MUSIC OF TRIBUTE—J. S. BACH • Beatrice Berthold (pn) • LABOR 7079 (76:44)

BACH Preludes: in e, BWV 941; in C, BWV 939; in c, BWV 999. Fugue in C, BWV 953. Little Preludes: in F, BWV 927; in C, BWV 924; in D, BWV 925. Prelude and Fugue in D, BWV 874. Italian Concerto, BWV 971. DUTILLEUX Au gré des ondes: Hommage ŕ Bach. HONEGGER Prelude, Arioso, and Fughetta on the Name of Bach. GODOWSKY Prelude and Fugue (B.A.C.H.). VILLA-LOBOS Bachianas brasileiras No. 4. POULENC Valse-improvisation on the Name of Bach. BARTÓK Mikrokosmos III: Hommage ŕ J. S. B. KURTÁG Games, Vol. 3: Hommage ŕ J. S. B. RILEY G Song. SHOSTAKOVICH Prelude and Fugue No. 24 in d

This is volume five in a series from Labor Records that juxtaposes the music of the “tribute” dedicatee (here J. S. Bach) with music that purports to be related by theme or other sort of dedication. The previous first three volumes have all been covered in Fanfare, to favorable comments: Villa-Lobos (25:4), Debussy (25:5), and Fauré (28:5). The fourth volume, dedicated to Scarlatti, apparently missed these pages. Each features a different pianist and a slightly different concept as to what constitutes a tribute.

In this case, we have a number of pieces by Bach that, strangely enough, might not actually be by the composer, which might make the premise a little shaky. Be that as it may (and the questionable works will always be by Bach to me), it is remarkable how well this music melds with the others, all from the 20th century. But Dutilleux’s “Hommage ŕ Bach” from Au gré des onde seems to be lifted directly from the last bars of the proceeding Prelude in E Minor, and even composers as disparate as Bartók, Kurtág (whose nine-second homage offers little more than a skipped heartbeat), and Terry Riley, coming three-in-a-row, fit as naturally between the Preludes in C and D as ham and cheese on rye.

Of the meatier pieces here, I should mention that Berthold’s Italian Concerto is about as fine as I hope to hear, her Bachianas brasileiras No. 4 stunning in its rhythmic elasticity, and the one Shostakovich Prelude completely in the spirit of the Russian master’s love of polyphony. Her piano sounds warm and vibrant in its concert-hall acoustic, and I found this mix-and-match to be wonderfully entertaining and enlightening if not overly profound in meaning. A fine hour and change delightfully spent awaits you.

FANFARE: Steven E. Ritter