Bach's Bungalow

[JBS]

Koroliov's Multiple-Keyboard Concerto Reference Recording

[insider content] ...but suffice it to say that it is: a.) only the second recording of the complete multiple piano concertos of Bach's and b.) the new standard... because Frey et al. aren't.

Frey's recording is not actually complete (it's missing BWV 1064.

But I'm so used to harpsichord in these concertos that I would get this merely as a curiosity, if at all.

Skeletons copulating on tin roofs are the best!

[Jo498]

My (secret) preference with these concerti is probably originals if applicable or reconstructions for violins and winds... I am neither fond of massed piano nor of massed harpsichord sounds.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Frey's recording is not actually complete (it's missing BWV 1064.

But I'm so used to harpsichord in these concertos that I would get this merely as a curiosity, if at all.

Skeletons copulating on tin roofs are the best!

SOB. Frey, that is. Or rather: Me, for not checking that completely. But thanks for the hinter!!!

I hear you re: Harpsichord. I do like a good Skeleton Threesome in Bach, myself. Probably Hogwood... I think... for these works. (He also handily includes some reconstructions of the presumed originals.)

[Mandryka]

His confessions do not make the arrangement better. Now he is so focused upon the viola da gamba, I wonder why he didn't arrange the trio sonatas in the vein of Buxtehudes trio sonatas in a consistent arrangement for violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord.

Oh but 530/ii is gorgeous as a little duo for violin and harpsichord! And to me the first movement sounds really Bachian, like a little concerto -- where the harpsichord even makes a brief attempt to steal the show! What could be more Bach that that?!!!!

[Que]

This is my favorite recording of these pieces. I'm listening to this and thinking the baroque violin sounds infinitely better than recordings with modern violin.

Your comment sparked my interest, then I saw that on amazon it has only one review, which is disparaging in a way that tends to make be think the recording is very good. Alas, seems to be out-of-print and sporadically available an unattractive prices.

Reissue ahead! 



Q

[milk]

Reissue ahead! 



Q

Nice to see that. This is a unique recording and I could see why some my just hate it. But one would be hard-pressed to find something like it. Again, that may be just because most people think this isn't the way it should be done. I'd like to know more about Malgoire's thinking for this.

[Mandryka]

This is a unique recording and I could see why some my just hate it. But one would be hard-pressed to find something like it. Again, that may be just because most people think this isn't the way it should be done. I'd like to know more about Malgoire's thinking for this.

What do you have in mind, what's leading you to say this?

As I type I'm listening to 1019 now, I think that  Malgoire's tone is soft, haunting and lovely,like a spectre in the 4th movement, as she is in the 1017 siciliano , and Rannou is very able to play this music. But what I don't hear is the radical-ness that your post is suggesting. Not as radical as my favourite Frank Agsteribbe.

[milk]

What do you have in mind, what's leading you to say this?

As I type I'm listening to 1019 now, I think that  Malgoire's tone is soft, haunting and lovely,like a spectre in the 4th movement, as she is in the 1017 siciliano , and Rannou is very able to play this music. But what I don't hear is the radical-ness that your post is suggesting. Not as radical as my favourite Frank Agsteribbe.

Right. Maybe radical is not the right word. I think I know very little about the violin but it seems like she plays very softly and that it's recorded very close. I get the feeling that usually, people/critics see "soft-ish" playing as negative, like limp or weak? But maybe I'm totally off-base. Almost every recording I've heard is at least engineered differently, with healthy reverb and stronger playing. Maybe it's not such a big difference as I described. I want to say it's soft to the point of harmonics but maybe she doesn't actually go that far. Have you ever heard Adrian Butterfield's CPE Bach with Laurence Cummings?
I'm listening to Frank Agsteribbe now. There's perhaps more going on as far as style and creativity in the violin. And the Harpsichord has a very nice sound. It does grab my attention. Back to thinking about Malgoire: there still seems something about the way she bows that seems different.

[Mandryka]

Right. Maybe radical is not the right word. I think I know very little about the violin but it seems like she plays very softly and that it's recorded very close. I get the feeling that usually, people/critics see "soft-ish" playing as negative, like limp or weak? But maybe I'm totally off-base. Almost every recording I've heard is at least engineered differently, with healthy reverb and stronger playing. Maybe it's not such a big difference as I described. I want to say it's soft to the point of harmonics but maybe she doesn't actually go that far. Have you ever heard Adrian Butterfield's CPE Bach with Laurence Cummings?

All this seems right to me, Magloire is special

Have you ever heard Adrian Butterfield's CPE Bach with Laurence Cummings?

Very nice, an outstanding find. He is really sweet and intimate. The music's delightful too I think, the early one is not far in style from his father's, people sometimes talk about how there was a cross-fertilization of ideas between son and father, this may well be a good example. Specially nice to hear those quirky variations for violin and clavichord! I didn't realise that music could sound like that.

I'm listening to Frank Agsteribbe now. There's perhaps more going on as far as style and creativity in the violin. And the Harpsichord has a very nice sound. It does grab my attention. Back to thinking about Malgoire: there still seems something about the way she bows that seems different.

Yes I agree.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Follow-up, of sorts:


White Nougat: David Fray In Bach's Multiple-Keyboard Concertos

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/white-nougat-david-fray-in-bachs-multiple-keyboard-concertos/

[SurprisedByBeauty]

More Bach on ClassicsToday, if you allow me to indulge you:



One-To-A-Part Bach Harpsichord Concertos: Great In Detail But Big-Picture Pale



& [insider content, alas]

Back in Print: Peter Hurford's Seminal Bach Survey On Argo/Decca

[prémont]

More Bach on ClassicsToday, if you allow me to indulge you:

peter-hurfords-seminal-bach-survey-on-argo-decca

Well it is good, but SEMINAL may be something of an overstatement, unless you find 90 % of the existing Bach integrals seminal, so I take your words with a grain of salt.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Well it is good, but SEMINAL may be something of an overstatement, unless you find 90 % of the existing Bach integrals seminal, so I take your words with a grain of salt.

