I don’t know what I like more about this disc, the Bach or the
Piazzolla. It’s a joy and a relief to hear Piazzolla’s music on
his own instrument, the bandonéon, rather than its cousin the
accordion or any of the other instruments there have been arrangements for
recently (trombone, violin, solo piano and so on). That said, the Bach
performances are also good, and the two composers pair unexpectedly well.
It helps that Sébastien Authemayou and Marielle Gars have
assembled the program to make the transitions as easy as possible. Not one
of them feels incongruous or unnatural. Two of the tracks combine Bach and
Piazzolla in medley especially skillfully. Each performer gets a solo Bach
outing: Authemayou offers a sarabande tenderly played on his
bandonéon, and Gars provides a well-rendered allemande from a
Suite française.
If anything there could have been more Bach; the center of the disc
is a twenty-minute stretch of uninterrupted Piazzolla which is very good,
but the alternations between composers unexpectedly prove the disc’s
high points. “Fugata” is a riot, too. The performers, who made
their own arrangements, are consistently outstanding, and the recording is
excellent. Booklet notes are in French only, but here’s a chance to
enjoy an unlikely but successful union between two composers separated by
over 200 years and 7,000 miles.
Brian Reinhart
