Wilhelm Friedemann (W.F.) Bach was the eldest son of Johann
Sebastian (J.S.) Bach. His mother was J.S.’s first wife, Maria
Barbara Bach, who, before she died, bore her husband seven children
(one of whom was C.P.E. Bach). The other two famous musical
Bach sons (J.C. and J.C.F.) were from Bach’s second marriage
and thus are only half-brothers of W.F. In general, W.F. has
been treated harshly by the critics and is the least well known
of the four musical sons of J.S.
Being the eldest son, W.F. was heavily involved in the everyday
musical activities of his father, especially at Leipzig, assisting
as copyist, performer, proof reader, occasional composer and
performer. This intense relationship may have affected his freedom
to compose and some have reasoned that his compositional style
is more severe and restricted as a result. Certainly when he
left his father’s side and moved on to important musical positions
of his own in Dresden, Halle, Darmstadt and eventually Berlin,
both his style and his output blossomed, despite the fact that
he always retained a compositional outlook that tended towards
the serious.
The first disc consists of three concertos, in F minor, F and
E minor and the second disc four – two further concertos (in
D and A minor) for single harpsichord and two for two harpsichords
(in D and E flat). The small string ensemble of Harmonices Mundi
- now re-named the Bozen Baroque Orchestra, but retaining the
original name on the CD insert - comes across as clear, but
occasionally sparse and astringent. The five concertos for single
harpsichord exist in a very similar sound-world and are distinguished
by fine middle slow movements, in which the sound is deeper,
more sinuous and intense with the harpsichord often taking a
less prominent role. The second disc ends with two concertos
for two harpsichords, in which Claudio Astronio is joined by
Marco Facchin – the first concerto without accompaniment, and
the more impressive second to the accompaniment of the full
forces of Harmonices Mundi.
Although the concertos are rather straight in compositional
style, they are nevertheless enjoyable. That said, I have to
confess to having been generally unimpressed by the playing
on this disc; the string intonation is occasionally not as secure
as it should be, while the performances, sound and recording
are otherwise only just adequate.
Fuller booklet notes would also have been welcome - ones that
actually discuss the works in question, for example - and I
could have done without the large photo of Claudio Astronio
looking scruffy in trainers with laces untied – and his effusive
list of thanks to friends, family and his hairdresser!
Em Marshall
Harmonices Mundi/Claudio Astronio (harpsichord and conductor) 
