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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | J C Bach: Symphonies Opp. 6, 9 & 18
Johann Christian was the youngest son of Johann Sebastian who found a home in London after travels across Germany and Italy. His cosmopolitan education and outlook can be enjoyed in these symphonies or sinfonias from the 1760s and later. Haydn may have been writing full four-movement works by then, but J.C.’s use of the old, operatically inspired three-movement model is always imaginative, enlived by attractive scoring for solo winds and strings. Some of the slow movements are certainly instrumental arias in their own right. In all these symphonies, an energetic Allegro with a bold, attention-grabbing opening gesture leads to a slow movement (invariably marked Andante) and a fast final movement, often in a brisk triple time or with dancing or hunting associations. It might have been these examples that led to the eight-year-old Mozart composing his first symphonies while in London. Mozart often spoke well of Bach in his letters to his family. ‘I suppose you have heard that the English Bach is dead?’ he wrote to his father in April 1782. ‘What a loss to the musical world!’ “David Zinman’s well-recorded, modern-instrument performances with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra are polished and elegant, and they have vigour as well as finesse.” Gramophone Magazine | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Nos. 1-6
“In the Op 6 Symphonies the frothy Italianate music of the composer's Italian and early London years was behind him; these pieces, dating from the late 1760s, while still Italian-influenced in their formal clarity and melodic style, are sturdier, more carefully composed, more symphonic.
Both the E flat works have something of the solidity and warmth associated with that key, and each has a C minor Andante. The G major's first movement has the confident ring and thematic contrasts of his mature music, and the D major contains Mannheim crescendos and some delightful textures, with flutes and divided violas, in its charming, slightly playful middle movement.
The set ends with Bach's single minor-key symphony in G minor, very similar in spirit to Mozart's No 25; this piece, often recorded before, shows an unfamiliar side to his musical personality.
Anthony Halstead and his players convey the music's strength and spirit convincingly. The lively finales all go with a swing, and the opening movements have plenty of energy. The slow movements aren't always quite so persuasive: the third C minor slow movement of the G minor Symphony is a little overly deliberate and becomes detached and modest in expressive impact. Generally, though, these are strong and appealing performances of attractive and unfamiliar music, clearly, slightly drily recorded. Admirers of the London Bach and his music needn't hesitate.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | |
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| |  | J C Bach - Complete Symphonies
“this is the first complete coverage on period instruments - and very impressive it is.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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