Adolf Busch and the Brandenburg Concertos. A great hardy perennial.

Hi Frederick,

You have probably already seen this ..

"...For the Brandenburg Concertos try this free 16/44 download from Czech Radio:..."

brandengurg download

http://www.rozhlas.cz/d-dur/download_eng

James

[I have changed my login name a bit but we corresponded before].

Interestingly George, I have recently been listening to the Brandenburgs by Concentus Musicus, Vienna - Nikolaus Harnoncourt, recorded in the 1960s in the Schonburg Palais.

I wonder if you are familair with this version and if so how you rate it.?

regards
Geoff

Dear Geoff,

That was another set which more or less broke new ground in the field pf HIP style. Not the first attempt, but the first that would win wide scale acclaim, arguably.

My favourite from this famous set is Number Six in B flat.

The history of HIP performances on records really began with Busch in 1935, where they made the effort to use a very small ensemble - though the Sixth was recorded with multiple instruments rather than soloists, and piano was used throughout instead of a harpsichord - but there were other innovations including the use of a specially made small trumpet for the Second Concerto.

The recordings reflected the series of concerts that Busch had given in London, Belgium and [I think though cannot precisely remember] Italy. The London Times referred to them as being some of the most important concerts and exciting to be given in London since the First World War, and they were ground breaking.

The Busch recordings were not the first set, and Alfred Cortot had already recorded them in Paris.

Another almost completely HIP recording emerged in 1950/53 played by the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis under August Wenzinger. This got closer to using period instruments, but arguably some of the instruments were not yet quite the old ones and the recorders sound modern.

Mogens Woldike also recorded them at a similar time to Wenzinger in Denmark, and these are also on a very small ensemble with a harpsichord, but with the normal modern [contemporary] string style.

And this is the entry point for many recordings, which would culminate in the Harnoncourt set, which you mention. Harnoncourt had been experimenting with making successful performances with the old instruments for some years before this recording. It is famous, almost always available, and rather fine!

Since Harnoncourt's first recording he has recorded them again at least once, and many others have made successful HIP period instruments performances! My favourite is still the set from HM Linde!

ATB from George

George,

Have to confess I don't know this music well at all - but do you know the Concerto Italiano's recording? From what I've heard of it, it's quite the ear opener but without the excesses you might expect with other HIP ensembles of the Italian school such as Europa Galante, the Venice Baroque Orchestra etc.

EJ

Dear EJ,

I am not familiar with Concerto Italiano's recording, sorry.

By now there are at least one hundred, powssibly two hundred recordings of the set, and that is both a glory and certainly a problem for completists!

I hope pe zulu sees this. He has a good many recordings of the music, and I only currently have three complete sets.

I came to the Busch, Wenzinger, Cortot, and Menuhin sets as a child in the school record library, and later also discovered Pinnock and Harnoncourt, which set me off on a search for an HIP style performance that seemed to keep the musicality of say Busch with the advantages of using period-style instruments.

After a while and a good deal of experimenting, I found the Linde Consort recording, after I had listened to a live BBC relay of them from the Queen Elisabeth Hall in London in September 1985. I recorded this concert which included the First Brandenburg Concerto, the First and Second Orchestral Suites and the D minor Harpsichord Concerto. I knew I had found a wonderful set of performers, and snapped up a second hand CD set from them [on Virgin] of the Brandenburgs.

This is still my favourite, except for when I think the Busch set is!

But sadly the Linde set has had a very chequered history of availability, but there are currently two second hand copies on Amazon [UK] at the equivalent of full price. Put:

Linde Consort

... into the search engine.

ATB from George

This is the best I've heard.

George

Thanks for your comprehensive reply. I must admit I came by the Harmoncourt set by acident. I was in a hospice 2nd hand shop and there were two seperate sleeved Telefunken pressed LPs ( 1,3 & 4 on one, 2,5 & 6 on the other). They are actually pristine so at 2 GBP each bargains.

They are in special gatefold sleeves and if only I could read german there is a mine of info including a line drawing and lineage for the instruments. One, a coiled horn referred to as a 'Clarine', is attributted as a reconstruction by H.Finke, Herford ( presumably NOT the UK one).

regards
Geoff

Dear Geoff,

Play over Number Six and see if you can avoid swaying with the rhythm in the Finale! Impossible I would say!!!

And the contrasted sonorities of the solo Violas [Violas di braccia - arm-viola] which we now think of as the modern Viola, and the Violas da gamba [cello sized member of the viol family though easily encompassing the modern viola's register] is a delight even in terms of sound, and then listen to the interplay Bach brings to their parts - each answering the comment of the other and reversed in turn - to realise that Bach's instrumental orchestration could never be thought of as random or forced by circumstances! All placed against the bustling commentary of the almost continuously played single cello, and the solid footing of the Violone [double bass] and Harpsichord who between them clearly mark the hormonic framework, and nodal points of expression!!! Sheer genius all round, music and performance!

Very best wishes from George

I have played 6 and George it is exactly as you describe.You find your head nodding to the strong beat. Beautiful tonal juxtapositions aswell.

The playing is superb. 5 started right after 6 ( which comes first on my LP side). There is a beautiful lightness and delicacy to the way that starts which is also beguiling and all instruments have to shine together which they do.

regards
Geoff

Dear Geoff,

It is lovely to listen to a performance of the Fifth that is on an intimate scale. Once you get over the initial small sound-scale, you begin to wonder why large ensembles used to be the norm for this one!

ATB from George

I like this, but some comments I have heard are "what's the rush"