At
a time when there is a surfeit of period instrument recordings of the
Brandenburg Concertos, it is good occasionally to revisit the past and
reacquaint oneself with some of the fine traversals of the 78 and LP
eras. Forgotten Records have issued several notable sets under the
direction of such musicians as
Hermann
Scherchen (1954),
Wilhelm
Schüchter
(1954-4),
Boyd
Neel (1956) and
Thurston
Dart (1958-9). These have all been reviewed on MusicWeb
International.
This
latest offering comes from the Swiss conductor Paul Sacher (1906-1999),
who founded the ensemble featured here in 1926. It went on to perform
until 1987. My previous encounters with Sacher have always been in
recordings of contemporary 20
th century music,
so I was very
interested to hear his take on some earlier music. Indeed he
commissioned many contemporary works from such composers as Bartók,
Hindemith, Krenek, Martinů and Stravinsky, just to name a few. I have
just recently finished an excellent biography of Sacher entitled
‘Symphony of Dreams’ by Lesley Stephenson, which should be read by
anyone with an interest in this conductor.
So what of the performances? Well, I was very
impressed by the contributions from the soloists. Rodolfo Felicani
(violin) appears in several of the concertos and is outstanding
especially in the solo parts of the fourth and fifth concertos. I
particularly liked the way he blends with the two flutes (Joseph Bopp
and Hugo Hadelmann), in Concerto no. 4. It is a pity that the
harpsichord continuo in this work is too forwardly placed in the
balance with the player, who is not named, appearing a little
heavy-handed, his contribution lacking in expression.
I would also single out Concerto no. 5. The
soloists Bopp and Felicani, joined by Eduard Muller on the harpsichord,
are first class and deliver a compelling version. The beautiful
expressive playing of the violin in the second movement and the
sensitive dialogue between all three instruments in the third movement,
make this something well worth hearing.
My only disappointment is the third concerto which
sounds a little four-square and pedantic. I have always favoured
one-to-a-part in this work, as in Menuhin’s 1959 Bath Festival
recording.
Sacher’s tempi, dynamics and phrasing are ideal in
the main. The mono sound is excellent for its age, the recordings
having been digitally re-masterd from LP. There are no booklet notes,
as is usual with this label. As a long-standing devotee of these works,
this cycle will sit alongside my Busch and Menuhin sets, as being ones
that I will return to often.
Stephen Greenbank
Masterwork Index:
Brandenburg
concertos
