Home listening - Bach-Reger, Josquin des Prés and Western Wind

The Guardian 0

Takahashi/Lehmann make light work of Reger’s Brandenburg duet transcriptions. Plus, more Josquin from the Tallis Scholars

• In those far-off days before recording and broadcasting, the way to recreate the orchestral music you heard in the concert hall was to play it in domestic arrangements for piano duet. Now we have the real thing so easily available, why would you want to revisit these old versions? They can be quite revealing as examples of the way arrangers heard this music. The German composer Max Reger (1873-1916) was devoted to the music of Bach, and the piano duo Takahashi/Lehmann have just recorded all six of the Brandenburg Concertos in Reger’s duet transcriptions, together with a couple of organ works (Audite).

The result is a paradox: Reger’s own music tends towards the thickly scored and even glutinous, and he gives his Bach big, doubled bass lines which dominate the textures. But these two very skilful pianists lighten the textures, choose dancing speeds and crisp articulation, and create something that is quite delightful. So this is an enjoyably contemporary, rather postmodern collection.