Homage to Bach

Martin Stadtfeld has long been drawn to the music of Bach, and this album is a personal tribute to the great composer. Starting out with a transcription of the famous Chaconne for solo violin in his own arrangement, Stadtfeld takes over with a 12-movement suite of his own creation that draws its inspiration from Bach’s own response to certain keys. The suite is no exercise in pastiche: Harmonies are often startlingly modern, but the spirit of Bach infuses and energises this music quite magically. Counterpoint is handled with exemplary attention, but a romantic sensibility lends it a beguiling warmth.