Johann Sebastian Bach Brandenburg

Jeannette Sorrell, Apollo's Fire - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos; Harpsichord & Violin Concertos (2010)

Jeannette Sorrell, Apollo's Fire - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos; Harpsichord Concertos; Violin Concerto (2010)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 875 Mb | Total time: 79:21+72:41 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Avie | # AV2207 | Recorded: 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005

Cleveland's phenomenal early music ensemble Apollo's Fire ought to be proud of its 2010 double-disc release of J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051, augmented with the Harpsichord Concertos, BWV 1052 and 1056, and the reconstructed Violin Concerto, BWV 1052, for this set is quite comparable to other excellent period versions on the market. Led by Jeannette Sorrell from the harpsichord, the group is vibrant and fully engaged in making lively music, so the performances are far from stodgy museum pieces.
Neville Marriner, Academy of St Martin in the Fields - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Orchestral Suites (2007)

Neville Marriner, Academy of St Martin in the Fields - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Orchestral Suites (2007)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 914 Mb | Total time: 191:35 | Scans included
Classical | Label: EMI Classics | # 5 00955 2 | Recorded: 1984, 1985

While most serious listeners already have their favorite sets of J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and the Orchestral Suites, newcomers searching for respectable recordings at a reasonable price would do well to start with this triple-CD set by Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. These recordings were made in 1984 and 1985, and still offer fine sound for early digital recording and exceptional musical value. Marriner's performances may not be as exacting and scrupulous about Baroque performance practice as those of Gustav Leonhardt or Trevor Pinnock, but they are informed by serious scholarship and have sufficient appeal to make the finer points debatable.
Jeanne Lamon, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (2012)

Jeanne Lamon, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (2012)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 511 Mb | Total time: 93:27 | Covers included
Classical | Label: Tafelmusik Media | # TMK1004CD2 | Recorded: 1994

The Six Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) are considered by musicians, critics and audiences alike among the finest musical compositions of the baroque era. Bach presented the concertos to the Margrave of Brandenburg, Christian Ludwig, in Berlin, March 24, 1721, with the hopes some patronage would come his way. The music was preserved in the Brandenburg archives, and when rediscovered in the 19th century became some of the most beloved music of all time. Beloved is the operative word in this re-release of the masterpieces in the hands of Jeanne Lamon and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.
Antony Walker, Orchestra of the Antipodes - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (2011)

Antony Walker, Orchestra of the Antipodes - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (2011)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 674 Mb | Total time: 57:01+64:54 | Scans included
Classical | Label: ABC Classics | 476 1923 | Recorded: 2003

The Orchestra of the Antipodes' 2011 set of J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos is certainly worth having for its exquisite period performances of these perennial favorites, but it is even more attractive for offering eight popular sinfonias from the cantatas, thereby giving listeners added value in an already excellent set. The Australia-based ensemble plays original instruments, and the performances are appropriate in textures, tempos, and ornamentation, so everything a fan of Baroque performance practice could want can be found here. The pacing is fleet and efficient, the counterpoint is transparent, and the sonorities are bright, so the combination will certainly excite even the most experienced devotees of these works.
Reinhard Goebel, Berliner Barock Solisten - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (2017)

Reinhard Goebel, Berliner Barock Solisten - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (2017)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 536 Mb | Total time: 95:19 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Sony Classical | 88985361112 | Recorded: 2016

Under the baton of Reinhard Goebel, the Berlin Barock Solisten releases a spectacular new recording of one of the Baroque era’s most celebrated masterpieces. Thirty years after Goebel’s first reference recording of the Brandenburg Concertos, maestro Goebel and the Berlin Barock Solisten perform the Brandenburgs not only with consummate technique but with thrilling verve, supreme sensitivity and a wealth of dynamic contrasts. Goebel has also incorporated the latest findings of musical scholarship in his recording, for example regarding the choice of instruments.
Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg Concertos -  C. Hogwood - The Academy of Ancient Music

J. S. Bach - Brandenburg Concertos + 3 further Concertos for various solo instruments
Christopher Hogwood, The Academy of Ancient Music

