The title
The Father, the Son, and the Godfather refers literally to
J.S. Bach,
C.P.E. Bach, and
Georg Philipp Telemann, respectively;
Telemann was the elder
Bach's professional rival, but there seems to have been no personal enmity, and
Telemann served as
Bach's son's godfather. That's about all there is to the concept of this BIS release, but the appeal of the sheer variety of the music is enhanced by the knowledge that it was all written between the 1720s and the 1750s, and all came out of roughly the same milieu. This is a kinetic, exciting group of pieces that bounce off each other in interesting ways. Sweden's
Paradiso Musicale, named for harpsichordist
Anna Paradiso, is a crack historical-instrument group that individualizes these pieces to the maximum, which is just what's desired. The images of them on the packaging and graphics are purely fanciful; the group includes only a recorder player, cellist, violist, and harpsichordist. Highlights include the folkish "Polish" finales of the two
Telemann sonatas included, the subtle interplay between the unusual bass recorder and the viola in the
C.P.E. Bach Trio sonata in F major, Wq 163, and the recorder playing of
Dan Laurin in general. The chilly sound from Sweden's Länna Church represents a misstep for BIS; this quintessentially domestic music requires a gentler sound environment. That aside, this is a near-ideal Baroque chamber music recital that gives the music the weight and distinctiveness it deserves.