Gramophone Magazine
March 2023
Editor's Choice

Phantasm, Laurence Dreyfus

Bach, J S: Three-part Invention (Sinfonia) No. 1 in C major, BWV787
Bach, J S: Chorale Prelude BWV684 'Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam'
Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 3 in C sharp major, BWV 872: Fugue
Bach, J S: Chorale Prelude BWV673 'Christe, aller Welt Trost'
Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 24, BWV893: Fugue
Bach, J S: Chorale Prelude BWV680 'Wir glauben all an einen Gott' ('Giant Fugue')
Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 15 in G major, BWV884: Fugue
Bach, J S: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. Prelude No. 18 in G Sharp Minor, BWV 863 (Arr. for Ensemble by Laurence Dreyfus) & Fugue No. 18 in G Sharp Minor, BWV 863 (Arr. for Ensemble by Laurence Dreyfus)
Bach, J S: Fughetta super 'Dies sind die heilgen zehen Gebot', BWV679
Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue Book 1 No. 2 in C minor, BWV847: Fugue
Bach, J S: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2. Prelude No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 881 (Arr. for Ensemble by Laurence Dreyfus) & Fugue No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 881 (Arr. for Ensemble by Laurence Dreyfus)
Bach, J S: Three-part Invention (Sinfonia) No. 8 in F major, BWV794
Bach, J S: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2. Fugue No. 23 in B Major, BWV 892 (Arr. for Ensemble by Laurence Dreyfus) & Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV 880 (Arr. for Ensemble by Laurence Dreyfus)
Bach, J S: Chorale Prelude BWV689 'Jesus Christus unser Heiland'
Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue Book 1 No. 21 in B flat major, BWV866: Fugue
Bach, J S: Chorale Prelude BWV669 'Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit'
Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 18, BWV887: Fugue
Bach, J S: Clavier-Übung III. Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit, alio modo, BWV 672 (Arr. for Ensemble by Laurence Dreyfus) & Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist, BWV 674 (Arr. for Ensemble by Laurence Dreyfus)
Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 20, BWV889: Fugue
Bach, J S: Fughetta super 'Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr', BWV677
Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue Book 2 No. 8, BWV877: Fugue
Bach, J S: Prelude & Fugue Book 1 No. 5 in D major, BWV850: Fugue
Bach, J S: Fantasia in G major, BWV572

This is the third and final instalment of the Well-Tempered Consort series (5 Diapasons, Gramophone Editor’s Choice, BBC Music Magazine Chamber Choice). In this programme devised by its director Laurence Dreyfus, the viol consort Phantasm continues to shine new light on the fugues from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier interspersed with some of the composer’s most harmonically adventurous experiments from the Clavierübung III. This polyphonic feast also includes two works from the Inventions and Sinfonias as well as the Fantasia in G major BWV 572, or Pièce d’orgue as it is sometimes called, which boasts an extraordinary closing pedal point. A fitting end to a remarkable journey!

"Recoloured in this scrumptious, nasal resonance, Phantasm have brought to life aspects of Bach’s music I knew to be there, inscribed into the musical notation, with utter stylishness." - Gramophone Magazine, March 2023.