

Edit: as I do not have the ability to play LPs I can only consider recommendations on CD.
Thank you for that absinthe but unfortunately I do not have the ability to play LPs so I can only consider CDs which is something that I neglected to specify. My original post has now been edited to include that comment.absinthe wrote:My favourite modern rendition of these concertos is by the Hamburg Chamber Orchestra / Harry Newstone on 2 Saga LPs that I transcribed to CD.
I don't think these LPs were issued on CD. Shame.
Thanks for that John....what is the sound quality like on that recording?John F wrote:The earliest recording of the Brandenburgs that still gets some play was made between the Wars by Adolf Busch and his Busch Chamber Players, with some of the finest soloists of the time including Busch himself as violinist.
I have the Philips set, which is very good. note, tho - that for #2, the stratospheric F trumpet solo is played on horn by Barry Tuckwell, [down an octave]. it's sounds good, but if you want the trumpet version - go for Levine's wonderful Music from Ravinia disc [Herseth] or one of the Andre versions...Fergus wrote:Thank you all for your replies so far and as usual there is lots to consider....I am checking them out already.
Both Chalkie and Heck148 have recommended Marriner/ASMF and there seems to be two sets, one on Philips and the other on EMI; is there a preference here?
These parts are tough indeed.Heck148 wrote:I don't listen to the B'burgs on original instruments - the wind instruments esp do not sound good on the wonderful solo parts...these parts are tough, even on modern instruments.
I like Marriner in f.i. Händel, Haydn and Mozart .... but I never came to grips with his Bach. His EMI Brandenburgers make me fall asleep, to be honest.Heck148 wrote: I like the Marriner/ASMF complete set overall...for 3-6 I like Reiner's early set - definitely an early HIP approach to these masterpieces..
I have trouble getting past the lame brass tones, the valveless horn braying and quacking and the thim, chirpy, twittery quality of the woodwinds...Marc wrote:the HIP-recording of Musica Antiqua Köln with Reinhard Goebel, if it's still available. It's the best I've heard yet, although I do not know them all by far. But this ensemble really had got a beautiful tone, very good instrumentalists and played their baroque music with unbridled energy.
Thank you for the clarificationHeck148 wrote:I have the Philips set, which is very good. note, tho - that for #2, the stratospheric F trumpet solo is played on horn by Barry Tuckwell, [down an octave]. it's sounds good, but if you want the trumpet version - go for Levine's wonderful Music from Ravinia disc [Herseth] or one of the Andre versions...Fergus wrote:Thank you all for your replies so far and as usual there is lots to consider....I am checking them out already.
Both Chalkie and Heck148 have recommended Marriner/ASMF and there seems to be two sets, one on Philips and the other on EMI; is there a preference here?
I am not a musician of any note but I do agree with you on that point....which is one of the things that attracted me to period performances in the first place.josé echenique wrote:Back in the 70´s I went to a most interesting concert-lecture in Cal Arts. Some musicians played the Brandenburg First Concerto first with modern instruments and then with period instruments. It was amazing how much easier it was to balance the natural horns with the strings than the modern ones. Everything fit perfectly, it was obvious that Bach composed his music for VERY different instruments.
I do actually own the Musica Antiqua Koln Brandenburg Concertos and I agree that they are wonderfulMarc wrote: I know it's off-topic, but I'd suggest to check out the HIP-recording of Musica Antiqua Köln with Reinhard Goebel, if it's still available. It's the best I've heard yet, although I do not know them all by far. But this ensemble really had got a beautiful tone, very good instrumentalists and played their baroque music with unbridled energy.
That is an interesting comment as I have not been very keen on Richter's JSB Cantatas.ContrapunctusIX wrote:As another poster mentioned, on modern instruments I've always liked Karl Richter's Brandenburgs. They are the only recordings that don't sound slow and rhythmically loose when compared to HIP performances (to my ears, at least.)
I think our tastes in Bach differ quite a lot.Heck148 wrote:I have trouble getting past the lame brass tones, the valveless horn braying and quacking and the thim, chirpy, twittery quality of the woodwinds...Marc wrote:the HIP-recording of Musica Antiqua Köln with Reinhard Goebel, if it's still available. It's the best I've heard yet, although I do not know them all by far. But this ensemble really had got a beautiful tone, very good instrumentalists and played their baroque music with unbridled energy.
Bach wrote beautiful lines....they should sound beautiful, not like some cosmic struggle to produce an even scale.
the gut string sound has improved over the years....a little vibrato, perhaps, to remedy the dull flat tone quality, and HIP groups for the most part, thankfully, eschew the dreadful "egg-shaped note" approach:
<> <> <> <> on every note. nothing disrupts a melodic line more destructively than that annoying mannerism, so common amongst early HIP groups...
I guess. I like Bach quite full-bodied and visceral, even when using smaller ensembles...the inadequacies and shortcomings of the original instruments quickly become a distraction to me, so that I'm not hearing or enjoying the music, I'm listening to the flaws in the performance. this is not enjoyable for me.Marc wrote:I think our tastes in Bach differ quite a lot.
happens all the time for me when listening to OI..Descriptions like lame or dull are quit the opposite to my own listening experiences.
I think you'd be surprised. I prefer the HIP approach but Richter's Brandenburgs aren't too slow, in contrast to his very old-fashioned Orchestral Suites. And I happen to like his choral JSB performances, you've just got to be open to a very different approach from what you're used to with HIP...Fergus wrote:That is an interesting comment as I have not been very keen on Richter's JSB Cantatas.ContrapunctusIX wrote:As another poster mentioned, on modern instruments I've always liked Karl Richter's Brandenburgs. They are the only recordings that don't sound slow and rhythmically loose when compared to HIP performances (to my ears, at least.)
That is a fair comment and ultimately what I am looking for and the reason for the thread in the first placeContrapunctusIX wrote:I think you'd be surprised. I prefer the HIP approach but Richter's Brandenburgs aren't too slow, in contrast to his very old-fashioned Orchestral Suites. And I happen to like his choral JSB performances, you've just got to be open to a very different approach from what you're used to with HIP...
Great....you can tell me what you think of itbombasticDarren wrote:i have been reading this thread with interest - my Brandenburg collection is similar to Fergus' in that it is solely made up of HIP. I will try the Richter set next payday I think
my advice to you both is to ignore the haters. There is exactly one orchestral piece by Bach on the Voyager Golden Record, Brandenburg No. 2 first movement. And it's played by none other than Karl Richter and the Munich Bach OrchestraFergus wrote:Great....you can tell me what you think of itbombasticDarren wrote:i have been reading this thread with interest - my Brandenburg collection is similar to Fergus' in that it is solely made up of HIP. I will try the Richter set next payday I think![]()
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Seriously though....I am somewhat tempted myself.
Yes that one is high on my Wish List....I just have not purchased it yet, but I willslofstra wrote:Finally, I've never heard anything better than Tafelmusik on period instruments for the Brandenburgs.
Spoken like a true Canadian patriot!slofstra wrote:Finally, I've never heard anything better than Tafelmusik on period instruments for the Brandenburgs.
It is very good. Played as rather small scaled chamber music and the soloists are outstanding.bombasticDarren wrote:Did anyone else listen to the John Eliot Gardiner/English Baroque Soloists set?
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