Dunedin Consort - J.S. Bach: Six Brandenburg Concertos - BBC Radio 3: CD Review

I found that to be a beautifully balanced performance that works in a way that works across all six sets of Brandenburgs in this new set from the Dunedin Consort directed by John Butt. They weren't going for the extreme tempos as some of the Baroque specialists who've recorded them in recent years. The soloists are excellent and well integrated with the rest of the ensemble so they weave in and out instead of standing forward for the whole thing, even the trumpeter in the second concerto, David Blackadder. Decoration is sensitively applied. The recording itself is rich, detailed and has impressive depth in the bass; it's a really nice feeling. If you've found the impetuous pace of some ensembles a little over the top, then this intimate, measured and yet always joyful appraisal of the Brandenburgs ought to work as a real refresher.