Sei Concerti per il cembalo concertato by CPE Bach

Andreas Staier records the WQ43 concerti by CPE Bach with Freiburger Barockorchester, directed by Petra Müelejans. * Concerto in F * Concerto in D * Concerto in E-flat * Concerto in c * Concerto in G * Concerto in C Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's concertos for keyboard are more forward-thinking than his recently-reviewed sonatas for violin and keyboard. Each are three-movement works, more or less, with the fifth opening in Adagio before rolling along with an Allegro. The slow movements tend to feature a lot of solo harpsichord in many cases. Staier uses these movements to alter the color of his instrument with different registration; but any singing that might be in the spirit of these movements is somewhat lost in the voicing of a harpsichord. I found these movements lacking because of the instrument chosen, in some cases simply because the music was not of the highest caliber on its own. On top of the music and the instrument were the slow, plodding tempos, that again, isn't helped by the choice of the harpsichord. The close to the E-flat work seems to work brilliantly on the harpsichord. So, it's the fast movements of real interest here. Bach employs a small orchestra augmented with horns. FBO is often a very-well received orchestra; my big disappointment in this recording is the distance from which the orchestra and soloist were recorded; the sonic character of the recording may in fact reproduce a period performance space, but my preference is for a drier acoustic. Everyone does dynamic contrasts well, it's a special effect by Bach. They are also excellent time-keepers, yet in a few places, more rubato might be have been welcome. My favorite piece is the C minor work, which I have elsewhere. And it's familiar. My gosh, it was recorded by non other than Andreas Staier and the -- get this -- Freiburger Barockorchester under Thomas Hengelbrock. And while they recorded too in a reverbrant space, the harpsichord sound is front and center, clear, and far more prominent (whether this is authentic or not is up for debate; but in a record I prefer it!). I ultimately like the older recording better (both for the reading of the concerto and the other Hamburg Sinfonien. Bach brought a lot of energy to his faster movements, and FBO follows suit with ample power and poise. Staier is technically brilliant. But I found these works ultimately lacking as a set. Taken as miniatures (read: one at a time) they better whet the palate. But this wasn't the must-have release from 2011 for Harmonia Mundi. I blame CPE Bach the most. When it comes to harpsichord concertos, I prefer his dad's.