Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall - J.S. Bach: Les Quatre Ouvertures, Suites pour orchestre BWV 1066-1069 (2012) [SACD]

This recording of the “Orchestral Suites” was made with the combined efforts of the 2 ensembles led by Jordi Savall, that is the Concert des Nations & La Capella Reial de Catalunya. Savall thus obtains an orchestra made up of 24 musicians with period instruments.
After its Overture in the French manner, Suite #1 offers a Courante, 2 Gavottes, the 2nd requiring strings played at the unison, as if to suggest, fanfare effect in the absence of trumpets. Next comes a Forlane, a dance originating from Friulia, which had been revived in France, the only example of its kind to appear in the 4 orchestral Suites. After this there are 2 Menuets, 2 Bourrées & 2 Passepieds, 3 dances that were equally French. These dances are followed by couples which are marked “alternatively”, which is to say that the 1st dance was repeated each time after the performance of the 2nd, as we later find with the 3rd movement of the classical symphony. We should also note the contrasts between the tutti & concertino represented by the 2 oboes & bassoon; this again is in the spirit of the French Suite.
The overall form of Suite #2 is probably the most original of the 4. After the Overture we have a Rondeau in gavotte rhythm, followed by a Sarabande, 2 Bourrées, the 2nd marked “doucement” before the reprise marked “alternati-vement” of the 1st, a Polonaise with its Double, in which the flute varies the principal theme heard in the bass, 1 single Menuet &, to conclude, a virtuoso & graceful Badinerie, a homage to France & its legendary lightness.
After the grandiose Overture of Suite #3 we have the very celebrated Air of the G string, for strings alone, 1 of the sweetest melodies ever to have come from Bach’s pen & 1 of his most justly popular. Then come 2 Gavottes (with a reprise of the 1st), a Bourrée & a Gigue.
Finally, in Suite #4, we find the composer separating the small choir of 4 woodwind (3 oboes & bassoon) & contrasting it to the strings with polychoral effects (the fast fugato in the Overture, Bourrée & Gavotte). After the Overture we have in fact 2 Bourrées (“alternativement”), 1 Gavotte, 2 Menuets with reprise, (“alternativement”) & a final Réjouissance.
~GILLES CANTAGREL Translated by Frank Dobbins
Fanfare reviewer Jerry Dubins: Half of the album’s thick booklet is devoted to advertising Savall’s previous releases, which adds considerably to its weight. The rest is given over to multilingual essays, which, I assume, are simply reprinted from the original. If so, there may be some minor discrepancies in the reporting of dates, locales, & other details of the suites’ evolutional history that have been superseded by more than 2 decades of additional scholarly research. One thing is certain, though; these are not minimalist realizations of these scores. The instruments may be of the period, but Le Concert des Nations, as constituted for these performances, is composed of 24 players, an ensemble size that comports with note author Gilles Cantagrel’s point that these works, performed by the Collegium Musicum in the smoke-filled rooms of the Zimmermann coffee house & outdoors during the summer, were very well attended & included a variety of musical fare & entertainments. This is big-band stuff, & you can be sure that Bach aimed to impress his audiences.
Since I don’t have the original CD release of this set, I can’t tell you how it compares sonically to these refurbished SACDs, but I can tell you that recording & performances at hand are magnificent. I can’t recall when I’ve enjoyed Bach’s suites on period instruments more. Savall’s readings are refreshingly normal in terms of tempos, phrasing, & articulation. This is not Bach played at warp speeds & with string-slapping bowing by La Maison des Fous. In fact, Savall’s approach is almost as romantic as some of the older modern-instrument versions of these works, like that, for example, by Karl Münchinger & the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. Just listen to Savall’s very slow tempo & phrasing swells in the famous Air from the Third Suite.
Period-instrument execution may have steadily improved over the past 2 decades but only marginally over the playing of Le Concert des Nations in these performances. Only once or twice do I notice what sounds like a very minor flub in the rapid running string passages during the 1st-movement fugal episodes, but the trumpets are rock-solid & Marc Hantaï’s flute in the B-Minor Suite is as centred & secure as any I’ve heard, giving not a hint of that breathless piping that sometimes betrays period wind instruments.
These are wonderfully played, warm & expressive performances of Bach’s 4 suites, & the breadth & depth of the soundstage on these remastered SACDs is mightily impressive. If you didn’t acquire this set when it 1st appeared more than 20 years ago, I urge you to acquire it now in its refurbished format. Savall’s Bach suites are to be cherished.