Apr 12, 2020

Bach: Harpsichord Concertos (CD review)

Francesco Corti, harpsichord; Il Pomo d'Oro. Pentatone PTC 5186 837.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1665-1750) wrote eight concertos for harpsichord, the final one unfinished. On this present album, harpsichordist and conductor Francesco Corti and the period-instrument ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro offer four of those concertos: Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 7. They make a commendable team performing commendable material.

First, who is Francesco Corti? From his Web page, "Mr. Corti was born in Arezzo, Italy, in a musical family in 1984. He studied organ in Perugia, then harpsichord in Geneva and in Amsterdam. He was awarded at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig (2006) and at the Bruges Harpsichord Competition (2007). As a soloist, he has appeared in recitals and concerts all over Europe, in the USA, in Latin America and in New Zealand. Since 2015 he conducts regularly Les Musiciens du Louvre, and since September 2016, he is professor of harpsichord and thorough bass at the Schola Cantorum Basilensis."

Second, who are Il Pomo d'Oro? From their Web page, "The ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro was founded in 2012. It is characterized by an authentic, dynamic interpretation of operas and instrumental works from the Baroque and Classical period. The musicians are all well-known specialists and are among the best in the field of historical performance practice. The ensemble so far worked with the conductors Riccardo Minasi, Maxim Emelyanychev, Stefano Montanari, George Petrou, Enrico Onofri, and Francesco Corti."

Third, what are Bach's harpsichord concertos all about? From Wikipedia we learn that the exact dates of composition for the eight concertos remain uncertain, the first of them perhaps transcribed from an earlier organ concerto. Bach originally intended them "as a set of six, shown in the manuscript in Bach's traditional manner beginning with 'J.J.' (Jesu juva, 'Jesus, help') and ending with 'Finis. S. D. Gl.' (Soli Deo Gloria). Aside from the Brandenburg Concertos, it is the only such collection of concertos in Bach's oeuvre, and it is the only set of concertos from his Leipzig years (1723-44)." What's more, musical historians generally agree that Bach's harpsichord concertos are the first concertos written specifically for the harpsichord. So, whether you like them or not, they have some musical significance.

Francesco Corti
Finally, how well do Corti and Il Pomo d'Oro handle the concertos? I'm not an expert, but I'd say from my listening that they do as well with them as anybody. One of the big secrets to the success of any performance of these concertos is making each one stand out on its own terms. After all, there are not so many obvious differences among the harpsichord concertos as there are, say among the six Brandenburg Concertos, so the performers must be on their guard against complacency. In this regard, they succeed. There is nothing complacent about Corti's playing or Il Pomo d'Oro.

In fact, Corti has studied these scores for quite some time and thoroughly researched their history. As a stickler for historic accuracy, he probably plays them as Bach might have wanted. Again, whether that delights you or bores you is a purely subjective matter. I found their music making exhilarating.

Why "exhilarating"? Well, you have to remember that Corti and his accompanying ensemble are all versed in historical instrument practice, meaning that, depending on your interpretation, quick or slow. They tend to take the opening and closing Allegros lickety-split. These are offset with some fairly light, leisurely central movements, giving the concertos plenty of character but perhaps not always to the satisfaction of the listener used to more traditional performances. Regardless, it's hard not to respond positively to the zesty tempos and graceful contours of Corti's performances and the uniformly virtuosic playing of everyone involved.

Incidentally, if No. 7 in G Minor sounds familiar, it should. Bach based it on his own Violin Concerto in A Minor. What's more, he probably intended it to be the first concerto in a set of six but apparently changed his mind about the whole thing.

Executive producers Renaud Loranger, Gesine Lubben, and Giulio d'Alessio and recording producer Jean-Daniel Noir made the album at the Gustav Mahler Hall, Kulturzentrum, Toblach in March 2019. Unlike many of Pentatone's releases, which have been in multichannel SACD, this one is in standard two-channel stereo PCM only, with no mention of SACD anywhere.

