Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Harpsichord Concertos Volume 1
.
Harpsichord Concerto No.1 in d minor, BWV1052 [21:18]
Harpsichord Concerto No.2 in E, BWV1053 [19:04 ]
Harpsichord Concerto No.4 in A, BWV1055 [13:17]
Harpsichord Concerto No.5 in f minor, BWV1056 [9:21]
La Risonanza/Fabio Bonizzoni (harpsichord)
rec. 2017, Pieve di San Donato in Polenta, Forli. DSD.
Reviewed from SACD 2-channel layer.
CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72773 SACD
[63:07]
We have all manner of recordings of Bach’s keyboard concertos, ranging from
period-instrument style with harpsichord soloist and one instrument to a
part, as here, via versions with piano solo, with or without cognizance of
period style, to outré arrangements – there’s one with mandolin
solo. This new recording offers the four concertos which were composed for
solo keyboard from the outset, as opposed to the remaining three which were
adapted by Bach from his other works.
(I should add ‘probably’; it has been suggested that BWV1053 may have been
adapted from an oboe concerto.)
Of the recordings with piano, Angela Hewitt with the Australian CO and
Richard Tognetti (Hyperion CDA30003 and CDA67308 or CDA67607/8, 2 CDs –
review –
review) and
Murray Perahia with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields (Sony SK89245
and SK86890 or 88697742912, 3 CDs –
review: NB correct catalogue number) are among the front runners.
I find both Hewitt and Perahia convincing in Bach on the piano, but it’s to
the harpsichord recordings, with period-instrument accompaniment in the
concertos, that I
automatically turn first. Among these, Andreas Staier as soloist directing
the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, with Petra Müllejans, in all seven
concertos (Harmonia Mundi HMC902181/2) is well worth considering.
The very fine period recordings by Café Zimmermann, appropriately adopting the name of the
Leipzig coffee house where the music was first performed, with Céline
Frisch as soloist, are spread across a series of recordings of Bach’s
concertos for several instruments on six Alpha albums (Volume 5, ALPHA168
reviewed in
DL Roundup August 2011/1;
all six CDs reissued as ALPHA811, no longer available –
review). Their Brandenburg Concertos from this series were reissued separately on
two very recommendable CDs at budget price some time ago (Alpha ALPHA300 –
DL News 2015/9), so it may be that we shall have the keyboard concertos on a
similarly-priced pairing in due course.
Reviewing the Staier as a 24-bit download from eclassical.com in
September 2015
in comparison with Richard Woolley and the Purcell Quartet (Chandos,
download only), I thought the performances very fine in a non-assertive way
and the recording equally faithful without drawing attention to itself.
They offer slightly larger forces than the one-to-a-part Café Zimmermann
and La Risonanza, but with single strings in BWV1053.
In fact, Freiburg Baroque never overwhelm the music, nor do Café Zimmermann
and La Risonanza with their lighter touch underwhelm it. La Risonanza
provide a slightly ‘meatier’ sound than Café Zimmermann, but never at the
expense of making the music sound bottom-heavy. Some time ago I made one of
their very different recordings, of several of Handel’s Roman Duetti
and Terzetti, a Recording of the Month (Glossa GCD921517 –
review;
now download only or limited CD stock from some dealers), so it came as
little surprise to find them equally adept in the music of Handel’s great
contemporary.
Though modern interpretations of Bach usually sound much more ‘right’ than
the slower, often stodgy performances of the past, I occasionally find
myself wondering if we haven’t thrown the baby out with the bathwater in
favour of fast movements which sometimes sound hectic rather than
exhilarating. It’s a very fine distinction, but I found myself wondering
now and then about a new recording of the Brandenburg Concertos from a
group for whom I have a great deal of respect, Zefiro, directed by Alfredo
Bernardini (Arcana A452). In the end, I found myself warming to these
performances, as I did to their release of three of the orchestral suites –
the fourth is contained on the new Brandenburg set. Part of the problem arose from
the abysmally low-quality mp3 which I had received as a press preview.
Matters improved with a better-quality download, and there’s no such
problem with the new Challenge Classics SACD, but the thought about tempi was still in
my mind when I listened to the Bonizzoni recording.
That’s where the thought stayed; the chosen tempi throughout
the harpsichord concertos are well
chosen. The fast movements are never hectic, though the music is always
encouraged to move forward: overall the effect is lively and colourful
enough to make one want to hum or dance along with the performances. The
tone of Bonizzoni's harpsichord adds to the pleasure; one hopes this is how
that instrument installed in the Café Zimmermann, ‘the like of which has not
been heard around here’, sounded like this. Perhaps even Sir Thomas Beecham might be encouraged to rethink his famous
dictum about the harpsichord sounding like two skeletons copulating. (I
fear that he might have been right about some of the harpsichords of his
day; even George Malcolm’s chosen instrument in 1964 sounds quite different
from Bonizzoni’s copy of a Couchet original. The 2-CD Eloquence reissue of
BWV1052 and 1053, in which Malcolm is joined by the Stuttgart CO and Karl
Münchinger, coupled with Art of Fugue, 4825187, is both surprisingly
stylish and yet of its time –
review
–
review).
The slow movements, too, have a strong sense of momentum. At 5:48 I
wondered if Bonizzoni’s tempo for the adagio of BWV1052, here
performed from Bach’s autograph score, might sound a tad relentless –
Staier gives the music significantly longer to develop – but I need not
have worried. The same is true of the larghetto of BWV1055 – only
direct comparison, Building a Library style, reveals the difference between
Bonizzoni’s 4:24 and Staier’s 5:14. Ditto the apparent difference between
2:16 (Challenge) and Céline Frisch’s 2:43 (ALPHA168) in the adagio
of BWV1056.
The Challenge Classics recording, as heard from the high-definition stereo
layer is very good – clear but warm; I can’t comment on the surround option. The CD layer
also sounds fine, if lacking a little of the clarity. In fact, this disc offers a very good
demonstration of the subtle but significant improvement which SACD can
bring, so it’s a great pity that so many record companies have abandoned
the format. At least 24-bit downloads compensate, with HD-quality sound,
but usually at a premium price when hybrid SACDs cost the same as regular
CDs. Since it costs no more to offer 24-bit downloads than the 16-bit
equivalents, when it must cost more to produce an SACD than a CD, the logic
of that pricing policy escapes me. (Surprisingly, no-one seems to be
offering this new recording in 24-bit, so SACD it has to be.)
For a single CD of these four keyboard concertos, there’s no preferable recording available. If
you are looking forward to more from this team, I join you in that aspiration too.
Brian Wilson
