Texte paru dans: / Appeared in: Challenge
Classics |
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Outil de traduction (Très approximatif) |
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Reviewer:
Lindsay Kemp Fabio Bonizzoni’s first volume of Bach harpsichord concertos with La Risonanza (9/18) gave no clue as to how many would follow: would he just be including the concertos for one harpsichord or would he give us the ‘multi’ ones as well? Well, here’s the answer: with Vol 2 offering the Fifth Brandenburg and the Triple Concerto for flute, violin and harpsichord that Bach ingeniously fashioned towards the end of his life from an old prelude and fugue and an organ trio sonata movement, and with the two solo concertos included here leaving one still unrecorded (BWV1058), we can anticipate that one’s future arrival in the company of concertos for two, three or four harpsichords, with one more volume of those still needed after that. So that’s sorted. What about the performances? Not surprisingly, they are much in the same vein as in Vol 1, which is to say bright and buoyant, with no tricks or surprises but plenty of energy and brilliance. Bonizzoni’s playing mixes a likeable effervescence with firm control and cleverly used articulation (I liked the way the third note of BWV1054 is slightly lengthened just enough to sing a little after the two staccato notes that preceded it), while his approach to spontaneous ornamentation is to keep it bubbling but not overdo it or make it sound like mere overlay. The unusually slow, curtailed trill at the start of BWV1057 suggests either a considered or a natural feel for the actual reason for an ornament. In such respects these performances make quite a good counterpart to Isabelle Faust’s recent recordings of Bach’s violin concertos (Harmonia Mundi, 4/19) – no-nonsense Bach that is nevertheless constantly alive with detail. The resonant but robust recorded sound murks the orchestral texture sometimes (though does give impressive weight to the big coup d’archet chords in the Triple Concerto) and the placement of the harpsichord in the picture occasionally seems unrealistically close, but then these pieces are notoriously tricky to balance. Really, this disc is just there to be enjoyed. |
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