Aya Hamada

Aya Hamada – Bach: Goldberg Variations (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · October 12, 2023 · Comments off

After recording the second of Bach’s four Clavier-Übung volumes, the harpsichordist Aya Hamada turns now to the last one: the legendary Goldberg Variations. The discography of the work is vast, but here Aya Hamada has chosen to perform it on an exceptional instrument: the 1624 Ruckers belonging to the Musée Unterlinden in Colmar. Recently restored, this harpsichord boasts a palette of rich, authentic tones: dark in the bass, like crystal in the high register. With it’s unique timbre, this instrument enables the harpsichordist to give full expression to the successive metamorphoses of the poignant initial Aria, on which Bach built his greatest keyboard masterpiece.

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Aya Hamada – Bach: Clavier-Übung II, Chaconne (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 11, 2022 · Comments off

Transcriptions were an important part of Johann Sebastian Bach’s oeuvre. For a composer who never took formal composition lessons, they were pathways to knowledge that allowed him to assimilate different styles and expand his musical horizons. In this recording the Japanese-American harpsichordist Aya Hamada explores the role of the transcription in Bach’s work, bringing together the Italian Concerto BWV 971 and the Overture in the French style BWV 831. Although they were composed for a keyboard instrument, these pieces are characteristic of the “imaginary orchestral transcriptions” that were prevalent in Bach’s output. They are paired here with the Toccata BWV 912 which highlights the crucial dimension of improvisation in Bach’s music. Finally, Aya Hamada offers a synthesis of these two approaches through Skip Sempé’s keyboard transcription of the Chaconne from the Partita BWV 1004. The Neuchâtel Museum’s Ruckers harpsichord is the perfect vehicle for this grand exploration of Bach’s keyboard artistry.

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