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Reinhard Goebel & Musica Antiqua Köln

Bachiana

 

 

Recording

Bachiana discussion with R. Goebel

Riccardo Nughes wrote (September 24, 2001):
In the days 2-4 october Reinhard Goebel will answer to question about "Bachiana" in the DG Message Board Discussion. Please note that you have to register. More info at
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/home.htms?CONTENT=yellowlounge/index.htms?CONTENT=artist_discussions.htms?ID=newsgroup_108

Bachiana

Michael Grover wrote:
FYI...

A few weeks ago we were discussing the new release by Goebel and Musica Antiqua Köln entitled "Bachiana", featuring music by J.S.'s and his wives' forebears. CDNow gives a U.S. release date for this album of November 13, just in time to add to your holiday shopping lists!

There is a track listing at amazon.de, along with a glowing review (written in German): http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005O44C/

Teri Noel Towe wrote (October 23, 2001):
[To Michael Grover] Thanks for the update and the link.

From the looks of it, there is at least one piece that is an arrangement. I always have known the Johann Christoph Bach "Aria Eberliniana" as a keyboard piece. (BTW, the source materials for the work suggest that it might in fact be the work of Bach's older
brother from Ohrdruf.)

And I wonder what the J. S. Bach "Concerto in D" that is listed with no BWV or BC number is.

Riccardo Nughes wrote (October 23, 2001):
[To Teri Noel Towe] You can find the inner notes of this recording at :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BachRecordings/message/2697 &
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BachRecordings/message/2698

I've bought this CD some weeks ago and I've listened to it a lot of times. It is a very interesting work, but, IMO, is not essential especially if you're not interested in German XVII Century music.

My favourites are the works from Johann Ludwig Bach : the opening Ouverture in G major ,with its seducing menuet and its impudent gavotte, could be consiterated as the "5th" Orchestral suite.The concerto in D-dur for 2 violins is also very beautiful in a surprising Vivaldi style! Really fine is also the Sonata & capriccio in g-moll from Signr.Pagh, while the weakest tracks comes from Heinrich Bach sonatas. The "aria Eberliniana pro dormiente Camillo" is funny : we know that members of Bach family were usual to meet and play their music ; maybe the young JSB listened to this aria with variations and thought : "...when I'll be bigger I'll write something like that ...;-)" The "Battaglia" from C.Wilche is also fine and very theatrical. As regards the Concerto D-dur after BWV 249 I have 2 preminent considerations : the first is the regret for the fact that MAK recorded few cantatas (and when they did it , they had a bad vocal distribution: see their secular cantatas) ; their playing here is absolutely perfect, brighty and exciting.

The second thing that came to my mind was something T.Koopman said about parody in Bach's works : "...I must admit that the first version [the secular one] is more rich, more theatrical..sacred arias from secular cantatas are, IMO, more neutral...". To my ears this secular concerto sounds much better than any recording I've heard of these 2 pieces in their sacred version. But, obviously, the discussion about parody is much longer and complex.

Review Bachiana

Kirk McElhearn wrote (February 15, 2002):
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)

Bachiana [74:35]

Johann Ludwig Bach (1677-1741)
Suite in G

Heinrich Bach (1615 - 1692)
Sonata "a cinque" in C
Sonata "a cinque" in F

Johann Ludwig Bach (1677-1741)
Concerto in D

Johann Christoph Bach (1642 - 1703)
Aria Eberliniana pro dormente Camillo

Cyriacus Wilche (* - 1667)
Battaglia - anno 1659 composta

Signr. (Singer/Signore) Pagh (before 1672)
Sonata & Fantaisie in G minor

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Kommt, eilet und laufet (Easter Oratorio), BWV 249

Musica Antiqua Köln, Reinhardt Goebel

Rec: September 2000, Cologne, DeutschlandRadio.
ARCHIV 471 150-2 [74:35]

Johann Sebastian Bach was not an anomaly, but the culmination of a great family of musicians. In Germany, the Bachs were known for generations as being not only able musicians, but ones who could create unique compositions and perform with the greatest subtlety. While Bach¹s son, Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach is probably the best-known of the Bachs, other than his father, those upstream in the lineage were also fine musicians.

One of the highlights of the recent Bach celebration in 2000, for the 250^th anniversary of his death, was the discovery by noted Bach scholar Christoph Wolff of a collection of scores that had been lost since 1945. This disc presents works from these archives, some recorded for the first time.

The music ranges from late renaissance to early baroque styles, and shows the many influences that Bach must have known. The Overture by Johann Ludwig Bach is a beautiful suite in the French style, with an almost Couperinian sound, and which, in the opening movement, presents some daring chromaticisms. This delightfully joyous work is not unlike Johann Sebastian Bach¹s later orchestral suites in structure and sound.

The two sonatas by Heinrich Bach show a late renaissance sound, similar to that of viol consorts, far from anything Johann ever composed, and are performed with the vigour and energy that Musica Antiqua Köln is known for.

Johann Ludwig Bach¹s Concerto in D Major is a lively Vivaldian concerto for two violins, two oboes and continuo. Far from the first work, with a French sound, this Italianate concerto calls to mind some movements of the Brandenburg Concertos in its style and energy.

Johann Christoph Bach’s Aria Eberliniana pro dormente Camillo is a solo harpsichord work; aria, here, is used in the sense of the aria of the Goldberg Variations or Buxtehude¹s arias for harpsichords, series of variations on an initial movement. This long work (more than 16 minutes) is charming, and, while not a virtuosic work, like Buxtehude¹s compositions, is melodically one of the high points of this recording.

The only work on this disc by the great Bach is the Concerto in D major, after the Easter Oratoria, BWV 249. While this reconstruction is certainly questionable, as are most reconstructions, it works. The forces here are much larger than for the other works, giving this concerto a bigger, denser sound. Is it the way Bach intended the work to sound? Who knows, but it certainly sounds good.

I usually shy away from discs of music by “Bach’s sons” or “Bach¹s family”, since they tend to contain a hodgepodge of music that is not always interesting. But this collection is not only valuable for the influences in shows, but for the quality of the music it contains. This is certainly one of the finest discs of baroque music I have heard in a long time, and deserves the attention of all, whether lovers of Bach or not.

Peter Bright wrote (February 15, 2002):
[To Kirk McElhearn] I second Kirk's opinion - it's one of those discs that somehow keeps getting better every time I listen to it. Excellent, buoyant playing by all concerned, the Wilche Battaglia is particularly lovely. Absolutely first rate and a joy from start to finish. I boughthis on the same day that I picked up Suzuki's cantatas vol 16 - what a great day that was!

Reinhard Goebel: Short Biography | Musica Antiqua Köln | Recordings | General Discussions | Wedding Cantatas – Goebel | Bachiana - Goebel | Bachiana Volume 3 - Lamento - by Magdalena Kožená w/ Musica Antiqua Köln & Reinhard Goebel

Recordings & Discussions of Major Conductors: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | Discussions of Singers & Instrumentalists

Introduction | Cantatas | Other Vocal | Non-Vocal | Performers | General Topics | Articles | Books | Movies Biographies | Texts & Translations | Scores | References | Commentary | Music | Concerts | Bach Tour | Memorabilia Chorale Texts | Chorale Melodies | Lutheran Church Year | Readings | Poets & Composers | Transcriptions Search Website | Search Works/Movements | Terms & Abbreviations | Copyright Notice | How to contribute | Links

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