Bach JS - Orchestral Suites BWV 1066-1069 - Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists

 

Release Date: 26 April 1993 Label: Erato Number of discs: 2 Composer: JS Bach  Performer: John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists cd info/ buy

Review:

Some fine morning, one suspects, we will awaken to learn that nothing in the standard repertoire was actually written by the composer of record, or, if it was, it was not in the form in which it has come down to us. The latest subjects of scrutiny to come to light are the orchestral suites of Bach. Do not be alarmed; all were composed by Johann Sebastian. But the second, it seems, was not originally intended for the flute, and the glorious trumpets in the third and fourth were afterthoughts. The First Orchestral Suite, as we know it, is apparently what Bach intended it to be. Whether this revelation comes as a disappointment is not for me to know. This set of Bach's four Orchestral Suites from the English Baroque Soloists under their conductor, John Eliot Gardiner, is both interesting and, in the main, enjoyable. Interesting, because Gardiner, characteristically, gives us an account of the music which does not slavishly adhere to all the notions of performing style currently in fashion—his view of the grand opening gestures of the overtures themselves, for instance, is notably more expansive than that of most of his competitors in the field, Enjoyable because, in the first place Gardiner, has always, to my mind, a marvellous feeling for dance rhythms and secondly, he has a band capable of producing some ravishing sounds. In this respect both conductor and players are particularly well served by a pleasing acoustic. An impressive set which should find plenty of admirers.

 

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Fasch - Concertos from Dresden and Darmstadt - Il Gardellino

 

Release Date: October 28, 2008 Label: Accent Records Number of discs: 1 Composer: Johann F Fasch Performer: Il Gardellino cd info/ buy

Review:

The 250th anniversary of the death of Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688–1758) arrived 2008. Fasch wasn’t ignored, but his anniversary appears to have been under-celebrated, as was Telemann’s when the tercentenary of his birth occurred in 1981. Fasch was another one of those composers who, like Graupner and Heinichen, has been overshadowed by composers like Telemann and Vivaldi. Fasch undertook a long journey that involved several courts and cities, including a tenure in near ideal circumstances in Prague with Count Morzin, but it was only after the third time that a position in Zerbst landed in his lap (and following a letter to the composer from his father-in-law) that Fasch made the change. Fasch would spend the rest of his life there, although in his last years he faced constant financial difficulties as evidenced by surviving numerous petitions received by Fasch’s employer. Fasch’s reticence to make the change appears to have been well founded, as the workload in Zerbst was immense. He not only had to compose a large quantity of church music, but also provide music for special occasions and perform time-consuming and laborious administrative work. These responsibilities made the Zerbst post one of the most coveted in the region, and Fasch made an effort to keep it so by establishing and maintaining contact with Johann Christoph Graupner in Darmstadt (with whom Fasch studied for three months in 1714), Johann Georg Pisendel and Johann David Heinichen in Dresden, and Georg Philipp Telemann in Hamburg. In this way, Fasch was able to have his music performed outside of Zerbst and thereby establish a reputation in important music centers. But this turned out to be a quid pro quo, as it gave Fasch an opportunity to access and presumably perform music from other courts. This accounts for the fact that there are several sources for some of Fasch’s works, making it difficult to assess. But it appears that most of the vocal works are lost while most of the instrumental works survive. Fasch’s output includes 87 orchestral suites scored for a variety of instruments, including just over six dozen concertos. These form the next most significant portion of Fasch’s instrumental output. With the exception of four concertos (none of which are included here), they follow the three-movement plan generally attributed to Vivaldi. But unlike his Dresden colleagues, Fasch turned away from the excessive virtuosity and flamboyance of Vivaldi and embraced the more restrained style of Telemann. The manuscripts of the concertos recorded here are housed in Darmstadt and Dresden, with those featuring multiple soloists reflecting the makeup and taste of the Dresden orchestra, which at the time, was one of the finest in Europe. Fasch was no Bach, so there is nothing esthetically revelatory about the music offered on this recording, but there is much to appreciate in these conservatively paced, nicely colored, and admirable interpretations that are consistently fresh and intelligent. Though there isn’t a great deal of tonal variety, these recordings do offer an elemental beauty of tone, and afford much pleasure, even with the occasional repeated listening. FANFARE: Michael Carter

 

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Bach JS - Suites for Dancing - The Boston Early Music Soloists

 

