The Bach Ensemble
The Bach Ensemble
, founded in 1978 by the conductor and keyboard specialist Joshua Rifkin on the American East Coast, gained international recognition as early as 1982 with its award-winning recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B minor - one of the first ever on period instruments, and the first to recreate the cast intended by the composer. Further recordings of Bach's Magnificat, several instrumental works and numerous cantatas by Bach, many of which are still regarded as reference recordings today, contributed to the international fame of this group of musicians, all of whom were already highly individualistic at the time.
In 1988, the Bach Ensemble celebrated its tenth anniversary with its first European tour; since then, it has performed regularly at festivals in Italy, Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Poland, Sweden and the UK, as well as in Australia, Canada and the USA.
Though today most of the musicians are at home in Europe, the basis of their music-making for the members of the Bach Ensemble remains the findings of historical performance practice, which Joshua Rifkin himself has been and continues to be involved, in researching and teaching.
But for all their academic fidelity: The focus of their concerts is nevertheless on the liveliness of a performance and the emotionally stirring interpretation of the works played. The group is particularly praised for its very poetic, textual sound, but also for the always excellent, natural balance between voices and instruments and the subtle approach to the repertoire, which intensely savors every affect — but avoids superficial effects.
The Bach Ensemble has long been part of the establishment of the international early music scene - but even after more than four decades, the performances of this now very international formation have lost none of their freshness and immediate appeal for their audiences!
SONUS about The Bach Ensemble:
The incredibly poetic, yet resolute, absolutely honest sound, without any cloying ornamentation, and the renunciation of any kind of showmanship: this is perhaps what first strikes the listener about The Bach Ensemble. Because as one of the great pioneers of historical performance practice, Joshua Rifkin and his ensemble comrades still maintain their high standards today, scrutinizing every piece they play for its origin, its meaning and the best possible translation into sound. And you can hear that.
The ensemble's playing is always very clearly phrased and highly purposeful in its lines, which produces a rarely heard, lucid transparency that is continued in the exceptionally clear articulation of the vocal parts (usually scored for soloists in accordance with Joshua Rifkin's scholarly findings). The danger of over-intellectualizing the music is completely averted by the instrumentalists' wonderfully lyrical playing, despite the honesty of the sound, and the singers' expressivity, which is always strongly text-related.
A further strength of the ensemble is, of course, the deep familiarity of Joshua Rifkin and the long-standing ensemble members with their repertoire, and not least Rifkin's ever-present striving for research, which has already led to many an exciting reconstruction of Bach's works, and to many an exciting insight on the part of the listener.
Sound samples
Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn, BWV 1127 - live
Concerto in Es-Dur (rekonstruiert nach BWV 49, 169, 1053), Siciliano - live
Concerto in c-Moll (rekonstruiert nach BWV 1060), Allegro - live
Please also visit The Bach Ensemble on our YouTube-Channel!
