The Brandenburg project : twelve concertos

"Det er lækkert Bach, men det er ikke min Bach. Jeg kunne ønske mere saft og kraft og mere uforudsigelighed ... Der går en impuls igennem Lars Ulrik Mortensens lette og behændige rytmiske gengivelser, som jeg flere gange fornemmer som kedsommeligt lallende, selvom de også kombineres med noget forfinet. Og det vil alle læserne ikke være enig med mig i".

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"The First Concerto shows Lars Ulrik Mortensen taking us on quite leisurely ride, not going for extremes of tempo or hard-hitting virtuosity, but allowing the music to breathe and resonate. These are not slow performances by any means, but the horns in the first movement are perhaps a little too polite ... Small string groups ensure that the Third Concerto is crisp and light, and effect enhanced by Mortensen's sprightly and rhythmic harpsichord ... The Fifth Concerto with its concerto grosso feel and significant harpsichord part is given a fine workout in this performance ... I certainly didn't come away feeling I'd learned much new about these works. If you are a fan of Concerto Copenhagen and are collecting Lars Ulrik Mortensen's output then you will in no way be disappointed by this recording, but otherwise it's one of many".

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"This set of Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos is the first instrumental outing for the Scottish period ensemble ... The music is by turns brusque and gentle, and at times quite raucous, as it should be in the Concerto No. 1 in F major with its echoing horn calls, chattering oboes, and buzzing bassoon, and vigorous in the Concerto No. 3 in G major, with its energetic string playing ... the marvelous depth of field and richness of the sonorities make it well worth purchasing".

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"On this immensely gratifying recording of the Brandenburg Concertos under Goebel's direction the Berliner Barock Solisten is in sterling form and stand comparison with the finest accounts. These are performances of sparkling freshness and unquenchable vitality that add a striking sense of colour to these frequently recorded scores".

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"Does the world need another set of Brandenburgs? Yes, when they are as freshly minted and as adventurously sonorous as this marvellous set from Abbado's young period-style Orchestra Mozart ... Abbado leads supple, imaginative readings; a great deal of the strong character is provided by his leader, violinist Giuliano Carmignola, and there is a brilliant harpsichord solo from Ottavio Dantone in the fifth concerto".

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"Album der Woche: Bachs Brandenburgische Konzerte gibt es schon in zahllosen Aufnahmen - historisch informiert oder mit modernen Instrumenten ... Auch die Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin hat den Zyklus vor knapp 25 Jahren schon einmal eingespielt ... Doch heute hat AKAMUS eine andere Sicht auf die sechs Konzerte. Und die hat das Ensemble in einer aktuellen Aufnahme festgehalten - mit zwei prominenten Solisten: Die Geigerin Isabelle Faust und der Bratscher Antoine Tamestit spielen mit".

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"Jeg er sikker på, at mange musikelskere, der er fortrolige med disse seks koncerter, vil nyde det noget rå, det direkte, det spændstigt rytmiske i denne indspilning. Her er ikke mange dikkedarer, ikke meget sødme over opførelserne, det er den formodentligt og den tilnærmelsesvist ægte vare ... Men man må lade orkestret, at dynamikken, kraftfuldheden og energien smitter. Det er en fornøjelse at lytte til ... eminent fortolket af Lars Ulrik Mortensen".

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"Årets 10 klassiske udgivelser - 4: Gamle stykker på gamle instrumenter skal ikke længere gå over stok og sten. Senere indspilninger af eksempelvis Johann Sebastian Bachs musik er som regel holdt en anderledes kultiveret stil. Når man hører Concerto Copenhagen under ledelse af herlige Lars Ulrik Mortensen spille de seks "Brandenburg-koncerter" med piccoloviolin og hele pivtøjet, får man faktisk lidt den ellers dybt bedagede optagelse med Festival Strings Lucerne i tankerne - hvilket føles berigende fra ende til anden".

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"Vi får en anden nyere og solid midttysk tradition med Riccardo Chailly. Den har også sine kvaliteter i de seks Brandenburger-koncerter".

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"The tone of Concerto Copenhagen's Brandenburgs is set right at the beginning ... This is one to settle down to in the fading light of afternoon. Free of bombast and happy to linger on finely turned detail, it is altogether a different pleasure ... Not a Brandenburg set of the hard-hitting, exuberant kind, but one which just holds things back enough to reveal the music's wealth of musical detail, as well as the refined musicality of its players. There is, of course, room for both approaches".

"Vurdering: Gramophone choice" - "The Dunedin players forge their own identity and capture what Butt praises as 'carefree, joyous and spontaneous works' ... Notwithstanding the distinguished Brandenburg discography, this set is nothing short of sensational".

