BACH. Violin Concertos. Podger/Brecon Baroque [SACD]

For those who already appreciate Rachel Podger's unique brand of magic I'll just say that this return to recorded Bach is lovely and all that one could hope for. All that one looks for is here, and there is more.

For those who are not familiar with Rachel Podger, she is a unique voice among violinists. She has absorbed the principles of late Baroque performance practice and made them a part of herself, so that the articulation and inflection of that rhetorical approach to music flows from her as a natural idiom of expression. But this is only half of the picture. She also excels at communicating the logic and coherence of the music. She's not so busy being expressive that she forgets where she is. She can turn a melodic corner with an elastic flourish that makes one catch one's breath, but she never goes off the road or gets lost. Her style is an intensifying balance between opposing forces: florid yet subtle, expressive yet ordered, emotional yet objective.

On this recording there is something of an added richness in her expression, and if anything an even stronger sense of relating each moment to the whole, creating an enlarged sense of integrity and structure in the music even while she executes ravishing rhetorical details with an agile liquid flow. Then again perhaps it is just that the intersection of Ms. Podger and Bach always magifies her virtues, and the present CD is merely the first opportunity we have had to clearly hear her rendition of a Bach concerto. These recordings have some of the energy and wit of a live performance--there is a strong feeling that the performers know each other well and are having fun.

The violin tone is once again her signature full-bodied sweetness punctuated by throaty or compressed tone colors. These colors come across particularly well on this recording. There are some wonderfully boundary-pushing moments of expressive intonation. Like the earlier Vivaldi release there is a roundness to the ensemble sound. Although transparent enough, it is not sparse but full of color, more like an oil painting than a watercolor--which is remarkable given the one-instrument-to-a-voice ensemble. One might wish for a hint more bias toward Ms. Podger in the balance of sound on occasion, but this is a small quibble compared to the virtues of this release.

Without at all downplaying the quality of the other movements, it is in the slow movements that one can really savor Ms. Podger's virtues. The heart-searching sincerity, emotional immediacy, and lack of bombast of these moments are very affecting. The ensemble can also really be savored in the slow movements, at times reaching a level of lush perfected harmony and rapturous emotion which is beautifully satisfying and nicely captured by the recording.

I have just heard the album and read the review by Mr Miura. Mr Miura claims that this CD is boring but fails to explain why he feels that way. so I read a number of his other reviews. the answer was apparent. He seems to prefer interpretations of baroque music that are loud rhythmic and almost without exception, played on modern instruments. Fine, I have no problem with modern interpretations of baroque music, but I believe that his bias must be demonstrated to anyone curious about this CD. If rhythmic bombast is what you like the Anne-Sophie Mutter version will suit you nicely.

Ms. Podger takes a very different approach. She uses a 1730's Italian instrument with gut strings and a period bow. Her ensemble is a one-to-a-part group in which each member uses period instruments and period practice. She plays the difficult passages with greater facility than most of the other artists who have attempted these very popular pieces on CD and is precisely in balance with her ensemble at all dynamic levels. The result is incredible. If artificial thrills are the reason you buy as CD then please look elsewhere, but if you appreciate the lyrical magic that a fine Histotically Informed Performance can create, then this is for you (and yes I am a HIPster).

There are plenty of performances of this music that are relatively hard-driving. You can take in the ruminations of David Oistrakh or Hilary Hahn if you like. But, well, you see, we're not sure they're what Bach would have been comfortable listening to. He might just have preferred Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque's take. So my suggestion is, hear a wide variety of performances, and then choose to buy the one you like. There's certainly no point in making yourself unhappy. For my money, however, Podger and Brecon are practically in a new world here, a world where nuance rules and surprises with a turn of the phrase. That's why this CD sits next to Oistrakh and Hahn in my collection. Each is wonderful in its own way. And if you like this CD, of course, you ought to try her more solo outings, but also don't forget the two double concertos she plays with Andrew Manze on Harmonia Mundi (which will show you that she's not afraid of a little hard-drivingness herself). One final note: The two other concertos on this disc are re-arrangements of concertos for other instruments (a common practice in Bach's day), and are great fun to hear.

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