Customer Reviews

Bach: 4 Orchestral Suites

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

 

 

I must admit that I bought this recording by mistake. At the time, I was looking for a good digital recording of Bach's Orchestral Suites on period instruments. I just couldn't stomach Hogwood's rather bland and heartless version. So, naturally by accident, I ended up with an antique (1967) recording by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Teldec's remastered sound is nothing short of incredible - which probably speaks the most for the quality of the original recording itself. I often put this recording on shuffle play with my other (digital) baroque discs and have never noticed a change in clarity or quality when it comes on. The instruments are well-balanced and the members of the Concentus Musicus Wien play as if they were actually at a dance event, and as if they enjoyed it. Of special note are the Overture from Suite No. 1, the Polonaise and the Badinerie from Suite No. 2, the Overture, Air and Gavottes from Suite No. 3, and the Rejouissance from Suite No. 4. An excellent companion set to the Brandenburg Concertos. A noteworthy analog recording from the 60's. Don't hesitate to enjoy it.

This 1966 (!) recording is one of Harnoncourt's greatest efforts - not to mention the contribution of Wolf Erichson, the famous and inspired producer for the whole Teldec "Das alte Werk" series. It is beautifully played throughout, with rich (certainly not thin), Viennese string tone, and fine contributions from the woodwind and brass. The overtures are played at exactly the right tempi and it's great to hear all the repeats (including the entire fugue in each of the overtures). Needless to say, the dance movements are beautifully shaped, with a wealth of fine detail that most conductors simply miss (or don't know about). Nice to hear French style courantes taken at the gentle pace the intricate dance steps require. The Italian forlana (suite no. 1), on the other hand, is truly electrifying and energetic.

There is incredible contrast present here too, with adjacent dances given completely different character (try suite no. 1 to test this statement). In suite no. 3, the dotted rhythm of the opening of the overture is considerably sharpened (actually altered from what's written). Only Harnoncourt has interpreted these rhythms this way, and it makes compelling listening. Overall this set is still the yardstick, and I prefer it even to Harnoncourt's own later digital version.

Like Harnoncourt's equally great recording of the b minor mass, this set imparts, more strongly than has any version has since, the sense of really discovering for the first time music you thought you already knew.

The recorded sound is a reminder of just how good Telefunken's "Royal Crown" stereo was. This set's a great bargain, and no Bach lover should be without it. It also proves to what extent Harnoncourt's vital and intelligent musical approach has permeated and influenced our consciousness to this day. Because of him, our approach to earlier - and increasingly, later music has changed, even among those musicians and listeners who claim not to like what Harnoncourt does. An amazingly smart, passionate and knowledgable musician. Highly recommended.

Bach would be pleased with these recordings!!
Outstanding, sensitive interpretation on period instruments. This is like hearing these pieces for the first time, through very different ears than other interpretations on newer instruments. Over time, instruments have been developed which have physical characteristics suited for large halls - metal flutes (Harnoncourt's play wood), steel strings (they play on gut), and musical figures peculiar to these instruments and true to the original style of playing.

If this recording doesn't deserve 5 stars, nothing does, but mostly on the basis of its sound. Given the paucity of truly great sounding recordings on CD (performance apart) it's in a way sad that this stands out so far above the crowd. Why don't more recordings sound as good as this? IMHO it has to do with Digital recording techniques, lousy engineers, no-talent producers and/or bad transfers to CD. Oh, and it could be the tuning by orchestras in pursuit of "brightness" following Von Karajan's lead. Yes, this performance now sounds at times a bit dated, a bit too "beautiful" (imagine accusing Harnoncourt of that!) a tad too elegant and slow, and without enough inflection (imagine that too!). So what? It lets the music sing, something Harnoncourt, with his latterly developed eccentricities i.e. "interpretations" in more "modern" late 18th and 19th century repertoire often doesn't do. BUY IT

Harnoncourt and CMW are always a decent choice for German Baroque interpretations especially and this CD is another of their many above average performances: this is about as good as you're going to hear them with Teldec especially and those might be things to be wary of as I will explain.

Although using traditional instruments, I havent found them to be using particularly good ones over the years and, apart from Harnoncourt, there aren't really many soloists that have really shined in professional circles as prodigies of traditional performance among them. This performance is very static-like with all of the resonance aspects required for the strings here horribly muffled by a poor recording: the brass does well though. Harnoncourt's interpretation tends to be somewhat abrupt in its passages and uneven in its transitions for the strings that should also be clearer. He loses momentum and tries to compensate too quickly. Bach's work was alive during the new scientific and mathemcatical discoveries of Leibniz and Newton and was strongly influenced by them in their theory and composition. Many conductors confuse Bach's desire for precision as rigidity when it really requires the balance of precision and fluidity like a perfect clock: finding the happy medium between the two is perhaps the hardest challenge in conducting his pieces. This performance demonstrates its shortcomings in that department more than its successes. The solo instrument performances are acceptable but not particularly stellar either.

Some of the best interpretations I have ever heard for this piece are those directed by Raymond Leppard who is a little more conventional in his interpretations but not excessively so. I haven't heard better contrapointal balance or clarity and continuity in strings than his directions with either Bach or Handel who are his specialties. His brass interpretations therefore have a lot of resonance and weight to their sound than Harnoncourt's although this might be more a question of instruments and recording quality as well. Leppard's recordings are also of outstanding clarity that rivals the best contemporary recordings and are actually far older than Harnoncourt's! The problem with Leppard's works is that I haven't found them complete or all simultaneously available: they're hard to find all together! A couple of other contenders that are also worth listening to for Bach concertos/music in general are The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields/Marriner, I Musici, Trevor Pinnock's group, and Musika Antiqua Koln, who I would generally rate higher than CMW for the same reason as Leppard. Hogwood is also a close contender with CMW performances and probably has better sound quality in many of his recordings. Although rising in popularity with Bach/German Baroque interpretations because of his successes with French Baroque, I find Jordi Savall's performances there demonstrating the limit of his talent more than anything else and I would stick to just French Baroque interpretations for Savall/Les Concert Des Nations as German Baroque is just not their expertise at all.

I bought Harnoncourt as a temporary solution and I somewhat enjoy his interpretations but it has various shortcomings in both performance and recording quality. Its single-package replacement is long overdue by Leppard or other superior performances of these magnificent orchestral suites by Bach that are presently unavailable or hard to get.