Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.5 in D, BWV 1050 (Musica Antiqua Köln)

A spectacular recording of Bach's 5th Brandenburg Concerto. Andreas Staier's account of the first movement cadenza is a tour de force, full of life and suffused underneath its bravura with an irrepressible sense of fun (listen to the way those tempo changes are negotiated!). Goebel has replaced the single strings with a chorus of ripieno strings, producing an archly rich sound, with warmth and detail and even some judicious use of vibrato (especially in the Goebel's solo playing). The first movement is spacious, graceful, deeply moving; the second liltingly sorrowful; and the third captures the full drama of those long melodic arches set off against scampering harpsichord figuration. It's hard to find a recording at once so refined and so spontaneous. I've written some detailed notes on the significance of the (all-round awesome) cadenza, which you can find on my upload of the same piece with Perahia on the piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBOJDTvG0DQ 00:00 -- Movement 1, Allegro (cadenza at 6:10) 09:43 -- Movement 2, Affettuoso 15:29 -- Movement 3, Allegro