Bach: Bradenburg Concertos.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos. Rinaldo Alessandrini, Concerto Italiano. Naive OP 30412 (Two CDs and one DVD).

Music, like most other art, affects different people in different ways. We wouldn't want it otherwise. My guess is that a majority of listeners will adore this new set of Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos. I didn't. It's what makes ball games.

In the first place, the ensemble playing from Rinaldo Alessandrini's small group of performers is not always letter perfect. Not that we might prefer it that way; I would take gusto and enthusiasm to absolute precision any day. But in the Concerto No. 1 the ensemble seems positively raggedy Annie. In No. 2 the trumpet sounds distant and rough. Moreover, the group plays every fast movement as such breakneck speeds, one can hardly appreciate what's happening. Other listeners, as I say, will interpret their quick pace as exhilarating and exciting; I simply found it fast.

Then, there's the sound, recorded ...