These four suites–or ordres–have been recorded several times in part or all together, by some very distinguished ensembles, most notably Hesperion XX, Florilegium, Music Antiqua Köln, Quadro Amsterdam, and the Purcell Quartet, the latter’s release for Chandos on two separate CDs standing as the overall reference favorite. This new version, featuring all four ordres on two discs, boasts a group of very fine period-instrument soloists, experts in Baroque style and members of the period-performance faculty ensemble at Juilliard. Not surprisingly, the playing by individual members of the ensemble is informed and stylish, Baroque music as it should be played, with detailed attention to dance rhythms and ornamentation; but when it comes to actual ensemble, the performances are not as assured and convincing.
Upper voices–in this case violins, flute, and oboe–dominate the mix, leaving the continuo theorbo (or guitar) and gamba in a somewhat distant, curiously less-focused acoustic, as if those instruments were in a different space. The sense of two different spaces is enhanced in the many instances where continuo and solo instruments are just that slight bit out of sync. As you listen you get the feeling of uneasy communication across the ensemble–we’re all playing the same music, but with slightly different performance perspectives. There’s a spirit and style to the playing that’s absolutely right–a notable and particularly lovely example among many is the opening of L’Espagnole–but it seems that more often than not the engineering and/or recording session set-up worked against the best efforts of the players to produce a uniform and coordinated ensemble sound. The music still sings and dances, in this the performances are not lacking; if only the voices were better balanced, the rhythmic steps more carefully timed.
