Amandine Habib - Around Bach (2015)

I wondered among all the composers I loved, which one I would choose if I had to make my first record. My answer was obvious : it would be Johann Sebastian Bach, the father, the Master - impressive and yet reachable - because his music always gives us material to revisit, to rediscover. For a long time my life as a pianist was structured in two areas : music and meetings. Since I was 18, every year, I went a month without instrument, to meet other cultures, trekking in the jungle in South East Asia. These backpack journeys made me live very far from the bustle of concerts and their requirements, in a different time, slower and also helped me to take a step back from my life. On my first trip, after three weeks without the piano, and without classical music to listen to, in the jungle of Laos, I began to sing inside myself Bach’s preludes. And with each trip, Bach’s music always comes first spinning in my head.

Those moments in jungle meetings with ethnic groups that live there, have left in me strong sensations of light, color, sparkling laughter, strong odors (rain, chlorophyll, animals, fires). This environment moves me violently because it reminds me of the meaning and essence of life. Because it embodies for me a vital energy, spiritual research, high brightness, and a love of others and of life, Bach’s music sounded when I walked.

This experience struck me as clear, my first record would be dedicated to him !

I tested this program in concert and I prepared for recording as a sportswoman does for a marathon. I also took the advice of pianist Bernard D’Ascoli : "I took great pleasure in supporting Amandine with her research into the music of Bach. After the progress in musicology over recent decades, playing Bach on the piano has become a challenge. But when in addition we decided to revisit Bach drawing on transcriptions made one or two centuries later, it was then necessary to make something of a Hobson’s choice. Amandine’s curiosity and intelligence, her sensitivity and her great pianistic abilities allowed her to seek solutions that I find very convincing. I wish this recording all the success it deserves."

When I put my fingers for the first time on a Steingraeber concert grand piano, I got the impression of dealing with a huge beast. This piano was like a wild animal - I would not be able to subdue him, but I found little by little unusual sounds by being like one with him, seeking new gestures, and supporting more smoothly every sound and every intention.

After proposing the "Around Bach" recording project, this great piano brand offered me the opportunity to use their best piano, E 272 and to record in their studio in Bayreuth. I recorded this CD in October 2014. The piano you’ll listen is a Steingraeber E-272, a large concert grand piano, which was reinvented in the years 1997 to 2002 based on the earlier grand piano 265 of 1895. It is enjoyed by the many pianists who appreciate these exquisitely crafted and innovative pianos.

Faced with the dilemma of recording, and the idea of freezing in marble one and only one version of «Around Bach», I wanted to adopt an approach that favored a form of spontaneous performance, natural, close to the concert experience. I found the same desire when I spoke with Geoff Miles : an English engineer and producer, specializing in recording classical music. We decided together that we would follow this approach in making this recording, and that small-scale error correction and musical bureaucracy would be banished from this project !! Geoff has designed experimental microphones deliberately intended to clarify and amplify piano gesture - and these we used when recording Around Bach.

To part finance my project, I used the Kisskissbankbank crowd funding platform, offering the opportunity to a subscription audience to buy the disk in advance. The approach has been positive since a third of the budget was funded this way.Finally, I met Bruno Letort, who proposed the involvement of Musicube, a label that embraces sound adventure, which matches Around Bach !