The piano is not an instrument that we directly associate with chorale arrangement. After all, chorale arrangements are arrangements of church hymns (chorales). It is mainly organists who have practiced the genre, not least Bach. The chorale arrangements (Choralvorspiele) of this CD, however, are for piano, although the world of the organ is not far away. The British composer Michael Finnissy
… initially wrote them for his partner, the organist Philip Adams. He needed a suitable repertoire to liven up the church service. In time, Finnissy decided to recycle these arrangements for the piano, the instrument of which he himself is a virtuoso. And that for the benefit of the pianist Mark Knoop, who premiered in 2012. Not much remained of the ecclesiastical character. The pieces only received Italian tempo and playing indications, so no references to any song. The arrangements are often just as swirling and layered as those of Charles Ives. Sometimes with a single fragment of what is apparently a church song. (HJ)more
