Orchestral Suites BWV 1066-1069
General Discussions - Part 1

The slowest overtures around?

Juozas Rimas wrote (August 28, 2002):
All the versions of the Orchestral Suites I've checked so far have quite fast tempos in the starting overtures: Bachakdemie, Goebl, Academy of St Martin...

What is the slowest recording you have come along? At least for the 1st movement of the 1st orchestral suite, I would like a tad slower tempo than in the mentioned renditions.

Thanks for the recommendations.

Bradley Lehman wrote (August 28, 2002):
[To Juozas Rimas] Do you mean slow in the first pages (the portions with dotted rhythms), or slow in the ensuing fugal section, or both? Some conductors make a huge contrast in tempo between those two parts, while others keep the tempo more consistent across them. Then the third part is usually played in the tempo similar to that of the first part.

In three of the four suites there's no tempo marking at all in the Bach-Gesellschaft; I don't know about the NBA. Tom?

Despite the lack of tempo words, the meter indications suggest a quickening for the fugal sections.

1: C, then slashed 2, then C
2: C, then slashed 2, then 3/4
3: C, then 2 with the word "vite", then C
4: C, then 9/8, then C

So does a tradition of "French Ouverture" style, and that's the genre of these pieces.

Malloch and Parrott are two who keep the tempos the same (quick) in all the sections. That is, the note values remain constant across the double bars, but the tempo feeling is appropriately different: 4 vs 2.

For the conventional contrasts, and therefore often quite slow c opening sections (they feel "too slow" to me, more in laboriousness than in speed), listen to just about anybody on modern instruments from the 1950s to 1980s: Richter, Casals, Klemperer (twice), .... This conventional way is to double or halve the speed from section to section.

For all-around slow tempo in all the sections, offhand I can't think of any slower than Scherchen/Vienna State Opera Orchestra...Scherchen makes stereo Klemperer sound like a speed demon. (Mono Klemperer was faster than stereo Klemperer.)

Harnoncourt (mid-1960s), Kuijken (1982), and Manze (newer) now sound like moderates: a fairly gentle slow-fast-slow contrast, and nothing that seems unduly slow or labored. Easy flow.

Riccardo Nughes wrote (August 28, 2002):
[To Juozas Rimas] Munchinger.

Juozas Rimas wrote (August 28, 2002):
< For the conventional contrasts, and therefore often quite slow opening sections (they feel "too slow" to me, more in laboriousness than in speed), listen to just about anybody on modern instruments from the 1950s to 1980s: Richter, Casals, Klemperer (twice), .... This conventional way is to double or halve the speed from section to section. >
I'll probably try to get Richter somehow. The faster HIP tempos of the A part (non-fugal) of the overture of the 1st suite enfeeble the polyphony in them, IMHO. There are some great sounds intertwining, and when the conductor chooses the jittery style, I simply cannot enjoy the polyphony. A paradox - with less instruments playing you should hear more but you hear less because everything's so quick and fidgety.

However, HIP bourrees, gavottes and alike indeed sound better, because they're supposed to be energetic.

As a side note, I've recently listened to Richter's rendition of the BWV4 (Christ lag in Todes Banden) and then immediately to another version by Cantus Cölln (Konrad Junghänel). I chose the bass aria "Hier ist das rechte Osterlamm" for the comparison, and I was astounded of how a faster tempo can simply destroy a serious mood of a piece.

Setting the singer's factor aside, Junghanel's aria seemed to me a sort of a bit sad but light street song - I could imagine it sung by some bard in a medieval city. Richter's longer sounds creaty a very earnest atmosphere which I believe suits the text much better.

Bradley Lehman wrote (August 28, 2002):
[To Juozas Rimas] Richter is good, but (in that same general style) I'd choose the 1954 Klemperer set (Testament) ahead of it. The performance sounds more involved and alert, IMHO: more nuance, more sense that this is a musical event rather than a careful recording session...even though it is a recording session. This Klemperer set crackles with energy, without being fast in the tempos, and has an easily flowing grace as well. Excellence all around.

