Sigiswald Kuijken and the Bach Brandenburgs

Having much enjoyed listening to Sigiswald Kuijken and La Petite Bande during my traversal of Bach cantatas, I decided to invest in La Bande and Kuijken in the Brandenburgs (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 1993-4). Bach's music needs expert players, and a well-balanced recording so that the many parts of Bach's polyphony can be heard and enjoyed. This Kuijken set conforms to those requirements. In particular, with Kuijken in charge, the frequent important solo violin input (for example, in the 4^th Brandenburg) can be enjoyed. Tempi in this set can be somewhat brisk (for example, in the final movement of the third Brandenburg), but I was never unduly disturbed.

One oddity of the set is that there is no trumpet in the second Brandenburg; a horn is used instead. I can't say I am unduly bothered nor, I suspect would Bach had been; he was always varying instrumentation and vocal parts according to what performers were available for the occasion. And, secretly, I prefer the sound of the horn (“Clarintrompette”) in chamber music, where a traditional trumpet is a bit strident and does not blend well with the other chamber instruments. For the “missing” second movement of the third Brandenburg, where Bach just left just two cadential chords, Kuijken offers a short solo violin flourish before the chords. Personally, I prefer Kati Debretzeni's improvisation in the Pinnock recording, but almost anything is better than just playing the two chords; better to omit them altogether and just go into the last movement unless one is going to insert something tasteful and appropriate. The first and third movements of no.5 dance along impressively and, for once, the harpsichord is well-balanced and not too dominant. The slow movement has some lovely duet playing, particularly the violin playing of Sigiswald himself. Sigiswald is ably aided throughout the set by his extraordinary brothers: Barthold (recorder and flute) and Wieland (cello). An all-star family.

Well, that is probably the end of my Brandenburg listening for a few months. They are, however, eternally enjoyable and I never grow tired of listening to them, particularly if the recording is well played, well-balanced and one can hear all the parts. Nearly 70 years ago when I first met them, the Brandenburgs were the province of large symphony orchestras. At least some things in music are done better nowadays.