I'm going to say very little here. Scherchen, Bach, you either love it or hate it. Simple as that.
I was most fortunate to locate this Musical Offering, recorded in 1951, this past week - it was in the plastic sleeve without jacket, located on the bottom of a pile of junk records. And! Surprise, surprise! the lp turned out to be in a splendid condition. This recording features 9 members of the Vienna Symphony in Scherchen's second take on Bach's highly original, at least I think so, work. This is the Roger Vuataz edition; Scherchen would call upon Vuataz's edition of the Art of the Fugue at a later date.
For this recording, Scherchen dispensed with a fuller string complement and opted for a minimalist approach, really the first of its kind. By adopting this approach, Bach's lines and textures are cleanly presented and the listener is able to clearly hear the beauty of the polyphonic writing. The results are striking and for my hears, immensely pleasurable.
As a filler, I have included the Brandenburg Concerto No 5 from Karl Haas' traversal of the cycle for Westminster. Unfortunately, I possess only 3, 4 and 5. At some point, I would like to be able to present the integral set. As for the fifth concerto, it is extremely well done by forces that are not much bigger then Scherchen's chamber ensemble. Again, detail is laid bare and as with the Scherchen, the recording by Westminster is very well done for its day, most excellent monophonic results.
Rather pleasant listening for a Sunday..at least until the Patriots - Bills game commences!
DOWNLOAD
