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Brandenburg concertos & Musicalisches Opfer by Linde Consort
Kunst der Fuge by Helmut Walcha
WTC I & WTC II by Colin Booth
Complete organ works by Wolfgang Stockmeier
Violin/harpsichord sonatas by Luis Otavio Santos and Pieter-Jan Belder
Cello suites by Morten Zeuthen
B minor mass by Thomas Hengelbrock

But there are many others.

 

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I'm looking for another ensemble recording of The Art of the Fugue. Preferably something with some winds and not overly string dominated. I came across a great recording like this a few years ago but I've forgotten the ensemble. It had some great sounding bassoons.

What about this?:

Johann Sebastian Bach, Hermann Scherchen - Art Of The Fugue | Releases | Discogs

 

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There was an orchestral version of the Art of Fugue many years ago by Karl Ristenpart with the Chamber Orchestra of the Saar (Nonesuch Records - OOP, I think) which was pretty good. Just as an aside, the recording of the Brandenburg Concertos by the same orchestra and conductor is still one of best, to my mind. Done with a lot of top-notch soloists.

The Ristenpart AoF released on LP by Nonesuch has been re-released on CD by Accord, see below..

A few years before the Nonesuch recording, Ristenpart made another - or rather first - recording of the AoF - also with the Chamber Orchestra of the Saar - for Erato featuring among others Helmut Winschermann, Henning Troog and Robert Veyron-Lacroix. This is less romantic in conception than the Nonesuch recording.

Concerning the Brandenburg concerto recording you refer to (Ristenpart's second Brandenburg concertos set) I agree that this is one of the most delightful sets in existence played with modern instruments. It's released in the same Accord CD set.

Bach : Oeuvres pour orchestre : Ristenpart, Karl, Bach, Johann Sebastian: Amazon.fr: CD et Vinyles}

 

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Remember Captain it s personnel choice.

You share the fondness for this recording with Pugg's ghost and me.

 

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Walcha also recorded an earlier cycle of the Bach organ works in mono, for Archiv Produktion, between 1947 and 1952, which I also recommend. It has more colorful registrations (being on historical instruments that survived the Second World War; one in Lübeck and the other in Kappel) but the same style of playing.

Historical instruments, yes, but not (yet) properly scientifically restored at the recording time, eg. equally tuned.

 

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Thanks! Did not know this info. I have the Ristenpart 2nd set of the Brandenburgs on LP. If memory serves, this featured Maurice Andre, trumpet, J-P Rampal, flute, Pierre Pierlot, oboe, and a violinist named Georg Friedrich Hendel (great name for a baroque performer!). Never really heard of him before or since but his performance in this set was very, very good. As to the whole period instrument business, as long as performers play as close to the musical performance standards of the time a piece was written, modern instruments don't bother me at all.

The trumpeter was Helmut Schneidewind, but he doesn't leave anything to André.

Georg Friedrich Hendel was the leader of the Saar Chamber orchestra for about 15 years. His wife, Betty Hindrichs, was the orchestra's principal cellist. Both were killed in a motor accident around 1970. Hendel made many recordings with the orchestra.