Fretwork's decidedly retro approach to Bach's much-arranged and incessantly fiddled-with unfinished "last" opus is among the simplest and therefore most effective renditions on disc. This renowned ensemble takes on Bach's somewhat ambiguously scored and variously configured collection of fugues (contrapuncti) and canons and performs them on combinations of viols (six in all). Although the evidence points most strongly to this work being intended for keyboard performance--and indeed it nearly always comes off best when realized this way--Fretwork's viol-consort settings preserve the important linear and harmonic balances inherent in a single-instrument rendition while imbuing each movement with the viols' naturally warm, complexly-colored, reedy timbres. While the more densely-textured movements can lose some definition in places--where the resonance of the lower-register instruments dominates--these performances are more coherent and cohesive and clearly articulated than any of the available versions scored for assortments of winds and strings. Although invariably interesting as exercises and often sonically exciting, these latter "deconstructive" transcriptions/arrangements have a distracting effect on the listener, calling attention to individual lines rather than to the well-formed unity of the whole.

Fretwork's players deliver nothing less than polished, involving, and faithful-to-the-score performances (albeit with their own ordering of movements), ever vigilant to balances and nuances of phrasing. And their trueness to Bach remains constant to the end, where they choose the honored practice of performing the final "Fuga a 3 Soggetti" unfinished, leaving the listener in mid-sentence, to abrupt, unsettling silence. The whole effort is supported by full-bodied, vibrant sound with excellent spatial definition among and between instruments. If you want to get to know this intriguing and endlessly fascinating work, this is a perfect place to start; if you're a Bach fan and you don't have it, get it. [2/8/2003]

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

■ Orchestra/Ensemble: Fretwork

■ Period: Baroque

■ Written: circa 1745-1750; Leipzig, Germany