Bach’s orchestral suites always have done well on disc. BIS recently released an outstanding SACD featuring the Japan Bach Collegium, and this newcomer is equally fine, both as performance and recording. It’s also different enough so that if you want your Bach in surround-sound, you might find the comparison enlightening. Compared with Suzuki’s precision and lively elegance, Fasolis offers an infectious, “hang-on-to-your-hats” spontaneity. I love the way in which, after the initial overtures, he plays the dances practically without pause, creating a continuous and colorful arch of music right through to the end of each work. The order of the suites—3, 2, 1, and 4—frames the two lightest works with the two pieces featuring trumpets and drums, and so the result (if you listen continuously) is a nicely varied program in four big movements, almost like a giant Baroque symphony.
Fasolis’ enthusiasm is particularly evident in his encouragement of liberal ornamentation in all of the repeats. You will notice this most obviously in the famous “Air” from the Third suite, as well as throughout the Suite No. 2, which features some remarkably ornate roulades from flutist Stefano Bet. The tempo of the work’s final “Badinerie” has to be heard to be believed, but the music never sounds merely breathless.
In short, these are beautifully realized, stylish, and humane performances with a genuine point of view. They say something new and interesting about the music without ever violating its spirit, and the sonics, whether in stereo or SACD surround-sound, are absolutely first class. Listening to this disc is a joy from beginning to end, a tribute to Bach and to the enduring freshness of these perennial favorites. [4/24/2006]
