The Consort of London is to all intents and purposes, a modern instrumental ensemble, for though the stringed instruments originate from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, they are modified and tuned to the standard requirements of today. Some 16 players are involved at one time or another in these performances though they are misleadingly listed in the booklet, where only half the instrumental strength is accounted for on the first page violas, oboes, flute, horns and bassoon are omitted but happily appear in the context of the works in which they are variously required.
The interpretations have some unusual features. Falling in with an idea expressed by the late Thurston Dart, Robert Haydon Clark, a former pupil of Dart, substitutes a French horn for Bach's tromba. In the Third Concerto the Phrygian cadence separating the two Allegro movements has not been deemed sufficient and the Adagio from Bach's Trio Sonata in G major (BWV1038) provides the slow movement which Bach omitted. In the Fourth Concerto Piers Adams and Joanne Clements play two specially made treble recorders tuned in G rather than those in F which have become standard in the present century. In Bach's days there was greater variety in recorder size and tuning than the four with which we are generally acquainted nowadays. Treble recorders in G seem a sensible and practical solution avoiding the strident octave transposition incurred by Dart's smaller flageolets in G. In the Sixth Concerto the decision to replace the two viole da gamba with cellos is both regrettable and puzzling: regrettable, because by so doing Bach's subtly wrought sounds and textures are utterly destroyed, puzzling, because the issue is hardly different from that which governs a choice between recorders and flutes in the Second and Fourth Concertos. Though not always specific, and sometimes ambiguous, Bach was never casual about instrumentation, and if it was often dictated by the available resources, what he wrote remains what he wanted, especially when he went to the trouble of preparing a fair copy. The exclusion of gambas in this most intimate of concertos alters the character of the two outer movements (above all the opening one), and it is partly for this reason that the work suffered more than the other five in the pre-period instrument era.
Having said that I found the interpretations sympathetic and enlightened. Tempos are almost unfailingly well-judged, phrasing and articulation thoughtful and effective. Solo and concertino playing is of a consistently high standard with clean ensemble, crisp entries and mainly good intonation. There are notable contributions from the leader, David Juritz, whose violino piccolo playing in the First Concerto is warm in sound and technically secure; the harpsichordist Virginia Black who gives an accomplished solo performance in the Fifth Concerto while elsewhere providing sympathetic continuo support; the horn player, Richard Bissill, and the two recorder players.
Of the various departures from the norm, so to speak, it is the recorders in the Fourth Concerto which carry greatest conviction. The horn in the Second Concerto may be a convenient solution but not, to my ears, the likeliest one. Trumpet, oboe, violin and recorder were frequent protagonists in the concertos of Bach's German contemporaries and there seems little reason to doubt that a member of the trumpet family, albeit far removed from the standard instrument of today, was what Bach had in mind. The trio movement inserted between the two fast movements of the Third Concerto has been arranged by Juritz for violin, viola and continuo but, though beautifully played, seemed more of a distraction than an adornment; and where the Sixth Concerto is concerned enough has already been said.
Such issues as these will concern some readers more than others, but surely must temper our enthusiasm for otherwise stylish, sympathetic and lively performances. Alternative thoughts are often interesting if not in the end always satisfying. I found a great deal to enjoy in this set and it conveys the spirit of the music with more conviction than many of its rivals. Fine recorded sound.'