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If
you've always hesitated buying a full-price recording of the Brandenburg
Concertos either because you weren't sure of the playing quality
or that two CDs filled with only 90+ minutes of music aren't worth
$45+, then your problems are over!
This is simply the liveliest, most spontaneous, most surprisingly
enjoyable performance of the Brandenburgs I have ever heard.
Beginning with Brandenburg Concerto No.1, BWV 1046, the orchestra
of La Stravaganza from Hamburg demonstrates its infectious sense
of fun, one of those key X factors of great musical performance.
Their playing exudes an impeccable sense of pulse, every phrase
joining the next with total fluidity of thought and musical line.
Every instrument is captured by the sound engineers in sparkling
detail. The hunting horns of the third movement whoop with confident
purpose while the solo violin dances with the joy of the chase,
and yet in all this commitment of playing, La Stravaganza's atmosphere
of thrill and ease is never missing.
The
final movement, the menuet and trio sequence, contains a series
of displays for the various instrumental groupings (including horns,
oboes, violino piccolo, more strings, bassoon and harpsichords).
As the movement proceeds, the decoration and momentum of the performers
build up seamlessly in ever increasing brilliance of utterance.
By the time you reach the third Menuet, the solo violin is
glittering like it just came out of the Four
Seasons!
Brandenburg
Concerto No.3, BWV 1048, surely one of the pinacles of Baroque
string ensemble writing, is my favourite of the six. From the start,
the ten strings and harpsichord give a non-stop rendition that springs
at you with their sureness and glowing energy. Again, there is always
that infectious, feet-tapping sense of pulse (not rhythm) that distinguishes
these players. The central section, with its slightly ominous, quietly
anticipatory mood, contrasts with the outer parts, but the whole
is impressively unified. When the home key returns, everything springs
back, as it should, like a victorious trip home. Without any improvised
middle movement, the players launch into a very fast final
Allegro. Yet at no point did it feel rushed. In fact, listening
to these performances treats you to the incredible skill of these
musicians as they pull off the most daunting whirlwind passages
with a combination of risk-taking bravery and steadfast ease.
No
sooner does No.3 end does the strains of Brandenburg Concerto
No.6, BWV1051 begin. With its scoring for two violas, two violas
da gamba, cello, violone and harpsichord, the result is a unique
work virtually booming with the sonorous choir of these lower-end
instruments. Chugging confidently, but without any sense of routineness,
the players succeed in creating that sonority special to this work.
After a tender Adagio, in which I dare you to tell me period
strings have no body, La Stravaganza skips into the dance of the
final Allegro. Their consummate skill brought tears to my
eyes.
The
first disc ends with Brandenburg Concerto No.2, BWV1047.
I keep having to remind myself that trumpeteer Hans-Martin Kothe
is playing a valveless, keyless instrument. His brilliant and sunny
tone, his faultless (really, it is) and pin-pointed technique must
be heard to be believed. Not to be defeated, the other soloists
(recorder, oboe and violin) drive the music as valiantly, and before
you know it, 4'27" is over! Without the trumpet at the fore, the
three sing the middle movement with much grace and sweetness, undulating
dynamics, always maintaining (again) that beautiful pulse, which
picks up the pace in the final movement. Like each disc, each concerto,
each movement, this movement is like this huge structure that pans
out into greater ones. To my surprise and delight, led by the trumpet,
the movement ends on a short chord, neither abrupt nor lingering
- the effect being confident and bright, like the composer (right)
suddenly arising to greet the ending. Fabulous.
It is a delight to include the earlier 1718(?) version of Brandenburg
Concerto No.5, BWV 1050a, which starts disc 2. The performance
is truly grand, but also cheery. Flutist Michael Schmidt-Casdorff
produces a beautifully luscious woody tone associated with the Baroque
flute. The personality of his instrument is a delightful range of
ghostly eerieness to professor-like philosphical to almost liltingly
sexy! His companion soloists, Gesine Hildegrandt on violin and Helene
Lerch on harpsichord share the presence without any sense of dominion,
best demonstrated in the wistful and intimate Adagio. The
final Allegro of this version has a number of surprising
moments, as in the pensive phrase at 1'19", a variation on the first
theme. Flute, violin solo and harpsichord take turns to play this
delicious idea, which is a little more clipped in the final version
(or perhaps it is an interpretive decision, but who cares!)
For
the later c.1719 version of the Fifth Concerto, Bach
also extended the harpsichord solo in the first movement to this
huge spectacular thing. Siegbert Rampe, Director of La Stravaganza,
takes on the challenge and produces a performance that is unegotistical,
with a cool ease that preserves the overall feel of all the performances
on these discs. The Triple Concerto for Flute, Violin, Harpsichord
and Strings, BWV 1044, also contains significant harpsichord solos.
