Bach - The complete Brandenburg Concertos
The Brandenburg Concertos are probably the most successful unsuccessful attempt at composing “on spec” of all time. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote these concertos in 1721 and sent them to Christian Ludwig, the Margrave of Brandenburg, in an attempt to secure a position as musician to the royal court. He was not hired and Ludwig’s response to the composition is unknown. Nonetheless The Brandenburg Concertos are one of the cornerstones of Baroque music and about the only reason we even remember the name of Christian Ludwig.
Czech Radio presents a performance of all six concertos. The ensemble is Musica Florea, directed by Marek Stryncl and was recorded in June of 2006. The work is played on original instruments of the Baroque era and is based on the original score. Here we have a recording close to what Bach envisioned and is just as good as any modern orchestral recording that I have heard. The first movement of the second concerto has always been a favorite of mine and the theme of the first movement of the third concerto will be familiar to any one who had watched a lot of BBC costume dramas. These are essential works for lovers of Classical music and an exceptional performance.
The concertos are available in formats of 192kbps MP3 or FLAC.
Cool! I’m dl’ing the MP3s as I type.
Comment by qwynwyn — April 12, 2008 @ 1:37 am
Small correction, the leader of Musica Florea is Marek Štryncl (that’s an “L” on the end, not an “I”).
Thank you for the awesome find. Musica Florea’s recordings are not the easiest to find outside of Europe.
Comment by jwbodnar — April 13, 2008 @ 7:26 pm
One more correction, we do know why Christian Ludwig rejected Bach’s application: (1) the Berlin ensemble lacked the musicians needed to play the concertos, and (2) the emperor, Frederick William, preferred Handel’s music.
Comment by Pakk99 — April 14, 2008 @ 1:55 pm