JS Bach: Violin Concertos 1041-43 - The English Concert, Pinnock

Johann Sebastian Bach
Violin Concertos BWV 1041, 1042, 1043
Standage, Wilcock, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Archiv 410 646-2

The date when Johann Sebastian Bach composed his violin concertos is not known but there are six concertos written for the instrument: four written for a single soloist; one for two players and one for three players. Three of the concerti have been lost, their music preserved from arrangements made for other instruments. The three works on this disc for solo violin are original.

The first concerto, BWV 1041, opens with a tutti section in the fashion of a Vivaldi concerto; indeed if one did not know this was Bach the first guess would be Vivaldi. The final movement is a fugue and is noticeably more typical of the Bach of the Brandenburg Concertos. The second concerto, BWV 1042, is instantly recognizable as Bach with its bold opening chords; the melodies are beautifully conceived and the shaping of the music is highly original and striking. The finale is a rare rondo played tutti before the soloist enters. The third concerto (BWV 1043) is for two violins and opens with a fugue. The soloists play each melody, one leading and one following. A stately slow movement is followed by a magnificent and energetic finale.

This is a marvelously played disc with excellent performances by Simon Standage and Elizabeth Wilcock (in the double concerto). As always, the English Concert play with real passion and Trevor Pinnock directs from the Harpsichord. The only problem is that the disc is only 46 minutes long. This would be a more competitive CD if there were additional music but, this aside, the superb performance makes this one worth having.

D. A. Wend, Amazon Customer Review