Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann, Carl Philipp Emanual Bach :: German Baroque Chamber Music

Good

M. Xu | Beijing, China | 09/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The works included on this recording are:



Trio sonata for organ No. 1 in E flat major, BWV 525

Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach



Suite for transverse flute, violin & continuo (cello & harpsichord) No 6 in D minor

Composed by Georg Philipp Telemann



Quartet for flute, 2 viola da gambas & continuo in G

Composed by Georg Philipp Telemann



Triosonata A-Major for transverse flute, violin & continuo (violoncello & harpsichord)

Composed by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach



The Kuijken brothers are musicians with consummate skills and acute musical sensitivity. The recording quality is excellent throughout and will bring endless joy to you."

Magisterial Music-Making

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 05/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"German Baroque Chamber Music by Telemann, Johann Sebastian Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Performed by Barthold Kuijken, Sigiswald Kuijken, Wieland Kuijken and Robert Kohnen. Recorded in the "Chapelle royale" of the Protestant Church in Brussels, Belgium, in October 1980. First released as an LP in 1980, now reissued as a CD in the "Accent Plus" series (AC 10019). Total time: 55'58".



This is another beautiful rerelease from the pioneering days of the Accent label, an "artists' label" from Belgium and the Netherlands. Accent's chief protagonists have always been the three Kuijken brothers, whose magisterial music-making can be heard here to great advantage on four pieces from the late baroque era played on historical instruments of up to 400 years old (!), yet without the slightest trace of museum-style monotony. The Bach Sonata is, of course, a transcription, the original having been written for organ; Bach intended the three voices to be played by the organist with his left and right hands and his feet respectively. Numerous transcriptions have been attempted in the past, and the movement for historically informed performance practice has not been too "nice" (in the 18th century sense of the word) to produce some exciting recordings of the piece. Judith Linsenberg and Musica Pacifica recorded all six trio sonatas for Virgin using a recorder for the first voice, and the lively playing was a sensation at the time. More recently, Canada's Claire Guimond and her Arion Ensemble have recorded all six pieces (on Analekta) using the baroque transverse flute as the first voice, and personally this is still my favourite version. The Kuijken brothers have, to the best of my knowledge, only recorded BWV 525 in its transcripted form for baroque flute and continuo - that is the Accent recording reviewed here, a lovely, energetic version with a stark clarity that enables one to follow all three voices and at the same time to enjoy their delicious interplay.



There are two pieces by Telemann on the disc. The first is a Suite in D minor for transverse flute, violin and continuo (cello and harpsichord), its seven movements displaying Telemann's gift for invention and variations of mood and tempo while not becoming too demanding for his mainly amateur purchasers. Telemann left the choice of instruments pretty much up to the performers, and, obviously, the Kuijken brothers have chosen those on which they base their reputation. Excellent!



The second Telemann piece is an unusual Quartet in G major for transverse flute, two viole da gamba and harpsichord continuo. Sigiswald Kuijken abandons his violin here and joins his brother Wieland to play a 17th century gamba. The movements are entitled "Dolce", "Allegro", "Soave" and "Vivace" and it is both instructive and entertaining to follow how the Kuijkens interpret these headings. The dialoguing between the instruments and the lovely sound of the two gambas in unison is absolutely charming and to my mind already justifies the cost of the CD.



The Trio Sonata by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach played here comes from a youthful set of works composed while "CPE" was still at home with his father. Although there is certainly some "modern" music-making to be heard (in the sense that it would have been modern around 1750!), the tone is definitely still baroque, and the strongly individualized style that one normally expects from Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach is not yet developed. Again, the playing (and, I should add, the engineering) is all you might ask of such a recording and promises a lifetime of pleasure."