Customer Reviews

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (Complete)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hurray! Found the Bach I have always been looking for! I Musici...they are simply a marvel. They create the most delightfully natural sounding pacing that I have yet to hear in Bach recordings. The inter-weaving lines sound separate, and they play off one another with so much ease and virtuosity it seems like all the obstacles are joyfully hurdled. This is the FIRST recording I have heard where I am not offended by the harpsichord! In an understated way it adds body to the piece, a colored texture that sounds indispensable. The horns and the woodwinds are in wonderful pitch, and they accent the rhythm until they point out highlights with controlled bravado. The strings are warm and clean sounding and they play beautifully, unsentimental with a very refined elegant line. Listen to them trill. When the music picks up in pace the clarity and warm sound comes flying through. And the slow movements are exquisite, where the legato line is played with taste and feeling.

The Violin Concertos were recorded in '58, the Brandenburg in '65, and the sound is good.

I would just like to tell anyone interested in this recording that it is an excellent one. The musicianship is superior, and the sound is fantastic. The listener however, should be aware of the stylistic tendencies of the recording.
If you are looking for the historical kind of recording, this probably is not the ideal choice. The tempos tend to be on the slower side, and mostly modern instruments are used. Nevertheless, if you are not primarily interested in a historically accurate recording, this is wonderful.
All of the pieces have their own distinct character. I personally enjoy Concerto number 4: the recorders give it a light, almost "adorable" kind a feel, as ridiculous as that may sound. Number 5 has a great presentation of the harpsichord. Number 6 is also a rather interesting piece because it involves no violins. Don't underestimate that concerto's poignancy and ability however; the lower strings are more than capable of expression on their own.
I could go on about this recording extensively, but, for the reader's sake as well as mine, I'll end it now. In short, it's a great recording, and I highly recommend it.

I wanted to get a complete set of the Brandenburg Concertos, and lucky for me, I picked up this bargain-priced two CD set. This recording is great! I Musici plays with an informed baroque style, but not so much so that they get bogged down in the reactionary, scholarly prerogatives of much of the period instrument movement. The horns ring effortlessly, brightly, and clearly, the sound of the flute is enchanting without using excessive vibrato, and the strings are completely unified creating the full effect of Bach's masterpiece. The violin concertos are taken at a slow tempo, and I Musici, it can be argued, is guilty of overdoing the sentimentality. But the performances of the violin concertos, none-the-less, are solid. This recording is a steal.

While living in Costa Rica, my only convenient place to buy classical CDs was a bookstore that was heavy into the Philips Duo package. As a result, I now own many recordings in this series. Nobody beats Philips Duo for producing affordable recordings of venerable performances at the highest artistic and technical standards.

I musici playing all of Bach's Brandenburg and Violin concerti is no exception. The oldest performances on this double-CD set are a half-century old. Yet they sound as crisp and clear as you'd hear them this evening in the concert hall. That's simply awesome.

Bach is played here with a kind of competent serenity. This is untroubled, deeply satisfying music performed by a consort that made itself a household name among Baroque music lovers for readings that are both superb and conventional in the best sense of both words.

You might want to own a second recording of these pieces, deeply engrained in the standard repertoire as they are. But you'll not find a better first recording than this set.

There's the slow, baroque and very medieval sounding playing and then there's the modern, faster paced playing. I think both are laudable, so I would probably recommend you look at this one and the Anthony Newman one. I personally prefer the Anthony Newman one, as it provides very strong horns and harpsichord with an upbeat tempo. Just thought I'd mention this as most of the Brandenburg stuff I hear over the radio or in 90% of CD's is the slow baroque style.

Although the instrumental performances on this CD are most competent, the recording is very marginal. It obviously has been recorded using old technology and suffers from artificial electronic compression. The result is a very limited dynamic range and an almost tinny, recorded-at-a-distance sound. It lacks acoustic depth and "presence." Upon listening to this CD, one can easily discern that it is a recording rather than something heard at a live performance. This 2-CD package certainly gives you a "bargain" in terms of quantity of selections, but do not expect high-quality sound.

I first heard Bach Brandenberg Concertos when I was just out of my teens and when I had been experimenting with every type of music I could find, new wave, punk, old jazz, world music, always looking for something new and mentally stimulating. In searching for that new, I came across something old that proved to be both stimulating, intellectually enriching, and at the same time, rather than being cacophonic, it was soothing, uplifting and dignified. I still listened to new wave and punk, at that time, but I enjoyed cultural respite listening to this collection of timeless pieces. This wasn't so different than coming across a new musical invention, when it had been composed centuries early. Highly recommended for all the Nickleback, Radiohead Foo Fighters out there. Switch off Beyonce and Nicki Minaj long enough to peer into the past with music that was dignified and respectfully, and at the same time, not stuffy or confining. Challenge your intellect with some real culture. These Brandenberg Concertos are delightful.

I bought the 2-cassette set back in the late 1970s and it is the version to which I fall back upon time after time. Like everyone else, I have a shelf full of different performances, but I Musici is my absolute favourite.

La orquesta de cámara I Musici durante muchos años fue considerada una de las mejores de todo el mundo, y aunque se le relaciona sobre todo con la obra de Vivaldi, también interpretaba obras de otros compositores desde el barroco hasta el romanticismo; tal es el caso del presente disco, en el cual esta orquesta se enfrenta a los conciertos de Brandenburgo de Bach. Debo decir que su interpretación resulta muy buena, tomando en cuenta que estos discos se grabaron originalmente en 1965; sin embargo, la calidad de la grabación es excelente, si perdonamos la baja resolución de las grabadoras de la época. Lo realmente sensacional de estos discos es la aparición de Maurice André en el concierto No. 2, de Franz Brüggen en el No. 4 y de Felix Ayo y Maria Teresa Garatti en prácticamente todos los conciertos, lo cual obviamente se traduce en una versión que raya en el virtuosismo. Si a esto añadimos un precio muy razonable por dos discos compactos, encontramos que esta resulta una forma ideal de conocer por primera vez esta obra. Adicionalmente, en estos discos vienen los 2 conciertos para violín solista que Bach compuso, aunque la grabación de estos últimos es todavía más antigua (de 1958).

Excellent. I enjoy Bach but haven't been able to get the complete Brandenburg Concertos. This is excellent listening for classical music lovers.