I'd also choose Casals' Marlboro recording ahead of Richter: there is so much joy in the performance, and (again) more palpable involvement than in Richter's.

Frankly, IMHO in the Richter performances all the notes sound too much alike. That "objectivity" is boring. It's cleanly played in moderate tempos with clarity of texture, yes, that's all good...but what does it mean? It doesn't go anywhere. This was the style that Casals criticized vehemently as being too "German" and too much "like an exercise"...it reduces Bach to "Bach the Professor" rather than "Bach the Human Being." (I'm quoting from the documentary LP "Casals at 90," excerpts from his masterclasses and his rehearsals of Bach.)

-----

Also I'd say give a listen to Manze and Kuijken before you put down any money for Richter. They have great contrapuntal clarity, easy flow, and nothing of the "jittery style" or "quick and fidgety" sound that you dislike. Manze is especially good on warmth and flow, and Kuijken on graceful French character.

And don't count out Guttler/Virtuosi Saxoniae (Berlin Classics) or Muller-Bruhl (Naxos): in both of these you get modern instruments and all four suites on a single low-priced CD, beautifully played with plenty of grace and energy.

I'd choose all of these (and Parrott and Malloch!) ahead of Richter. This morning I listened to the Richter suite #1 and it didn't do anything for me: didn't hold my attention, didn't make my body tap along with it, didn't show me any details about the music that I didn't already know. Just generic and bland, merely pleasant as background music. Then I put on Manze's suite #1 and it caused me to walk around with a spring in my step.

Juozas Rimas wrote (August 28, 2002):
< And don't count out Guttler/Virtuosi Saxoniae (Berlin Classics) or Muller-Bruhl (Naxos): in both of these you get modern instruments and >
Thanks for the recommendations. I've counted out Muller-Bruhl already because the sound sample of the overture to the 2nd suite is really too fast. Maybe it is a fruit of historical research but that gloomy overture appeals to me only if it's slow enough - I don't want a spring in my step while listening to it So Manze/Klemperer/Casals are left. I'll look for samples at cdnow.com

Charles Francis wrote (August 28, 2002):
[To Juozas Rimas, regarding his 1st message above] Here's a few statistics:

8'17 Richter
7'29 Günter Kehr
6'34 Capella Istropolitana (Naxos)
6'32 Münchinger
6'29 Ristenpart
6'25 Academy of St Martin

Comments:

Richter: opening too slow, not profound, poor handling of the dotted rhythms; fugue ok, but not outstanding.

Kehr: perfect tempo, angular opening rhythms; fugue slower than Munchinger, so great if you follow all the parts at the same time.

Capella Istropolitana: spiritless opening - a nothing, poor handling of the dotted rhythms; nice fast-paced fugue though.

Münchinger: opening too slow, handling of the dotted rhythms really poor; counterpoint in fugue is clear, but fast-paced.

Ristenpart: tempo of the opening is ok, but handling of the dotted rhythms is poor; fugue is ok.

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields:: opening rushed, handling of the dotted rhythms is poor; fugue similar pace to Münchinger.

Günter Kehr is my clear recommendation, if your are lucky enough to find a copy!
Capella Istropolitana's fast-paced fugue is nice, but the opening is terrible.

Bradley Lehman wrote (August 28, 2002):
[To Charles Francis] In the Scherchen/Staatsoper recording, two minutes have gone by (literally!) before he even gets to the fugal section. Then the fugal section itself is also unbelievably slow and nearly comes apart at several places: sloppy ensemble. He doesn't repeat the fugal section, mercifully. Total: 10'06". If he taken that repeat, it would be 18 minutes!

I often like Scherchen's performances, but not this one. It's served up like death on a biscuit.

