Aysha Wills: Bach: Flute Sonatas
TRPTK

Pondering the set-list for her first solo recording, flautist Aysha Wills equivocated between two possibilities: she could, on the one hand, perform works by overlooked composers and reap the satisfaction of giving exposure to lesser known material; or she could, on the other, record material by J. S. Bach, a composer for whom she developed a love early on via Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations recording. Ultimately, the choice she made seems in hindsight inevitable and unerring: could there possibly be better material to feature on a debut album than Bach's?

The decision makes even more sense when one considers that Wills, born in Calgary in 1994 and currently based in Amsterdam, specializes in the playing of historical instruments and that Bach's famous flute sonatas were written for the traverso, aka the baroque flute. She began playing flute at the age of five and developed a love for baroque music through exposure to the Suzuki method. During a summer course in Canada, the twelve-year-old met traverso player Marten Root, which led to her moving to the Netherlands five years later and studying at the Amsterdam Conservatory, from which she graduated cum laude in 2017.

The release isn't, incidentally, the first time her playing has been heard on record. She's also a founding member of the baroque ensemble Postscript, which released its own debut, Introdvctio, on TRPTK in 2019. If the rapport between Wills (traverso) and her partners Artem Belogurov (harpsichord and clavichord) and Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde (cello) seems particularly strong on Flute Sonatas, it might have something to with the fact they're all Postscript members and thus bring a shared history to the project. Only one sonata's a trio performance, however: while Belogurov accompanies Wills throughout, Dostaler-Lalonde appears on the fourth sonata only. The appeal the works have for her is easy to understand. They're abundant in harmony, melody, counterpoint, and rhythm and also allow room for ornamentation by the flute soloist.

The Sonata in B minor, BWV 1030 opens with an elegant “Andante” she and the harpsichordist essay with poise, with Wills impressing for the fluidity of her voicings and the gracefulness of her runs. The subsequent slow movement exudes all the stateliness one would expect, while the “Presto” is suitably effervescent and rousing. The adagio with which the Sonata in E major, BWV 1035 begins is brief but not so much that its loveliness doesn't register. With Belogurov on the less imposing clavichord, the sonata's overall softer sound enables Wills' playing to be heard even more clearly, something the lilting “Siciliano” movement shows splendidly. The traverso-and-harpsichord combination returns for the Sonata in A major, BWV 1032 and its sparkling “Vivace,” pensive “Largo e dolce,” and spirited “Allegro.” With cello added, the sound world expands considerably for the Sonata in E minor, BWV 1034 though never so much that Wills is overshadowed. If anything, the intertwining of the three instruments makes the four-part work all the more engrossing, its pretty “Andante” and vivacious second “Allegro” cases in point.

November 2022