{"id":16749,"date":"2013-12-18T09:40:38","date_gmt":"2013-12-18T14:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=16749"},"modified":"2013-12-18T12:57:14","modified_gmt":"2013-12-18T17:57:14","slug":"daily-album-review-44-nicolas-altstaedt-plays-cello-like-a-gamba-in-bach-sonatas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2013\/12\/18\/daily-album-review-44-nicolas-altstaedt-plays-cello-like-a-gamba-in-bach-sonatas\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily album review 44: Nicolas Altstaedt plays cello like a gamba in Bach sonatas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Nicolas<\/a>
Nicolas Altstaedt (Marco Borggreve photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

German cellist Nicolas Altstaedt and British keyboard player Jonathan Cohen, both rising stars in Europe, have joined forces in a compelling album of works for viola-da-gamba and harpsichord by J.S. Bach, released by Genuin.<\/p>\n

The gamba, an ancestor of the cello’s, is from the sweet-sounding, dynamically limited viola family. Altstaedt is using a modern cello, but he plays it with gamba-style shorter, lighter bowing which somehow manages to evoke a gamba’s silky basic character.<\/p>\n

\"bach\"<\/a>Altstaedt’s technique is phenomenal — as is Cohen’s. Together, they bring to vibrant life three pieces from Bach’s years in C\u00f6then — the time when he wrote his great instrumental music.<\/p>\n

The three sonatas — G Major, BWV 1027, D Major, BWV 1028 and G minor, BWV 1029 — sing, dance and, ultimately, impress.<\/p>\n

This is one of those albums that could easily slip by unnoticed in the seasonal flood. Period-performers might dismiss it as not quite authentic. Fans of modern instruments might turn up their noses at the harpsichord.<\/p>\n

But rather than containing something to piss off just about everyone, this album is the opposite: it contains something to charm just about every taste. The slow movements are particularly winsome.<\/p>\n

Check out the details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To help introduce Altstaedt, here he is a fascinating take on the Courante from Bach’s fifth Suite, from 2008:<\/p>\n