Bach Concertos: Lost and Found Die Freitagsakademie

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750): Non sa che sia dolore, BWV 209:
• 1 Bach: Non sa che sia dolore, BWV 209: I. Sinfonia 06:08
• Concerto for Oboe d'amore in A Major:
• 2 Bach: Concerto for Oboe d'amore in A Major: I. Allegro (after BWV 1055R) 04:11
• 3 Bach: Concerto for Oboe d'amore in A Major: II. Adagio (after BWV 249: II) 03:34
• 4 Bach: Concerto for Oboe d'amore in A Major: III. Allegro ma non tanto (after BWV 1055R) 04:29
• Violin Concerto in G Minor (after BWV 1056):
• 5 Bach: Violin Concerto in G Minor (after BWV 1056): I. - 03:34
• 6 Bach: Violin Concerto in G Minor (after BWV 1056): II. Largo 02:59
• 7 Bach: Violin Concerto in G Minor (after BWV 1056): III. Presto 03:41
• Concerto for Oboe d'amore in A Major, BWV 1055R:
• 8 Bach: Concerto for Oboe d'amore in A Major, BWV 1055R: II. Larghetto 04:33
• Triple Concerto for Flute, Oboe d'amore and Violin:
• 9 Triple Concerto for Flute, Oboe d'amore and Violin: I. Vivace (after "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan", BWV 99, reconstr. by Walter Hindermann) 04:23
• 10 Triple Concerto for Flute, Oboe d'amore and Violin: II. Grave (after "Er ist das Heil und sel'ge Licht", BWV 125, reconstr. by Walter Hindermann) 06:56
• 11 Triple Concerto for Flute, Oboe d'amore and Violin: III. Alla breve (after "Drum so lasst uns immerdar", BWV 115, reconstr. by Walter Hindermann) 04:19
• Total Runtime 48:47

Info for Bach Concertos: Lost and Found

An album of hitherto unknown music by Johann Sebastian Bach would be a sensation! What may seem rather unlikely at first glance has nevertheless been achieved by the ensemble Die Freitagsakademie under the direction of Katharina Suske. For some of Bach's works, now considered lost, have been reconstructed in recent years and are now available on the album "Bach Concertos: Lost and Found", partly as first recordings.

The practice of reworking, rewriting and reusing already existing musical material can be found in all of Bach's creative periods, who made use of his own compositional oeuvre throughout his life and knew how to make masterful use of it. Knowledge of Bach's musical recycling strategies has enabled music researchers to reconstruct some of these supposedly lost compositions.

For example, a Triple Concerto for flute, oboe d'amore and violin in G major was composed from the opening choruses of the cantatas BWV 99, 125 and 115 and is also reminiscent in parts of the famous Brandenburg Concertos.

In the case of the Harpsichord Concerto in A major BWV 1055, the Friday Academy assumes that the middle movement Adagio comes from a concerto that is now lost and was originally based on a version of the Shepherd Cantata BWV 249/2.

In the case of the Harpsichord Concerto BWV 1054, the underlying violin concerto has also survived, which in turn facilitated the reconstruction of the Violin Concerto in G minor, based on the Harpsichord Concerto BWV 1065. The Sinfonia of the secular soprano cantata "Non sa che sia dolore" BWV 209 also seems to have come from a solo concerto. This is typical of Bach, who took movements from his concertos and reworked these older compositions into cantata movements.

Thus the Freitagsakademie points out the fascinating mixture of genres of Johann Sebastian Bach's lost compositions and brings them to new life in "Bach Concertos: Lost and Found". For their German Harmonia Mundi album "Händel's Tea Time" with soprano Dorothee Mields, the Swiss has already received excellent reviews: "Truly rewarding discoveries... the members of the 'Freitagsakademie' convince with precision and subtlety."

Die Freitagsakademie

Vermutlich war dem Hofkomponisten Johann Gottlieb Janitsch nicht bewusst, dass er eine der ersten bürgerlichen Konzertreihen ins Leben rief, als er ab 1736 die «Freitagsakademien» veranstaltete, bei denen sich die Berliner Gesellschaft zum gemeinsamen Musizieren traf. Die Freitagsakademien genossen einen ausgezeichneten Ruf und zogen viele Musiker unterschiedlichster Provenienz an. Davon inspiriert, widmet sich das Berner Ensemble Die Freitagsakademie, 1993 in Bern gegründet, in verschiedensten Besetzungen der Musik des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts auf Instrumenten der Epoche. Das Ensemble kann auf eine rege Konzerttätigkeit verweisen, vom kleinen Kam­mer­ensemble bis zum 30-köpfigen Orchester, unter Mitwirkung ­einer Reihe international renommierter Musikerkolleginnen und -kollegen und verschiedentlich auch in Zusammenarbeit mit bekannten Chören. Zahlreiche Konzertmitschnitte durch Radio DRS2 und CD-Aufnahmen legen akustisches Zeugnis von der vielfältigen Arbeit des Ensembles ab.

«Es gibt keine alte Musik» – das Motto der Freitagsakademie ist künstlerisches Programm: Dem Ensemble geht es darum, historische Musik auf historischen Instrumenten und in historischer Musizierpraxis von ihrem musealen Staub und der gebildeten Ehrfurcht zu befreien und zur Musik für die Gegenwart, zur packenden zeitgenössischen Kunst zu machen.

Dieses Konzept des 1993 gegründeten, von Katharina Suske, Bernhard Maurer und Vital Julian Frey geleiteten Ensembles hat grosses Echo und regen Zuspruch gefunden: Die Freitagsakademie ist mit ihren zahlreichen Konzerten und Aufnahmen seit Jahren vielbeachtet im schweizerischen und internationalen Musikgeschehen präsent.

Booklet for Bach Concertos: Lost and Found