Release Date: April 20, 1994 Label: Koch Int'l Classics Number of discs: 1 Composer: JS Bach  Performer: Boston Early Music Soloists cd info/ buy

Review:

The Suite is a French form - a collective term for a set (hence "suite") of dances. It would be hard to actually physically dance to these Orchestral Suites, for in fact they are more like abstract musical essays on dance form; perhaps a Baroque equivalent of "symphonic dances". When you listen to them, dance not with your feet, but with your mind. It remains titillatingly unclear why or for whom Bach wrote these Suites for. In Baroque Germany, composers called the form Ouvertüren, a reference to the opening movement. When Jean-Baptiste Lully extracted the overture and selected dance movements from his operas, he created the first Orchestral Suites. And indeed, this "collect and play the best orchestral bits" idea continues today.

 

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Telemann – Complete Tafelmusik - Freiburger Barockorchester

 

Release Date: October 12, 2010 Label: Harmonia Mundi Number of discs: 4 Composer: Telemann Performer: Gottfried von der Goltz, Freiburger Barockorchester cd info/ buy

Review:

Tafelmusik (table music) is a term used since the mid-16th century for music played at feasts and banquets. Some of the most significant composers of Tafelmusik included Johann Schein and Michael Praetorius, who wrote about the genre in his Syntagma musicum of 1619. Composed in 1733, Telemann s Tafelmusik has been compared as a collection to the renowned Brandenburg Concertos of Johann Sebastian Bach in clearly demonstrating the composer s supreme skill in handling a diversity of musical genres and a variety of instruments. Played here by the Freiburger Barockorchester under the direction of their leader Gottfried von der Goltz, these Baroque gems shine as never before.--Amazon

 

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Bach JS - The Complete Orchestral Suites – Pearlman, Boston Baroque

 

Release Date: April 27, 2004 Label: Telarc Number of discs: 1 Composer: J.S. Bach  Performer: Pearlman, Boston Baroque cd info/ buy

Review:

There is no dearth of recordings of the Bach Orchestral Suites, but this new one goes right to the top of the list of recommended performances. Pearlman and his Boston Baroque play on period instruments but there is never any stridency in the strings, none of the odd pressured quality that can creep into "historically informed" readings. The 3rd and 4th suites, the most heavily scored, are given truly rousing readings, with the trumpets and timpani making a joyful noise and the oboes and bassoon audible and very welcome in the mix---the recording is well-balanced. The first suite has prominent wind parts as well, and Pearlman weaves them in and out of the orchestral fiber effectively, as the music indicates. The tricky Suite No. 2 is often presented as a type of flute concerto, but Pearlman has the solo flute backed up by multiple strings in the grander passages and reduces them to solos when the flute has its own melodic line. And most importantly, he realizes that the movements of all the suites are dances, and so the music, in its own, French Baroque way, swings. The recording is as fine as the performances, which is to say, remarkable. --Robert Levine

 

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Schaffrath - Orchestral Works - Arman, Handelfestspielorchester

 

Release Date: September 29, 2009 Label: NCA Number of discs: 1 Composer: Christoph Schaffrath Performer: Arman, Händelfestspielorchester cd info/ buy

Review:

Christoph Schaffrath (1709, Hohnstein - 1763, Berlin) is best known as a musician and composer of the late Baroque. He applied to become organist at the Sophienkirche in Dresden, but did not receive this position as Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was favored for it . He did serve at the court of the Crown Prince Frederick the Great as a harpsichordist in the orchestra. From 1741, however, he was strictly the musician to the King's sister, Amalia. As a composer Schaffrath limited himself to instrumental music including symphonies, keyboard pieces, sonatas and concertos. The harpsichord sonatas were almost all fast-slow-fast settings and the opening movements were most often scored in ABA form. Many of the keyboard compositions were simple two-part formulations with the left hand playing the lesser role. Schaffrath's music can be considered transitional pieces which are stylistically galant between the Baroque and the Classical, characteristically melodious and composed of short phrases using triplets and steady rhythms. The majority of his works may now be found in the state library in Berlin.

