SLIXS
47:44
Hey! Classics LC 29640
CROSSOVER IS NOT really our thing, but these Bach arrangements for a cappella voices reminiscent of The Swingle Singers are actually quite revelatory in the way in which the original lines are vocalised to different sounds, meaning not only the timbres of the individual voices but also the vowels and consonants they choose, and how they are sometimes shared between voices to cover the wide ranges. For me, it was frustrating to have so many bleeding chunks – two of three movements of the A minor violin concerto, for example, are separated by the theme and seven of the Goldberg Variations and the slow movement of the D minor concerto for two violins. While I found the theme a little languorous, the first half of Variation 1 (especially with two voices sometimes singing the “top” line to give added colour) babbled along, though parts of the verbal exchanges of the second half were a little too “hard” for my ears. This was not always a problem, as the “Fuga Canonica in Epidiapente” from The Musical Offering really gained from the same treatment – the complex counterpoint became so clear! Not one for purists, I fear, but possibly something to put on during a dinner party to see if anyone can guess what it is.
Brian Clark