Klemperer in 1954 brought home this ouverture in 8'05". In the stereo remake it took him 8'31". And he's lively in those fugal sections. Not fast, but vivacious and energetic. As I noted earlier, Scherchen makes him sound like a speed demon by comparison.

Malloch gets us there in 8'10" and Parrott in 8'41"...but both these guys take the repeat of the entire fugal section. The piece doesn't seem long at their brisk tempos. Note that Scherchen would be 18 minutes with those repeats; so, compared against these two his performance is, um, we can't even say it's half-fast.

Thomas Braatz wrote (August 29, 2002):
Brad Lehman stated:
>> In three of the four suites there's no tempo marking at all in the Bach-Gesellschaft; I don't know about the NBA. Tom?<<
There are no tempo markings in the NBA.

>> Despite the lack of tempo words, the meter indications suggest a quickening for the fugal sections.
1: C, then slashed 2, then C
2: C, then slashed 2, then 3/4
3: C, then 2 with the word "vite", then C
4: C, then 9/8, then C<<
Bach's use of the same mvt. as Nr. 4 with Choreinbau in BWV 110 1st mvt. shows 9/8 and 3/4 right next to each other in the middle section. Otherwise there are no other tempo markings.

Francine Renee Hall wrote (August 29, 2002):
How about Menuhin with the Bath Festival Orchestral on EMI, with flute played by the divine Elaine Shaffer? The recording is sensitive, graceful, and though there is some vibrato, well, so does HIP sometimes (I'm thinking of voices here though). It's not the slowest recording but it's not self-consciously out to beat an Olympic record for being slowest or fastest. Menuhin lets the music speak, not himself.

Thomas Braatz wrote (August 29, 2002):
In regard to the 1st overture, BWV 1066, once disputed by Martin Bernstein as being by Bach, but rather by Fasch - now after stylistic comparisons declared as being definitely by Bach after all, there are some remarkable facts revealed in in the NBA KB VII/1: there is nothing connects the 4 overtures as a unit the same way that the Brandenburg Concerti are thought of as a unit. For this reason, whatever I have culled from the KB discussion can not easily be transferred automatically to the other overtures. The number of overtures (4) has no real significance, as there are indications that there might have been more of them in existence at one time. None of the autograph scores are noted to have existed, although the assumption has to be made that they did exist at some point. This means that the editors are forced to make choices between the copies of scores and the sets of parts that were made under Bach's guidance - even here there are only a few parts from all of the overtu!

res that come from Bach's hand directly. Involved in copying these parts are less than a half dozen copyists. Very touching and instructive is the fact that the title page for BWV 1066 consists of a very succinct title written by three! individuals as follows: 1) C dur | 2) Ouverture [which had been corrected from 'Ouverturen' by having the final 'n' crossed out]| da 3) J. S. Bach. (The vertical bar means that the text is on a new line.) Can you imagine being the 2nd copyist filled with pride as he gets to write these large letters on the title page only to discover that a mistake had been made?

In regard to Brad's question:

BWV 1066 - in the listing of variants, the KB points to a Violino I part that has the tempo markings, 'Grave', 'Vivace,' 'Grave,' marked only on this 1st violin part and not on any of the other parts. Is this important? Is the 1st violinist considered to be a conductor (Bach is sometimes described as conducting while playing such a violin part,) considering that the score may not even have been available for the performance? Does this mean that the tempo markings on the score were transferred only to this part for this very reason? Based on the other parts in this set as well as the parts in the other contemporary set of parts for this piece, this was not considered sufficient evidence by the NBA editors to mark the printed score accordingly. Also, would this allow the editors to apply this 'insight' to any of the other overtures where no such markings are given? No, there is no evidence that the four ouvertures were ever played as a unit or as a series.

There is much more confusion among the variants regarding the designation 'C' and 'C'-slash with the designation '2'-slash also used within the same set of parts for the opening mvt. We're talking here about 5 parts that have a 'C' in one place while 3 others have a 'C'-slash and some have no designation whatever. From evidence of this type the editors try to put together a complete picture which becomes an "Urtext."

