MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2023
Approaching 60,000 reviews
and more.. and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger


 REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: Crotchet


Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Brandenburg Concerto No 5 in F, BWV 1050 (1721) [19:09]
Brandenburg Concerto No 6 in G, BWV 1051 (1721) [14:28]
Concerto for Flute, Violin, and Harpsichord in A minor, BWV 1044 (1730-5) [20:38]
I Barocchisti/Diego Fasolis
Recording information not given
ARTS AUTHENTIC 47716-8 [54:28]
Experience Classicsonline

The same conductor and ensemble perform this entire program, yet the various concertos are performed in two completely different styles!

In the last two Brandenburgs, I Barocchisti continues in the vein of the first four (on Arts Authentic 47715-8 - see review), fusing an adventurous if disconcerting hybrid of "period" and modern approaches. At first, the first movement of BWV 1050 sounds skittery, lacking in sheer old-fashioned dignity; but as the players settle, the music achieves a nice flow. The violin and the flute add trills on some of the back-and-forth sustained notes, but, oddly, the similar passage at 3:41 leading back to the main theme is left bald! Director Diego Fasolis brings a nice flair to the harpsichord cadenza, with some added bass couplings, but the ending is a bit abrupt and breathless. The forthright Affettuoso has a cool demeanour that belies its designation. The finale, however, is quite good: the tempo is by no means outré, and the buoyancy and lift of the phrasing would be welcome in any performance.

A swift tempo actually helps the first movement of BWV 1051: the upper two string lines, at what sounds like numerical parity, merge into a single, bustling statement where many performances give the effect of stronger and weaker partners. There's little ritard into the movement's close, but a strong tenuto on the last sustained chord gives it a "final" emphasis. Some listeners will want more affect in the Adagio ma non tanto -- surely some of Bach's most overtly expressive music -- but the flowing pace clarifies the shape of the melody. In the finale, the forte at 2:13 is attacked with surprising vehemence, and there's a few added appoggiaturas and trills in counterpoint at 2:54. But its recurring theme is sufficiently weighted to bring the concerto -- and the cycle as a whole, should you listen to all six concerti in sequence -- to a satisfying conclusion.

BWV 1044, compositionally and interpretively, brings us into a completely different realm. It's a full-sized, three-movement concerto rather than a concerto grosso, complete with introductory ritornello. The nominal concertino -- flute, violin, and harpsichord -- is identical to that of BWV 1050, but the harpsichord plays the principal role, with the flute and violin lines more obbligato than concertato in function.

It's a very different sort of piece from the Brandenburgs, then, and I Barocchisti changes its game plan accordingly, phrasing unaffectedly, avoiding obvious point-making, giving the music breathing room. The orchestra even sounds different: where the Brandenburgs could sound bass-heavy - perhaps because the handful of treble instruments lacked time to produce full tone - here the sonority is evenly balanced. The first movement is firm and grounded, at what sound like good mainstream tempi, with the minor key enhancing the overall sense of substance. Given the harpsichord's limited sustaining power, the mobile tempo for the central Adagio, ma non tanto e dolce is sensible and effective. The finale blossoms as handsome legato lines float in over, and occasionally supplant, the prevailing triplet motion. Harpsichordist Francesco Cera handles his prominent solo with assurance and musicality; his occasional use of heavier registrations provides variety and asserts the instrument's presence in the texture.

The SACD sounds vivid in plain frontal stereo, with excellent depth; but I'm puzzled at the absence of recording information. Presumably, these recordings were made along with those on the companion disc, in 2004, at Lugano's Auditorium RSI.

Stephen Francis Vasta

see also review by Paul Shoemaker
 


 
 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.