It's only a little over five years ago that the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under Marriner recorded Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos for Philips. As we should expect, many of the players in this new set from EMI took part in the earlier one though the solo and concertino groups in the present issue eschew names of international stardom which seasoned the other. Why another set of Brandenburgs so soon? It seems something of a wasted effort when the direction clearly has found little of anything to say in the intervening years that is either new or different. Of course the two interpretations vary among themselves in small details but the all-embracing view is very much the same. If one were to choose a word which illustrates Marriner's approach to these works it would, I think, be 'urbane'. His view of the music is both leisurely and, perhaps, rather courtly, too. His team runs with the smoothness of a Rolls-Royce but, as I have found on the rare occasions when I have ridden in such opulent roadsters, the easy comfort and sense of well-being is apt to induce drowsiness. Such, I'm afraid, is the case in these well-mannered but somewhat joyless and lacklustre readings, where the players almost all sound as if they have performed or, more likely recorded Brandenburgs just once too often.
The works which come off best in the new set are the First and Fifth Concertos. Marriner adopts effective tempos and allows his soloists to express themselves in an eloquent and unhurried manner. There is some attractive ornamentation from the oboes in Trio I from Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and Alan Loveday's violino piccolo playing often extracts more beautiful sounds from the instrument than is sometimes encountered in other performances. The Menuets are quietly spoken and the Polacca rather too polite but, all in all, this concerto comes off well. In Concerto No. 5 William Bennett (flute) is comfortably a match for Jean-Pierre Rampal on the older set and I enjoy Iona Brown's violin playing more than I did that of Henryk Szerying on the other. George Malcolm (harpsichord) is common to both and plays with his customary dexterity and musicianship, crescendos and all. Much of Concerto No. 2 comes over well, with some splendid playing by the young trumpeter Mark Bennett; his contribution is especially noteworthy. What I like a good deal less is the tempo of the Andante middle movement which seems to me too slow for its own good; in the older recording it moved faster, more freely and gracefully. The same goes for the Adagio ma non tanto of Concerto No. 6, which meanders along almost interminably with an organ continuo not even acknowledged in the presentation. The finale, too, is altogether too deliberate and too laboured and I find occasional portamentos from the violas quite misplaced in this context. The greatest disappointments for me, however, lie in the Third and Fourth Concertos where the performances seem little more than dutiful. The opening movement of the Concerto No. 3 is too deliberate, its strong beats too emphatic, and there is a decided beefiness in the lower strands of the string texture. The earlier version is preferable in these respects, though in the new one I mostly enjoyed George Malcolm's stylish harpsichord improvisation which intermittently recalls the opening movement of Bach's Third Cantata, Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid. The Concerto No. 4 strikes my ears as quite simply, bland.
In short, these are performances which, though efficient and stylistically informed, are unlikely to kindle any fire in the heart or to send blood coursing through the veins of a listener. What a pity, for there is no shortage of fine playing here and I should have expected a far more lively response to these Olympian heights of Bach's orchestral repertoire. The set is a safe and, at times, rewarding one, especially for Concertos Nos. 1, 2 and 5, but if you want to be caught up in the ineffable magic of Concertos nos. 3 and 6, for instance, then I would strongly advise you sample alternative versions. Nikolaus Harnoncourt's earlier (1967) recording of the Sixth Concerto has yet, perhaps, to be equalled and this remains for me the most satisfying account that I have heard on record (Teldec AQ6 41192, 5/82). To end on a positive note, fine pressings and very clear recorded sound.'