 

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Fasch - Orchestral Suites - Nemeth, Capella Savaria

 

 

You will not find any reference to Fasch in either of the current Penguin or Gramophone Guides, so a few notes to place him in context will not be out of place. Fasch trained under Kuhnau at the Thomasschule in Leipzig; as a student, he founded the collegium musicum that is now considered to be the ancestor of the famous Gewandhaus Orchestra. On the death of Kuhnau in 1722 he was approached by the Leipzig authorities to apply for the post of Kantor. Having just received a lucrative position as Kapellmeister at Zerbst, he declined the offer and the post was offered to Telemann. When his Hamburg employers refused to release Telemann, Graupner became the candidate of choice. Graupner, too, found it impossible to obtain his release and the post eventually went to one Johann Sebastian Bach. Both Telemann and Graupner received substantial financial and other improvements to their contracts as a result of their being denied the Leipzig position.

Though the Leipzig authorities rated Bach only fourth-best, they were certainly right to think Telemann then the best qualified candidate and they appreciated Bach’s worth – the story that they thought him ‘mediocre’ is based on a misunderstanding – so there is no reason to believe that they were wrong in their high opinions of Fasch and Graupner. Certainly neither deserves to have disappeared almost without trace. Fortunately the recording companies are doing something to redress the balance.

This recording of the Suites is of a large number of such pieces which both Fasch and Telemann produced: the Telemann Suites and, arguably, those by Fasch, influenced Bach’s four Orchestral Suites. (Bach transcribed some of Fasch’s Suites for his own collegium musicum in the 1730s.) His works are not quite in the same league as Bach and Telemann's – it’s best in this respect to try to forget that he was their contemporary – but they are attractive, often looking forward to the classical style, and are fully orchestrated with wonderful melodies and sparkling rhythms.

CD INFO

 

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Mozart, Leopold - Symphonies - Gaigg, L'Orfeo

Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) was so obviously overshadowed by his son that a person hardly recognizes anything by the father anymore, save the occasional recording of the "Toy Symphony. The Toy Symphony (full title: Cassation in G for Orchestra and Toys) is a musical work with parts for toy instruments and is popularly played at Christmas. " This disc aims to remedy that situation a bit by offering up four of the elder Mozart's symphonic compositions other than the "Toy Symphony." The result shows us a far less-stern taskmaster than the grim-faced character we all met in the movie "Amadeus."

Apparently writing whenever he could to support his family, Leopold Mozart indulged himself often in the then-emerging popular style of "program music." Such music was not always considered by proper Vienna musical circles to be of the highest caliber, but its simplicity appealed to the masses, and Mozart found much favor with it.

The Sinfonia di cassia cassia "Hunting Symphony" brings with it a range of hunting calls, barking dogs, and simulated gunshots. The Peasant Wedding uses a hurdy-gurdy, a bagpipe whose ancient origin was probably in Mesopotamia from which it was carried east and west by Celtic migrations. It was used in ancient Greece and Rome and has been long known in India. , and various vocal yelps from the musicians to recreate a riotous wedding scene. The Sinfonia burlesca presents four pieces based on representative eighteenth-century comedic types. And the New Lambach Symphony describes a journey through Western Europe. The designation New distinguishes the work from the Lambach Symphony written by Mozart's ten-year-old son the year before. All four works display a mature if simple technique, with the Lambach being the more serious of the lot and the others somewhat frivolous fun. Michi Gaigg's baroque-instrument orchestra has a good time with them.

CPO's sound is quite good, too, not only natural in its tonal balance but conveying an excellent sense of orchestral depth. Unlike many recordings that are so close up or multi-miked as to seem flat and lifeless, this recording actually has a listener believing that an orchestra is sitting in front of him. Although the L'Orfeo Barockorchester has only about twenty-eight period-instrument players in its company, they do sound quite lifelike in tone and position.

I don't believe that anyone finding this music at all intriguing will be disappointed by the selection of short symphonies on the disc, their performances, or the quality of the audio.

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Graupner - Instrumental and Vocal Music - L'Ensemble des Idees hereuses, Soly

Graupner - Instrumental and Vocal Music -
L'Ensemble des Idees hereuses, Soly
Baroque | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 287 MB
April 3, 2007 | Analekta | RapidShare

A major figure in Baroque music, Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) became after his death an obscure composer mainly because his manuscripts long remained inaccessible and because he had very few pupils to carry on his musical legacy. Graupner's work have been recently brought to light thanks to the research efforts of musicologists and performers, among whom a first-rate role is played by Montreal harpsichordist Geneviève Soly and her group "L'Ensemble des Idées heureuses".

