Bach Harpsichord Concertos

Francesco Corti and il pomo d’oro continue their acclaimed series of Bach harpsichord concertos, now moving to the works for two harpsichords, BWV 1060-1062, together with Andrea Buccarella. Compared to the previous two instalments, the accompanying ensemble is small, allowing for maximal transparency and focus on the soloists. The greatest discographic asset of this album is Corti’s arrangement of Bach’s unfinished concerto for harpsichord, oboe and strings in D Minor, BWV 1059. In his extensive contribution to the booklet, Corti explains why and how he used parts of Cantata BWV 35 to complete the score. Emmanuel Laporte performs the solo oboe.

Bach’s D minor Concerto BWV 1052 is one of his very greatest works, whether heard in its arrangements for harpsichord solo, violin solo, or even organ solo (first movement) as the prelude to one of the church cantatas. The music has a brooding, almost tragic intensity, partly the result of the tensely stern melodic material, partly due to the fact that all three movements are set in minor keys. It’s also a very large work, at more than 20 minutes one of the largest of all Baroque concertos. Robert Hill gives a stunning performance of the work here, comparable to the great recording by his mentor and teacher, Gustav Leonhardt. Unlike many period instrument people, Hill’s refusal to rush the outer movements gives the music an extra measure of grim strength, and his deft passagework allows every Bachian note to register with unforced clarity.

Bach’s concertos for multiple harpsichords and orchestra are beloved by some and drive others crazy. Perhaps no other music so graphically illustrates Beecham’s famous description of the sound of the solo instrument as “two skeletons copulating on a tin roof.” The performers must exercise great care in selecting instruments that are not too “clangy” sounding, and the recording has to balance a need for warmth and roundness of tone with contrapuntal clarity. In fact, most of this music was originally composed for melody instruments (violin and oboe, principally), and Naxos has obligingly reconstructed the original versions on another disc in this excellent series.

One of the nicest things about Naxos’ complete survey of Bach’s orchestral music is that each disc always includes a substantial musical “bonus” that distinguishes it from the numerous competing performances available. In this case, conductor Helmut Müller-Brühl and his intrepid band of keyboard and string players offer a reconstruction of the Concerto for Three Harpsichords BWV 1064 in its original version for three violins. Comparison of the two versions is fascinating, not least because the players offer a fractionally more expansive tempo in the slow movement of the violin version, acknowledging the stringed instrument’s superior ability to sustain a long, lyrical melody.