Search - Johann Christian Bach, Anthony Halstead, Hanover Band :: J.C. Bach: Symphonies, Op. 6, Nos. 1-6

Halstead and forces do right by the "London Bach"

Molly the Cat | the USA | 07/01/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you can get over the confusion in their numbering, Johann Christian Bach's works are well worth exploring. The "London Bach" was a very influential composer early in the Classical period, highly regarded by Mozart himself and rising to the position of music master to the Queen of England before dying in poverty at the age of 46. This release of one of J.C. Bach's most noted sets of symphonies is actually entitled by the liner notes "Six Symphonies, Hummel Op. 6"; it turns out that various publishers attached the "op. 6" designation to numerous different sets of the composer's work. (For example, there are also two "Opus 18"s, and the "Opus 8" symphonies released by an Amsterdam publisher in the mid 1770s actually include three of the symphonies already published in "Hummel Op. 6"! The work-numbering situation is so confused that in the absence of true catalog numbers, the "New Grove" numbers the works according to PAGE NUMBERS in C.S. Terry's study of the composer's output!) But the fame of this Op. 6 stems mainly from the final symphony of the set, a G Minor work which is unusually dark and serious for this time period and this composer.Anthony Halstead and the Hanover Band live up to their usual high standards in this music, part of what is said to be a survey of J.C. Bach's complete orchestral works. Based on the sound of this disc, the first I have heard (although several others appear on Amazon), I can only hope that they continue to turn out similarly splendid releases of this neglected composer."