This recording is an excellent introduction to Graupner's style and offers to the listener a representative panorama of the melodic and thematic richness of this Master of Baroque. With two sonatas, two concerts, a cantata and an opera excerpt spanning from 1711 to 1744, the performers gift us a musical journey from the youth to the maturity of the composer. If the instrumental compositions, with their originality and expressive power, show that Graupner's talent was not second to his more famous contemporaries, the two vocal works largely bypass the boundaries of his historical period and place him among the immortal names of music. In particular the cantata, and specifically the Aria (track No. 3), moves the listener to tears.

This is without any doubts a desert island recording that deserves a central place in any serious music collection.--Amazon

CD Content
# Ach Gott und Herr, cantata for the 3rd Sunday after Trinity
# Concerto for bassoon & strings in B flat major
# Sonata for violin & harpsichord in G minor, GWV 711
# Sonata a quattro in G major, GWV 212
# Dido, Königin von Carthago, opera Act 1. Scene 3. Recitativo. Armseelige Königin
# Dido, Königin von Carthago, opera Act 1. Scene 3. Aria. Wenn in Kerkers banger Gruft
# Dido, Königin von Carthago, opera Act 1. Scene 1. Aria. Die wütende Rache schniedt donnernde Pfeile
# Dido, Königin von Carthago, opera Act 1. Scene 8. Aria. Alma tradita
# Concerto for recorder & strings in F major

Graupner - Orchestral Works Vol II - Nova Stravaganza, Rampe

Graupner - Orchestral Works Vol II - Nova Stravaganza, Rampe
Orchestral | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 271 MB
November 23, 2004 | MD&G Records | RapidShare

This recording impressively proves that Graupner isn't just a 'minor master' of the 18th century in Germany, and more than 'a contemporary of Bach and Telemann'. He was a very distinguished composer whose works considerably add to the picture of musical styles and compositional developments in Germany in the period from about 1725 to 1760. One can only hope that more will follow, and that others may be encouraged to perform more of Graupner's output which is awaiting to be rediscovered in the archives in Darmstadt.

CD Content
# Overture in F major, for transverse flute, viola d'amore tenore, 2 chalumeaux, horn, 2 violins, viola & continuo, GWV 451
# Trio a 2 Violini e Cembalo in C minor
# Sinfonia in F major, for 2 horns, 2 transverse flutes, 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 violins, viola & continuo, GWV 571

Bach, Wilh. Fr. Ernst - Cantatas & Sinfonias - Das Kleine Konzert, Max

Bach, Wilh. Fr. Ernst - Cantatas & Sinfonias - Das Kleine Konzert, Max
Vocal/Orchestral | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 288 MB
November 14, 2000 | CPO | RapidShare

J.S. Bach's talent seems to flow in his grandson's blood at least as strongly as in any of his sons.

Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach's two symphonies (as well as the vocal works featured here) inhabit the sound-world of mid- to late Mozart, albeit without the brilliance (in every sense of the word). This Bach's wind writing is tasteful, and makes good use of the (then) newly-arrived clarinet. The Andante of the C major symphony is quite beautiful, with a dolefully sweet oboe solo throughout the movement.

The period strings of Das Kleine Konzert are lively, clean, and in tune, although the violin soloist is not quite up to the rapid passage-work at the end of the G major symphony.Bach's vocal writing is equally skillful, most notably in the Cantata on the King's Return. This piece features solo moments for several different singers and some engaging choral work from the Rheinische Kantorei, especially the chorale-like "Unsre Heisen Wünsche schwingen" in the Terzett (Track 4). Conductor Hermann Max is a fine judge of tempo, and he gets excellent results from his ensemble, bringing a freshness to the proceedings that lifts the music above the journeyman world in which it often resides. He especially brings out all the Sturm und Drang qualities of the Columbus cantata, an entertaining depiction of the last day of Columbus' voyage, where land is sighted in the final measures.

The recording balance is excellent, with the vocal parts resting naturally atop the orchestra. The sound of the period instruments is captured naturally, without any roughness in the strings or bleating from the brass. Although there's nothing life-altering here, and nothing that rises to the level of a masterpiece, it's all quite pleasing to listen to, and fans of the Haydn/Mozart Classical style will find much to enjoy. --David Preiser

CD Content
Westphalens Freude, cantata ('Die Nymphen der Weser')
Sinfonia in G major: Movement
Vater unser (Lord Our Father), for tenor, bass, choir & orchestra
Columbus oder die Entdeckung von America, for tenor, baritone, chorus & orchestra

Graupner - Suite de Suites - Antichi Strumenti

Graupner - Suite de Suites - Antichi Strumenti
Orchestral | single flac, no cue | no log, cover | 1 CD, 238 MB
August 12, 2008 | Stradivarius | RapidShare

Of all the composers in 18th-century Germany Christoph Graupner is one of the most singular.

