Alison Balsom - Bach: Works for Trumpet (2005) CD-Rip

In his booklet-note, Jonathan Freeman-Atwood observes: ‘That none of the pieces here was originally conceived for the trumpet would not have bothered Bach unduly; he was the master adapter who always promoted musical imagination and flair above debilitating dogma and restrictive thinking.’ Indeed, this recital is very much a musical experience to be taken on its own terms. If the notion of the voice part in the Agnus Dei performed on a trumpet gets your blood boiling before you even hear a note, then this is clearly not a disc for you. However, if you are nuts about Bach in whatever form you can get it, or are mad about trumpets of all shapes and sizes, this is splendid stuff.
Alison Balsom already has noteworthy experience of the Baroque trumpeter’s art (including a recital disc of Italian trumpet music with Crispian Steele-Perkins and the Parley of Instruments) but for this recital she uses modern trumpets (in several pieces she plays piccolo trumpet). Rearrangements of music Bach based on Vivaldi and Alessandro Marcello are performed with colourful bravado with organ accompaniment from Colm Carey. Two transposed movements from BWV1008 and a mischievous solo take on the Badinerie (from BWV1067) showcase Balsom’s phenomenal technique and gleaming expressiveness. Period-instrument practitioners Alina Ibragimova, Mark Caudle and Alastair Ross provide superb accompaniment in a charismatic version of the Trio Sonata. A surprisingly diverse range of textures and moods makes this disc a beguiling experience.