Overview
Bach: Keyboard Masterworks
Andrew Rangell's three-CD presentation of keyboard masterworks of J.S. Bach is a combination reissue, bringing together an album released in 1993 featuring the "Goldberg Variations," the "Toccata in F sharp minor," and "Two Ricercars from the Musical Offering," and a double-disc set of the six partitas issued in 2001; both albums were on the Dorian label. The pressing by Steinway & Sons is faithful to the original recordings' sound, and the clarity and depth of Rangell's playing are easy to appreciate in the close-up recording. The fluidity of Rangell's rhythms are always in the service of the independence of parts, so what may seem like odd grace notes or slight misalignments of parts are actually intended in the spirit of ornamentation and improvisation. While there is often a brusqueness to his attacks, a uniformity of dynamics, and a consistent edginess to his tone, which in its relative lack of variety seems monochromatic, Rangell's playing is bracing and ear-opening in small amounts. But even though the "Goldberg Variations," and to a lesser degree the partitas, are works that almost demand to be heard in one or two sittings, listeners may prefer to break them up into manageable portions.
