Bram van Sambeek Plays Bach on the Bassoon Bram van Sambeek

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 (Arr. B.V. Sambeek for Eight Bassoons in Multitrack):
• 1 Bach: Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 (Arr. B.V. Sambeek for Eight Bassoons in Multitrack): I. Sinfonia 04:24
• 2 Bach: Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 (Arr. B.V. Sambeek for Eight Bassoons in Multitrack): II. Allemande 04:46
• 3 Bach: Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 (Arr. B.V. Sambeek for Eight Bassoons in Multitrack): III. Courante 02:23
• 4 Bach: Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 (Arr. B.V. Sambeek for Eight Bassoons in Multitrack): IV. Sarabande 04:14
• 5 Bach: Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 (Arr. B.V. Sambeek for Eight Bassoons in Multitrack): V. Rondeau 01:38
• 6 Bach: Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 (Arr. B.V. Sambeek for Eight Bassoons in Multitrack): VI. Capriccio 03:23
• French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816 (Arr. T. Wind for Bassoon) [Excerpts]:
• 7 Bach: French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816 (Arr. T. Wind for Bassoon) [Excerpts]: I. Allemande 03:19
• 8 Bach: French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816 (Arr. T. Wind for Bassoon) [Excerpts]: II. Courante 01:41
• 9 Bach: French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816 (Arr. T. Wind for Bassoon) [Excerpts]: III. Sarabande 05:25
• 10 Bach: French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816 (Arr. T. Wind for Bassoon) [Excerpts]: V. Bourrée 01:23
• Partita in A Minor, BWV 1013 (Transcr. W. Waterhouse for Bassoon):
• 11 Bach: Partita in A Minor, BWV 1013 (Transcr. W. Waterhouse for Bassoon): I. Allemande 05:17
• 12 Bach: Partita in A Minor, BWV 1013 (Transcr. W. Waterhouse for Bassoon): II. Corrente 03:27
• 13 Bach: Partita in A Minor, BWV 1013 (Transcr. W. Waterhouse for Bassoon): III. Sarabande 05:26
• 14 Bach: Partita in A Minor, BWV 1013 (Transcr. W. Waterhouse for Bassoon): IV. Bourrée anglaise 02:47
• Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 (Transcr. B.V. Sambeek for Bassoon):
• 15 Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 (Transcr. B.V. Sambeek for Bassoon): I. Prélude 02:25
• 16 Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 (Transcr. B.V. Sambeek for Bassoon): II. Allemande 04:16
• 17 Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 (Transcr. B.V. Sambeek for Bassoon): III. Courante 02:26
• 18 Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 (Transcr. B.V. Sambeek for Bassoon): IV. Sarabande 02:42
• 19 Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 (Transcr. B.V. Sambeek for Bassoon): V. Menuetts I & II 02:57
• 20 Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 (Transcr. B.V. Sambeek for Bassoon): VI. Gigue 01:22
• Total Runtime 01:05:41

Info for Bram van Sambeek Plays Bach on the Bassoon

Following a rock/metal album recorded with his band ORBI [BIS-2297], Bram van Sambeek returns with his own idea of a dance album. For it he has selected four works by Johann Sebastian Bach that consist mainly of typical baroque dances – but just as van Sambeek’s metal album wasn’t made for headbanging, Bach’s dances weren’t meant for dancing, but rather to be listened to.

The disc opens with van Sambeek’s own arrangement of the celebrated Partita in C minor for keyboard which he describes in his liner notes as one of his favourite works to listen to. The arrangement includes every note of the original keyboard part and is for no less than eight bassoons – all played by van Sambeek using multitrack recording technique. The idea for this came from having spent months in lockdown due to the pandemic: even though musicians were unable to play together, the urge to play actual harmonies persisted. Four movements from another keyboard work – the French Suite No. 5 – are also included on the disc, but as these are melodic rather than contrapuntal they have lent themselves to be arranged for a single voice. The remaining two works are the Flute Partita in A minor and Cello Suite No. 1, adding to an overall result which allows a new look on well-known works, with new nuances and colours.

Bram van Sambeek, bassoon

Bram van Sambeek
is an international bassoonist and professor of bassoon at the Cologne University of Music. He is the only bassoonist to have received the most prestigious Dutch award in the field of classical music, the Dutch Music Prize. He is an alumnus of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust and of The Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of New York’s Lincoln Center. He played for ten years as principal bassoonist in the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and as a regular guest principal in the London Symphony Orchestra and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, he performs with orchestras such as the Gothenburg, Lahti and Netherlands Symphony Orchestras. A dedicated chamber musician, he made his recital début at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 2003 and is a regular guest at prestigious festivals. Bram van Sambeek is known for his extremely versatile approach to bassoon playing, and is invited by some of Europe’s foremost concert halls to programme adventurous concerts, for example combining bassoon concertos by Vivaldi with hard rock songs, or playing the audience to sleep and letting them spend the night in the concert hall. Previous releases on BIS include a disc with bassoon concertos by Kalevi Aho and Sebastian Fagerlund which won the prestigious BBC Music Magazine Award, and an album of rock covers with ORBI (The Oscillating Revenge of the Background Instruments) which reached number 1 in the iTunes Classic Charts.

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