Classical | APE + Cue | 2 CD, covers, booklet | 374 + 306 MB RS
Editions de l'Oiseaux-Lyre 1997

This set of Brandenburg concertos is based upon the original Cöthen edition, and not the more often recorded final version which Bach sent to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721.
The main difference between the two versions is that in the Cöthen edition, being an early draft, the third movement of #1 is omitted; the fourth movement thus becomes the third movement and is itself abridged. Likewise, the pyrotechnic, crowd-goes-wild harpsichord solo in the first movement of #5 appears here abbreviated and tamed.
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (1999)

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (1999)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 473 Mb | Total time: 41:53+51:46 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Virgin Veritas | # 5 61552 2 | Recorded: 1987, 1988

This reissue of a 1989 recording by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment has a good claim for the title of "Best Buy Brandenburgs." These performances don't have the splashy extroversion of Il Giardino Armonico or the caffeine-pumped, high-velocity thrill of Musica Antiqua Köln, but they're not overly reserved or dull, as some English ensembles are accused of being. The OAE's instrumental playing is very skillful indeed, with particularly nice work from the horns in the third movement of the First Concerto, and from trumpeter Mark Bennett in the Second; and the tempos are moderately quick (which means that they would have been considered rather fast before 1980 or so), but without being breathless. The slow movements sing sweetly–the viola playing of Monica Huggett and Pavlo Besnosiuk in the slow movement of the Sixth Concerto is especially lovely–and the quick outer movements have an infectiously bouncy pulse.
–Matthew Westphal
Andrew Parrott - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos; Orchestral Suites [4CDs] (1999)

Andrew Parrott, Taverner Players, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos; Orchestral Suites (1999)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & no Log) ~ 1.07 Gb | Total time: 03:00:43 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Virgin Classics | # 5 61726 2 | Recorded: 1989, 1993

I doubt if many of us have found our ideal set of Brandenburgs, but most, I suspect, have settled on a favourite collection. The field is enormous, reflecting a wide range of performing styles as well as smaller discrepancies where some of the instruments themselves are concerned. These reissued recordings of the Brandenburgs are style-conscious, period-instrument performances. For sheer refinement of thought and elegance of phrase Parrott’s set has few rivals, though some of the intellectual and artistic excitement that must have gone into its preparation seems a little chastened in the finished product. Parrott never lets us down in his lightly articulated performances and stylistically consistent concept of the music.
Andrew Parrott - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos; Orchestral Suites [4CDs] (1999)

Andrew Parrott, Taverner Players, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos; Orchestral Suites (1999)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & no Log) ~ 1.07 Gb | Total time: 03:00:43 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Virgin Classics | # 5 61726 2 | Recorded: 1989, 1993

I doubt if many of us have found our ideal set of Brandenburgs, but most, I suspect, have settled on a favourite collection. The field is enormous, reflecting a wide range of performing styles as well as smaller discrepancies where some of the instruments themselves are concerned. These reissued recordings of the Brandenburgs are style-conscious, period-instrument performances. For sheer refinement of thought and elegance of phrase Parrott’s set has few rivals, though some of the intellectual and artistic excitement that must have gone into its preparation seems a little chastened in the finished product. Parrott never lets us down in his lightly articulated performances and stylistically consistent concept of the music.
Rinaldo Alessandrini, Concerto Italiano - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (2006)

Rinaldo Alessandrini, Concerto Italiano - Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (2006)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 530 Mb | Total time: 99:29 | Scans included
Classical | Naïve | OP 30412 | Recorded: 2005

If you're familiar with Alessandrini and his sparkling period instrument ensemble you expect interpretations featuring rhythmic drive, colorful playing, and original insights. Those characteristics are what help make this version of Bach's perennial and oft-recorded Brandenburg Concertos so compelling. Tempos are generally on the fast side, but never overly swift, while slow movements have just the right touch of soulfulness. Virtually without exception, the solo bits are done with imaginative, fluent expertise, and Gabriele Cassone's rendition of the famous trumpet part of the Second Brandenburg provides musical thrills, as well as virtuoso ones. Alessandrini himself takes us on a wild ride through the Fifth Concerto's brilliant harpsichord cadenza.