By RM73174
27-Sep-2010

Delightful performances  Very sprightly and enjoyable performances of this exalted music!

By tomottawa
17-Apr-2012

A Magnificent "Offering"  

This is one of the best buys I’ve ever made among the thousands of LPs, tapes, CDs and downloaded music I’ve acquired over the years.

Years ago I bought Karl Münchinger’s Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra LP version of Bach’s Musical Offering. I had worn this disc out, playing it many times and entering a magical world of meditation, and of aural complexity perfectly wedded to emotional expression. There is something eerie and wonderful about this music, a kind of “galactic” complexity that is totally relevant to human experience, yet somehow beyond or above it. Münchinger’s group is far from the latest “take” on baroque performance, but I find his way with this music irresistible and beyond all quibbles about style. The sound of the oboe and cor anglais alone never fail to stop me cold and make me hold my breath in awe. For years I used home transfer equipment to try to recover the pristine sound of this recording in another form, but the clicks and scratches were very resistant. Imagine my joy when I was able to download a beautiful clean version of this memorable disc. Thank you Naxos Classical Archives!
more....