a lotta Bach

[calimac]

To le petit Trianon for a concert by Ensemble Mirable, which presented a buncha Bach concerti and suites in chamber orchestrations of six to eight players total, including soloists and continuo. Bach tended to re-use and arrange his own works for different ensembles, and some of these were in reconstructed lost hypothesized originals. Pretty good all around, though the harpsichordist occasionally seemed to be having trouble keeping up, and the principal violinist rode very high on her bow and (possibly as a consequence) gave very short-breathed phrases. Best of the evening was one of the reconstructed versions, the Suite No. 2 in A Minor (instead of B Minor) with oboe (instead of flute). Gonzalo Xavier Ruiz, who's argued in favor of the historicity of this reconstruction in scholarly journals, played his Baroque oboe with a sweet tone and very smooth phrasing.

The San Jose Chamber Music Society plans to put on all the Bach concerti over the next few years here. I'm looking forward to the Brandenburgs. But Bach wrote one concerto requiring four harpsichords, and how they'll all fit on the tiny stage I can't imagine.

Comments

[athenais.livejournal.com]

I saw them at Mission Blue on Saturday! Wasn't the Baroque oboe lovely? I really enjoyed the concert, though I don't care all that much for Elizabeth Blumenstock's playing.