Bach, J S - Fretwork (arr. for viols) - Fretwork
5 AV 6 MÖJLIGA I BETYG I SVENSKA DAGBLADET"Redan Glenn Goulds inspelning från 1956 av Goldbergvariationerna var ett arrangemang av ett verk för tvåmanualig cembalo, med dess klangliga variationsmöjligheter. Ett stråkarrangemang, som exempelvis Dmitrij Sitkovetskijs för trio, ger ett större klangligt spektrum än det moderna pianot. För brittiska Fretwork, en renommerad Consort of viols, har ledaren Richard Boothby satt musiken för sex violainstrument; diskant-, tenor- och bas. Stämmorna i de polyfona variationerna framträder då klarare. I stället för att framstå som ett paradnummer ger Fretworks version ett intimt intryck där de spröda klangerna ibland ger musiken andliga kvaliteter."
(Svenska Dagbladet)
Fretwork:
Richard Boothby
Reiko Ichise
Asako Morikawa
Richard Tunnicliffe
Liam Byrne
Susanna Pell
"The Goldberg Variations are a pinnacle of Bach's art. Conceived for harpsichord, the work has been transcribed for quite different instruments. . . Richard Boothby's version for his own consort of viols, Fretwork, is arguably the most unusual, in that it opts for a soundworld that looks even further back in time. Part of the justification for such a setting must be Bach's own liking for viola da gamba, already then old-fashioned.... Boothby's setting is dexterously divided between various combinations of the treble, tenor and bass viols, and he achieved some magical effects, notably (...) in variations of gossamer passagework."
The Guardian (concert review)
Fretwork is a consort of viols based in England, United Kingdom. Formed in 1986, the group consisted of six players. Its repertoire consists primarily of music of the Renaissance period, in particular that of Elizabethan and Jacobean England, arrangements of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and contemporary music written for them.