Florilegium's complete Brandenburgs 10.05.11

[LeMartinPecheur]

What's the view of these performances? I enjoyed No 1, but nearly turned off the following No 6 because of the rotten tuning (violists living right up to their reputation??). Surely something is well out of order if the tuning in this strings-only work is poorer than the 1st concerto's with its natural horns? That's certainly how it struck both me and LaMartinePecheresse (Pecheuse?), and her ear for tuning is much better than mine.

The final four seemed much less 'queasy' but I confess by that time I was only listening with half an ear.

[beakon]

LMP - I'm glad to read this as I was beginning to think that perhaps I'd been dreaming it. I wandered into the kitchen and switched on the radio just in time to hear no 6 (I'm a pianist by profession but a keen amateur viola player so was rather hoping to enjoy it)- and was similarly appalled ... to begin with I thought that for some reason it must be an amateur ensemble so was amazed to discover it was a well-known period group. I'm afraid that after that I didn't have the stomach to listen to any more.

[ardcarp]

Any idea how I can LA this?

[LeMartinPecheur]

ardcarp: do your duties as host demand such heroism?? Can't help re LA I'm afraid.

[pilamenon]

Have to agree with the negative comments here. Wasn't that enamoured of the playing in No 1, either, and the intonation problems in No 6 were quite painful at times. In fact, during the slow movement I almost thought they were going to come to a standstill and have a complete re-tuning. After that, I, too, merely dipped in and out, but the second half did seem much better.

Wonder if the venue had anything to do with it? It wasn't a particularly rich sound either. Overall, a rather disappointing concert.

[Bryn]

Any idea how I can LA this?

Rather depends on what you mean by LA. Solfège, perhaps?

[pilamenon]

Any idea how I can LA this?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010xy9p

By the way, whatever happened to putting the presenter in a booth at a live concert? Has that gone out of fashion?

[Vile Consort]

There did seem to be a failure of the sound to blend. Whether that was due to intonation problems, technical issues or an exceedingly dry acoustic I can't say.

And I really can do without the presenter declaiming from the platform like that. Surely this is going to hold up the flow of concerts because it can't happen at the same time that the orchestra is rearranging itself between pieces. Perhaps this concert would not have had the intonation issues had the orchestra been able to re-tune between pieces.

[Richard Tarleton]

I am grateful to read all of the above, I thought the tuning was dreadful and wondered if it was just me - both the brass in no. 1 and the strings in no. 6, normally my favourite of the set. I didn't listen to the second half.

[Bryn]

They spent a heck of a time prettily tuning up for no. 5. I was reminded of that little piece by Varèse, edited for performance by Chou Wen-Chung. :cool2:

[Pianorak]

. . . but nearly turned off the following No 6 because of the rotten tuning (violists living right up to their reputation??). Surely something is well out of order if the tuning in this strings-only work is poorer than the 1st concerto's with its natural horns? . . .

i am nuts about JSB, but of all his works the one that caaught my soul when i was very young [12] and still does, is the sixth Brandenburg Concerto; the timbre of the strings, the chase of the two leads, the sublime melody and harmony .... it is my deepest listening pleasure

Not overly familiar with the Brandenburg concertos I was keen to hear No. 6 - but lasted all of five minutes or so. I wonder if CDJ felt this performance lived up to expectations.

[doversoul1]

I thought the harpsichord solo stood out amongst all that has been said on this thread which I am relieved to hear, as I thought it was just me being ignorant. Or was it (the harpsichord not my ignorance) simply relative to the rest?

As for the presenter, I find both Louise Fryer and Fiona Talkington excellent broadcasters but they don’t seem to be too comfortable on the platform. Perhaps these are two different jobs and need to be given to the ‘right’ presenters.

[gurnemanz]

I really do appreciate the return to live concerts but for reasons given by others above I'm afraid I simply wasn't enjoying it and turned to something else after about five minutes.

[3rd Viennese School]

I stuck with this. Well,from no.3 onwards (missed the first lot). I did hear some dodgy violins in one of them.
No.2 mvt 1 sounds like no. 3 mvt 1! Only with trumpets.

I did notice that the finale of no.5 was on the channel 4 testcard in 1987.

Suprisingly no.3 only has 2 mvts- wonder why that is ?

3VS