This release by British flutist Elizabeth Walker falls into the increasingly large space between modern and historical performance practice. On hand are a group of pieces by Bach that are presented as a set of flute sonatas but aren't entirely homogeneous: the album includes three sonatas for flute and continuo, one partita or dance suite for the same combination, and a flute sonata with written-out accompaniment, which actually at the time was more akin to a trio sonata than to a sonata for solo instrument. The genre ...
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This release by British flutist Elizabeth Walker falls into the increasingly large space between modern and historical performance practice. On hand are a group of pieces by Bach that are presented as a set of flute sonatas but aren't entirely homogeneous: the album includes three sonatas for flute and continuo, one partita or dance suite for the same combination, and a flute sonata with written-out accompaniment, which actually at the time was more akin to a trio sonata than to a sonata for solo instrument. The genre shifts aren't entirely clear in this performance, but the main attraction, Walker's playing, is very fine indeed. She plays a modern wooden flute with a lovely, rather clarinet-like tone, and she has applied techniques from treatises of Bach's time to phrasing and articulation. The result is some exceptionally lively Bach playing, underlaid by the muscular Ruckers-style harpsichord of Michael Overbury and the Amati cello of Christopher Poffley, and the ensemble has an X factor relating to...
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