"A new set of the Brandenburgs from Reinhard Goebel? One's mind immediately goes back to the 1980s, when his first, typically provocative recording with Musica Antiqua Köln dropped its little bomb of shock and awe ... The sound of it is different from the earlier recording, of course, even though perhaps only the oboes are easily recognisable as modern rather than period ... The standard of playing of the Berliners, built largely of musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic and the Akademie für Alte Musik, is excellent. Maybe with its oddities this is not a Brandenburg recording to favour over all others, but then such a thing probably doesn't exist".

"These new recordings from the Gewandhaus Orchestra feature a lightness that would have been almost unthinkable in a full orchestral recording not so long ago ... Not, then, a completely coherent set of performances and certainly not an unequivocal success, but there is more than enough here to make for stimulating listening and even more stimulating reflection on what Bach on orchestral instruments might mean today".

"Welch tiefer Griff in die Geschichte der Bach-Rezeption: Dies sind die ersten Aufnahmen der Brandenburgischen Konzerte ... Im dritten Konzert darf dann Wilhelm Furtwängler persönlich übernehmen - und das Maschinenhafte tritt zurück: Hier wird gestaltet! ... Umso interessanter ist der letzte Bonus-Track: Alois Melichars Bearbeitung der Toccata und Fuge BWV 565 für Orchester aus dem Jahre 1939!".

"Danacord has reissued an early set of Brandenburg Concertos featuring the Berlin Philharmonic under the leadership of Alois Melichar, with violinist Szymon Goldberg ... a superb player, refined and agile, is anything but heavyhanded ... There are fill-ups, too ... The Berlin Staatsoper 'under the personal direction of the Danish conductor Georg Høeberg' (1924), neither of them exactly roof-raisers but interesting to have ... All the transfers are excellent ... and so are Claus Byrith's notes".

"None of the concertos stands out from the pack as markedly more impressive or insightful than the others. Indeed, what particularly catches the ear are the final fast movements - where the relish of the dance is perfectly balanced with a deep understanding of the textural and rhetorical riches just beneath the surface. For the last four concertos in particular, this is umissable".

"Vurdering: Editor's choice" - "This is not a Brandenburg set that sets out to score points, ans all that is needed from us is to sit back and enjoy its relaxed, celebratory spirit".

"All in all, this new Abbado set is euphonious and beautiful, and it should be aquired without hesitation".

"Egarr's Brandenburgs are the new bench-mark recording both for scholarship and simply superb music-making".

"These Brandenburgs, then, can be both alluring and vexatious. But then, show me worthwhile ones that aren't?".

"Nu är det äntligen i hamn - The Brandenburg Project ... Hela härligheten samlad i en cd-box med en ambitiös och övergripande verkbeskrivning signerad projektets upphovsman och dirigent, Thomas Dausgaard ... Det var 2001 som Svenska Kammarorkestern började skissa på att komplettera och kombinera JS Bachs sex Concerti Grossi "för allehanda instrument" med nykomponerad musik ... Men funkar konceptet med denna brokiga blandning brandenburgare? ... Svaret är Ja! ... Och alldeles underbart!".

"The Swedish Chamber Orchestra's 'Brandenburg Project' asked six composers to chose a concerto and write a response piece for the same forces (they were allowed to substitute one instrument) ... 'The Brandenburg Project' doesn't result in a meaningful whole, given the composers respond with varied ideas of what a complementary or reflective work can be ... But there's no doubting Dausgaard has accomplished his mission to make us hear these pieces differently. His 'Brandenburg Project' is nourishing and frequently a lot more".

"Vurdering: IRR outstanding" - "Overall, Kuijken and his ensemble's performances of these familiar works, like the Academy of Ancient Music's under Egarr, are strikingly free of surprise and gimmicks ... Simply outstanding".

"Uneven Brandenburgs - but the best here is both original and illuminating ... Mention should be made of the superbly stylish harpsichord protagonist, Ewald Demeyre, and the fine flute and recorder playing of the season Barthold Kuijken".

"The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin's second recording of the 'Brandenburg Concertos' ... celebrates the 30th anniversary of this tight-knit little band. This time, however, they have invited two distinguished guests to join in the fun: violinist Isabelle Faust ... and Antoine Tamestit ... Not that they take over the show ... more a meeting of friends than star vehicle, and fittingly the performances have a real sense of communal enjoyment ... The most naturally exciting performances, to my ear, are the two string concertos ... No 3 ... is a real winner".

"An uncanny sense of corporate cohesion ... yields luxuriant textures, polished ensemble and meticulously plotted conceptions, born of single-mindedness and an embedded familiarity with their colleagues and the material ... Only a true curmudgeon would deny that there is joy to be had in the ... musical accomplishment here ... A curate's egg of a Brandenburg".