Teri Noel Towe wrote (August 29, 2002):
[BachRecordings] Some, but by no means all, of the slowest ouvertures around

Juozas Rimas writes:
< What is the slowest recording you have come along? At least for the 1st movement of the 1st orchestral suite, I would like a tad slower tempo than in the mentioned renditions.
Thanks for the recommendations. >
The absolute slowest of all is most likely the Serge Koussevitzsky/Boston Symphony Orchestra recording from the late 1940s. I believe that this is presently available on Pearl, as a part of a set of transfers of all of his recordings of the"Brandenburg Concertos" and what were universally referred to in my youth as "The Orchestral Suites". Koussevitzky was a charismatic Russian double-bass virtuoso and conductor who had no grounding in the Central European Tradition. It is a simplification to say that he conducts Bach as though it had been composed by Tschaikowsky, but it will give you the flavor. Nevertheless, he was passionate about Bach, and, no matter what you might think of his "excesses", the sincerity of his interpretations is very compelling. BTW, he made the first complete recording of the "St. Matthew Passion". He presented the work, complete and uncut, in Boston annually. I have programs for two of these performances, and in both the complete text is given; it was not an exception in the year that the concerts were recorded for commercial release.

Of the traditional non-HIP recordings of both the "Brandenburg Concertos" and the "Ouvertures", my personal favorites have always been the Pablo Casals recordings, all of which I believe are presently available on Sony Classics, and his recordings of "The Orchestral Suites", for thoat is how Don Pablo understood them, may have both the kind of tempos and the "atmosphere" for which you are searching. As some well know, I have a strong personal feelings for Casals, who was one of the most important mentors in my life, but, be that as it may, his performances are emotionally intense in a way that no others are. The slow sections of the Ouvertures are "grave" in just that elusive way that Goethe describes them, as quoted by Mendelssohn in that famous letter home.

Otto Klemperer's recordings (He did them all twice.) are also exhilarating examples of the "traditional" 19th century Central European approach.

Among the period instrument "HIP" recordings, I would guess that the Harnoncourt recordings would be ones that would have tempos in the slow sections of the ouvertures that are significantly closer to the "traditional" norm. I always have had a great fondness for Harnoncourt's first recordings of the "Ouvertures", made in 1966. In these, the Concentus Musicus is a much smaller ensemble (and an ensemble with significantly different personnel) than it was when he re-recorded them in the mid 1980s. Harnoncourt's 1966 recordings are also the first integral recording of the Ouvertures in which the big "dal segno" repeats in the ouvertures are observed, but Harnoncourt was not the first to record one of the "Ouvertures" with that big repeat that expands the opening movements from three part structures to five part structures. That honor belongs to Edmond de Stoutz, who observes the repeat in his recording of the "Ouverture in BMinor", BWV 1067, with the flutist Andre Jaunet and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. This wonderful performance was published in the United States on Vanguard Everyman Classics, with a copyright date of 1965 for the recording.

I hope that these observations are some help.

Juozas Rimas wrote (August 29, 2002):
< Of the traditional non-HIP recordings of both the "Brandenburg Concertos" and the "Ouvertures", my personal favorites have always been the Pablo Casals recordings, all of which I believe are presently available on Sony Classics, and his recordings of "The Orchestral Suites", for thoat is how Don Pablo understood them, may have both the kind of tempos and the "atmosphere" for which you are searching. >
I found the samples of Casal's 2nd and 3rd orchestral suites at cdnow.com:
http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=2027243139/pagename=/RP/CDN/CLASS/muzealbum.html/itemid=47615

The overture of the 2nd suite has the slow tempo I was looking for - bingo. Moreover, the sound is *lush* - I can barely apply this adjective to any of the HIP performances. However, the lushness can be a hindrance in bourrees and other springy parts...

