Bach: Brandenburg Concertos cover

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos

Released

In the early 1980s, the period-instrument movement was arriving at full maturity; no longer did you have to worry about whether the gut-strung violins and the boxwood flutes were going to be in tune, and there was solid research behind the new/old approaches to rhythm and tempo. But when Reinhard Goebel’s celebrated Musica Antiqua Köln took on Bach’s magisterial Brandenburg concertos, jaws dropped and heads were scratched across the musical world: yes, they played with admirable precision, but the tempos seemed ridiculous. But the willful oddity of this recording is part of that makes it so compelling — the other part is the precision, and the passion. This shouldn’t be anyone’s only recording of the Brandenburgs, but anyone with an interest in musical debates around period performance will find it fascinating.

Rick Anderson

Suggestions
António Pereira da Costa: Concerti Grossi cover

António Pereira da Costa: Concerti Grossi

Diana Vinagre, Ensemble Bonne Corde
Corelli: 12 Violin Sonatas, Op. 5 cover

Corelli: 12 Violin Sonatas, Op. 5

Brandon Acker, David Schrader, John Mark Rozendaal, Rachel Barton Pine
Barrett: Music for Cello and Electronics cover

Barrett: Music for Cello and Electronics

Patrick Delges, Arne Deforce, Yutaka Oya
Tempus Omnia Vincit cover

Tempus Omnia Vincit

Protean Quartet
Sonic Alchemy cover

Sonic Alchemy

Coleman Itzkoff, Mina Gajić, Yu-eun Kim
Butterfly Lovers cover

Butterfly Lovers

Joshua Bell, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Tsung Yeh
Joseph & Michael Haydn: Horn Concertos cover

Joseph & Michael Haydn: Horn Concertos

Ruben Gazarian, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra, Felix Klieser, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn