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J S Bach - Harpsichord Concertos

Label: Harmonia Mundi

Cat No: HMC90218182

Barcode: 3149020218129

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 2

Genre: Orchestral

Release Date: 28th August 2015

This product has now been deleted. Information is for reference only.

Works

Bach, Johann Sebastian

Keyboard Concertos, BWV1052-1058 (complete)

Artists

Andreas Staier (harpsichord)
Freiburger Barockorchester

Works

Bach, Johann Sebastian

Keyboard Concertos, BWV1052-1058 (complete)

Artists

Andreas Staier (harpsichord)
Freiburger Barockorchester

About

The seven fabulously inventive concertos for solo harpsichord and orchestra mark a key stage in the history of the concertante form. The set was compiled during J S Bach’s Leipzig years, when he directed the city’s Collegium Musicum, and requires unfailing virtuosity and imagination of its performers.

The contagious, invigorating pleasure one feels in the interpretations of Andreas Staier and the Freiburger Barockorchester restores the full range of meanings to the word ‘play’!

Sound/Video

Paused

1

Harpsichord Concerto no.1 in D minor, BWV1052 - Allegro
2

Harpsichord Concerto no.1 in D minor, BWV1052 - Adagio
3

Harpsichord Concerto no.1 in D minor, BWV1052 - Allegro
4

Harpsichord Concerto no.2 in E major, BWV1053 -
5

Harpsichord Concerto no.2 in E major, BWV1053 - Siciliano
6

Harpsichord Concerto no.2 in E major, BWV1053 - Allegro
7

Harpsichord Concerto no.7 in G minor, BWV1058 -
8

Harpsichord Concerto no.7 in G minor, BWV1058 - Andante
9

Harpsichord Concerto no.7 in G minor, BWV1058 - Allegro assai
10

Harpsichord Concerto no.3 in D major, BWV1054 -
11

Harpsichord Concerto no.3 in D major, BWV1054 - Adagio e piano sempre
12

Harpsichord Concerto no.3 in D major, BWV1054 - Allegro
13

Harpsichord Concerto no.4 in A major, BWV1055 - Allegro
14

Harpsichord Concerto no.4 in A major, BWV1055 - Larghetto
15

Harpsichord Concerto no.4 in A major, BWV1055 - Allegro ma non troppo
16

Harpsichord Concerto no.5 in F minor, BWV1056 -
17

Harpsichord Concerto no.5 in F minor, BWV1056 - Largo
18

Harpsichord Concerto no.5 in F minor, BWV1056 - Presto
19

Harpsichord Concerto no.6 in F major, BWV1057 -
20

Harpsichord Concerto no.6 in F major, BWV1057 - Andante
21

Harpsichord Concerto no.6 in F major, BWV1057 - Allegro assai

Europadisc Review

Every so often a recording comes along that compels the listener to re-evaluate familiar works – Norrington's Beethoven or Boulez's Debussy, for example. This new set of Bach's solo harpsichord concertos from Andreas Staier and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra is in a similar class: bold, challenging yet musically intelligent and sensitive interpretations of music that still occupies an underrated corner of Bach's output.

Andreas Staier started his career as harpsichordist with Reinhard Goebel's iconoclastic Musica Antiqua Köln, and his playing – steeped in knowledge of the original sources and musical world – has never been afraid to challenge contemporary ideas of how Bach's music should sound. His breathtaking account of the Goldberg Variations (also for Harmonia Mundi) made striking use of an instrument with a big sound and octave couplings, sweeping away the 'squeaky clean' favoured by other modern harpsichordists. And his recordings of Mozart piano concertos have an exhilarating excitement about them that eludes most rivals.

Similar qualities inform these Bach performances. Only in the E major Concerto, BWV 1053, does Staier opt for the single-string accompaniment chosen by some other players. Elsewhere, a small orchestra of six violins, two violas, two cellos and bass is the order of the day, with an additional continuo harpsichord in the G minor and A major works. Staier's chosen instrument, a copy of a splendid 1734 harpsichord by Hieronymous Albrecht Hass, can more than hold its own against these forces.

Bach's harpsichord concertos are all transcriptions of earlier works, some originally for violin or oboe soloists. They were (re)composed for performances by the Leipzig Collegium Musicum (of which Bach was director) at Gottfried Zimmermann's fashionable coffee house and, in summer months, at his nearby open-air coffee garden. Yet it's a mistake to treat these works too politely, for the music is as great as it comes, including transcriptions of the two well-known solo Violin Concertos in A minor and E major, as well as the Fourth Brandenburg.

Staier is at his most imposing in the two big minor-key concertos, BWV 1052 and 1058, where he uses couplings to make a powerful sound on the instrument in the outer movements. He's not afraid to add his own ornamentation to Bach's lines, and the addition of his own cadenzas may raise some eyebrows, but it all feels thoroughly convincing in the context of his big-boned, forthright approach to these works.

The major-key works show a similar flair, but have greater buoyancy and lightness, while the peerless playing of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra – a joy throughout, consistently alert – really comes to the fore in the slow movements, not least the Siciliano of BWV 1053 and the Larghetto of BWV 1055. Recorder players Isabel Lehmann and Margret Görner are the stylish recorder players in BWV 1057, whose thrilling finale provides a satisfying end to the set.

For performances that are not afraid to go beneath the polite exterior to explore the music's darker, sometimes volatile depths, these new discs are most compelling. Presentation is attractive, recording flawless, and there are excellent notes from Bach scholar Peter Wollny.