44 / 64
44 BACH / ISOIR_TRANSCRIPTIONS
The form of the trio ‘a 2 clav. e Ped’, as Bach frequently calls it, is exploited in several
other ways in this programme. In the ‘Quoniam’ of the Lutheran Mass in F major
BWV233, Isoir chose a style of writing inherently suited to direct transposition into
an instrumental trio texture: the three original lines – solo violin, solo alto and
instrumental bass – are reproduced with perfect clarity on the two manuals and
pedalboard.
The universe of the cantatas also provides the transcriber with a number of
opportunities in this domain, quite apart from the other sources of inspiration
it may suggest. A fine example is the aria ‘Mein gläubiges Herze’ (well known in
English as ‘My heart ever faithful’) from the Cantata BWV 68, which presents three
voices in right hand, left hand and pedal respectively: first of all soprano, obbligato
violoncello piccolo and basso continuo, then, in the second part, oboe, violin and
bass.
Equally fruitful material is the aria ‘Wenn die Frühlingslüfte streichen’ from the
Cantata BWV 202, for soprano, solo violin and basso continuo. Here once again
André Isoir goes far beyond the process of simple adaptation by completing the
original text, not with the vain intention of
enriching
it, but in order to obtain a new
and idiomatic organ piece in trio texture.