Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
French Suite no. 1 in D minor
Allemande; Courante; Sarabande; Menuet I; Menuet II; Gigue
Johann Sebastian Bach / Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Johann Sebastian Bach / Ferruccio Busoni
Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland
Johann Sebastian Bach / Ferruccio Busoni
Chaconne from Partita no. 2 in D minor
Performer
Francis Camilleri: piano
Programme Notes
Few composers have dealt with the music of one of their colleagues on so many levels as did Ferruccio Busoni with that of Johann Sebastian Bach. Busoni’s profound interest in Bach emerges in his many piano transcriptions of original Bach works, such as the Chorales, Chaconne from Partita no. 2 and Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Today’s programme is carefully constructed around the tragic key of D minor, starting with Bach’s French Suite no. 1 in D minor, and two colossal transcriptions by Busoni in the same key: the Toccata and Fugue in D minor and the Chaconne from Bach’s Partita no. 2 for solo violin. Busoni’s transcriptions of Bach’s chorales complete the programme.
Bach’s French Suite in D minor is the most classical of the six ‘French’ suites. Bach keeps strictly to the usual order of the dances: allemande, courante, sarabande, two minuets and a gigue.
Busoni’s reworking of Bach’s famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor for organ is accomplished in such a way that one can still sense the original sound world while the grand piano is able to show off its full potential.
In the many transcriptions of Bach’s chorales for solo piano, Busoni retains the solemn character of the music. Unlike the Chaconne, which Busoni envisaged for concert performance, he transcribed the Chorale Preludes in “chamber-music style”.
In his mighty transcription of Bach’s Chaconne, Busoni endeavours to transpose the virtuosity of the string writing onto the piano without distancing himself too greatly from Bach’s original. Thus, Busoni wrote for the piano in a way that congenially makes the most of the capabilities of the modern piano.
Biography
Francis Camilleri has for the past few years been a frequent collaborator with the Valletta Baroque Festival, appearing as a soloist with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in Bach’s Piano Concertos, in a chamber setting playing Bach’s Gamba sonatas at the Manoel Theatre and in a solo recital at the President’s Palace in San Anton. His upcoming concerts include a debut solo recital at the Teatru Manoel with a programme of piano sonatas by Schubert and Beethoven and the revival of Joseph Vella’s Piano Concerto op. 41, both in March 2026. Francis will also be the chorus master and répétiteur for an upcoming new production of Puccini’s Turandot at the Teatru Astra under the direction of Joseph Debrincat, marking 100 years since its premiere. Francis is a member of the Laudate Pueri Choir and the Victoria International Arts Festival.