Transformations: Bach & Rameau

Known for his “mesmerizing” (Ludwig van Toronto) performances, Kristian Bezuidenhout returns as harpsichordist and guest director for a program curated especially for Tafelmusik.

Transformations draws on music that has morphed from one form to another by way of transcriptions, reworkings, and arrangements. 

Posthumous orchestral arrangements of several of Rameau’s pieces for solo harpsichord are an homage by an anonymous admirer of Rameau, inspired by others that Rameau himself had arranged for his operas. Handel did the reverse in his Trio Sonata in G Major, adapting movements from no fewer than five operatic precursors to create a sonata for two violins and continuo. We in turn transform the sonata into a suite for orchestra, retaining the selection of movements, but reverting to Handel’s original orchestrations.

The theatre is the ultimate palace of transfiguration, and the magic of the London theatres inspired Purcell’s Ayres for the Theatre.

No exploration of baroque transformations would be complete without J.S. Bach, the ultimate musical alchemist. Bach transcribed his own A-Minor Violin Concerto for a different instrument in a new key, culminating in the thrilling Harpsichord Concerto in G Minor. Bezuidenhout, whose playing is nothing less than “beguiling” (Gramophone), champions this dazzling work.   

Directed by Kristian Bezuidenhout, harpsichord