Customer Reviews

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1 - 6

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is on a very rare occasion that recording artists as well as recording engineers come together, as if by fate, to make an illustrious recording as done here. I believe that has happened with this recording of Bach's Brandenburg Concerti. The musicians play with much vigor, excitement, and virtuosity throughout. They rely upon the use of period instruments that definetely, to my ears, sound much more fitting to this music than the modern instruments used today. The recording engineers are every bit as talented as as the musicians in their own regard. All the musicians are recorded with plenty of breathing room allowing them space to blend well whereas 99% of recordings today are so closely miked it's as if the instrument is in your face. I'd have to say that of my entire music collection this budget priced cd is now my audiophile reference disc(s). I've listened to snippets of various recordings of this work at prices in the $30 range and have not been impressed by the music making and sound quality as I am here. This is a must have recording of these Concerti.

I own quite a few recordings of the Branderburg concertos (Suzuki, Saval, Boston Baroque...) this one is one of the best.

There is an evident feel of musical joy coming out of this recording. I can't find other ways to describe it.
The musicians are enthusiastic about the work they are playing, restrained most of the time but when it is called for they give their best.

Highly recommended.

This is an excellent version of the Brandenbergs. The tempos are good and the instruments are all clearly heard. I noticed that some sort of production problem led to some poor reviews with the 2 CDs having the same music for some people. I did NOT have that problem and think this set can be highly recommended.

Watch out for a manufacturing error with this 2CD set. I found that the exact same music (Concertos 4-6) was recorded on each CD in the set (they are labelled CD1 and CD2 but both contain the music for CD2). I returned it, obtained a replacement, and the replacement has the exact same problem, so it is not an isolated event. I believe these performances would be excellent if I could only get to hear them all.

Amazon lists numerous recordings of Bach's complete Brandenburg Concertos, but this particular CD can lay a strong claim to being one of the best. It offers a faithful, superbly played and authentically Baroque reading of these evergreen works.

The six concertos that make up the Brandenburgs are very varied - they may not even have been conceived as a set - so it's refreshing to see that no artificial attempt at uniformity is made: the mantle of 'musical director' is shared between three highly accomplished violinists - Monica Huggett, Catherine Mackintosh and Elizabeth Wallfisch.

Technically, concertos four and five offer the greatest challenge. I remember reading somewhere that Bach may never have had the chance to hear such demanding works actually played during his lifetime. A sobering thought. The pieces are played here with verve and precision by Huggett and Malcolm Proud, on violin and harpsichord respectively. The harpsichord solo in the opening Allegro of the fifth concerto is a spellbinding passage which gets increasingly frenetic (almost manic) and prefigures Classical/Romantic cadenzas and much else. Proud is always controlled and introduces subtle variations of tempo and dynamic to avoid sounding prosaic.

Artistically, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment brings a creative engagement to the works without ever putting themselves before JSB. I particularly liked the horns' cross rhythms throwing confusion and an air of modernity into the mix in the first concerto. (Recently, I heard this effect again on radio - by Europa Galante, if memory serves.) The small scale of the ensemble, meanwhile, creates a sound that is transparent and lucid, nowhere more so than in the second concerto, where Mark Bennett's trumpet is crisp and clear. My only complaint is that the ensemble make no attempt to fill the lacuna in Brandenburg 3. A meagre two or three bar violin solo bridges movements 1 and 3. Two chords in the manuscript are all that's left of the slow movement - but it is enough to tell us that something is missing. Interpolations from The English Suites have been used to good effect in other recordings and it's a shame something more ambitious isn't attempted here. But what we have is excellent music and unbeatable value.

I recently purchased this CD in January 2010 and everything was fine with it. Hopefully the production issues with this recording are fixed. I just wanted to let people know who are thinking of buying it since it appears that they've fixed the problem. Oh, and the recording/performance is excellent.

I would like to confirm the problem reported by Mr. Whittet. I purchased the disks in November 2005 and found the same mistake that he did. Disk 1 has the same music as Disk 2.

In other ways this is a spectacular recording. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment gives a graceful and articulate reading of the concertos, and the recorded sound is clear, warm, and spacious. But, despite the bargain price, it's not worth it just to get two copies of concertos 4-6.

I have loved Classical music all my life, yet do not consider myself a Classical buff, but I really like this 2 disc set. What I like most is that the music is uplifting yet relaxing. I love having it on while I'm cooking or just tinkering around the house for the day. A nice switch up while listening to more modern and contemporary music.

I bought this CD to play along on my barouque violin. This orchestra is tuned to a baroque pitch which is exactly what I was looking for, and it's got vety nice inerpretation of mucic.

I got a gift certificate for Borders and I decided to get this as I have been wanting it despite reports of the same music being on both discs. I brought it out to the van and immediately played both CDs and they both were the exact same music. I return the disc at Borders before we left the parking lot. What little we played sounded so right. Brilliant energy and refinement. Excellent sound quality. If I knew I could get one that was manufactured correctly I would purchase it in a heart beat.

Very Dissapointing.