Rinaldo Alessandrini & Concerto Italiano Perform Overtures Of Three Johann Bachs On New Album

On November 8, 2019, Naïve Classiques will release an album of Bach Ouvertures performed by Concerto Italiano and harpsichordist and director Rinaldo Alessandrini. In this new album, the ensemble interprets the complete Ouvertures of Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as those of J.S. Bach's well-respected contemporaries and second cousins, Johann Bernhard and Johann Ludwig Bach.

"Alessandrini dazzles with the virtuosity of his ensemble's playing," writes The Guardian and in January 2020, Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano will bring these dazzling performances to six cities in North America including Washington, DC, Southern California and Montreal. On tour, they will present Venice, Rome, Naples, a program of music of Corelli, Vivaldi, Marcello, Scarlatti, Handel, Porpora and Leo. Alessandrini will also perform a solo harpsichord recital in Montreal.

For over three decades, Concerto Italiano and Rinaldo Alessandrini have been exploring the works of Bach - as in their benchmark recording of the Brandenburg Concertos in 2005, deemed by Gramophone "joyous and fresh in their straightforward but deeply musical way." In this new recording of the four orchestral dance suites - dubbed by J.S. Bach himself as "Ouvertures" for their imposing opening movements - Alessandrini has once again put the composer's entire output under the microscope to identify the most authentic details of style and orchestration. The result is a subtle balance between Bach's intricate contrapuntal writing and the spontaneity of his dances, with their French and Italian influences.

No one is certain when these suites were composed, nor where they were first performed, but they were certainly played in Leipzig circa 1729 - 1737 while J.S. Bach was directing its celebrated Collegium Musicum. Alongside these majestic and festive works, Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano present two Ouvertures in the same instrumental mold by Johann Bernhard and Johann Ludwig Bach. Johann Sebastian Bach enjoyed lifelong ties of mutual friendship and esteem with these two composers - both second cousins - and deeply appreciated their own Ouvertures, which he also performed with Collegium Musicum. This new recording offers a distinct opportunity to hear these two superb orchestral pieces in the contemporary context of J.S. Bach's own music.

A preview of Concerto Italiano's Johann Bach Ouvertures for Orchestra can be found HERE.