Keyboard Concerto in D Major, BWV 1054
Keyboard Concerto in F Minor, BWV 1056
Keyboard Concerto in F Major, BWV 1057
Concerto for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord in A Minor, BWV 1044

Over the years I've heard a great number of recordings of these esteemed Keyboard Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), either performed on harpsichord or piano, most of them by top tier musicians and ensembles. And I must admit that many of them sound as if someone in the studio had set a metronome in motion prior to each take, which lent the music an expressive momentum as precise as a military manoeuvre, and about as much grace and elegance as a stringed marionette. What sets this new recording by the Il pomo d'oro ensemble led by harpsichordist Francesco Corti apart, are the many instances where flexible phrasing and dynamics are applied, and the faster outer movements are not just fast for the sake of speed, but are also well animated.

In the booklet notes Francesco Corti explains: "I decided to perform the concertos in this volume with a very small string ensemble, basing my decision on certain aspects of Bach's writing. Compared to a fuller orchestral sound, solo strings allow for a freer approach to the performance of the accompanying parts. I find this particularly suitable to those moments in which Bach's polyphonic writing thickens, and each voice asks for a rhetorically expressive execution." And that's precisely what lends this performance its buoyancy. One can discern each and every voice clearly, without everything sounding methodical or clinical. They are joined by Evgenii Sviridov (violin) and Marcello Gatti (flute) for an engaging performance of the BWV 1044 Triple Concerto, in which all three instrumentalists get a chance to display their technical flair and animated expressivity.