Only recently, I reported on another recording of these concertos—a reissue on Philips of performances by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields directed by Sir Neville Marriner. Now we have the Brandenburg Consort, on period instruments, under the direction of its founder and leader, Roy Goodman.
Charles Avison was the most active English composer of concertos during the first half of the eighteenth century, and his 12 Concerti grossi of 1744 among the most interesting of them. Five years earlier, Thomas Roseingrave had published in London 42 harpsichord sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti and it was these which provided Avison with the bulk of his material for these Concerti grossi. But they also initially created a problem for him since, from among the 42 sonatas there were only two which could be used as slow movements. Avison therefore delved into manuscript copies of further Scarlatti sonatas, acquired at ''extraordinary expense'', and found several more suited to treatment as slow movements. These, together with a handful of faster sonatas converted into slower pieces and perhaps as many as 12 others of Avison's own compositions, solved the problem. Avison favoured the slow-fast-slow-fast scheme preferred by his teacher, Geminiani, so altogether 24 slow movements had to be found.
These are appealing concertos, in no sense mere arrangements of Scarlatti's music but revealing a skilful and inventive composer at work. Nevertheless, Scarlatti shines through most of the time, a constant delight to the listener who, at least from time to time, will find a happy point of contact with the original source. The booklet, incidentally, helpfully indicates, where possible, the Scarlatti sonata on which each movement is based. I enjoyed the playing, too; Goodman's band is usually spirited and stylish, if not always endowed with aural finesse. Sometimes I felt that greater familiarity with the music would have produced more polished results but spontaneity is no bad thing and there is plenty of that here.
Choosing between the two available versions probably depends more upon the exchequer and preferences for period instruments versus modern ones than on the respective merits of each recording, for both sets are thoroughly enjoyable. My own preference is marginally for the newcomer, though I found the recording acoustic a shade too spacious and reverberant. The effect, in other words, is closer to a performance in a large church than to one in an eighteenth-century music room. Well worth exploring.'