These recordings, from the late-1970s flowering of the period-performance movement, remain among the finest renditions of Bach’s four Orchestral Suites. The crisp articulation, lively dance-rhythms, vibrant, richly-colored instrumental timbres, and overall unmannered style proved a refreshing take on works that tended to suffer a lot under the weighty batons of many modern-day symphony orchestra conductors. Trevor Pinnock was not one of those, indeed his expert and enlightened performances of Baroque music with the English Concert were among the more convincing and informed models of historically “authentic” interpretation at a time when it seemed almost everyone–qualified or not–was getting into the act. If you’re looking for a solid, time-tested set of Bach Suites–and offered at an attractive mid-price–you won’t go wrong here. The sound from the analog original is as clear and vibrant as today’s better digital productions, showing no sign of its provenance except for some apparent and occasional balance-tinkering relative to solo instruments–typical for some production teams during that era. No big deal. [5/30/2007]
