Perusal of the personnel and the prospect of the restoration of several long-deleted delicacies to the recorded menu stimulates the anticipatory juices, but the meal proves less than satisfying. The technical perfection is there, particularly in the wind department (Michala Petri is dazzling), and the balance of the recording is for the most part well adjusted (the harpsichord brightly in evidence) but in terms of music there is greater adherance to the letter of the law than to the spirit. As NA noted, poetry, fantasy, charm and, indeed, intimacy are in short supply and there is too often a feeling of the recital of well-learnt lessons rather than of genuine empathy. There are nevertheless enough satisfactory performances, mostly of individual movements, to permit a qualified welcome to the re-entry of much of the music into the catalogue.
The CD sound is clear but, like the performances themselves, sometimes aggressively bright. Better to play piecemeal than to experience the 'onslaught' of both discs at one sitting.'