J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (2021)

There is certainly no shortage of recordings of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051, and even the veteran players of the Akademie für alte Musik Berlin have recorded these works in the past. The booklet notes, in interview format, refer to a rather technical main difference between this and earlier recordings. The violine grosso (or large viol) that has often been part of the continuo group was apparently not in use in Cöthen, where Bach wrote these works, and it has been replaced by a smaller viol, and in some ... Read More

There is certainly no shortage of recordings of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051, and even the veteran players of the Akademie für alte Musik Berlin have recorded these works in the past. The booklet notes, in interview format, refer to a rather technical main difference between this and earlier recordings. The violine grosso (or large viol) that has often been part of the continuo group was apparently not in use in Cöthen, where Bach wrote these works, and it has been replaced by a smaller viol, and in some passages, a double bass. It doesn't sound like it was worth a whole new recording, but in fact, the change fits with the other aspects of the group's performance in an unusually tight way. What this conductorless group does well is to bring transparency and sharp definition to Bach's contrapuntal textures; the group's earlier recording had this trait, but here, with a less heavy continuo group, the effect is revelatory. Tempos are quick, and the group's fine ensemble generates a... Read Less