J.S. BACH: Brandenburg Concertos, Triple Concertos [CD de audio] P. Schreier, CPE Bach Chamber Orchestra, J.S.Bach and P. Schrei

The Brandenburg Concertos are an encyclopedia of baroque concert manners; consciously stylized as such, naturally, by the completist Bach, determined to demonstrate his excellence in all areas of contemporary musical achievement (bar opera). Instrumental colors blend in kaleidoscopic combinations, from the extroverted hunting trumpet trio in the First to the intimate string consortium including violas da gamba in the Sixth. The expressive characters of each concerto are no less varied, from the trumpet-led high spirits of the Second to the slightly more ambitious proto-romantic sensibility, even of the Fifth with its gigantic keyboard cadenza that closes the first movement. Bach clearly intended to show his worth to the Margrave of Brandenburg when he sent him a richly ornamented copy of these concertos; no doubt to demonstrate his versatility at a court richer and more glamorous than the Weimar outpost where Bach was hired as Kapellmeister. This supposed job application did him so much good: Bach did not even receive recognition. These joyful, rhythmic modern interpretations are steeped in the long tradition of Leipzig Bach. The great tenor and conductor Peter Schreier was himself a chorister in Bach's Thomaskirche church, and the CPE Bach Chamber Orchestra is his group of hand-selected instrumentalists. They are joined by a distinguished array of soloists as required, including flautist Irena Grafenauer, oboist Maurice Bourgue and none other than Simon Preston as the harpsichord soloist in the Brandenburg Fifth. Simon Preston gives an admirably clear performance of the harpsichord solo in the opening movement of the Fifth Concerto. Both (Triple) concertos receive lively performances and there is much to enjoy in the soloists' performances. --Gramophone, April 1994