Some people just like making life difficult for themselves. Paul Cassidy, the violist of the Brodsky Quartet must be one of those people. He’s taken three solo violin sonatas by Bach and, using just this single line with implied harmonies and articulations, rearranged them for string quartet. I’m not quite sure how to explain the difficulty of Cassidy’s endeavour; to use a metaphor, it’s like being given a single strand of rainbow cotton and being told to weave a masterpiece.

I know many people in the classical music world are obsessed with purity of performance, but since Bach was a big believer in ‘borrowing’ and rearranging both his and other people’s music, I love rediscovering his genius through the lens of a modern arrangement. What really comes to the fore as I listened to this album was how stylish these arrangements were, with Bach’s organ music echoing through all the meatier moments. The depth of sound in the recording gives it the proper church-inspired Bach element. I love that the Brodsky Quartet refuse to observe the status quo and instead are constantly looking for new ways to experience life and music.

Kate Rockstrom is a friend of Readings.