Arash Safaian - ÜberBach (2016)

The ÜberBach album is a collection of compositions by the Munich-based composer Arash Safaian on themes by Johann Sebastian Bach. Safaian starts off with various pieces by Bach chorales, orchestral works, organ and clavier music and works with them to create five concertos for piano, vibraphone and chamber orchestra. Arash Safaians musical partner is the internationally acclaimed pianist Sebastian Knauer: When I heard the first example of ÜberBach, I was enthusiastic about the project at once. The virtuosity of the piano part, the melodiousness of the compositions and the closely woven sound made a deep impression on me. I imagined I was listening to Bach and yet it sounded too modern for the original. Sebastian Knauer called his long-time musical partner, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the very next day. He organized the recording and further developed the project with Safaian. For the shimmering crystalline sound, the duo recruited the Luxembourg-born multi-percussionist Pascal Schumacher. He plays the vibraphone, which blends with the piano. There is also a synthesizer to enrich the sound of the basso continuo for which Bach used the organ. The project centres on the idea of creating a form of music in which one hears Bach without Bach being heard. Arash Safaian develops the music ideas already contained in the compositions of Bach and interprets them anew: For me, Bachs works are music in its purest form. They require no deconstruction, no historical classification. What I always think is that I am hearing the grammar of music. That is why I have decided to compose music about Bachs music. That makes it like a view into a landscape that your own eye interprets in a certain way. Arash Safaian is artist, composer and producer. He is the son of artist Ali Akbar Safaian, an important representative of Iranian modernism.

Tracklist:
01. Pascal Schumacher, Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 1, "Infinite Games": I. Halleluja (After Alleluia, Cantata "Es Ist Uns Ein Kind Geboren", BWV 142) (After Alleluia, Cantata "Es Ist Uns Ein Kind Geboren", BWV 142) (3:47)
02. Pascal Schumacher, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Sebastian Knauer, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 1, "Infinite Games": II. Canon in C (After Canon Trias Harmonica a 8, BWV 1072) (After Canon Trias Harmonica a 8, BWV 1072) (2:51)
03. Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Pascal Schumacher, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 1, "Infinite Games": III. Empty Set (After Aria, Cantata "Widerstehe doch der Sunde", BWV 54) (After Aria, Cantata "Widerstehe doch der Sunde", BWV 54) (6:10)
04. Sebastian Knauer, Arash Safaian, Pascal Schumacher, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 1, "Infinite Games": IV. Prelude in C (After Prelude in C Major, Nine Little Preludes, Klavierbuchlein fur Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, BWV 924) (After Prelude in C Major, Nine Little Preludes, Klavierbuchlein fur Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, BWV 924 (1:29)
05. Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Pascal Schumacher, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 1, "Infinite Games": V. In Midair (After "Lasset uns nicht zerteilen", Chorus 27b, Johannes-Passion, BWV 245) (After "Lasset uns nicht zerteilen", Chorus 27b, Johannes-Passion, BWV 245) (3:49)
06. Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Pascal Schumacher, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 2, "As Above so Below": I. Folia (Collage After Cantata "Ich hatte viel Bekummernis" BWV 21, Prelude C Minor, Welltempered Clavier Book I, BWV 847 Chorus 2d, "Jesum von Nazareth", Johannes-Passion, BWV 245) (Collage After Cantata "Ich hatte v (2:47)
07. Pascal Schumacher, Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 2, "As Above so Below": II. Sinfonia (After Sinfonia, Cantata "Ich hatte viel Bekummernis", BWV 21) (After Sinfonia, Cantata "Ich hatte viel Bekummernis", BWV 21) (3:01)
08. Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Pascal Schumacher, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 2, "As Above so Below": III. Prelude in C Minor (After Prelude in C Minor, Well-Tempered Clavier Book I, BWV 847) (After Prelude in C Minor, Well-Tempered Clavier Book I, BWV 847) (2:44)
09. Pascal Schumacher, Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Modulation: Looping Bach (3:11)
10. Pascal Schumacher, Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 3, "Fuge Like a Passion": I. Canon in G (After Canon Super Fa Mi, a 7. Post Tempus Musicum, BWV 1078) (After Canon Super Fa Mi, a 7. Post Tempus Musicum, BWV 1078) (1:58)
11. Pascal Schumacher, Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 3, "Fuge Like a Passion": II. Little G (After Organ Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578 "The Little") (After Organ Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578 "The Little") (5:50)
12. Pascal Schumacher, Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 4, "Newton's Law": I. Choral Prelude (After Choral Prelude for Organ "Herr Gott, nun schleu? den Himmel auf", BWV 617) (After Choral Prelude for Organ "Herr Gott, nun schleu? den Himmel auf", BWV 617) (4:55)
13. Pascal Schumacher, Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 4, "Newton's Law": II. Fuga XX (After Fugue in A Minor, Well-Tempered Clavier Book II, BWV 889) (After Fugue in A Minor, Well-Tempered Clavier Book II, BWV 889) (2:15)
14. Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Pascal Schumacher, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 5, "Dorian": I. Aria (After Aria, Cantata "Vergnugte Ruh, Beliebte Seelenlust", BWV 170) (After Aria, Cantata "Vergnugte Ruh, Beliebte Seelenlust", BWV 170) (5:58)
15. Sebastian Knauer, Zuricher KammerOrchester, Arash Safaian, Pascal Schumacher, Zurcher Kammerorchester - Concerto No. 5, "Dorian": II. Toccata (After Organ Toccata in D Minor "Dorian", BWV 538) (After Organ Toccata in D Minor "Dorian", BWV 538) (6:56)