style is beautifully evoked in three pieces designed to console and comfort their dedicatees: the tolling, melancholic profundity of FÃ¼r Alina; the quietly majestic and moving FÃ¼r Anna Maria and the limpid, liquid invention of Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka. Composed for his 10-year-old son, Wilhelm Friedemann (himself later a composer of distinction), Bach's twin sets of 15 Two-part Inventions (BWV 772-86) and 15 Three-part Sinfonias (BWV 787-801) are much more than mere pedagogic primers. Williams finds in them a richness of technical design far beyond their apparent simplicity. Here, Williams reverts to Bach's original ordering of the pieces to chart a subtly revealing way through music as intimate as it is illuminating.

Tracklist:

Für Anna Maria
2-Part Inventions: No. 1 In C Major, Bwv 772
2-Part Inventions: No. 4 In D Minor, Bwv 775
2-Part Inventions: No. 7 In E Minor, Bwv 778
2-Part Inventions: No. 8 In F Major, Bwv 779
2-Part Inventions: No. 10 In G Major, Bwv 781
2-Part Inventions: No. 13 In A Minor, Bwv 784
2-Part Inventions: No. 15 In B Minor, Bwv 786
2-Part Inventions: No. 14 In B-Flat Major, Bwv 785
2-Part Inventions: No. 12 In A Major, Bwv 783
2-Part Inventions: No. 11 In G Minor, Bwv 782
2-Part Inventions: No. 9 In F Minor, Bwv 780
2-Part Inventions: No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 777
2-Part Inventions: No. 5 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 776
2-Part Inventions: No. 3 In D Major, Bwv 774
2-Part Inventions: No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 773
Für Alina
3-Part Inventions: No. 1 In C Major, Bwv 787
3-Part Inventions: No. 4 In D Minor, Bwv 790
3-Part Inventions: No. 7 In E Minor, Bwv 793
3-Part Inventions: No. 8 In F Major, Bwv 794
3-Part Inventions: No. 10 In G Major, Bwv 796
3-Part Inventions: No. 13 In A Minor, Bwv 799
3-Part Inventions: No. 15 In B Minor, Bwv 801
3-Part Inventions: No. 14 In B-Flat Major, Bwv 800
3-Part Inventions: No. 12 In A Major, Bwv 798
3-Part Inventions: No. 11 In G Minor, Bwv 797
3-Part Inventions: No. 9 In F Minor, Bwv 795
3-Part Inventions: No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 792
3-Part Inventions: No. 5 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 791
3-Part Inventions: No. 3 In D Major, Bwv 789
3-Part Inventions: No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 788
Variationen Zur Gesundung Von Arinuschka
Prelude In C Major, Bwv 924

UPC: 748871018624
Label: Somm Recordings
Release Date: 10.26.18
Format: CD

J Bach S / Williams - Piano Music By J.S. Bach & Arvo Part (CD)