Seeking Bach recordings recommendations

[Don Cameron]

Robert Reed writes:

>All this talk of Bach on the net has catalyzed my interest in buying some
>good recordings of some "basic" Bach works. These are the works I'm most

>Brandenberg Concertos, BVW 1046-1051
> ...

I have the Pinnock set and listen to it seldom. The overall string sound
is a bit raspy for my taste, and I feel some movements are too fast -
a prime example is the final movement of #3. I also suspect that
Pinnock is rushing during the harpsichord cadenza in the first movement of
#5, but I need to check this out before wagering my tax refund on it.
I'm about to look for an alternative period instrument Brandenburg set.

I was pleased to see Ristenpart's recording mentioned by Timothy Takahashi
(Karl Ristenpart, Saar Ch. Orch). A 2-CD version is available from Accord.
This set dates from the 60's, and was originally on Nonesuch, a two-LP set
at a less than premium price. Imagine my surprise to find the CD's priced
at about $17 each at Tower! But I feel that they're worth it. Robert
Veyron-Lacroix does a wonderful job with the big cadenza in #5.

Other modern instrument recordings I've heard don't measure up, though Philip
Ledger's set (sorry, I don't have the label handy) is not bad. I have
Marriner's mid-price Philips set with the ASMF (George Malcolm, hpschd)
but listen to it rarely.

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Don Cameron | From the Heart of Silicon Valley,
hplabs!hpda!dcc or d...@hpda.hp.com | one of the Earth's Foremost
Hewlett-Packard California Language Lab | Consumers of Pocket Protectors
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