Café Zimmermann

Bach’s suites and concertos have long been part of concert repertoires. It is however interesting to mentally replace their first executions in the context of the time, so different from what we see on present day stages. Apart from at the courts, whatever their size, there were no permanent orchestras in Bach’s time and age. Café Zimmermann has brilliantly recreated the spirit of these orchestras, allowing each musician (chosen among the best on the European baroque scene) to express himself. Penultimate opus in this outstanding series, this is the first time we hear Café Zimmermann in such a large formation. This in no way harms the characteristic energy of the ensemble and we discover a Bach more alive than ever.

The event known as ‘Les grandes eaux Musicales de Versailles 2012’, when all the fountains are working, accompanied by music, is presented by the Palace of Versailles in collaboration with Alpha.

The music consists of a selection of absolute masterpieces of French Baroque music, from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century songs to great classics of the operatic repertoire, performed by some of the label’s leading artists, including the ensemble Pygmalion, Le Poème Harmonique, Café Zimmermann and others.

This final volume in a complete set, begun ten years ago by Alpha, presents the last of the major works composed for large instrumental forces by J. S. Bach. It includes the pastoral colours of the horns and oboes in the First Brandenburg Concerto BWV 1046, his Harpsichord Concerto in A major BWV 1053, the fine Orchestral Suite no. 4 in D major BWV 1069, and finally, bringing the set to a close, the marvellous Concerto for four harpsichords in A minor BWV 1065. This series has become a reference for these works by Bach, and each volume has received the highest distinctions both in France and abroad.

Here, Don Quichotte and Sancho Panza encounter a disconsolate (but not inconsolable...) widow and a conceited composer, presenting the execution of 'his' sonata, with which he is unduly satisfied. All the protagonists of this highly coloured play are interpreted by Dominique Visse, who gives proof once again of his vocal mastery and exceptional presence. May the party begin…

The French Ensemble Café Zimmermann, conducted by violinist Pablo Valetti and harpsichord player Céline Frisch, is renowned throughout the world for the clarity and precision of its interpretations and its extraordinary collective virtuosity. This is the fourth volume of Bach's complete orchestral works, a series initiated by Alpha in 2001.