Thomas Braatz wrote (August 29, 2002):
TNT stated:
>> As some well know, I have a strong personal feelings for Casals, who was one of the most important mentors in my life, but, be that as it may, his performances are emotionally intense in a way that no others are. The slow sections of the Ouvertures are "grave" in just that elusive way that Goethe describes them, as quoted by Mendelssohn in that famous letter home.<<
Is there another 'famous letter home' by Mendelssohn? I can only find his letter to Zelter, dated June 22, 1930, in which he says, "Oft habe ich des Vormittags dem Goethe vorspielen müssen....Über die Ouvertüre [the reference here is to the D major Orchestral Suite BWV 1068] mit den Trompeten, die ich ihm auf dem Clavier spielte, so gut ich konnte und wußte, hatte er eine große Freude: "im Anfange gehe es so pompös und vornehm zu, man sehe ordentlich die Reihe geputzer Leute, die von einer großen Treppe herunterstiegen", --auch die Inventionen und vieles aus dem wohltemperirten Clavier habe ich ihm gespielt." ["I had to play for Goethe a number of times during the morning....Regarding the Ouverture, the one with the trumpets, which I tried to play for him on the piano as well as I could and knew how, he expressed great pleasure saying, 'at the beginning of the piece everything seems to be so pompous and distinguished that you can really see pair after pair of smartly dressed individuals descending a large staircase,'...I also played for him the Inventions and many selections from the WTC."]

I don't see any reference to 'grave' unless you equate 'grave' with 'pompous.' It also appears that Mendelssohn only played the overture portion (1st mvt.) of BWV 1068 for Goethe. At least it was this specific mvt. that seemed to have elicited Goethe's comment based on the description that Mendelssohn related in his letter.

In the 19th century an edition of BWV 1068 appeared that specifies that it was dedicated to the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. The edition states that includes parts for "Die Clarinetten und die drei Trompeten aus den für die jetzigen Instrumente nicht ausführbaren Bachschen Trompeten für die Aufführungen im Gewandhaus zu Leipzig arrangiert von Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy." ["The clarinet parts and the trumpet parts arranged in order to make the unplayable Bach trumpet parts playable for modern-day instruments. These parts were arranged by Mendelssohn for performances at the Leipzig Gewandhaus."] For the Gigue section Mendelssohn transcribed the 1st trumpet part for 2 C-clarinets, otherwise the clarinets (or modern trumpets) play parts that Mendelssohn transposed downwards.

Now try to imagine the sound of clarinets or transposed trumpet parts! Perhaps some of the older recordings being discussed here actually used this edition to play from?

Thomas Braatz wrote (August 29, 2002):
The date of Mendelssohn's letter should obviously read 'June 22, 1830.'

Juozas Rimas wrote (August 29, 2002):
Thomas Braatz wrote:
< In regard to the 1st overture, BWV 1066, once disputed by Martin Bernstein as being by Bach, but rather by Fasch - now after stylistic comparisons declared as being definitely by Bach after all, there are some remarkable facts revealed in in the NBA KB VII/1: there is nothing connects the 4 overtures as a unit the same way that the Brandenburg Concerti are thought of as a unit. For this reason, whatever I have culled from the KB discussion can not easily be transferred automatically to the other overtures. >
Interesting. Didn't it look suspicious that there are at least 4 orchestral works who all have the 1st movement titled "ouverture" and all these movements are of similar structure and length? Why is this not sufficient to group the works and maybe even play the 1st movements analogously in all the four available suites?

Incidentally, during my first listen to the 1st movement of the 1st and 4th suites, they seemed so stylistically similar to me that at first I thought it was a variation of the same work or an earlier variant.

========
BWV 1066 - in the listing of variants, the KB points to a Violino I part that has the tempo markings, 'Grave', 'Vivace,' Grave,' marked only on this 1st violin part and not on any of the other parts. Is this important? Is the 1st violinist considered to be a conductor (Bach is sometimes described as conducting while playing such a violin part,)
========

Is it possible that the 1st violinist is playing 'grave' and the rest of the orchestra differently?

