Their generous patronage of the art amply demonstrated that Prince Esterházy and the King of Naples were connoisseurs of fine music. But even such dedicated cognoscenti might be forgiven if they had talked or even dozed through some of the splendid works on this six-disc set of Franz Joseph Haydn's music. The reason for their possible lapse in decorum is in the programming; here is one disc of six Scherzandi and two of seven Baryton Octets written for Esterházy, plus one disc of five Concerti a Due Lire and two discs of eight Notturni composed for the King. These are all delightful works, full of charming melodies, appealing harmonies, ingratiating rhythms, and attractive instrumental colors, and each one is a model of fine workmanship. Played one after the other, though, they tend to blend into each other before too long, and leave nothing but a pleasant tingle in the memory when they end. This is by no means a criticism of the music, which was, after all, intended to provide aural wallpaper, and it is certainly not a negative judgment of these performers, who are as talented and tasteful a bunch of period instrument musicians as has ever been assembled. Led by Manfred Huss, the Haydn Sinfonietta Wien plays with plenty of polish, energy, enthusiasm, and an effervescent feeling for tempos that perfectly suits the music. This collection should appeal both to listeners looking for superlative recordings of these infrequently recorded works, as well as to those looking for a lively and lovely collection of extremely elegant pieces of musical wallpaper. BIS' already exemplary digital sound keeps getting better and better; the musicians sound so vividly present that they seem to be in the room.
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