COMPOSERS: Bach
LABELS: Sony Seon
WORKS: Musikalisches Opfer
PERFORMER: Barthold Kuijken (flute), Sigiswald Kuijken, Marie Leonhardt (violin), Wieland Kuijken (bass viol), Robert Kohnen, Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord)
CATALOGUE NO: SBK 63189 ADD 1975
The highlight in this recording of Bach’s contrapuntal masterpiece is undoubtedly Leonhardt’s monumental harpsichord playing of the six-part Ricercar – a tour de force of technical control in which every important strand in the texture is delineated with exemplary clarity. Elsewhere, the Kuijken brothers provide sterling support in the assorted Canons and the Trio Sonata. Although I have some reservations about the rather relentless tempo chosen for the first Allegro of the Trio Sonata, and the closely miked recording becomes wearisome over a period of time, this performance can certainly stand comparison with the finest in the catalogue. Erik Levi
Bach: Musikalisches Opfer
The highlight in this recording of Bach’s contrapuntal masterpiece is undoubtedly Leonhardt’s monumental harpsichord playing of the six-part Ricercar – a tour de force of technical control in which every important strand in the texture is delineated with exemplary clarity. Elsewhere, the Kuijken brothers provide sterling support in the assorted Canons and the Trio Sonata.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:39 pm
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