Teri Noel Towe wrote (August 31, 2002):
[To Thomas Braatz] You have quoted from the letter to which I was referring. When I used the word "Grave", I was alluding to the passage in the letter in which Goethe describes the atmosphere that the beginning of the Ouverture conjured up for him.

I think that I have every commercial recording of BWV 1068 that was made during the first 50 years of the 20th century, including the abridged Victor acoustic recording conducted by Joseph Pasternack, and in none of them are clarinets used as replacements for the trumpets. In the case of Pablo Casals, who, as I wrote earlier, was one of my mentors, I know that he used the BG score, because I have held it in my hands.

I, for one, would enjoy hearing someone like Christoph Spering conduct a recreation of that famous Leipzig Gewandhaus Concert in, I believe, 1837, in which he performed BWV 1068 with his substitute clarinet parts. If my memory serves me correctly, at that concert he also was one of the soloists in the Concerto for 3 Claviers in D Minor, BWV 1063. I think that Moscheles was one of the other pianists. I forget who the third pianist was.

Anti-HIP Orchestral Suites with Piano(!)

Piotr Jaworski wrote (September 20, 2002):
I wonder if anyone else was able to follow the BBC3 broadcast of yesterday evening:
Chamber Orchestra of Europe - conducted from the keyboard by Andras Schiff - performed two Orchestral Suites - second and fourth (BWV 1067 & 1069).
(Also Janacek's 'Capriccio' and terrific Schumann Piano Concerto)
Modern instruments, Schiff's keyboard - certainly modern piano; modern flute in the key role in BWV 1067; and the result ... IMO very interesting.

I'll definitely not give up my favourite HIP renditions - but it was very thought-provoking performance. And Schiff as superb - Schuman left me simply speechless.

Any more comments?

I raise this topic not without the hidden purpose - early next 2003 - Warsaw will see Murray Perahia and his current orchestra Academy of St. Martin in the Fields performing - attention, attention! - V Brandenburg Concerto!

Teri Noel Towe wrote (September 21, 2002):
Andras Schiff: Non-HIP, perhaps, but Anti-HIP, not so!

[To Piotr Jaworski] As I am sure that you already know, Andras Schiff, whose commitment and devotion to Bach go back to the very beginnings of his long and distinguished career, has recorded all of the Clavier C, as well as the lion's share of the major keyboard works.

I have had the privilege of knowing Andras Schiff for 25 years, and I have been a fan ever since I first heard his artistry, through recordings, in 1976. He made two appearances on my classical music radio show at WBAI in New York during the late '70s, and I know for a fact (and have the "air checks" to document it) that he always has been sincerely interested in the historical aspects of the repertory he performs and that, unlike many concert artists, he also is both interested in and curious about the playing of the great musicians of the past.

Andras is a superb natural musician, and a natural musician who is deeply concerned about the integrity of the texts that he chooses to interpret and the accurate transmission to his audiences of the music that the notes and symbols on the page represent.

Andras most certainly is not "anti-HIP". When it comes to issues of performance practice, he is "well read", to say the least, and, while one might not always agree with his embellishments in Bach, one knows that they were conceived by one who knows the rules and knows them innately. He has recorded Mozart on period instruments for Oiseau-Lyre and for Decca. I realize that this is slightly "off topic" but the Oiseau-Lyre CD (433 328-2) is a 1992 "solo album" contining KV 355, 475, 485, 511, 545, 570, 574, and 616, played on Mozart's ca. 1785 Anton Walter piano, now at his birthplace in Salzburg. He also plays the Walter on the Decca CD (436 547-2), which also was released in 1992. On that disc he partners Yuuko Shiokawa, who plays an authentically configure period violin, in a recital of Mozart compositions for pianoforte and violin (KV 304, 360, 379, and 454).

For some of us, there are many gradations of HIP.

