Search - Bach, Somary, English Chamber Orchestra :: Brandenburg Concertos (Hybr)

A Dusted-Off Wonder

John L. Anderson | Lynchburg, VA United States | 06/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, these recordings of the Brandenburgs date back 27 years to 1975, but this Vanguard SACD, multichannel remastering of Johannes Somary and the English Chamber Orchestra reveals just how wonderful they were a quarter of a century ago, at the height of the LP recording era. I'm not a huge fan of classical music on multichannel, with an orchestra such as the ECO, it's truly as if you're sitting on the stage behind Somary as he conducts the musicians. The sound is incredible, the reproduction amazing. This is a traditional recording, by which I mean it's not one of the politically correct "historical performances," but rather is performed on great historic instruments by modern-day musicians all to create a terrific album. Very highly recommended."

Exellent recording also in 2 channel SACD mode

SCHEIFELE GERHARD R. | CH - 1974 Arbaz, VS Switzerland | 09/14/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 1975 recording of the Brandenburg Concertos shows what really can be done with SACD compared to odinary CD technique, even if one is a classical music high end freak and thus satisfied with a two channel reproduction. This recording is superbly re-mastered, and the sound quality is adequate considering the age of the recording. The artistic quality of the performance is of course outstanding."