It is difficult to grasp his musical style as it seems so out of step with the compositional mainstream of his time. Even after repeated listening to a particular piece it is hard to remember anything, let alone that one is able to whistle or sing something one just has heard. It seems to me the reason for that is that Graupner's music is consisting of short motifs which seem to follow each other in random order.

This could well be the reason why for a long time his music wasn't given much attention to. But that seems to change.

Track listing

01. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 420: Ouverture
02. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 420: Réjouissance
03. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 420: Air en Rondeau/Autre
04. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 420: Menuet I et II
05. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 420: Tombeau
06. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 420: Marche
07. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 421: Ouverture
08. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 421: Air. Allegro
09. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 421: Menuet
10. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 421: Tempo di Sarabande
11. Ouverture in D major, for orchestra, GWV 421: Air en Gavotte. Presto

Roman - Sinfonior - Schroeder, Drottningholms Barockensemble

Roman - Sinfonior - Schroeder, Drottningholms Barockensemble
Orchestral | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 302 MB
released 1990 | Musica Sveciae | RapidShare

Johan Helmich Roman

(26 October 1694 in Stockholm – 20 November 1758 at Haraldsmåla, in the parish of Ryssby near the city of Kalmar, Sweden) was a Swedish Baroque composer. He has been called "the father of Swedish music" or "the Swedish Händel." Roman spent six years (1715-1721) in London and there studied with Johann Christoph Pepusch and met Francesco Geminiani and the great Händel whose music he admired. Roman returned to Sweden at the age of 27 and was appointed Deputy Master and six years later became Chief Master at the Swedish Royal Orchestra. Aside from being a composer, he was a performer. The violin and oboe were his favorite instruments.


CD Content

# Sinfonia in G Minor, Beri 9
# Sinfonia in D, Beri 14
# Sinfonia in B flat, Beri 11
# Sinfonia in F, Beri 10
# Sinfonia in G, Beri 15
# Sinfonia in E Minor, Beri 3
# Sinfonia in E, Beri 22
# Sinfonia in G Minor, Beri 9

Boismortier - Serenades Francaises - Niquet, Le Concert Spirituel

Boismortier - Serenades Francaises - Niquet, Le Concert Spirituel
Baroque | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 341 MB
May 1, 2001 | Naxos | RapidShare

"I have already delved somewhat into the charmed life of Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (Jan/Feb 1999). Suffice it to say that he was as successful as almost anyone in the 18th Century and was roundly criticized for it. As the notes so humorously point out, it was said of him: 'Happy is he, Boismortier, whose fertile quill/Each month, without pain, conceives a new air at will.' "And make no mistake, there is no pain in any of this music. But such unrelieved happiness is matched against such extraordinary skill and talent that we don't suffer any romantic pains of conscience over the lack of suffering and remorse. It's party time, and Boismortier knew when he had hit on a formula that worked and stuck with it. The music is airy, light, inventive, well-crafted. From the bassoon concerto to the two suites (this is more of an anthology album than anything else, culling music from the stage as well as the concertos) to the highly good-times Zampogna Conerto (an Italian bagpipe for you neophytes-I didn't know that either), Boismortier is entertaining from first to last, and if you don't know him at all, this issue is a good and inexpensive way to do so. "Le Concert Spirituel (named after the 1725 Paris concert series-that city's first) has been doing a lot of recording for Naxos recently, and this is as good as I have heard. Using a variety of exotic period instruments, this 16-member band is fully up to the challenge, captured in nice mid-hall sound. If you are looking for a non-Bach-Handel-Telemann-Vivaldi baroque album to dazzle your friends with on the next holiday, look no further. As Boismortier repeatedly told his critics, 'I am earning money.' No doubt he did." Seven E. Ritter
American Record Guide, April 2001

BOISMORTIER, JOSEPH BODIN DE (1689 - 1755)

