It is difficult not to compare this recording of
Bach's Six Sonatas for violin and harpsichord by Emlyn Ngai and
Peter Watchorn to the album made by
Giuliano Carmignola and
Andrea Marcon. Why? Because they are both simply fantastic recordings. Both feature consummate musicians and scholars on both violin and harpsichord playing period instruments that always sound fresh, vibrant, and energetic and never subdued or stodgy. Both performances are immaculately in tune, beautifully ornamented, and showcase energetic and spontaneous-sounding music-making that is accompanied by an equal measure of scholarly performance practice. So what's the difference between the two? To the listener, the most immediately noticeable difference is that of tempo. Ngai's performance of the fast movements is much more staid and conservative, which is not in any way to intimate boring or uninteresting. This is of course a matter of personal preference. From an academic point of view, the present recording with Ngai and
Watchorn provides much more; the liner notes (written by
Watchorn) are extremely informative and coherent. As if that weren't enough, there's a third disc in the box that features a discussion with
Watchorn on
Bach's time in Cothen when the sonatas were composed.