Bach: Brandenburg Concertos nos. 1 - 6 [Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import]

Academy of Ancient Music (Artist, Orchestra), Richard Egarr (Artist, Conductor), J.S. Bach (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Academy of Ancient Music
• Conductor: Richard Egarr
• Composer: J.S. Bach
• Audio CD (March 10, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import
• Label: Harmonia Mundi
• ASIN: B001LJL52Q
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,756 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #33 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Concertos > Concerto Grossi
  • #43 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Baroque Dance Suites

Editorial Reviews

Long neglected on library shelf in Brandenburg Castle, these six 'Concertos for several instruments' have since become some of the best-known works in the classical repertoire for their musical inventiveness and their games of mathematical symmetry. Richard Egarr and teh Academy of Ancient Music have endeavoured to return to the original 'chamber' conception of the works, with one instrument per part.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even if you already own any other Brandenburg recording, this one is worth adding!, March 24, 2009

By 

Randall Wilkens (Mount Vernon, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bach: Brandenburg Concertos nos. 1 - 6 (Audio CD)

We had the opportunity to hear the Academy of Ancient Music with Richard Egarr perform these pieces on their recent North American tour. It was the finest concert I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. The concertos came alive in a way one never expects even in the finest professional performances. The interpretations were fresh, exciting, musical, and dramatic--yet not at the expense of historic performance principles or a thorough understanding of Bach's style and character. The uniqueness of every concerto--each with its own colorful instrumentation--stood out as if for the first time. The performers were obviously enjoying themselves and actually having a lot of fun with these great pieces of music. I found myself laughing with delight and singing along internally as each successive movement was performed.

I ordered this CD set immediately, but in the intervening week before it arrived I wondered whether the qualities I had experienced in the live performance would be captured on the recording. Far from being disappointed, I have been thrilled to discover these performances again as if for the first time. The pastoral cheekiness of the horns in the first concerto, the relaxed precision of the four soloists in the second concerto, the spun artistry of the third concerto, Roldofo Richter's astounding technique and musicianship on the fourth concerto, Richard Egarr's own disarming interpretation of the harpsichord solos on the fifth concerto (his rather significant degree of tempo flexibility is still growing on me!), and the surprising brilliance of the violin-deprived sixth concerto--they are all here to enjoy and enjoy again. Even if you already own one or several of the many recordings available of the Brandenburg Concertos, I highly recommend that you add this one to your collection. You will hear these pieces in a new way each time you listen.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gently wins the race, May 13, 2009

By 

J. F. Laurson (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bach: Brandenburg Concertos nos. 1 - 6 (Audio CD)

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In Egarr's recording I particularly love the silken airiness of the Second Concerto's Allegro and the--musicologically incorrect--use of theorbo basso continuo throughout the Adagio ma non tanto of the Sixth Concerto. To quote Egarr, who readily admits there being no historical context for either theorbo or guitar (employed in the Fifth Concerto), the added continuo color was "a delicious luxury which [he] couldn't forgo."

From his previous recordings, I've never found Richard Egarr to be a man of extremes, and he performs these works with a well-judged moderation, too. His Allegros are not quite so fast, his Adagios not overly slow, his accents lively but not spiked. His touch on the harpsichord is soft and ever-deft. He doesn't set out to shock (not even peripherally), or primarily excite, but to delight. This warm touch reminds of Jordi Savall's version with Le Concert des Nations more than any other HIP account I know.

The sound is excellent: rich and with lots of room to bloom--although on the soft side, further emphasizing the character of the interpretation. Voices are not as easily separable as in the Alessandrini recording, which offers more clarity. The presentation of the SACD Surround capable recording is up to Harmonia Mundi's usual high standards, the liner notes by Richard Egarr (in English, French, German) eminently worth reading, and information on all the musicians and the instruments they use is given in well chosen and readable fonts.

The continued improvements in the skill of playing original instruments are still notable. I used to think that Pinnock's English Concert recording was about as good as it gets - a notion I was disabused of by many subsequent groups bettering that laudable effort. Egarr won't be the last word in this progression, either, but the increments are getting smaller and smaller. No doubt related to the general mellowness of this version, I find it a small but decided improvement even over Pinnock/Avie. Favorite HIP versions are the Academy for Ancient Music Berlin (HMU) and Savall (Naïve); Egarr joins them. Is this a must-have for anyone who already enjoys one or two HIP Brandenburgs in their collection? Of course not. Will you want to add it, anyway? You bet.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A baroque masterwork at its best, January 16, 2010

By 

Tobin Spratte "Tobin Spratte" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bach: Brandenburg Concertos nos. 1 - 6 (Audio CD)

Having never heard a Super Audio CD before, I picked this up as a trial. I wanted a reocrding that would do the technology justice, and I was not disappointed. I also own the original Academy of Ancient Music Brandenburg Concertos, directed by Christopher Hogwood, but to me, this is a far superior rendition, least of all, due to the increased fidelity.

With this performance, Egarr chose to render Bach's most popular work in French tuning (A = 392 hz). At first, I was unsure of how this would affect the overall performance, particularly with wind instruments. However, my skepticism quickly eroded when I heard no. 2, where the trumpet absolutely shines. As Egarr notes, this allows the player not to squelch the high notes, something I can appreciate as a former trumpeter, and the strings, including an ocatve lower double bass, accompany beautifully. However, by far, I was most impressed in this recording with the adagio sequences in the middle of the concerti forms. Usually, these sections bore me, but Egarr performs them in a way that preserves what Bach truly wanted to convey, stirring the heart gently right before the emotive eruption into the final movements, which, in the style of most Bach pieces, are nothing short of musical grandiloquence.

With Bach, Egarr excels, even more so than Hogwood, a feat not easily accomplished, justifying not only my first SACD experience, but making it truly magical. It is well worth paying the extra money for such astounding sound quality from a digital format. I only wish SACDs would catch on with other styles of music.