Bach JC - Woodwind Concertos – Anthony Halstead, Hanover Band Vol. 2

 

Release Date: 11/09/2006 Label: CPO Number of discs: 1 Composer: Johann Christian Bach Performer: Anthony Halstead, Hanover Band  cd info/ buy

Review:

J.C. Bach is justly recognized in his own right as one of the most talented composers of the 18th century. The Oboe Concerto in F major No. 2 is full of new ideas, likely written for his friend and oboist Johann Christian Fischer, and  found with his other compositions in London where he died. The Larghetto is a beautiful, melodic piece with excellent phrasing and dynamics by Anthony Robson. The Flute (Premier recording) and Bassoon Concerto are well performed by Rachel Brown and Jeremy Ward, backed up by the excellent period orchestra of The Hanover Band. This is an outstanding recording of exhilarating woodwind concertos.

 

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Bach JC - Woodwind Concertos - Halstead, Hanover Band Vol. 1

 

Release Date: July 9, 1996 Label: CPO Number of discs: 1 Composer: Johann Christian Bach Performer: Anthony Halstead, The Hanover Band  cd info/ buy

Review:

These are three lyrical and graceful concertos, written in the transitional style between Baroque and Classical that is sometimes called "Style galant" or "Roccoco". In listening to these performances, one can hear the influence of J.C. Bach on early Haydn and Mozart. In listening to this exellent CD, it is also clear why, although he has not attained the stature of his father, J.S. Bach, or of Haydn or Mozart, J.C. Bach is nevertheless justly recognized in his own right as one of the most talented composers of the 18th century. The sound quality on this digital recording is excellent and very clear. The performances have a wonderful elegance and refinement, with a joyful liveliness and love of music-making in the fast movements and a soothing beauty in the slow movements. Anthony Halstead and The Hanover Band are among the finest and most respected conductors and orchestras in the period instrument movement. Although the length of the CD is a bit short, at 48:42, it is still very worthwhile.

 

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KF Abel & JC Bach - Chamber Music - Il Gardellino

 

Release Date: 05/25/2010 Label: Accent Number of discs: 1 Composer: Johann Christian Bach,  Karl Friedrich Abel Performer: Il Gardellino cd info/ buy

Review:

In 1764 a couple of German musicians lodged together in London. They shared a sort of common background, for one was the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, newly arrived in town to write opera, and the other, Carl Friedrich Abel, had been Bach’s student back in Leipzig more than a decade earlier. He was in town to make his living as a composer of instrumental works and as a performer on that now-anachronistic instrument the viola da gamba. The two apparently hit it off quite well, for they soon conspired to develop the famed Bach-Abel concert series that became a fixture in the city for more than a decade and a half. Given that they also contrived to perform as well, it is not surprising that both men created a wide variety of works for their instruments, Bach on the keyboard and Abel on his gamba. Given that the latter was hardly fit to compete against larger ensembles, it of necessity was confined to smaller chamber works, which were often published for general consumption among musical cognoscenti. These concerts lasted up to Bach’s death in 1782 and a tad beyond, although both leaders had gone their own separate ways some time before and the series was in decline. This disc presents a nice set of unusual chamber works that typify the sort of music that one might have found either on the programs of the series or in the intimate soirées that may have been held in the homes of one or another patron on a warm English summer evening (and yes, it can be warm in London during the summer). The grouping is eclectic, but focused on Abel’s instrument along with a flute and/or oboe to provide tone color. The works, a pair of solo gamba sonatas, three quartets, a quintet, and Bach’s larger sextet, offer a nice variety of pieces that go well together. The performance by the chamber group Il Gardellino is very smooth. In tune and sensitive to each other, the players create a nice set of intimate interactions that bring out the nuances of this finely detailed music.

 

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