This enthusiastically played and splendidly engineered disc contains the world-premiere recording of W.F. Bach’s Flute Concerto in D, recently (re-)discovered in the Ukraine by noted Bach scholar Christian Wolff along with numerous other Bach family manuscripts (but, alas, nothing of J.S. himself). The eldest of Bach’s sons, Wilhelm Friedemann has not been treated well by posterity. His comparatively long life (1710-84) was marred by personal problems including alcoholism, and Bach scholars never have forgiven him for selling off his share of his father’s musical estate to cover his debts, thereby dispersing dozens, and possibly hundreds, of original works by J.S. Bach, the lion’s share of which (to the extent anyone can really know for sure) remain lost to this day.
However, like all of Bach’s sons, Friedemann was a superbly trained and highly talented musician, and his father’s fingerprints are all over these pieces–in their detailed working out, finely honed craftsmanship, and above all in their expansive scale. Aside from the brief (and lovely) Sinfonia in D minor, a two-movement piece for church performance in “prelude and fugue” form, each of the three concertos here lasts between 21 and 23 minutes, which is quite extravagant by Baroque period standards and certainly comparable to the largest of Bach senior’s orchestral works in similar forms. And a tremendously assorted collection of pieces they are!
At the center of the newly discovered flute concerto lies a heartfelt largo, at nine minutes a genuine challenge to player Karl Kaiser, who manages to sustain the musical line impressively despite the hollow tone and unevenness of register inherent in virtually all performances on Baroque flute. With its vivacious outer movements, this concerto is quite a discovery (flutists take note) and Carus Verlag also publishes the score. For the cembalo concerto in E minor (as well as for the flute concerto and the Sinfonia), keyboard player Michael Behringer opts for a fortepiano rather than a traditional harpsichord. This was a marvelous idea for several reasons. First, it permits him to give an appropriately dynamically inflected performance of the concerto, the longest work here, avoiding the aural fatigue that accompanies so many recordings featuring harpsichord. Second, in the other two works his continuo playing remains thankfully unobtrusive, a critical factor in the success of the Flute Concerto where balance between soloist and orchestra always is an issue.
Finally, his choice of instrument throws into brilliant relief the disc’s concluding work, the Concerto for Two Cembalos in E-flat, a thrilling piece in which the opposition of two harpsichords to a large orchestra including trumpets and drums (very unusual for the time) creates an explosive sonic panorama and sets the seal on W. F. Bach’s claim to be taken seriously as a composer with a distinctive voice. On the whole this is brilliant, muscular music, and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra tears into it with relish. As period-instrument fans will know, this ensemble stands at the far left of the “historically informed performance” movement, generating sounds of a gruffness that, allied to emphatic rhythmic emphasis, may well startle those used to a more elegant and small-scaled approach–but it certainly works here. In particular, these renditions offer the necessary color and energy to sustain the long opening movements with total conviction (the opening of the double concerto is almost overpowering at 11-plus minutes), and, as noted above, they are stunningly recorded. No doubt about it: this one’s a gem. [9/7/2002]
