Gli Incogniti/Beyer: Bach Album Review from Italy – A Magnificent Collection That Sparkles and Sparkles | classical music

forIn the 18th century, German rulers who wanted the best for their courts sent scouts to retrieve the best that Italy had to offer. Although Bach never traveled far, he was by no means immune to the popular zeitgeist, falling in love with imported works by composers such as Vivaldi and the Brothers Marcello, whose music he copied and transmitted in his own unique way. This double disc, brilliantly programmed by French violinist Amandine Bayer, pays tribute to those Italian leanings, juxtaposing Bach’s works influenced by Italian originals with the music of the composers themselves.

Some connections are obvious, such as Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins which almost 25 years later became Bach’s Concerto for Four Harps. Others are more oblique, such as Bach’s Double Violin Concerto which begins with the same melodic idea as Vivaldi’s Sonata Trio. Beyer, first among equals here, is joined by the Gli Incogniti musicians for lively, light-hearted performances. There is an alluring sense of fantasy about Vivaldi’s D minor Concerto for violin and cello, for example, as there is about Alessandro Marcello’s lively Oboe Concerto, both of which Bach transcribed for keyboard. Three Brandenburg concertos were positively influential. The connections, though sometimes on the weak side, are great.