All the music in this new disc from Deutsche Harmonia Mundi is currently available elsewhere in The Classical Catalogue and it is unlikely that C. P. E. Bach enthusiasts will have overlooked any of it. Nevertheless, the newcomer deserves attention both on account of its strong performances and for its effectively contrasted programme—an absent feature among its competitors. Here are three of Emanuel Bach's six Sinfonias for strings, Wq182, interspersed with two concertos of a markedly different character from one another. One of them is the C minor Harpsichord Concerto from Bach's Hamburg set of six, the other is the Oboe Concerto in E flat, Wq165, one of two which Bach wrote for the instrument.
How convenient for Freiburg-based Deutsche Harmonia Mundi to have such a lively period-instrument ensemble on their doorstep. The group was founded in 1985 but only became firmly established in 1987. As for pedigree, it is an offspring that stems in part from Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Vienna Concentus Musicus and Reinhard Goebel's Cologne Musica Antiqua. The result is promising, with crisp ensemble, secure intonation and an intuitive response to Bach's swiftly changing moods. Just occasionally, as in the concluding movement of the Sinfonia in A major, the upper strings sound undernourished in their high-lying, exposed passages, but this music is technically demanding.
Both concertos come over well; the harpsichordist, Andreas Staier is a talented musician with fine technique and a lively imagination. The oboist, Peter Westermann, draws a warm and beautifully rounded tone from his instrument and gives an articulate, unhurried performance of what is an attractive work. The Sinfonias, too, are played with conviction and fiery passion. Only in the slow movement of this piece did I feel that the body of sound was a shade too assertive. All in all, an enjoyable programme, well recorded and well thought out.'