This album, originally recorded for the regional British label Dinmore Records in 2000, has been picked up by the reissue specialist Regis. There's nothing special about the performances by the
Emerald Ensemble of Bristol, England, which are competent but given to mannerisms in the solos. Nor is the engineering in the least exciting. Nevertheless, it's easy to understand the continuing appeal of this release. The prominent placement of Johann Pachelbel's famous Canon in D major in the packaging text may lead the buyer to expect yet another greatest-hits-of-the-Baroque program, but actually the album is something else again, and as such it occupies an uncrowded market segment. Where next for the buyer who has heard the Canon and maybe some Bach and Vivaldi, but isn't ready for weighty collections of Bach cantatas or controversies over historical performance forces? Certainly a well-reviewed Vivaldi disc is one answer to that question, but this release offers another: a varied selection of Baroque concertos and works for strings that introduces several composers and instrumental styles. The program is divided between chestnuts, opening with Handel's wedding favorite the Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, and lesser-known concertos, with each set well chosen and presented. The Pachelbel itself is played at a brisk clip in its original three-violin version, a useful corrective for the popular Chariots of Fire-like conception, and the booklet notes, which give a little introduction to each piece, also demystify Albinoni's Adagio for strings and organ, which actually was mostly composed in the years after World War II. The concertos by Bach (the reconstructed violin-and-oboe version of BWV 1060), Vivaldi, Albinoni, and Telemann are different enough from each other in flavor to whet the appetite. Newcomers to Baroque music are urged to check out one of the recordings by the crack new groups specializing in historical performance, perhaps those by the
Concerto Italiano and leader, keyboardist
Rinaldo Alessandrini. But this release could also be a useful second step.