You obviously have a point. In fact, multiple points. Firstly, there really are not many Bach Organ cycles that I've come across that I DON'T love. (Although I have a clear set of favorites and a few that I don't much like. In that, the choice of the word might have been a bit indiscriminate.

But: There' a bit more to it, too, in that I meant to imply that it was, well, groundbreaking because of the label it appeared on and the time it appeared at and the inclusiveness it had at that time. There wasn't that much choice in 1980, certainly on major, well-distributed labels. And the Decca Twofer of it must have been one of the most sold Bach Organ CDs of the 90s. (Also, Hurford's was the first CD set to include the Neumeister chorales, if I'm not mistaken.) "Seminal", in my thinking, denotes a certain status at a certain point in time... not necessarily enduring greatness. Though I must say that I was really enjoying the ride, listening my way through the set. More-so, often, than with some sets that are very highly regarded in these pages.

[prémont]

You obviously have a point. In fact, multiple points. Firstly, there really are not many Bach Organ cycles that I've come across that I DON'T love. (Although I have a clear set of favorites and a few that I don't much like. In that, the choice of the word might have been a bit indiscriminate.

But: There' a bit more to it, too, in that I meant to imply that it was, well, groundbreaking because of the label it appeared on and the time it appeared at and the inclusiveness it had at that time. There wasn't that much choice in 1980, certainly on major, well-distributed labels. And the Decca Twofer of it must have been one of the most sold Bach Organ CDs of the 90s. (Also, Hurford's was the first CD set to include the Neumeister chorales, if I'm not mistaken.) "Seminal", in my thinking, denotes a certain status at a certain point in time... not necessarily enduring greatness. Though I must say that I was really enjoying the ride, listening my way through the set. More-so, often, than with some sets that are very highly regarded in these pages.

A groundbreaking and easily available integral from that time would be Rübsam I (released 1978 - also the year I got it, and I remember well the stir it caused because of his playing style) or maybe Alain II (released 1981 IIRC) both certainly more HIP  and therefore more groundbreaking (despite being played on neo-baroque instruments), than the somewhat later published Hurford integral, which also used neo-baroque instruments. But there were many other easily available integrals before Hurford: Walcha II, Rogg II e.g. And Jacob, who was the first to include the Neumeister chorales in an integral. Add to this, that Walcha and Rogg as well as Jacob used historical instruments exclusively. That said, Hurford's integral has got its qualities, but groundbreaking - no. 

[Mandryka]

A groundbreaking and easily available integral from that time would be Rübsam I (released 1978 - also the year I got it, and I remember well the stir it caused because of his playing style)

I've been listening to the Leipzig Chorales in this set, and I'm impressed especially by the radiance of it.  I think it's a solar (Apollo) interpretation of these chorales.

Did he write anything for the LPs? It would be interesting to read some of the controversy it caused.

[prémont]

I've been listening to the Leipzig Chorales in this set, and I'm impressed especially by the radiance of it.  I think it's a solar (Apollo) interpretation of these chorales.

Did he write anything for the LPs? It would be interesting to read some of the controversy it caused.

I don't own the LP set any more (culled it for space considerations, when I got the CD release - unfortunately I forgot, that the eight small preludes and fugues wasn't contained in the CD release), but I do not recall any comments from Rübsam in the rather slim book.

[milk]

Ingrid Haebler's set of French suites really is outstanding in my opinion. The last few months have been a little bit stressful for me and I haven't wanted to listen to anything loud or jarring. Haebler is certainly very calm. Yet she's also pertinacious; she has a definite view of the whole. I like her calmness, her little tasteful but creative touches, etc. I was just thinking back to other recordings of this that I've liked in the past that take a different route. Haebler is touching and melancholic and even a bit romantic. But her romanticism is just how I like it. One can almost hear an echo of Chopin in her Sarabandes, however her use of dynamics is subtle and judicious. The romanticism is more in her tone (articulation?).    

[Mandryka]

I think it's the only Bach she recorded. I find her way of of playing like a big chunk of apple strudel -- naughty but nice

[aukhawk]

Haebler is touching and melancholic and even a bit romantic. But her romanticism is just how I like it. One can almost hear an echo of Chopin in her Sarabandes, however her use of dynamics is subtle and judicious. The romanticism is more in her tone (articulation?).

I like Joanna MacGregor in the French Suites for very similar reasons.  Romanticism, though not particularly melancholic in this case.



Plus, she squeezes them all onto one disc (though the last 2 tracks on mine are unplayable).

[Mandryka]

I like Joanna MacGregor in the French Suites for very similar reasons.  Romanticism, though not particularly melancholic in this case.



Plus, she squeezes them all onto one disc (though the last 2 tracks on mine are unplayable).

At the risk of saying something nonsensical (again) here, I have the impression that MacGregor has thought really well about how to put a harpsichord or clavichord piece from the C18 century onto a modern piano - the way she makes the voices relate to each other, and the sort of touch she employs. The Haebler Bach sounds like Haebler Mozart and Haebler Chopin.

Both attractive, Haebler wonderfully sensual and seductive. I have a lot of respect for McGregor and I really wish she's had a go at WTC.