Since the mid-1980s Viktoria Mullova’s approach to baroque repertoire has evolved by leaps and bounds, not only for her use of gut strings and baroque bow, but also for the intelligence and musicality with which she has adapted and internalized historically informed performance practices. Her superb Bach sonata collaborations with Ottavio Dantone attest to this on every level. In contrast to the steady breadth James Ehnes and Luc Beauséjour bring to the slow movements, Mullova and Dantone generally play quicker and freer with the pulse, helped by the harpsichordist’s imaginative yet never obtrusive embellishments. The musicians mark Bach’s extraordinary harmonic felicities by subtle changes of color and gentle accents. Faster movements are incisive and buoyant, yet with top priority given to melodic shaping and clearly delineated imitative sequences (the E major sonata’s finale, for example). The G major BWV 1021 sonata takes on a darkly expressive quality with the addition of a lute, while an effective and gorgeously executed transcription of the C major Trio Sonata (BWV 529) caps this vividly engineered release. Among the numerous world-class Bach sonata cycles available on CD, Mullova and Dantone easily merit reference status. [8/7/2007]