The sound is exceptionally clean, with good definition, body, and detail. My only "however" is that it seems fairly one-dimensional. That is, while there is ample space around the instruments, they all appear to be in a straight line across the speakers. Nevertheless, the harpsichord is well integrated into the ensemble, neither too far out front nor buried within the other instruments, although it does sound a bit wider than it should. Still, as I say, not bad.

JJP

To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
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Meet the Staff

Meet the Staff
John J. Puccio, Founder and Contributor

Understand, I'm just an everyday guy reacting to something I love. And I've been doing it for a very long time, my appreciation for classical music starting with the musical excerpts on the Big Jon and Sparkie radio show in the early Fifties and the purchase of my first recording, The 101 Strings Play the Classics, around 1956. In the late Sixties I began teaching high school English and Film Studies as well as becoming interested in hi-fi, my audio ambitions graduating me from a pair of AR-3 speakers to the Fulton J's recommended by The Stereophile's J. Gordon Holt. In the early Seventies, I began writing for a number of audio magazines, including Audio Excellence, Audio Forum, The Boston Audio Society Speaker, The American Record Guide, and from 1976 until 2008, The $ensible Sound, for which I served as Classical Music Editor.

Today, I'm retired from teaching and use a pair of bi-amped VMPS RM40s loudspeakers for my listening. In addition to writing for the Classical Candor blog, I served as the Movie Review Editor for the Web site Movie Metropolis (formerly DVDTown) from 1997-2013. Music and movies. Life couldn't be better.

Karl Nehring, Editor and Contributor

For nearly 30 years I was the editor of The $ensible Sound magazine and a regular contributor to both its equipment and recordings review pages. I would not presume to present myself as some sort of expert on music, but I have a deep love for and appreciation of many types of music, "classical" especially, and have listened to thousands of recordings over the years, many of which still line the walls of my listening room (and occasionally spill onto the furniture and floor, much to the chagrin of my long-suffering wife). I have always taken the approach as a reviewer that what I am trying to do is simply to point out to readers that I have come across a recording that I have found of interest, a recording that I think they might appreciate my having pointed out to them. I suppose that sounds a bit simple-minded, but I know I appreciate reading reviews by others that do the same for me — point out recordings that they think I might enjoy.

For readers who might be wondering about what kind of system I am using to do my listening, I should probably point out that I do a LOT of music listening and employ a variety of means to do so in a variety of environments, as I would imagine many music lovers also do. Starting at the more grandiose end of the scale, the system in which I do my most serious listening comprises Marantz CD 6007 and Onkyo CD 7030 CD players, NAD C 658 streaming preamp/DAC, Legacy Audio PowerBloc2 amplifier, and a pair of Legacy Audio Focus SE loudspeakers. I occasionally do some listening through pair of Sennheiser 560S headphones. I miss the excellent ELS Studio sound system in our 2016 Acura RDX (now my wife's daily driver) on which I had ripped more than a hundred favorite CDs to the hard drive, so now when driving my 2024 Honda CRV Sport L Hybrid, I stream music from my phone through its adequate but hardly outstanding factory system. For more casual listening at home when I am not in my listening room, I often stream music through a Roku Streambar Pro system (soundbar plus four surround speakers and a 10" sealed subwoofer) that has surprisingly nice sound for such a diminutive physical presence and reasonable price. Finally, at the least grandiose end of the scale, I have an Ultimate Ears Wonderboom II Bluetooth speaker and a pair of Google Pro Earbuds for those occasions where I am somewhere by myself without a sound system but in desperate need of a musical fix. I just can’t imagine life without music and I am humbly grateful for the technologies that enable us to enjoy it in so many wonderful ways.

