Haynes / JS Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 7-12 The Montreal Baroque & Eric Milnes

• Bruce Haynes (1942-2011): Brandenburg Concerto No. 7 (Reconstruction)
• 1 I. Allegro 04:34
• 2 II. Adagio 01:26
• 3 III. Allegro 02:23
• Brandenburg Concerto No. 8
• 4 I. Allegro 05:00
• 5 II. Affettuoso 03:35
• 6 III. Allegro 02:40
• Brandenburg Concerto No. 9
• 7 I. Allegro 04:31
• 8 II. Adagio - Allegro 02:05
• Brandenburg Concerto No. 10
• 9 I. Andante 05:46
• 10 II. Allegro 02:58
• 11 III. Presto 03:26
• Brandenburg Concerto No. 11
• 12 I. Allegro 06:24
• 13 II. Adagio 04:43
• 14 III. Allegro 03:26
• Brandenburg Concerto No. 12
• 15 I. Allegro 03:10
• 16 II. Andante 04:34
• 17 III. Allegro 02:58
• Total Runtime 01:03:39

Info for Haynes / JS Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 7-12

ATMA presents six 'New' concertos inspired by Bach's highly colourful and creative sequence of orchestrations of the Brandeburgs. This historical reconstruction has been done by scholar and oboist Bruce Haynes. These concertos are not meant as serious reconstructions, merely as speculative trials to demonstrate the possibilities for instrumental treatment of Bach's rich fund of musical inventions contained in the cantatas and over vocal works.

A supremely clever and intriguing collaboration between Bach and the late Bruce Haynes, the six new “Brandenburg Concertos” played by Band Montréal Baroque under Eric Milnes are examples of Baroque scholarship at its best – and most lighthearted.

What Haynes did was to choose elements of various Bach works, mostly cantatas, and arrange them in instrumental combinations corresponding to those in the Brandenburg Concertos, so that “No. 7” uses the same instruments as No. 1, “No. 8” uses those of No. 2, and so on. The rearrangement and reuse of material in Bach’s time was constant: Bach’s own use of Vivaldi’s music is well-known, and Bach constantly found new uses for his own works as well. And the line between vocal and instrumental music was by no means as clear in the Baroque as it later became.

So Haynes’ use of mainly vocal music for these new “Brandenburgs” has, as it were, Bach’s own imprimatur. More importantly, these pieces really work – the instrumentation is well handled, the vocal parts sound fine on instruments (most frequently oboe), and the performance abets the whole project by using original instruments and paying close attention to period style. The one thing a listener will need to do here is get past the “Brandenburg” title, which is both accurate (for the instrumentations) and not to be taken at all seriously. Anyone not expecting to hear the real Brandenburg Concertos is in for a great treat with these non-Brandenburg “Brandenburgs,” which are very much in Bach’s spirit and are, indeed, accorded spirited – and thoroughly winning – performances.

„Adroitly culled from assorted cantata movements, Bruce Haynes's reconstructed 'Brandenburgs' might not always hang together as concertos, but the top-drawer Bach is played with vitality.“ (BBC Music Magazine)

The Montreal Baroque
Eric Milnes, conductor

Eric Milnes
is Director of New York Baroque, Artistic Director and Conductor of The Trinity Consort, Portland, Oregon, harpsichordist with The New York Collegium, Ensemble Rebel and Les Boréades, and Director of Music at St. John's of Lattingtown Episcopal Church in New York. He has performed at the Boston Early Music Festival, the Berkeley Bach Festival, the Utrecht (Holland) Festival, and the New England Bach Festival, and in every major North American and European city. His performances have been broadcast on WNCN, New York, WQXR, New York, WBGN, Boston, National Public Radio, the CBC, and Norwegian, Swedish and German state radio stations. Mr. Milnes has recorded for a number of labels, including ATMA.

The Montreal Baroque
ensemble brings together some of Montreal's finest early music performers. The ensemble was created especially for the Montreal Baroque Festival, which has taken place annualy in scenic Old Montreal. An initiative of Montreal gambist and cellist Susie Napper, the Montreal Baroque Festival is held over four days at the end of June ever since 2003. Thanks to her exceptional charisma and mild extravagance, Susie Napper, fittingly nominated “Personality of the Year 2002” by the Conseil Québécois de la Musique, has succeeded in developing a truly exciting and popular cultural event.

Booklet for Haynes / JS Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 7-12