Sigiswald Kuijken, the conductor of La Petite Bande, advocates for a 'one player per part' approach for the first two Brandenburg Concertos, believing it creates greater transparency.
Recording & Production
This recording features Jean-François Madeuf playing the 'original' Baroque trumpet without holes, a practice he teaches at the Schola Cantorum in Basel.
Performer Biography
Sigiswald Kuijken founded La Petite Bande in 1972 at the instigation of Gustav Leonhardt and Harmonia Mundi, with its name and size inspired by Lully's orchestra at the court of Louis XIV.
Performer Biography
Sigiswald Kuijken, the conductor, introduced a historically authentic style of playing the Baroque violin in 1969, holding the instrument on or under the collarbone instead of between the chin and shoulder.
Instruments
The 'violoncello da spalla' (shoulder cello), an instrument likely used by Bach, is featured in this recording, with three built by Dmitry Badiarov based on historical examples.
Composition History
Bach originally wrote a 'violone' part for the First and Fifth Brandenburg Concertos, adding the 'violoncello' part when he revised the concertos for the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721.
Interpretation
The brass instruments on this recording are copies of 18th-century instruments, played in a rigorously historical way without modern systems like holes or valves.
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