Released: 2003
Tracks: Concerto in D major R. 93 – Allegro/Largo/Allegro [Vivaldi]; Concerto in A minor BWV 1041 (violin)/Concerto in G minor BWV 1058 (keyboard) – Allegro/Andante/Allegro assai [Bach]; Adagio [Albinoni]; Concerto in A major R. 82 – Allegro non molto (quasi Andante)/Larghetto/Allegro [Vivaldi]; Adagio (from Keyboard Concerto in F minor BWV 1056) [Bach]; Prelude for lute in D minor BWV 999 [Bach]; Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring from Cantata BWV 147 [Bach]
Best track: Vivaldi’s Concerto in D major
Track to skip: none really
Ah Baroque. I was originally hoping this would be *solo* guitar, but it wasn’t meant to be. For some weird reason I have always preferred to hear classical guitar without accompaniment, unless it’s some other guitars. Just a preference I have, I suppose. The quality is of course great on this recording, so the orchestra never overpowers Isbin, but I’d still prefer to hear her by herself. She’s a great guitar player, which is a big DUH since she’s the head of the guitar department at Juilliard. She has a very delicate and deliberate touch on the guitar; it’s nice to hear. You can hear her connection to the instrument in the way she plays. With all great players you can hear this. The album is arranged with a nice balance of pieces. Starts off with some Vivaldi in D major, then we move to Bach in A minor, then a break for an Albinoni Adagio (which is my least favorite part of the disc; the orchestra plays too much on this song for my taste), then it’s back to happy Vivaldi concerto, then back down for some more minor Bach pieces before we have the happy finale of Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. It’s all a nice balance between the major & minor, the happy and sad. I don’t particularly care for her version of Jesu; it’s nice but it’s not joyous enough. I’d rather hear it as a solo guitar piece. The only solo piece on here is the Prelude for lute in D Minor, but it’s actually kind of boring so again, not my favorite. I guess I’m in an upbeat mood so I definitely preferred the ‘happy’ pieces tonight and wasn’t too into the minor ones. After listening to it a few times of the past couple of days I definitely gravitate to the Vivaldi pieces, especially the opening Concerto in D major. All in all this is a good release, a bit too restrained, but still enjoyable. I still prefer to hear solo guitar though.
Rating: 84
Write a comment