Album: Lara St. John, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Bach Sonatas (Ancalagon)

J. S. Bach was a frequent recycler of his own work in different instrumental combinations; and he would surely have approved of these settings of his sonatas for violin and harp, the latter taking the harpsichord parts while the violin plays parts written for flute.

Right from the melancholy beauty of the opening Adagio of "Sonata No. 1 in B minor", it's a successful translation, with the subsequent Allegro revealing the dragonfly poise, beauty and manouverability afforded by the combination. The Adagio Ma Non Tanto section of "Sonata No. 3 in E minor" confirms a perfect, nuanced relationship between the two instruments, Lara St. John adding brief sprays of pizzicato at crucial moments. Faithful, yet innovative.

DOWNLOAD THIS Sonata No. 1 in B minor; Sonata No. 3 in E minor; Sonata in G minor