It is programmed before the final Fifth Concerto, and like
the rest of the performances, contains too many delights to start
detailing.
One
interesting feature of this recording is shown in Brandenburg
Concerto No.4, BWV 1049. Although, as the notes say, the solo
violin has the more demanding part, while the two recorders' are
much simpler, the balance maintained throughout the CDs never emphasize
one over another - everything fits nicely into the sound picture.
Every note in the yearning song of the melting Andante heartfelt.
It's like being able to see every intricate detail of a Baroque
fascade at once - the best way to appreciate Baroque music. Listen
to the final movement to see this. Even when I close my eyes, the
music of these performers pour deliciously into my ears with infinite
fluidity, a combination of their jaw-dropping virtuosity and heart-gladdening
musicality: Bach's best qualities. Nectar for the ears.
An
odd thing about this pair of CDs is the programme. Rather than tracking
the concertos in numerical order, the first CD has Concerto No.1,
No.3, No.6, then No.2. Disc 2 is tracked No.5 (early version), No.4,
the Triple Concerto, ending with the final version of Concerto no.5.
Strange? I don't think it has to do with the 80-minute CD limit,
since producers usually place "other" versions and "couplings" (eg.
the Triple Concerto) at the end. I'm pretty sure someone thought
about musical programming, often seen in the discs of the intelligent
independent recording companies. It's this way of making each work
flow to the next without tiring or shocking the ear with either
monotony or drastic contrast, respectively. Indeed, the sequence
of concertos here is very pleasing and I've been feeding it to my
ears every day since I bought the set - it's the shortest 126 minutes
of Bach I have ever experienced!
The 8 pages of notes by Rampe succinctly and clearly details the
stories behind the Brandenburgs, although he admits little
is actually known about these masterpieces. Interestingly, Rampe
takes a little dig at Philip Pickett's controversial interpretation
of the Concertos as having references to figures of Classical
myth, but admits that three of the concertos do bear evidence.
This
recording is a complete success, as far as my tastes are concerned.
Can we have the Orchestral Suites, please? If you're still
wary over the sound of period instruments, you may have yet to hear
the vast improvements of the recent years. Anyway, just listen to
the incredible musicality and skill of these people! I sincerely
believe that no one investing in this set will seriously regret
it - this is really a total delight! There is no Germanic heaviness,
no British scholastic monotony, no over-perfumed chocolate-coated
thickness of many modern-instrument readings - just the sheer intellectual
architecture and human inspiration of one of humanity's greatest
composers.
Those
of you wondering about the mistake with Rampe's photo at the back
of the sleeve - it's been corrected. The lobster is still on the
front though. This set is available at or can be ordered from Tower
(Pacific Plaza & Suntec City), Sing Discs (Raffles City), HMV (The
Heeren) or Borders (Wheelock Place).
On
his desk, CHIA HAN-LEON's mouse
glides on a Prego mousepad, competing with the keyboard,
CDs, post-its, pencils and other stuff for the elusive cheese of
ergonomic comfortability.
If you wish to
Add a Comment to this article, please email your comments to classical@inkpot.com.
004:
23.1.1998 © Chia Han-Leon
READERS' COMMENTS:
From:
John G.Hendron / Saturday, July 28, 2001 1:24 pm:
I read with much delight Chia Han-Leon's
review of the recording of Bach's
Brandenburg Concertos, performed by Rampe's Stravaganza Hamburg.
However, I
felt the desire to combat several points with my own views after
listening.
Having
bought this set on a whim, I was overtaken by Brandenburg Concerto
#1. Wow! I agree with the reviewer, this is one incredible, spontaneous
performance, certainly the most personally-authentic of all recorded.
However, my delight in the rest of the concerti was far from enthusiastic
based on two main issues: sound quality and tempi.
I
am one who believes the first movement of BWV 1051 is always too
slow.
This group tries to go a bit faster, but falls short of the excellence
shown
by Musica Antiqua Köln in their 1986 release on DG/Archiv.
The harpsichord
solo in BWV 1050 is just too fast. It's stylistically unbalanced,
and gives
the listener the impression Mr. Rampe is on some variant of narcotic.
BWV
1047 comes across well, but BWV 1048 is a train wreck. The string
playing is
far from good in the basses. The cello playing is so sloppy in
the second
fast movement; it's masked somewhat, however, by the poor recording.
With
careful listen with headphones, you can hear in several track
very obvious
editing splices. Balance also plagues the triple concerto, although
I like
the tempi chosen there.
While
this edition does offer some interesting points, I disagree with
the
overly positive review posted. I'd appreciate if my notes could
be shared in
combination with Chia Han-Leon's otherwise excellent review.
Thanks,
John
G. Hendron
United States of America
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