Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Brandenburg Concertos
Concerto No.1 in F, BWV1046 [20:31]
Concerto No.2 in F, BWV1047 [11:32]
Concerto No.3 in G, BWV1048 [11:37]
Concerto No.4 in G, BWV1049 [15:10]
Concerto No.5 in d minor, BWV1050 [20:41]
Concerto No.6 in B-flat, BWV1051 [16:12]
Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra/Helmuth Rilling
rec. Hult Center for the Performing Arts, Eugene, Oregon, 11-12
July 1994. DDD
HÄNSSLER CD94.615 [43:40 + 52:03]
These are by no means recent performances of the Brandenburg
Concertos, having been around in one form or another for almost
two decades. They remain available at a slightly higher price
on Hänssler 92.126 and they have also been available in
the past as part of a bumper omnium gatherum of Bach’s
music (Hänssler 098.620, 172 CDs: Bargain of the Month
- see review).
Like Kirk McElhearn, reviewing that set, I enjoyed these performances
but not enough to place them at or even close to the top of
the pile.
Let me get my reservations out of the way first. In terms of
price and value, this is by no means the least expensive way
to obtain a decent set of these concertos. The set is selling
for around £12.65-£14.50 in the UK, which looks
like fair value until you see that similar sets played on modern
instruments but with elements of period practice can be obtained
for significantly less: Neville Marriner with the ASMF (Philips
Duo 468 5492) for around £9.00 or slightly less or with
the Orchestral Suites (EMI Triple 5009552) for around £7.00.
Then there’s the Double Decca set with the ECO conducted
by Benjamin Britten which adds the ASMF and Marriner in the
solo keyboard concerto No.5 and the concerto for two harpsichords
for around £10.00 (443 8472). Those additions bring the
playing time of this set up to over two hours, while the Hänssler
Rilling set is almost half an hour shorter. Of course price
and playing time are not the most important criteria, but I
think that anyone who is likely to find the Rilling set to their
liking will also like one or other of the Marriner recordings
or the Britten.
From memory, too, I think you’ll find better documentation
on all the sets that I’ve mentioned, whereas with Hänssler
on this occasion you get one page each in German and English
on the genesis of the Brandenburgs and half a page in each language
on Rilling and the orchestra.
The Oregon orchestra employ modern instruments, a practice which
Rilling has consistently defended. I’m not going to object
when the result is as good as it is here, especially when he
bows to period practice in employing recorders rather than flutes
in Nos. 2 and 4 and retains the viola da gamba in No.6.
In general Rilling steers a secure middle course between Scylla
and Charybdis, between the leaden interpretations that were
all too common at one time and the whizz-kid treatment. There
are, however, some performances here which don’t quite
come off - parts of No.3 are a bit lumpen, for example, almost
harking back to the stodgy articulation of Karl Münchinger’s
mono recordings for Decca which we all thought so marvellous
when they were reissued on Ace of Clubs. Our eyes have since
been opened. That performance ends CD1 on a less than happy
note but my spirits rose considerably at the start of CD2 with
a sprightly performance of No.4 for which the (unnamed) recorder
player deserves at least a good part of the praise.
The recording is very good throughout, with the harpsichord
just audible; there are times when I would have liked a little
less of it and others when I’d have liked to have heard
it a little more prominently; both comments apply in No.5 for
example.
You can judge Rilling’s Brandenburgs for yourself on YouTube:
Concerto No.1 here;
Concerto No.2 here.
If you have access to the Naxos Music Library, you check them
out more fully there - but don’t be tempted by the button
that takes you to the classicsonline.com download, as that will
cost you more than the reissued CD set.
On the whole this reissue is well worth considering but you
could do at least as well for less money with the Marriner and
Britten recordings to which I’ve referred.
Brian Wilson
On the whole well worth considering but you could do at least
as well for less money with other similar recordings.
Masterwork Index: Brandenburg concertos
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