Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, the eldest of J. S. Bach’s sons and the one for whom the father seems to have had particular affection, wrote four concertos for harpsichord and strings. Two of the works, F41 and F44, belong to Bach’s Dresden period (1733-46), a third, F45, may pre-date these, though the matter has long been controversial, while a fourth, F43, is probably the latest. Harpsichordist Richard Egarr, with London Baroque, has chosen three of them and it is greatly to be hoped that the remaining one will shortly be on its way with Friedemann’s remaining authenticated music for harpsichord with orchestra. The present clutch has been out of the catalogue for many years since the deletion of two Arion LPs released during the early 1970s with the harpsichordist Brigitte Haudeborg, and the Pro Arte Orchestra conducted by Kurt Redel. A major difference between those recordings and the new issue is that while the earlier ones featured a conventional chamber orchestra with more than one instrument to a part, Egarr is partnered by single strings. Each approach has its merits but the chief strengths of the present release lie in an altogether more perceptive understanding of those highly individual gestures, inner tensions and swift changes of mood which embody the ethos of the Empfindsamer Stil. Not that this highly gifted member of the Bach clan embraced Empfindsamkeit wholeheartedly, for one of the many fascinating aspects of his style – and one of its most distinctive – is its constant wavering between past and present. His feeling for melody is more apparent than that of Carl Philipp Emanuel and more effortless, too – the sustained beauty of the Adagio molto of the F major Concerto is an example of what I mean – but there is also a darker, brooding side to this music to which my sensibilities respond acutely. Ever restless, ever vacillating, Wilhelm Friedemann’s style seems to reflect much of what we know about his unsettled disposition.
The performances are fluent, vital and, as I say, idiomatically perceptive. To begin with I found the violins a little astringent in tone but I soon adjusted to that and found myself revelling in the clarity of texture afforded by the one-to-a-part approach. The players all have an awareness of just how much every little gesture counts in this music and this both enlivens and enriches their performances. Recommended.'