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier was among the most popular composers of 18th-century France. He was born in the town of Perpignan and relocated to Paris in about 1724. In the years that followed, he published over one hundred and two major works, all written with an eye on popularity. They were printed and reprinted providing him with enormous wealth. His wealth and success made him the butt of many jokes amongst the musical establishment and posterity has judged him harshly. Nevertheless, many of his works were heard at the performances of the Concert Spirituel and his motet of 1741, Fugit nox, became a fixture at that ensemble's Christmas performances for over twenty years. Although his works aimed to please listeners, Boismortier was knowledgeable composer. He was, for instance, the first French composer to work within the new Italian innovation, the concerto. He used it for the first time when writing the Six Concertos for Five Flutes which appeared in 1727 (when the composer was 38). It was also to be his first exercise in writing works in three movements - fast, slow, fast. By today's standard they were very short, little more than a good melodic idea, but they do demonstrate a knowledge of how to skilfully use five instruments of the same kind to produce such varying tonal colours.


CD Content

Daphnis et Chloe: Chaconne
Fragments melodiques
Bassoon Concerto
Deuxieme serenade ou simphonie francoise
Concerto pour Zampogna
Les Voyages de l'Amour: Entree des genies elementaires

Total Playing Time: 00:59:17


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Fasch JF - Works for Orchestra - Combattimento Consort Amsterdam

Fasch JF - Works for Orchestra - Combattimento Consort Amsterdam
Orchestral | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 331 MB
release 2008 | Challenge Classics | RapidShare




Johann Friedrich Fasch

(15 April 1688 – 5 December 1758) was a German violinist and composer.

Fasch was born in Buttelstedt, was a choirboy in Weissenfels and studied under Johann Kuhnau at the famous St. Thomas School in Leipzig and later founded a Collegium Musicum in that city. He then traveled throughout Germany, becoming a violinist in the orchestra in Bayreuth in 1714 and holding court posts in Greiz and Lukavec. In 1722 he was appointed Kapellmeister at Zerbst, a post he held until his death.

His works include cantatas, concertos, symphonies, and chamber music. None of his pieces were printed in his lifetime, and a large number of his vocal works, including four operas, have been lost. However, he was held in high regard by his contemporaries (Johann Sebastian Bach made manuscript copies of a number of his pieces), and he is today considered an important link between the Baroque and Classical periods.

Fasch died in Zerbst at the age of 70. He was the father of Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, also a musician of note.

Since 1983, the city of Zerbst holds the annual Fasch Fesivals to honour his memory.


CD Content

Suite for Orchestra in B flat Major
Concerto in F Major (flute, oboe)
Concerto in B flat Major (oboe, bassoon)
Sonata a quattro
Sinfonia in G Major
Concerto in D Major (trumpet)

Bach - 4 Orchestral Suites - Jordi Savall

Bach - 4 Orchestral Suites - Jordi Savall 2 CD
Baroque | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 2 CD, 554 MB
February 13, 2001 | Astree | RapidShare

Here's yet another jewel to add to the crown of Naïve's Jordi Savall Edition . There's very little to say about this recording save throwing yet more encomiums Savall's way: as with his other Bach recordings, this is a success. The warmly dark, coppery sound for which these forces are renowned is here in its full glory; Savall's pacing is neither frenzied nor laborious; the audio clarity is stunning. Because Savall is such a renowned gamba player who has recruited great fellow string players to his projects (note one Fabio Biondi on violin), you might overlook stellar playing elsewhere in the ensemble. But there's no way to ignore the wind section in the opening movement in the first suite: the exquisite phrasing and pitch-perfect tones demand to be heard (and heard repeatedly, at that), and the masterful playing becomes even more delightfully apparent in the extended oboe and bassoon solo in the same suite's Bourée.

The highly exposed, technically demanding flute line of Suite No. 2's Badinerie seems an easy task in the hands of Marc Hantaï (whose last name links him to that family of admirable musicians--Pierre appears here as well, playing harpsichord). The seemingly effortless yet graceful power of the three trumpeters makes the first movement of the Fourth Suite an event in itself. But the strings shine too; witness the ineffably tender performance of the Third Suite's famous Air. In a crowded field of fine interpretations (Koopman, Klemperer, etc.), this 1991 version is a standard bearer, and now it's available at midprice. Hooray!--Anastasia Tsioulcas

# Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
with Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Reial de Catalunya
Conducted by Jordi Savall

# Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
with Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Reial de Catalunya
Conducted by Jordi Savall

# Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
with Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Reial de Catalunya
Conducted by Jordi Savall

# Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
with Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Reial de Catalunya
Conducted by Jordi Savall