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Festliches Konzert: Bach / Corelli / Handel / Telemann / Torelli / Vivaldi - Branny

Festliches Konzert: Bach / Corelli / Handel / Telemann / Torelli / Vivaldi - Branny

Ars Produktion  ARS 38 164

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Orchestral


Torelli: Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 8 No. 6 "Christmas concerto"
Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2; Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3; "Ich steh' an deiner Krippen hier", BWV 469
Vivaldi: "Winter" from the 4 Seasons
Telemann: Concerto for oboe d'amour in A major, TVWV 51:A2
Corelli: Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6 No. 8 "Christmas concerto"
Handel: Suite in D major for trumpet & strings, HWV 341

Bernhard Kury, flute
Susanne Branny, violin
Andreas Lorenz, oboe d'amour
Mathias Schmutzler, trumpet
Dresdner Kapellsolisten
Helmut Branny

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Review by John Miller - March 11, 2016

These days, especially for high definition recording, multi-composer concert recordings are rather rare. This one from Ars Produktion is entitled "Festlichers Konzert" (Festival Concert), the reason for joy in this Baroque compilation being the Birth of Jesus. There are, however, only two works with the Nativity in mind, by Guiseppe Torelli (1658-1709) and Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713). Most of the pieces chosen are well-known. As well as the main programme, for some unclear reason there are two extra pieces by Bach (marked "Zugeben" ("Goodies"). While bringing the disc's timing to a generous 77:17, perhaps these were encores at the end of the concert which is referred to on the SACD's back cover.

Dresdner Kapellsolisten is a chamber orchestra of various soloists. Using modern instruments, they study and apply historical playing practice to music of Baroque, Classical and even Romantic eras. Baroque is their speciality. For this particular programme of Baroque concertos and suites, the orchestra lists personnel as strings 4-4-2-2-1 plus solo violin, winds (as soloists) flute, oboe d'amore, trumpet; and harpsichord as Basso Continuo. Helmut Branny, their conductor, was trained as a double bass player and has long specialised in chamber music. He was a member of Dresden's other small orchestra, Sächsische Staatskapelle, and founded the Dresdner Kapellsolisten in 1994 and a further ensemble, Capella Musica Dresden, in 1995.

Villa Hügel ("Villa Hills"), was the recording venue, a spacious mansion at Essen in Germany. It belonged to the Krupp family of industrialists and was built by Alfred Krupp in 1870-1873 as his home. Much of the building is in Baroque style, especially internally. The upper Concert Hall is of the shoebox form, the recognised acoustic preference, but with a high barrel ceiling, of which the central portion is glass. Many large paintings, a large fire place, detailed ornamentation in wood and plaster and many rows of cushioned individual seats contribute to the unique acoustics of the Hall. Villa Hügel's Concert Hall acoustics has attracted many Tonmeisters to produce fine music recordings there.

The recording team of Ars Produktion are usually praised for their superbly natural multichannel output. However, I encountered several unusual issues from the start. First, the MC has very little of the renowned ambience of the hall, perhaps partly because of the presence of a sound-damping audience (which is very quiet indeed). This is despite a strong signal from the rear speakers, which seem to have a very low ambience themselves, but quite loud signal which doesn't seem at all distant from the stage. This suggests an unusually close placing of the microphones, seemingly confirmed by a wide sonic stage with much less front-to-back perspective than usual. The sound was also notably much louder than usual when played at my standard volume setting on my amp/receiver, and at that volume the upper violin tone was abnormally bright and somewhat fatiguing. Solo violin, flute and oboe d'amore were even closer. The trumpet solo in Handel's Suite for Trumpet and strings very loud, startling me and making it feel as if the player was standing right in front of me.

Even worse, from the first few seconds of the concert, and even in the encores, there were very clear stage-noises, some placeable within the ensemble, but mostly from the conductor's podium; taps, clicks, creaks and clumps follow Helmut Branny's apparently athletic performance, often preceding his lunge to indicate a climax for the orchestra. These noises are present, often in groups, in each track, and I found them so irritating that I was hardly able to enjoy the music. The uncomfortable sonics of the multichannel track also made it harder to judge the performances. Not surprisingly, the Stereo track ameliorated the sound stage, giving a much more pleasant experience, but the symphonic podium and other locations of stage noise were not rendered with such precision as in multichannel. I am surprised that Ars Production would put such an SACD on the market.

This is a pity; the Dresdnar Kapellsoloisten played with style and expression, even if they were not quite as subtle in detail and rhythmic spring as, for example, Suzuki's glowing performance of the Bach Overture No. 2 BWV 1067. Bernhard Kury, flute soloist, however, performed with a wonderful sense of humour, particular in the famous "Badenerie", despite being positioned notably more forward than Suzuki's soloist. The other Dresden soloists, Susanne Branny, violin; Andreas Lorenz, Oboe d'amore and Mathias Schmutzler, trumpet - all of whom are members of the Kapellsoloisten - are excellent performers.

I thought at first that this SACD would make a good disc for newcomers to Baroque or Classical music in general. However, given that the microphones have picked up the stage and podium noise-makers all too well and in high resolution, and that the overall 5.1 multichannel is hardly successful, I really can't recommend this recording.

Copyright © 2016 John Miller and HRAudio.net

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