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Contents (click to download a 25s mp3 file)

Sinfonia [6:51]
Partita II, BWV 826
Menuet [3:57]
Französische Suiten, Suite I d-moll, BWV 812
Kyrie [4:50]
Hohe messe, BWV 232
Organ ad blues [3:48]
Tocata C-dur, BWV 564
Sara linda [5:32]
Suite V, c-moll for Cello, Sarabande, BWV 1011
Courante [2:18]
Suite II, d-moll for Cello, BWV 1008
Koral [1:15]
Herzliebster Jesu, was hast Du verbrochen, chorale from
Matthäuspassion, no. 3, BWV 244
Andante [5:35]
Musikalisches Opfer, no. 8 C, Trio, BWV 1079
Ricercar [5:32]
Musikalisches Opfer, no. 5, BWV 1079
Variatio 22 [3:19]
Goldberg-Variationen, BWV 988
Sonatalargo [4:22]
Musikalisches Opfer, no. 8A, Trio, BWV 1079
Cembalo-adagio [5:43]
Concerto I, d-moll, BWV 564
Goldberg 25 [9:21]
Goldberg-Variationen, BWV 988, an Die Kunst der Fuge,
no. 19, BWV 1080
1 5 2 1 [1:34]
Erkenne mich, mein Hüter, chorale from Matthäuspassion,
no. 15 (formerly 21), BWV 244

All music by Stefan Forssén.
The listed works by Johann Sebastian Bach have inspired Stefan Forssén's compositions.

Bach's music as he would have played it today?

The Swedish jazz pianist and composer, Stefan Forssén, became inspired by the music of J. S. Bach and wrote a suite for his group, Änglaspel (Angel Chimes). At some passages, the music follows Bach’s original score closely while at other the original is scarcely recognizable. At all times, the music is played with confidence, strength and loving care.

The Finnish poet, jazz pianist and former Minister of Cultural Affairs, Claes Andersson wrote: “…Here you find the freedom of jazz, its aleatoric dimension. Here you find the calm rests, the devotional feel of the chorales. And here you find demons unleashed in furious improvisations, often in fast tempi, sometimes as ‘free jazz’, but with a meaning and logical structure…”

The Band

Lars B Almkvist - trumpet
Mikael Godée - soprano saxophone
Thomas Jäderlund - alto and sopranino saxophones
Johan Borgström - tenor saxophone
Stefan Forssén - piano
Peter Janson - bass
Göran Kroon - drums

Excerpts from the press

”... a musical date beyound all limits ... a loving homage to the master of the masters ... Maybe Johann Sebastian Bach would have sounded like this if he lived in our age. Who knows? But I beleive he sits in his musical Heaven and really digs this CD.”
(Norra Västerbotten)

The recording

This production was recorded for broadcasting at Studio 12 by the Swedish Radio in Göteborg. The producer was Martin Hansson, engineers Bengt Pettersson (Sept 2000) and Bertil Karlsson (Nov 2000).

In 2002, the recordings were remixed, edited and mastered at the Sound Processing Studio, by Per Sjösten, Stefan Forssén and Mikael Godée. Art design is performed by Karin Almlöf and Ulf Lindahl.