Olivier Fortin / Julien Martin – Bach Transcriptions

Bach left nothing really substantial for the recorder. Apart from a few intra-orchestral uses in Brandenburg concertos and a few cantatas, there are no sonatas, suites, partitas, etc., for the recorder. He did, however, write sonatas for the transverse flute.

It’s understandable that recorder players should feel frustrated by this, and fall back on transcriptions. Julien Martin does just that, accompanied by Quebec harpsichordist Olivier Fortin. On the program: transcriptions of works for transverse flute (a logical choice), but also for violin, organ and excerpts from cantatas.

Julien Martin’s sound is pleasantly cushioned, with a certain brilliance in the treble. His playing is precise and discursively well-organized. Olivier Fortin offers clear support with a fairly strong presence. The close miking creates this impression.

I really like what is done here, in terms of musicality and choice of repertoire. That said, I can’t help noticing how the physical limits of the recorder’s sound can seem like an insurmountable obstacle to purists, particularly in transcriptions of pieces for solo violin. The latter can sustain its sound projection indefinitely. Not the flute. What’s more, the recorder can do so even less than the transverse flute.

This is even truer in the case of the harpsichord, which has not been surpassed by the piano for no reason: at a certain point in history, there was a need to be able to hold the sound and its resonance with much greater amplitude. The Chaconne BWV 1004, a monumental score for solo violin and here transcribed for solo harpsichord, while impressive, and while Olivier Fortin brings every possible involvement to it in his very fine reading, cannot be compared to the original for violin: the much shorter breath given to sound projection (which is normal for the harpsichord) detracts from the viscerality of the work. A violin whose strings are strummed to the point of tearing out the heart is hard to ”dock” in terms of emotional power and subcutaneous thrills. That said, I warmly applaud Olivier’s masterly effort and his immense achievement in terms of technical mastery.

A very fine album, which disregards the technical limitations associated with its instruments in relation to the original potential of the works here “transformed”.