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Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites: Performed on Double Bass
from: Sony
: :The double bass only recently began to be regarded as a solo instrument, largely thanks to outstanding players who inspired composers to write for it. Until then, its repertoire consisted mostly of transcriptions, usually made by bassists themselves. Edgar Meyer, renowned as a bass virtuoso as well as a versatile, multifaceted composer, has now transcribed the Bach Cello Suites, three of which he plays on this disc. It is a brave and noble undertaking and a remarkable achievement. His command of instrument and bow, including a splendid chord-technique, is awesome, his ...
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Edgar Meyer
from: Sony
: : There is no doubt about Edgar Meyer's musicianship, creativity or talent. This CD features 14 new works, all by Meyer and all played by him (through the magic of multi-track recording and overdubbing). In addition to his usual double-bass, Meyer plays piano, mandolin, dobro, guitar, and gamba (sometimes bowed, sometimes plucked, at points overdubbed nine times), all in various combinations. Each piece, it seems, is in a different style or genre. The first, a duet for piano and bass, is a long pop ballad without words. Another is (almost) pure ...
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Edgar Meyer: Quintet; Ned Rorem: String Quartet No. 4
from: Deutsche Grammophon
: :We get so little from Rorem these days that whenever anything appears, it's worth noting. Here, his String Quartet 4 (1994) is more acerbic than anything he's done; it's also more emotionally expressive. In it, though, you can hear the neo-Romantic core of his being. Small themes and moments of melody emerge, despite the clamor. Meyer's contribution to this release is the very beautiful Quintet (1995), for string quartet and double bass (which gets several nice boogie-woogie passages all on its lonesome). The Meyer clearly has more humor than the Rorem, ...
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