Dorothee Oberlinger and her harpsichord partner Christian Rieger have assembled a fine program that includes two works originally for flute and keyboard (BWV 1030 and BWV 1035), plus the unaccompanied Partita BWV 1013 (here in C minor rather than the original A minor), transcriptions of sonatas for violin/harpsichord (BWV 1017) and organ (BWV 525), and one work for solo harpsichord (BWV 998). The thoughtfully chosen repertoire, plus the fact that Oberlinger plays several different alto recorders–including a “voice flute”, which is essentially a large alto recorder, tuned a third lower, thus putting it in line with the tuning of the Baroque flute–makes the listening easy and interesting, and the virtuoso playing by both Oberlinger and Rieger doesn’t hurt either!
Tuning of these instruments is always an issue–but these are musicians of considerable experience and sensitivity to such things, and only rarely do you notice the recorder just slightly under-pitch. But you certainly can’t fault these accomplished renditions of some of Bach’s better-known works–the dazzling solo Partita and Rieger’s own solo in the Prelude, Fugue & Allegro (which features one of the more vibrant, impressively full-bodied harpsichords you’ll ever hear) are highlights. To top it off, the engineering is absolutely first rate, ensuring proper balances between the instruments while projecting each with naturalness and vivid presence. If you like these works, you certainly won’t go wrong here–and you won’t soon forget that luscious-sounding harpsichord in BWV 998. [4/4/2007]
