Tír Na HiFi

I had planned to post this thread at a later stage but I have just seen that BAL is about this very topic tomorrow morning on BBC Radio 3 so it will be interesting to see what transpires there.

I have the following versions of the Bach Orchestral Suites in my collection....

Busch - Busch Chamber Players [EMI]
Dart - Philomusica of London [L’Oiseau Lyre]
Gardiner – English Baroque Soloists [Erato]
Goebel - Musica Antiqua Koln [Archiv Prod.]
Harnoncourt - Concentus musicus Wien [Teldec]
Hogwood - Academy of Ancient Music [Decca]
Kuijken - La Petite Bande [DHM]
Munchinger - Stuttgarter Kammerorchester [Decca]
Freiburger Barockorchester [Harmonia Mundi]


Have I omitted any version that should be considered?
What recommendations would you have for these works? I wonder in particular about Suzuki; does anyone have this set?
I also have a number of individual performances of suites but for this purpose I am more interested in a complete cycle.
As you can see from the above list I am open to suggestions to performances which may not be on period instruments. I am interested in good performance and interpretation.

You have a very fine selection Fergus. You even forgot Il Fondamento´s which I sent you some years ago. That is interesting because of the early edition [remember the second suite with violin instead of the flute?] but I would say that you have excellent versions. Of course there are others also very good like Ton Koopman´s, Concerto Köln´s and Akademie für Alte Musik´s.

Jose Echenique wrote:You have a very fine selection Fergus. You even forgot Il Fondamento´s which I sent you some years ago. That is interesting because of the early edition [remember the second suite with violin instead of the flute?] but I would say that you have excellent versions. Of course there are others also very good like Ton Koopman´s, Concerto Köln´s and Akademie für Alte Musik´s.

I had indeed forgotten to catalogue the Il Fondamento version Pepe!
Thank you for the other three suggestions my friend.

I seem to have only two:

Andrew Parrott, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra
Peter Schreier (!), Kammerorchester CPE Bach

I think I bought the latter because it was being played over the system in the old HMV classical section and I was an impressionable youth...

Diapason wrote:I seem to have only two:

Andrew Parrott, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra
Peter Schreier (!), Kammerorchester CPE Bach

I think I bought the latter because it was being played over the system in the old HMV classical section and I was an impressionable youth...

Thank you for that Simon.

That BAL was an excellent programme. The presenter was very erudite and what I liked about him was his ability to impart his knowledge in a somewhat off hand manner. One does not always agree with these presenters as they express their own opinion and one’s own opinion is just as valid. What the better presenters do is put forward an argument which supports their opinion in such a way that one can respect it and that is what this presenter did for me. The programme is well worth a listen while it is still available on the playback facility.

The Suzuki was essentially dismissed out of hand so I did not get a good feel for it.
Other examples that interested me were the Academy of Ancient Music/Eggar and the Acamemie fur Alte Musik Berlin.

I really enjoyed that BAL.

I have a selection by

1. Collegiun Aureum with Franz Josef Maier
2. ASMF with Neville Marnier
3. Freiburger Barackorchester which is FANTASTIC

Two things I have learned after listening to BAL I want to get the Akademie fur Alte Musik and I want to avoid Suzuki.

Which recording by Marriner do you have Seán, the earlier or later one?

I quite liked the feel of the earlier one.

fergus wrote:Which recording by Marriner do you have Seán, the earlier or later one?

I quite liked the feel of the earlier one.

The Orchestral Suites were recorded in November 1984.

Seán wrote:

fergus wrote:Which recording by Marriner do you have Seán, the earlier or later one?

I quite liked the feel of the earlier one.

The Orchestral Suites were recorded in November 1984.

Thank you for that Seán.