Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2 & 5 / Wedding Cantata, sung by Kathleen Battle

Kathleen Battle (Artist), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), James Levine (Conductor), Jörg Faerber / James Galway (Conductor), Heilbron Württemberg Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra), James Levine (harpsichord) (Performer), Ray Still / Frank Miller (Performer), Adolph Herseth (trumpet) (Performer), Mary Sauer (Performer), Joseph Guastafeste (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: James Levine (harpsichord), Ray Still / Frank Miller, Adolph Herseth (trumpet), Mary Sauer, Joseph Guastafeste
• Orchestra: Heilbron Württemberg Chamber Orchestra
• Conductor: James Levine, Jörg Faerber / James Galway
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Audio CD (March 28, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000EHQ8CI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,613 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar musicians in their prime deliver delightful Bach, April 8, 2011

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Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2 & 5 / Wedding Cantata, sung by Kathleen Battle (Audio CD)

In many ways this is a special recording. It features first-desks from the Chicago Sym. playing two of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, and so far beyond the average Baroque ensemble are they that one yearns for the other four. Just to hear the amazing trumpet solos in Concerto no. 2 by the legendary Adolph Herseth repays the cost of the CD. But we also get James Levine doing double duty at the harpsichord in Concerto no. 5. One deficit from the rise of period performance is that non-specialists have been driven out. The days when an all-around musician like Levine or Leonard Bernstein performed Bach and Handel are more or less over, and their replacements, to be tactful, are not on such an exalted level of talent.

The two Brandenburgs are played in a celebratory mood, not the usual sewing-machine style we've gotten used to, but they aren't "romantic" in any way that I can detect, unless using a flute in place of a recorder is romantic. Next up is the "Wedding" Cantata, recorded at the same session with a young Kathleen Battle as soprano soloist -- she was 29 at the time, and with Levine as mentor would go on to superstardom (both come from Cincinnati, by the way). The singer's voice and artistry are fully formed, and she is lucky to have Levine as such an accomplished conductor (Battle's later solo albums of Bach are not led this well). To fill out this fairly generous (68 min.) CD we get a very good Orchestral Suite no. 3 recorded by James Galway in 1991.

I hadn't noticed before that Sony BMG has quietly employed their best remastering technique (DSD and SBM) for this budget line. Just a few years ago both were touted on the cover and commanded a bit extra in cost. As it is, however, the sound here is still rather bright on top. that's the only small criticism of an otherwise delightful Bach prgoram featuring first-rate musicians all around.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent preformance, October 6, 2008

By 

L. Maxwell (Burnsville, MN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2 & 5 / Wedding Cantata, sung by Kathleen Battle (Audio CD)

I have several renditions of the Brandenburg Concertos, but this performance soars above the rest. Not being a trained musician, I cannot define the difference, but there is definitely a difference. I doubt you will regret purchasing this disk.