Bach - Complete Harpsichord Concertos on Antique Instruments (2009)

Bach - Complete Harpsichord Concertos on Antique Instruments (2009)
X Lossless Decoder | FLAC, (Tracks + CUE), LOG | 3 CDs - 1.48 GB | Full Scans | RAR 3% Rec
Classical | Label: Plectra Music | Catalog Number: 20901 | Year: 2009
The Complete Concertos of J. S. Bach for Solo and Multiple Harpsichords, a three disc set featuring performances by Davitt Moroney, Arthur Haas, Karen Flint JungHae Kim and Adam Pearl on antique instruments. With Carla Moore, violin; Martin Davids, violin; Amy Leonard, viola; Douglas McNames, cell; Anne Peterson, bass and featuring Nina Stern and Daphna Mor on recorders (BWV 1057).

Review: This set is a harpsichord-lover's dream--I can't remember ever being this excited about a harpsichord recording, and I'm a long-time, passionate devotee of harpsichords and harpsichord recordings. There are three elements that account for this "wow factor." First is the level of artistry. I was originally drawn to this set because of the participation of Davitt Moroney, my favorite among today's active harpsichordists. His recordings of Bach's solo keyboard music are models of style, taste and musicianship, so I was hoping for a complete set of the concertos with him as soloist. The bad news is that he is soloist in only two of the seven solo harpsichord concertos and five of the seven multiple-keyboard works on this disc. (Technically that should be four of the six multiple-keyboard concertos, but a bonus feature is an additional performance of the four-harpsichord concerto BWV 1065 on keyboards alone.) The good news is that the playing of all of the soloists on this set is superb, a few small quirks notwithstanding (I personally would not employ quite so detached a touch as exhibited by some of the soloists in chordal passages, but I am of the old school of harpsichord playing).

Second is the inspired idea to assemble an ensemble of four antique harpsichords, each from a different "school" of building--a 1707 French instrument by Nicolas Dumont; a 1635 Flemish instrument by Ioannes Ruckers; an anonymous Spanish instrument from the first quarter of the 18th century; and a late 16th-century Italian instrument attributed to Domenicus Pisauriensis. Each country had its own style of building, which resulted in distinctive sounds unique to each tradition. I only wish they had been able to include a German instrument, an obvious choice for Bach's music, but the results they achieve are so glorious that this is a very small quibble. I am no purist by a long shot, and I have no prejudice against modern harpsichords--well, some of them, at least--but this recording is as educational as it is entertaining. Being able to revel in the gorgeous sonorities of these magnificent instruments in various combinations is pure ear candy.

Third is the positively thrilling recorded sound--kudos to engineer George Blood--that puts the harpsichord squarely in the foreground. The harpsichord is one of the most difficult instruments to record well. If mic'd too closely it can sound like a percussion instrument; if too distant, it becomes a tinkling blur in the background, as happened so often on older recordings of these works that pitted an inadequate solo instrument against a large complement of strings. For instance, this is the first recording of the BWV 1064 concerto for three harpsichords on which I could actually hear the theme of the opening ritornello played by the soloists--for years I had thought it was just those syncopated string chords that usually drown out the keyboards. It is clear that the forces behind this recording conceived these concertos not as works for string orchestra with an obbligato harpsichord part, but rather as harpsichord works on which a handful of strings plays along discretely. (On first listening, this recording balance left me hopeful that in the F-Major concerto BWV 1057 they would be able to reign in the piercing stridency of the two solo recorders that has always kept me from enjoying this work--as well as the fourth Brandenburg Concerto from which it is derived--but alas, as on other recordings, here they have the same luster and tonal sheen of factory whistles.) The resulting clarity is astounding. This is harpsichord IN YOUR FACE, BITCH, and if you love the instrument as much as I do, you will be in seventh heaven. (And if you don't like harpsichord, you wouldn't be considering a recording of the Bach keyboard concerti anyway.) This is not the first set to reduce the orchestra to chamber-music proportions by using only one instrument per line--the old Gustav Leonhardt/Concentus Musicus recordings did the same--but it is the most successful. Every note of the keyboard parts is clearly etched; one could accurately transcribe the harpsichord parts even in the most complex contrapuntal passages simply by listening.

[This recording, by the way, doesn't simply preserve live concert performances, as another review implied. According to a spokesman for the recording company, they combine elements of live performances at the 2007 "Bach in the Barn" festival in Flintwoods with additional recording sessions made around the same time. The bottom line here is that there isn't an iota of audience noise.]

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