MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2023
Approaching 60,000 reviews
and more.. and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


CD REVIEW

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

alternatively Crotchet   AmazonUK   AmazonUS

 

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Sonata in G for viola da gamba and harpsichord BWV1027 [15:17]
Trio in D minor BWV583 [6:02]
Trio in G minor BWV584 [3:10]
Sonata in D for viola da gamba and harpsichord BWV1028 [18:09]
Keyboard Sonata in A minor BWV967 [3:59]
Keyboard Sonata in D BWV963 [10:27]
Sonata in G minor for viola da gamba and harpsichord BWV1029 [18:39]
Mikko Perkola (viola da gamba), Aapo Häkkinen (harpsichord)
rec. St Peter’s Church, Siuntio, Finland, 15-17 October 2006
NAXOS 8.570210 [75:42]
Experience Classicsonline


The main works on this disc are the three Sonatas, composed either during the period that Bach was in Cöthen at the same time as the great bass viol-player C.F. Abel, or later during his time in Leipzig when he wrote many works for the Collegium Musicum. They are wonderfully varied, each in the form of a trio sonata in which the harpsichord plays the bass and one of the upper parts and the gamba the other.
 
There have been many recordings, including some using cello and piano, a combination which all too often sounds simply too heavy and unwieldy for the music. I thought initially that this was the case here, but soon realised that this was simply a result of playing the disc at too high a volume. Once I had rectified this the very beautiful sounds of the instruments became a source of considerable pleasure. The harpsichord – a copy by Joel Katzman of a 1769 instrument by Pascal Taskin – has a particularly lovely sound, heard to especial advantage in the two solo keyboard Sonatas. There is always a problem in balancing the two upper lines in the Sonatas and here the gamba is somewhat too far forward for my liking. This has the effects of making the intertwining of the upper parts hard to hear at times and of making the gamba sound at times harsh, almost as though the player was trying to copy the sheer power of the modern cello.
 
The very first track provides an immediate surprise which proves to be characteristic of the disc as a whole. The G major Sonata exists also in a probably earlier version for two flutes and continuo. It is common for performers of either version to play the first movement, marked adagio, at a flowing speed where the 12/8 bars can be heard as a whole and where the quavers become a kind of barcarolle. That is not the case here. The players take it very slowly, and then add to the effect by applying slight hesitations, presumably to point the phrases. This is disconcerting at first but does mean that the phrases are heard more lyrically and without any sense of haste. A similar approach applies throughout the disc, even in what you would expect to be quick movements. Some do gain from this, but the first movement of the last Sonata – marked vivace – plods along, altogether missing the sense of being a brother to the 3rd Brandenburg Concertos that we are used to. All of this might be enough immediately to put you off the disc, but that would be a pity as it is otherwise notable for the variety of tone and articulation that Mikko Perkola obtains, and for the wonderful phrasing and line achieved by both players. Even where I am not convinced overall by their approach it is clear that it has always been carefully considered and realised.
 
Similar comments can be made about the remainder of this well-filled disc. The two Trios BWV 583 and 584 – the latter of which is probably not by Bach – are usually heard on the organ but work well in these arrangements. The keyboard works, not often played, are in many ways the most enjoyable parts of the recital as a whole.
 
This is not then a “safe” option for anyone wanting a single recording of the three Sonatas; it is too idiosyncratic for that. Given the sheer beauty of the playing and the logic of the performances even where you may think them most wrongheaded, I can however recommend it to anyone interested in a thoughtful if not entirely convincing reconsideration of how these works should sound.
 
John Sheppard
 



 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.