You would expect the catalogue to be
oozing with marvellous recordings of
this core repertoire of Baroque genius,
but so many versions come and go that
it’s sometimes a matter of luck as to
what you will find in the shops. I was
weaned on the Herbert von Karajan DG
recordings, and after such a heavy diet
it was always going to be something
of a relief when the first decent ‘authentic’
versions appeared. Trevor Pinnock’s
1982 Archiv set has an all-star cast,
but is getting a little long in the
tooth after 25 years or so and always
was an uneven project, with some balance
problems in the recording and struggling
horns in the then revolutionary super-fast
tempi. I’ve lived quite happily with
the Taverner Players under Andrew Parrott
on EMI Reflexe for what now also seems
far too long, so I was glad of the opportunity
to hear what today’s musicians make
of Bach’s own instrumental pride and
joy.
For a start this is a very well recorded
production. The acoustic is warm but
not overly resonant which, given the
material at hand is just as well – this
is playing whose white-hot crispness
needs all the detail it can get. The
horns are the stars in the Brandenburg
Concerto No. 1 in F major, with
plenty of the echo effects and gorgeously
handmade notes being pinched out of
the natural instruments. The tempo in
the opening movement is brisk but unforced,
allowing the parts to flourish but without
sluggish stagnation. There is a little
tempo inflection at the recapitulation
which Andrés Gabetta likes doing, dipping
slightly and allowing the music to ‘take
off’ anew rather than just plunging
on at the same pace. It’s a tiny point,
but well made. I’m not sure how Bach
would have felt about another interesting
moment, which is the way the oboes imitate
the throbbing strings near the beginning
of the Adagio. There are one
or two understandable stability problems
for horn 1 in the very high reaches
in the final Menuet, but in general
this is a satisfying and successful
opening.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, also
in F major is the one with solo
trumpet, recorder, oboe and violin as
soloists. Again, the opening tempo is
well judged, being excitingly fast without
tumbling over itself or becoming too
hectic and busy. The soloists are all
very good, though I’m not so keen on
the recorder player Luis Beduschi’s
forcing of the notes in the Andante
and elsewhere. Trumpet player Niklas
Eklund deserves a mention, not only
for his spectacular solos, but for his
chamber-music sensitivity when playing
accompanying lines.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major
has a strong ‘wow’ factor in the
tempi in both of the outer movements,
but especially in the final Allegro.
The strings really get to flex their
technique here, and even the basses
come off well in the maelstrom of notes.
Giorgio Paronuzzi has a nice harpsichord
solo for the Adagio, which serves
as an introduction for the very lively
final movement. There is very minor
technical point with the harpsichord
here: some kind of acoustic reflection
going on which I found hard to pin down.
There is some balance shifting between
pieces, with the harpsichord being brought
forward for the Trio Sonata from
the Musical Offering. This is
understandable, but becomes a little
jangly and distracting in this last
piece – being in the foreground rather
than mixing with the other instruments.
Musicologists can argue about some of
the trills, which sometimes seem a little
slow and grandstanding, especially in
the flute. I would also argue that fillers
should be just that, fillers at the
end rather than intermezzi – especially
with the balance adjustment, but seeing
as Bach would never have expected all
six concertos to be played back to back
there’s no winning the argument one
way or another.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major
plays a solo violin against a recorder
duet. Andrés Gabetta’s solo playing
is suitably dazzling, and the recorders
still come over as reasonably well matched
despite the less strident playing of
Vivian Berg on the 2nd part.
It’s a shame about the slightly sagging
intonation and lack of ensemble on that
Phrygian cadence at the end of the Andante,
but the final fugal Presto has
an irresistible elegance and bounce
which I enjoyed greatly.
The harpsichord is once again dragged
forward for solo glory in the Brandenburg
Concerto No. 5 in D major, but not
as far as for the Trio Sonata, making
a fine balance between strings and soloist
violin and flute. The historical significance
of the harpsichord part: deliberately
written out rather than left as a figured
bass as a basis for judicious improvisation
– is pointed out in the usefully comprehensive
booklet notes by Keith Anderson. There’s
a bum note from the flute at 2:54 in
the otherwise nicely turned Affetuoso
and one or two intonation ‘moments’
here and there but I don’t mean to be
picky, this concerto has an infectious
drive and generally superb playing which
carries the extra weight of its extended
thematic development well.
The mixed bag of strings with which
the Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in
B flat major sets out is light-footed
and well controlled. The opening movement
is difficult to bring off well, but
the recording spreads the instruments
nicely so that there is good definition
between the parts. Each part is taken
by one player, but even though there
is only the harpsichord to fill out
what is only a string sextet, there
is plenty of richness to the sound.
It is of course a nightmare keeping
each part pinpoint accurate in terms
of intonation all of the time, but even
with some nimble playing demanded of
the bass part the player succeeds well
enough.
The Concerto in G minor, BWV 1056
was (possibly) originally for harpsichord
and strings, and has been arranged here
for flute, strings and continuo, meaning
that the harpsichord is still around,
but has been relegated to filling out
the texture. The opening Allegro
seems quite stately in comparison
to many of the Brandenburgs, but the
flute playing of Stéphane Réty, who
also created the arrangement, carries
the important melody lines well and
the pace and balance always feels natural.
Bach’s music is such that this kind
of arrangement is relatively straightforward,
the message and content of the music
having enough strength of character
to be performable on virtually any instrument
with the virtuosic characteristics required
from the passagework. BWV 1056
has already appeared as a violin or
an oboe concerto, and this arrangement
is a useful addition to the flute repertoire.
This is a cracking production with very
much going for it. Anyone lacking this
essential repertoire in their collection
should purchase post-haste, and need
probably look no further. Those of us
with cherished favourites can explore
further without breaking the bank, and
while this issue may not entirely replace
established catalogue evergreens it
can certainly tick as many boxes as
most people will require.
Dominy Clements
Swiss Baroque
Soloists 
for
details
