Bach: Overtures [Hybrid SACD]

• Main performer: Bach Collegium Japan Orchestra
• Booklet languages: English, German, French
• Time: 99:34
• Release Date: 2005

Review

Listeners who already know Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan from their recordings of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, violin concertos, cantatas, and Passions will know what to expect from their recording of Bach's overtures. For those listeners unfamiliar with Suzuki and the BCJ, what they can expect is bright, light, lively, and loving performances of superior virtuosity and impeccable lucidity. They can expect brilliant string playing, emphatic brass playing, impressive tympani playing, and, in the Third Suite, stunning flauto traverso playing. They can expect incisive tempos, clear textures, clean counterpoint, and joyous interpretations. They can also expect the occasionally odd rhythmic accents -- where did the offbeat accents come from in the Third Ouverture's Menuet? -- and, every so often, a certain sense of superficiality -- the Fourth Ouverture's happiness is unfeigned but sometimes seems a shade shallow. But, for listeners who don't already know Suzuki and the BCJ's work, the set is a splendid place to start. BIS' super audio sound puts the BCJ right in your living room. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide

Performances

Composer	Title	Time
Johann Sebastian Bach	Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068	23:39
Johann Sebastian Bach	Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066	26:54
Johann Sebastian Bach	Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067	24:37
Johann Sebastian Bach	Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069	24:24