★★★★☆ British conductor Paul Goodwin works his Baroque magic on this modern orchestra.

Hamer Hall, Melbourne,
April 30, 2016

Maestro magician Paul Goodwin has one particular trick that is increasingly in demand: he can make a modern orchestra play with all the sonic authenticity and technical trimmings of a bona fide Baroque ensemble. However, this is no mere illusion, as Goodwin displayed after putting the MSO through this re-education process in preparation for a performance of two of Bach’s Orchestral Suites. The alteration to the timbre that Goodwin achieves is rooted in a deeply sensitive understanding of this music’s place within a historical continuum. The result is a performance that doesn’t just sound authentic; it’s musically enlightening too.

A precise history of the Orchestral Suites’ origins isn’t known, but there’s a widely accepted consensus that these four works were written in Leipzig from the 1720s onwards. Like the Brandenburg Concertos, which were completed around a similar period (although most likely constructed from earlier compositions), these works show Bach in full experimental mode. Exploring textures, instrumental combinations and musical gestures that set new precedents, these pieces are remarkable not just artistically, but also in their function as works intended for public...