Bach suites for solo cello nº 1 & 4 (BWV1007, 1010): János Starker (LP transfer)

Throughout his career, János Starker has recorded Bach's suites for solo cello on five occasions. This one, part of the (incomplete) first set from the early 1950s when Starker was in his twenties, shows his characteristic energy and technical mastery, grace, thought, and eloquence.

I've never seen it online anywhere, and am fortunate to have a friend who could rip my LP (which has accompanied me through many relocations over 40 years). There are perhaps three dozen people in the entire world who might be really interested in this one; if you happen to know any of them, please pass it on! (Another option, of course, is to listen to it yourself.)

Bach Suites No 1 in G major, No 4 in E flat major
János Starker, cello
Period SPL 582 (same as Nixa PLP 582, Saga XID 5167, and the Einsätz EZCD 006 transfer from the Nixa LP)
Early 1950s, monoaural
.flac, .cue, covers

For collectors and completists:
The second part of this set comprises suites 3 and 6 (BWV1009, 1012) and can be downloaded (in .flac or .wav format) from the European Archive:
http://www.europarchive.org/item.php?id=lp-00811_BeG

The Period label apparently ran into economic problems, and suites 2 and 5 were never recorded.

Arne: Overtures - Collegium Musicum 90, Simon Standage

Thomas Augustine Arne
Overtures
Collegium Musicum 90, Simon Standage
Chandos CHAN 0722

Collegium Musicum 90 rarely get the adulation they deserve. This anthology of overtures by Arne, featuring a who's who of the English period-instrument scene, is a charming disc of beautifully played and brightly executed performances.

Simon Standage nurtures affectionate interpretations and his violin-playing still perpetuates the impeccable stylishness and musical taste that made his pioneering recordings with Pinnock and Hogwood so enduring.

The Overture to the English comic opera Thomas and Sally (1760) gets things off to a splendid start; its Scotch gavotte features masterful, witty playing from bassoonist Sally Jackson.

The bulk of the disc is devoted to 'Eight Overtures in 8 Parts' that Arne published in 1751. Peter Holman's informative bookletnotes say these overtures were probably extracted from introductions to vocal works, many of which are now lost. Among the finest moments are the vivacious opening Presto of Overture No 3 and the invigorated horn blasts and chuckling oboes in the middle movement of No 4. Trumpeters Crispian Steele-Perkins and David Blackadder provide grandeur in the bright Overture to Arne's setting of Milton's Comus (No 7).

Although those devoted to pleading Arne's cause would love to hear a recording of such fine quality of Comus, or the oratorio Judith, this collection is comfortably among the strongest advocacies of Arne's merits on CD.

Gramophone Magazine

Mascitti: Concerti Grossi Op.7, Sonate IV-V - Camerata Anxanum

Michele Mascitti
Concerti Grossi Op.7, Sonate IV-V Op.3
Camerata Anxanum
Bongiovanni GB 5063-2

Thanks to Dmitry/Alekhno for bringing this wonderful recording to my attention! You can visit his blog XVIII Century Music here.

Please note that I might have accidently misspelled the composers name in the folder inside the rar-files. I apologize for this extreme lack of professionalism!

CPE & WF Bach: Concertos for 2 Harpsichords - MAK, Goebel

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Concertos for 2 Harpsichords
Andres Staier, Robert Hill, Musica Antiqua Köln, Reinhard Goebel
Archiv 419 256-2

It was the Bachs who launched the harpsichord on its career as a concerto soloist and the sons did not wait to follow in father's wake; the first of Carl Philipp Emanuel's 52 concertos, spanning more than 50 years, probably just predates the first of JSB's. Neither did they pursue the practice of having more than two soloists. In his F major Concerto (the numbering of which differs from that given in Grove: H410, Wq46) CPE accepts the formal plan of the ritornello but not the concept of its unity of thematic mood; he introduces a diversity that is more like that of the exposition in sonata form—though the resemblance ends there, and the element of contrast is maintained in the 'solo' episodes, not derived from the ritornello material. The elegiac slow movement (Largo e con sordino) is a gem, with sighing appoggiaturas and 'operatic' halts and hesitations, of which JSB himself might well have been proud. After so much pathos (10 minutes) the briefer, happy and brilliantly scored Allegro assai provides the necessary counterbalance. This work alone is worth the price of the record.

Wilhelm Friedemann also joins baroque and classical approaches, though not within any one movement, in his two concertos for two harpsichords—with and 'without' orchestra: the central movement or FlO, written for the soloists alone, is self-sufficient in the same way as is JSB's Italian Concerto, as is also the final movement of F46, a work whose first movement changes thematic mood in a way that JSB's never did. More conservative than CPE (who in his Concerto provides no shocks to the system), WF nevertheless beguiles and captures one's attention. The performances of these otherwise unrecorded works are full of precision, life and loving care, and they are exceptionally well recorded and balanced. This is a most worthwhile and desirable issue.

J.D. - Gramophone Magazine

CPE Bach: 6 Symphonies - English Chamber Orchestra, Leppard

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
6 Symphonies
English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Philips 426 081-2

Works on This Recording:
Wq 182, 183 (Nos. 1-4) and 177

CPE Bach: Berliner Symphonien - Kammerorchester CPE Bach

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Berliner Symphonien
Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Hartmut Haenchen
Berlin Classics 001096BC

Works on This Recording:
Wq 174, 175, 178, 179, and 181

Busnois: Missa O Crux Lignum

Antoine Busnois
Missa O Crux Lignum
Orlando Consort

ClassicsToday rating 10/10.

In 1993, the ensemble Pomerium offered a similar program of works by Antoine Busnois (or, Busnoys), a composer then virtually unknown to most listeners. The 15th-century Burgundian musician wrote in both sacred and secular forms, and two masses, eight motets, and several dozen songs are among his surviving works. What makes Busnois so special is his melodic facility and rhythmic interest, especially notable in the chansons, which are full of lively syncopation and catchy phrasing, and his affinity for unlabored, smoothly flowing counterpoint in the sacred settings, which usually are based on a cantus firmus chant melody. The four voices of the Orlando Consort--countertenor, two tenors, and baritone--obtain what we must assume is a reasonably authentic period sound, and the singers take care to preserve the individuality of each voice rather than try for the kind of pure, uniform timbre characteristic of some other similar groups, such as the Hilliard Ensemble.

My only reservation here is that Robert Harre-Jones' countertenor is so prominent relative to the other voices, and Busnois' music is so texturally undifferentiated that over the course of several tracks the ear wants either a rest or something more varied in terms of voicing or tone quality. In some respects, I prefer Pomerium's warmer, more refined, mixed-voices realization, although their recording is no longer available from the now-defunct Dorian label. Nevertheless, you can't fault these performances, which capitalize on the edgy rhythms in the chansons and make the most of the artful opposition of the countrapuntal lines in the Mass--and you certainly have to be happy with the clear, detailed, vibrant sound, perfectly captured at St. Mary's Parish Church in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland. [1/26/2005]

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com