Bach: Works With Orchestra/Menuhin:Christmas Box 2001

EMI's Bach Bonanza.:
I know of no CD issue that packs as much of the orchestral music of J S Bach into one budget-priced box as this issue. Active in and inspiring the performances of all but two of the works is Yehudi Menuhin. He directs these performances while playing either violin or viola. He also attracts eminent fellow instrumentalists to contribute as required, so that the roster reads like a Who's Who of EMI recording artists of the period. And what is the period? The recordings were made between 1956 and 1973. Ears attuned to contemporary styles of Bach performance will hear things that are different here. Period instruments are not used (if you accept violas da gamba as not strictly "period"). Warmth and affection rather than authenticity and precision characterize performances. The engineering seems aimed at balancing Bach's contrapuntal textures so that everything can be heard, rather than capturing what occurs in actual performance. Accordingly, the harpsichord contributions are audibly prominent, and sometimes they have the capacity to swell and fade in ways that Wanda Landowska might even have thought excessive. Remastering was done in the 1990s and this compilation was released in 2001.

Nostalgic work in the best pre-period performance style:
This box is a nostalgic event for anyone that started listening to and collecting Bach recordings in the post World War II era. It is, indeed, an exemplar of the way Bach was interpreted in the "new" authenticity of the postwar period where Karl Munchinger and Pablo Casals were among the better interpreters of the composer. In fact, the way Yehudi Menhuin leads the Bath Festival Orchestra in his readings of the Four Orchestral Suites reminds me very much of that old 2-LP set I had by Casals and the Marlboro Orchestra way back when. Denis Clift's trumpeting in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, more than any other recording of the music I've heard, reminds me of the opening of William Buckley's weekly polticial talk show that used to be on PBS in the 1970s. And George Malcolm's loving playing of Largo from the Harpsichord Concerto in F, BWV 1056, reminds me of its use in Woody Allen's film "Hannah and Her Sisters". So is there more to this set than nostalgia? That depends on your perspective. If you are under age 40 and have been raised in the Speedy Gonzales period practice performance environment of ancient instruments, sour woodwinds, wiry strings and off-pitch playing, you may not immediately find equal enjoyment in this set. If you are broad-minded about Bach performance you'll find a set that includes almost every significant piece of "orchestral" music by Bach performed with rapt attention, British reserve, and much love and kindness in andantes and largos. Even that canonic exercise for musicians, The Musical Offering, is played musically and has allure for nonplayers who simply listen to the music without a score. One significant caveat for all listeners: the middle section of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 substitutes a lengthy unBachian movement arranged by British composer Benjamin Britten. Critics often said Britten's recording of the Brandenburg's was one great composer interpreting another. In this movement, it appears Britten tried to merge with Bach. I wouldn't say the results are completely successful. Otherwise there are multiple felicities inside this box. While Menhuin gets top billing and has his face plastered on every slipcase, I think harpsichordist George Malcolm is the star of the program. Playing a harpsichored that sounds a lot like the one Lurch played on "The Addams Family" television show of the period, Malcolm is always the arbiter or propriety and good judgment in the various concerti, whether he is playing solo or with partners in 2-, 3- or 4-harpsichored concerti featuring the likes of Thurston Dart, Denis Mathews and Simon Preston. In particular, the concerti BWV 1054, 1060-61 and 1064-65 are wonderfully done with taste, humanity and style. I would also draw attention to magnificent readings of the Triple Concerto BWV 1044 and the Double Concerto for violin and harpsichored BWV 1066. I think the former concerto, which features marvelous playing by soloists Menhuin on violin, William Bennett on flute, and Malcolm on harpsichord, is one of the most satisfyings readings of this music I've ever heard. The Bath Festival Orchestra is never less than inspired under Menhuin in the Brandenburg concertos, where they are ably assisted by soloists Malcolm, flutist Elaine Schaffer, and Christopher Taylor on recorder, among others. While Menhuin's style in the Orchestral Suites may seem a tad reserved and deliberate by 21st century PPP standards, they are never less than musically performed and always project the Bach that begot 20-plus children and buried 10 of them and a young wife during his lifetime. There is nary an episode of showmanship or stylistic pursuit for its own purposes; everything is done to illuminate Bach and his message. Bach's humanity is constantly on display in this wonderfully consistent collection of performances from a past era that is still relevant in today's more wildy colorful, personal and rambunctious epoch. The recordings, which were made from 1956-74, are typical of the crossover from mono to multimiked stereo. Yet the recordings never draw undue attention to themselves; it is the players that draw attention to the composer. As other reviewers here has said, this is an unusually generous collection of Bach's most popular music on 7 CDs. You don't have to be an old timer to enjoy this collection although it helps. If you are relatively new to Bach, think of this as an exemplar of the way things once were in the very best sense of that affirmation.

EMI's Bach Bonanza.:
I know of no CD issue that packs as much of the orchestral music of J S Bach into one budget-priced box as this issue. Active in and inspiring the performances of all but two of the works is Yehudi Menuhin. He directs these performances while playing either violin or viola. He also attracts eminent fellow instrumentalists to contribute as required, so that the roster reads like a Who's Who of EMI recording artists of the period. And what is the period? The recordings were made between 1956 and 1973. Ears attuned to contemporary styles of Bach performance will hear things that are different here. Period instruments are not used (if you accept violas da gamba as not strictly "period"). Warmth and affection rather than authenticity and precision characterize performances. The engineering seems aimed at balancing Bach's contrapuntal textures so that everything can be heard, rather than capturing what occurs in actual performance. Accordingly, the harpsichord contributions are audibly prominent, and sometimes they have the capacity to swell and fade in ways that Wanda Landowska might even have thought excessive. Remastering was done in the 1990s and this compilation was released in 2001.

An edition to take into account!:
The role of conductor of Yehudi Menuhin tends to be overlooked because its fame as renowned soloist and the final result of this wrong assertion has been the neglect of many of his conducted works like this one for instance. This set stands out among the most prestigious and brilliant ever made. You may regard them a little romantic but even so, the profound vitality and supreme commitment of Menuhin as director may be carved in relief. So, please, flee all skepticism in which concerns this album and go without hesitating. It' s a worthwhile edition

Bach and Other Artists:
I must confess that I'm interested mostly in this collection of Bach's music because the flutist is Elaine Shaffer. My first exposure to her playing was the Bach Flute Sonatas, and that was maybe 25 years ago that I purchased the two volume set on vinyl LP's. And still, 25 years later, I have yet to hear the Sonatas played more beautifully than by by Ms. Shaffer. The flute world owes her a great debt. She was the first female flute concert artist in the world. I'm sorry she came to an early end with lung cancer just two months after recording the Bach Sonatas and the piece for Flute and Piano she had a large part in getting commissioned by Copland in memory of her teacher at Curtis Institute, William Kincaid after his death. Her playing in this recording of Bach pieces with other great artists and the Bath Chamber Orchestra are tastefully and beautifully played, just like everything she played. I mourn her early departure from the music world.