Here is a package that satisfies intellectual curiosity and is musically delightful. This two-disc set begins with a precise, but still musical, harpsichord performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations by Céline Frisch. Her Aria is clean, with both the melody and the bass line countermelody clear and phrased so that everything comes together well. Her ornaments fit naturally into the melodies throughout the variations, without drawing attention away from the tune, and she always has a sense of direction and forward momentum. The second disc contains the 14 canons on the first eight notes of the bass of the Aria from the Goldberg Variations and the two songs that are contained in the quodlibet near the end of the Variations. The canons are rich and warm performed by Café Zimmermann, a string sextet that includes a double bass, with excellent contrasts in the feel of each canon. The song Cabbages and Turnips Have Driven Me Away is the highlight of the two discs. Period instruments accompany Dominique Visse as he sings about a hunter bringing a girl home to meet his mother. Visse switches from a jolly, idiomatic tenor voice for the hunter to a smooth alto for the girl, and a slightly grating alto for the mother, often in mid-verse.

Every one of the six volumes of Café Zimmermann's recordings of Bach's "Concerts avec plusiers instruments" is absolutely excellent. The music is all magnificent and played with a freshness combined with depth of understanding which is a real joy. You may like to know that they have now been issued as a set J.S. Bach: Concertos with Several Instruments Complete Works Vol. I-VI which I recommend in the strongest possible terms.

In the post-Renaissance period, the lamento established a place for itself in both vocal and instrumental music. This grief-stricken utterance in the face of death – one’s own imminent demise, that of a loved one, a lamentation that may be either sacred or secular – conveys a sentiment of melancholy that verges on the inexpressible…

This disc offers balanced repertoire, virtuosic performances, life-like sound, and beautiful cover reproduction. As in the previous three recordings of Bach's concertos by Café Zimmermann, the program here balances soloists and tonalities for maximum effectiveness. The disc starts with the moving Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041; follows it with the cheerful Concerto for two harpsichords in C major, BWV 1061; follows that with melancholy in the Concerto for flute, violin and harpsichord in A minor, BWV 1044; and concludes with the joyous Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 for trumpet, recorder, oboe and violin in F major (BWV 1047).

A wonderful set of recordings, full of subtlety and expressiveness. The performances of the Brandenburg Concertos are the best overall set I've ever heard, particularly Brandenburg Concerto No1. In other recordings of this concerto either the string section or the wind instruments are often lacking, however in this recording there is a great sense of cohesiveness which makes the music sound like a conversation between the instruments.

The ensemble Café Zimmermann, lead by violinist Pablo Valetti, is one of the new breed of Baroque groups offering lean, high-energy performances on historical instruments. The name refers to a Leipzig coffeehouse where Bach's Collegium Musicum instrumental ensemble might have performed in the 18th century. Imagined in that setting, the one-instrument-per-part performance here is plausible, although evidence that such performances occurred in Bach's time does not indicate that such performances were desirable. Bach himself requested an orchestra of 24 players from the Leipzig city council, and a piece like the Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068, echoes French ensembles of that size.

The best thing about this release by Café Zimmerman – better than the stupendous performances, better than the glorious sound, better than the brilliant programming, better than the intelligent liner notes, and better even than the gorgeous reproduction of André Bouys' Servant Polishing the Silver on the cover – is the fact that it's the second release in a cycle of the complete concertos for diverse instruments by Bach. Led by violinist Pablo Valetti, Café Zimmerman is a lean and lovely period instrument chamber orchestra with impeccable ensemble, amazing virtuosity, incredible sensitivity, and endless nuances of tone and color.