Andras Schiff is perhaps midway through the gradations. He is one of that remarkable group of artists who offer the music of Bach on anachronistic instruments but played in a manner and a style that is sensitive to the goal of presenting the music in a way that is mindful and respectful of what is currently believed to have been the performance practice with which he was familiar.

Like Rosalyn Tureck, Murray Perahia (who has recorded much Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti, and whose realization of the keyboard part to the 5th Brandenburg I eagerly look forward to hearing), Angela Hewitt, Peter Serkin, and Keith Jarrett, among others, Andras Schiff is not intimidated by the often strident criticism and condemnation that emanate from those who are committed to the position that music can validly performed only on the instruments of and according to the performance practice of the era in which it was written.

I really wish I had known about that broadcast, because I am sure that I would have found it fascinating. Piotr, do you happen to remember if Andras included the big dal segno al fine repeats in the opening movements of BWV 1067 and 1069, and if he "double dotted" the dotted rhythms in the slow sections of those opening movements?

ouvertures

Michael Carter wrote (November 13, 2002):
Has anyone other than me heard the recent MDG release of BWV 1066-1069 coupled with the speculative reconstructions of BWV 97 and 118 by Siegbert Rampe and Nova Stravaganza? It claims to include the "original" versions of BWV 1067-1069 with a violin replacing the flute in BWV 1067 and the trumpets absent in BWV 1068 and 1069.

It's an interesting alternative that tempts further with the orchestral retrofitting of the salutatory choruses from two of the cantatas, but in spite of the unusual slant of the release, I'm not ready to abandon either my Helmut Mueller-Bruehl recording on Naxos or Trevor Pinnock on Archiv.

Kirk McElhearn wrote (November 13, 2002):
[To Michael Carter] Here's my review of the set.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
The Early Overtures [101.40]
Overture BWV 119a
Overture in C major, BWV 1066
Overture in B flat major, BWV 1067a
Overture BWV 97a
Overture in D major, BWV 1068a
Overture in D major, BWV 1069a
Nova Stravaganza, Siegbert Rampe
Rec: September 2001, Köthen Castle.
MDG 341 1131-2 [101.40]

Bach¹s Orchestral Suites, or Overtures, are among the only true orchestral works he wrote for a chamber ensemble. With the exception of the Brandenburg Concertos, all his other orchestral works are for solo instruments, such as harpsichord or violin, and orchestra. The four overtures are tutti works, like the Brandenburgs, where the entire ensemble is the soloist. These works are also some of the most French of all of Bach¹s music - not only is the sound distinctly French, but the movements bear French names as well.

There are many unresolved issues around these works - when, exactly, they were written, how they were meant to be scored, and which versions of the existing copies are to be used. There are no autograph copies for any of these works, and this leaves them surrounded by many questions. Siegbert Rampe has been analysing these overtures to come up with what he considers ³early² versions of the works, which he has reconstructed from the various copies. In addition, he adds two individual movements that may have been part of other overtures; there has long been a question of why Bach only wrote four of these pieces.

In any case, these issues are interesting for musicologists, but for those seeking fine music played and recorded well, this set is exactly the answer. Rampe and his ensemble show a rare level of energy and vigour when playing these pieces, which are too often played laconically. The opening movement of the first overture is played with a great deal of finesse, and the tempo is agreeable energetic. The rest of the suite continues along these lines, with bright, snappy lines, and a truly regal sound. One can hear the French rhythms that give this music its unique character.

The long opening movement of the second suite, marked lentement, also gets the appropriate treatment, with its minor key giving it more gravity, but with the musicians performing brilliantly. The delightful rondeaux that follows - which calls forth images of men and women with powdered wigs dancing by candlelight - is well-articulated, and, again, has the right level of energy. One can feel in this, and in the other fast movements, such as the Bourrée, that Rampe truly understands this music. So many other performers play these movements with such gravity that they lose their rhythm, but here the music comes alive.