William (Bill) Heck, Webmaster and Contributor

Among my early childhood memories are those of listening to my mother playing records (some even 78 rpm ones!) of both classical music and jazz tunes. I suppose that her love of music was transmitted genetically, and my interest was sustained by years of playing in rock bands – until I realized that this was no way to make a living. The interest in classical music was rekindled in grad school when the university FM station serving as background music for studying happened to play the Brahms First Symphony. As the work came to an end, it struck me forcibly that this was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, and from that point on, I never looked back. This revelation was to the detriment of my studies, as I subsequently spent way too much time simply listening, but music has remained a significant part of my life. These days, although I still can tell a trumpet from a bassoon and a quarter note from a treble clef, I have to admit that I remain a nonexpert. But I do love music in general and classical music in particular, and I enjoy sharing both information and opinions about it.

The audiophile bug bit about the same time that I returned to classical music. I’ve gone through plenty of equipment, brands from Audio Research to Yamaha, and the best of it has opened new audio insights. Along the way, I reviewed components, and occasionally recordings, for The $ensible Sound magazine. Most recently I’ve moved to my “ultimate system” consisting of a BlueSound Node streamer, an ancient Toshiba multi-format disk player serving as a CD transport, Legacy Wavelet II DAC/preamp/crossover, dual Legacy PowerBloc2 amps, and Legacy Signature SE speakers (biamped), all connected with decently made, no-frills cables. With the arrival of CD and higher resolution streaming, that is now the source for most of my listening.

Ryan Ross, Contributor

I started listening to and studying classical music in earnest nearly three decades ago. This interest grew naturally out of my training as a pianist. I am now a musicologist by profession, specializing in British and other symphonic music of the 19th and 20th centuries. My scholarly work has been published in major music journals, as well as in other outlets. Current research focuses include twentieth-century symphonic historiography, and the music of Jean Sibelius, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Malcolm Arnold.

I am honored to contribute writings to Classical Candor. In an age where the classical recording industry is being subjected to such profound pressures and changes, it is more important than ever for those of us steeped in this cultural tradition to continue to foster its love and exposure. I hope that my readers can find value, no matter how modest, in what I offer here.


Bryan Geyer, Technical Analyst

I initially embraced classical music in 1954 when I mistuned my car radio and heard the Heifetz recording of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. That inspired me to board the new "hi-fi" DIY bandwagon. In 1957 I joined one of the pioneer semiconductor makers and spent the next 32 years marketing transistors and microcircuits to military contractors. Home audio DIY projects remained a personal passion until 1989 when we created our own new photography equipment company. I later (2012) revived my interest in two channel audio when we "downsized" our life and determined that mini-monitors + paired subwoofers were a great way to mate fine music with the space constraints of condo living.

Visitors that view my technical papers on this site may wonder why they appear here, rather than on a site that features audio equipment reviews. My reason is that I tried the latter, and prefer to publish for people who actually want to listen to music; not to equipment. My focus is in describing what's technically beneficial to assure that the sound of the system will accurately replicate the source input signal (i. e. exhibit high accuracy) without inordinate cost and complexity. Conversely, most of the audiophiles of today strive to achieve sound that's euphonic, i.e. be personally satisfying. In essence, audiophiles seek sound that's consistent with their desire; the music is simply a test signal.

Mission Statement

It is the goal of Classical Candor to promote the enjoyment of classical music. Other forms of music come and go--minuets, waltzes, ragtime, blues, jazz, bebop, country-western, rock-'n'-roll, heavy metal, rap, and the rest--but classical music has been around for hundreds of years and will continue to be around for hundreds more. It's no accident that every major city in the world has one or more symphony orchestras.

When I was young, I heard it said that only intellectuals could appreciate classical music, that it required dedicated concentration to appreciate. Nonsense. I'm no intellectual, and I've always loved classical music. Anyone who's ever seen and enjoyed Disney's Fantasia or a Looney Tunes cartoon playing Rossini's William Tell Overture or Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 can attest to the power and joy of classical music, and that's just about everybody.

So, if Classical Candor can expand one's awareness of classical music and bring more joy to one's life, more power to it. It's done its job. --John J. Puccio

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"Their Master's Voice" by Michael Sowa

"Their Master's Voice" by Michael Sowa