I picked the Magnificat disc out of my Bach 333 set earlier this week. It features 2 recordings of the D major (the 1983 JEG and McCreesh), sandwiching the Christ Church/AAM/Preston E flat.
JEG's Bach from that era does now sound horribly driven and harsh (not helped by a very in-your-face recording, I felt). He seems to have re-thought his approach quite radically since then. And the McCreesh deserves the criticism that Heighes levelled at it in his BaL (it's great that it's still available, by the way) - a breathless sprint with no style. Preston (from 5 years before the JEG) really shows them how it should be done. A pioneering HIP recording (like so many of those l'Oiseau Lyre AAM discs of that time) which still holds up well today.
I should probably buy the Pierlot to have a decent D major in my collection (although I have the King's recording with the CPE Bach, which still has the capacity to thrill in its own way).
The 333 also features just one movement of the Karl Richter recording, buried later in the box. It's rather wonderful, in its way.
JEG's Bach from that era does now sound horribly driven and harsh (not helped by a very in-your-face recording, I felt). He seems to have re-thought his approach quite radically since then. And the McCreesh deserves the criticism that Heighes levelled at it in his BaL (it's great that it's still available, by the way) - a breathless sprint with no style. Preston (from 5 years before the JEG) really shows them how it should be done. A pioneering HIP recording (like so many of those l'Oiseau Lyre AAM discs of that time) which still holds up well today.
I should probably buy the Pierlot to have a decent D major in my collection (although I have the King's recording with the CPE Bach, which still has the capacity to thrill in its own way).
The 333 also features just one movement of the Karl Richter recording, buried later in the box. It's rather wonderful, in its way.
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