I have heard it said that with Fabio Biondi’s playing, you can’t tell whether he is using a baroque violin or a modern one. I don’t know if that is supposed to be a criticism, but on the evidence of this disc it isn’t true anyway. It is certainly the case that he uses a lot more vibrato than most baroque players, and that he favours a big sound and a generally sostenuto style; but the range of strokes and subtle articulations he employs are surely only attainable with a baroque bow, and when these are combined with what is still a relatively sweet, relaxed tone, there can be no real doubt as to what kind of violin we are hearing.
Biondi and Alessandrini are probably the two most feted members of Italy’s growing early music community, but interest in them so far has depended a lot on the fact that they have been performing Italian music, in which, it is felt, caprice and a little bit of red-blooded passion have an important part to play. Such qualities are not so easy to apply to Bach, even if you wanted to; better here to play intelligently, in tune and with good articulation, and let Bach’s robust, notationally more complete music speak for itself. This is just what Biondi and Alessandrini do, though at the same time bringing a moving lyricism to slow movements, and above all a bold and biting energy to faster ones such as the last movement of BWV1014, the second movement of BWV1015 with its upward arpeggios, or the finale of the same sonata (though I do feel that here a slightly slower tempo might have been a good idea). Alessandrini, better known internationally as the director of Concerto Italiano, is a crisp harpsichordist and shows considerable dexterity in the last movement of BWV1016, among others.
The recording is fairly close for both instruments, which it needs to be for the harpsichord if it is to contribute much to the music’s dialogue; but perhaps the violin could have been given a little more space, so that we do not have to hear Biondi breathing or the friction of his bow on the string. This really is a small complaint however; these are lively, well-executed performances of music which can sound dull in the wrong hands, and even if there were not surprisingly few period-instrument versions of it currently in the catalogue, I would not hesitate to recommend them.'