Sinfonias From The Enlightenment - Ensemble moderntimes 1800

 

Release Date: June 10, 2008 Label: Challenge Number of discs: 2 Composer: Hasse, Graun, CPE Bach, WF Bach, Haydn, Mozart Performer: moderntimes 1800 cd info/ buy

Review:

Moderntimes 1800 is an Austrian period-instrument ensemble based in Tyrol.  Its moniker is explained in the annotations: “All composers have written and continue to write for the instruments of their particular age, and as such, all music can claim to have been ‘modern’ in its own time. The inclusion of the date ‘1800’ in the name of the orchestra refers to one of the most turbulent epochs in European history in which society, politics, and culture all underwent fundamental change, heralding the advent of European Modernity. The transition from the 18th to the 19th century marked the beginning of the collapse of an epoch, characterized by upheaval and reorientation in the most diverse spheres.” Thus the title of the set comes clearly into focus. A fine sense of vitality and elegance runs through the works on this album, which are presented in an effortless and sympathetic manner from first note to last. The pulse is strong, the dynamic shifts striking, and the articulation sparkling. Moderntimes 1800 exhibits a rare dedication to the music; this is in evidence vis-à-vis the meticulous attention paid to each detail, be it written or implied. These appealing renditions appeal to novice and cognoscenti alike.

 

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Bach sons

 

Release Date: August 27, 2002 Label: Brilliant Classics Number of discs: 7 Composer: CPE Bach, JC Bach, WF Bach, JCF Bach Performer:  Various cd info/ buy

Review:

The Brilliant Classics label has established a reputation for issuing very good  box sets of major composers at bargain prices. Most famous in their catalog are the Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart complete works editions. Perhaps as an appendix to the Bach complete edition, we have this 7-CD set of music from the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Christian Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, and Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach. None of Bach's sons achieved the stature or reached the pinnacles of their father, but there is excellent music here. And it should also be said at the outset that this is not a "complete works," edition, but rather a showcase of the better works by Bach's sons. The first three discs are works of CPE Bach: The Berlin Symphonies, some of the cello concerti, and some of the flute concerti. A pick-up orchestra calling themselves the CPE Bach Chamber Orchestra plays the Berlin Symphonies under Hartmut Haenchen, and the playing is mostly very good. Balazs Mate is the soloist for the cello concerti, with mixed results, but his style is certainly sympathetic to the pieces if his intonation occasionally misses. Machiko Takahashi is our flute soloist, though two of the three flute concerti were originally for oboe, and the lower oboe range doesn't always make for brilliant flute playing. Takahashi's technique often seems muddy, though his sound is very lush. Nonetheless, it was common practice for later Baroque and early Classical concerti to be played on a variety of instruments, so the approach is certainly valid. The Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra sounds fantastic in its accompanying role. The next two discs are works of JC Bach--random symphonies and sinfonia concertanti. The symphonies are played well enough, but the sinfonia concertanti are the better listen in the hands of the London Festival Orchestra. Only one disc of WF Bach--random sinfonias (mostly in introduction to his father's cantatas) and a very nice suite in G Minor which may or may not be his own composition. Again, the CPE. Bach chamber orchestra performs admirably. And finally, a disc of three of JC Bach's symphonies in polished performances by the New Bach Collegium Musicum under Burkhard Glaetzner. These are more extensive pieces in a thoroughly Classical style, with longer movements and a style that clearly paves the way for Haydn and Mozart. This is a fascinating insight into the Bach legacy and its imprint on the Classical era, which was already dawning as JS Bach's life was ending. All things considered, this is very interesting music, well-recorded and performed, at a bargain price. If you're curious about Bach's legacy and the transition from the Baroque to the Classical, this is very much worthwhile.

 

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The Philadelphia Orchestra Plays Bach (Family)

 

 

Purists will assert that the Philadelphia Orchestra has no business playing Bach. It's too bad they feel that way, particularly when the conductor is Leopold Stokowski, reunited with the orchestra after a hiatus of almost two decades. Eugene Ormandy invited Stoki back in 1960, and MH2K62345 documents the results: confident, suave recordings of the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto and the conductor's moving arrangements of three Chorale Préludes. Ormandy was an expert arranger and conductor of Bach himself, as can be heard from the balance of this 2-CD set, which contains what used to be Columbia MS6180 ("Bach by Ormandy" – also recorded in 1960) and MS6342 ("The Bach Family" – works by Johann Christian Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, recorded in 1957). None of it may be "authentic," but it all sounds luscious enough to make new friends for the music and the performances.

CD INFO

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