The famous air of the third suite (the Hamlet cigar music), has a nice round tone, with the violins playing softly yet clearly, and the accompaniment balanced perfectly. The fourth overture, played here by 3 oboes, bassoon, 2 violins and continuo, sounds a bit too large and unbalanced. The opening overture sounds a bit hesitant, and the mix of the instruments does not come through as well as the other suites. But it picks up again with the sprightly bourrée, where the oboes fit perfectly, and the overall volume allows all the instruments to come through clearly.

The sound of this recording, as with most MDG discs, is exemplary, with such perfect space and resonance; one can regret that the harpsichord sounds a bit buzzy at time. It is not clear whether this is because of the instrument or the way it is miked, but it does distract, especially when listening with headphones. But the instruments are all balanced perfectly, and the sound is a true delight.

This is an excellent recording, full of energy and liveliness, with excellent sound and a wonderfully bright approach to these works that are far too often staid and ³orchestral². Siegbert Rampe gives this music the treatment it truly deserves, putting in the right perspective and playing it with great affection.

Pete Blue wrote (November 13, 2002):
[To Michael Carter] I never found an ultimate recording of the Overtures, but for years I have happily gone back and forth among my three HIP recordings: (1) the right-wing Harnoncourt from the 60s, warm, grand, a little distantly recorded (on my LPs anyway) and a little out of tune; (2) the left-wing MAK from the 80s, exciting, closely miked, with razor shaexecution (some would define "execution" here in the sense of capital punishment) and typically with a perverse moment or two; and (3) the centrist Pinnock, which possesses some of the best qualities of the two others but also is deficient in some of those qualities.

Where do the Stravaganza and the Muller-Bruhl land on this spectrum?
And are the differences in insturmentation of the Stravaganza so great as to preclude comparisons?

Michael Carter wrote (November 13, 2002):
[To Pete Blue] I rather like the Nova Stravaganze recordings; The sound is textbook MDG and the performances are lively but with believable tempos, good balances, and a nice feeling for the music. They are minimalist, but that augurs well for textural clarity without overdoing the microphone placement.

As for Mueller-Bruehl, his is a modern instrument ensemble -- he abandoned the Capella Clementina years ago -- that employs period instrument techniques like Rainer Kussmaul's Berliner Barocksolisten. Mueller-Bruehl also uses a small group of musicians and achieves a nice overall sound that complements the conservative yet viable pace of his readings. The ouvertures project the appropriate stateliness and the dances are believably paced. From the standpoint of cost, all four ouvertures are on a single disc and the Naxos price point offers the clincher that no sensible Bachian can or should ignore.

Kirk McElhearn wrote (November 13, 2002):
Pete Blue wrote:
< I never found an ultimate recording of the Overtures >
The must-have is the Boston Early Music Soloists recording, conducted by William Malloch. The disc is called Suites for Dancing, and the tempi are quite fast, giving the music a beautifully energetic sound.

Do a search in the list archives for Malloch; I think Brad has waxed poetic about this disc more than once.

Braley Lehman wrote (November 13, 2002):
[To Kirk McElhearn] Malloch's and Andrew Parrott's (about 2.5 years later) are similar:both with Boston groups playing one per part. And, both use no cello or bass in #1.

And the following wind players are in both sets: Christopher Krueger,Stephen Hammer, Marc Schachman, Dennis Godburn, Dennis Ferry, John Thiessen. Different people on harpsichord, strings, tympani, and conducting.

New Orchestral Suites recording

Barry Murray wrote (April 22, 2003):
Perhaps some members will be interested in the following announcement from amazon.com/
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"Orchestral Suites 1 3 & 4"
Bach, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
Our Price: $15.98
Release date: April 15, 2003
Label: Analekta
Format: Audio CD
More Info: Amazon.com

Kirk McElhearn wrote (April 22, 2003):
[To Barry Murray] While their recordings have gotten some good reviews, I was underwhelmed by their Brandenburgs and violin concertos...

Continue on Part 2