Bach: Werke aus dem “Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach” / Gutav Leonhardt etc.
This is a nostalgic Harmonia Mundi record. In addition to the theme of the Goldberg Variations, the Menuet in G major, the March by Emanuel Bach, the Rondo by François Couperin, and other small pieces for clavier, Elly Ameling sings a series of arias that sound like gems. The aria “Ich habe genug” (“I am satisfied”), sung in her lovely voice, is especially heartwarming. And we mustn’t forget the truly magnificent baritone aria “So oft ich meine Tobackspfeife” by recorder player Hans-Martin Linde. The collection ends with a chorale sung by the Tölzer Knabenchor.
Leonhardt also left another record in the same vein, “Quodlibet, Canons, Songs, Chorales & Keyboard Pieces”. Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo (Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother) and Chorales, all of which would have been performed in Bach’s household.
The third CD is a relatively new recording by Pieter-Jan Belder, “Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach”. It features 37 pieces from the “Notebook” and features Johannette Zomer as soprano. For some reason, the aria “Ich habe genug”, which is included in the Leonhardt disc, is not recorded. Belder plays organ, harpsichord, and clavichord as needed.
I would also like to introduce another CD, “Little Notebook for Anna-Magdalena Bach”. This CD features Luc Beauséjour (harpsichord) and Karina Gauvin (soprano). This is also a very fine performance. Especially, the soprano Gauvin is very good.
Some of you may know the book titled “The Diary of Anna Magdalena Bach”. I also read it when I was young. It was published under the guise of being written by Anna Magdalena Bach herself, but I remember being skeptical when I got halfway through the book. Because there were passages in the book such as “If you keep the windows opened, pathogen that are harmful to your health will enter”. In Bach’s time there was no such concept as pathogen (although bacteria had been “discovered” by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek). #baroque #bach #片山俊幸
