Here is Johann Sebastian Bach in transfigured light: with organ chorale preludes, vocal cantata movements and orchestral sinfonias – 24 pieces in all – transcribed for trio and solo piano by Fred Thomas, and threaded into a compelling new sequence by Manfred Eicher. On Three Or One, Bach’s idiom is respectfully explored by three innovative players, a process Thomas describes as “quietly joyful,” and the trio pieces, primarily drawn from Bach’s Orgelbüchlein, acquire a fresh character in the hands of Kazakh violinist Aisha Orazbayeva and British cellist Lucy Railton, musicians more often associated with contemporary composition’s cutting edge. Fred Thomas, who makes his ECM New Series debut here, has always worked across contexts and genres, and considers the trio’s wide-ranging experience “an incitement to creativity. Bach often re-used his own material and it is no surprise it came out differently each time. With his imaginative, technical and improvisatory powers, do we really believe that Bach would play the same thing the same way twice?” It’s a good question, and the key to the approach taken on Three Or One.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - SCHÜBLER CHORÄLE
1 Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 649 02:34
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - ORGELBÜCHLEIN
2 Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes Sohn, BWV 601 01:59
3 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 02:22
4 Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt, BWV 637 02:22
5 ERBARM DICH MEIN, O HERRE GOTT, BWV 721 (Johann Sebastian Bach) 04:46
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - CANTATA 'DER HERR DENKET AN UNS' BWV 196
6 Sinfonia 01:54
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - ORGELBÜCHLEIN
7 Alle Menschen müssen sterben, BWV 643 01:39
8 Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich, BWV 605 01:15
9 Christe, du Lamm Gottes, BWV 619 01:23
10 Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 633 00:02 - 03:48
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - CANTATA 'HERR, GEHE NICHT IN'S GERICHT MIT DEINEM KNECHT' BWV 105
11 Aria 04:59
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - CANTATA 'WEICHET NUR, BETRÜBTE SCHATTEN' BWV 202
12 Aria 02:51
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - CANTATA 'O HEIL'GES GEIST- UND WASSERBAD' BWV 165
13 Aria 02:09
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - CANTATA 'ALLEIN ZU DIR, HERR JESU CHRIST' BWV 33
14 Aria 03:58
15 PARTITA 'WENN WIR IN HÖCHSTEN NÖTEN SEIN', VERS III, BWV ANH. II 78 (Johann Sebastian Bach) 00:54
16 GELOBET SEIST DU, JESU CHRIST, BWV 723 (Johann Sebastian Bach) 02:10
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - PARTITA 'O GOTT, DU FROMMER GOTT', BWV 767
17 VIII 03:09
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - ORGELBÜCHLEIN
18 O Lamm Gottes unschuldig, BWV 618 04:11
19 Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 610 02:59
20 ALLEIN GOTT IN DER HÖH SEI EHR, BWV 711 (Johann Sebastian Bach) 02:30
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - ORGELBÜCHLEIN
21 In dulci jubilo, BWV 608 01:10
22 Gott, durch deine Güte, BWV 600 00:44
23 Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, BWV 614 02:17
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - SCHÜBLER CHORÄLE
24 Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, BWV 648 03:04
Fred Thomas Piano
Aisha Orazbayeva Violin
Lucy Railton Violoncello
