The Brandenburg Concertos and Ars Rediviva
Milan Munclinger (1923 - 1986) first prepared and conducted the whole series of the Brandenburg Concertos with the Ars Rediviva ensemble in 1965 on the occasion of their recording for Supraphon. Munclinger certainly knew some of the performances of that period: Nikolaus Harnoncourt had recorded part of the set (1963) as had Herbert von Karajan and others. Munclinger recorded and performed the works with a new informedness, stripping them of romantic resonance and giving them livelier tempos. At the same, in making up his string ensemble (Concerto No 3 in G major and No. 6 in B flat), he chose to trim down his forces, something that was unusual at that time. The parts for recorders (No. 2 in F major and No 4 in G major) were played on flutes, the common practise of the time. More authentically, however, in Concerto No. 6, he used viole da gamba and a violone. The solo trumpet part in No. 2 in F was played brilliantly by Maurice André. At that time only modern woodwinds were used, tuned as was customary then to 442.
Ars Rediviva had been founded by Munclinger along with harpsichordist Viktoria Švihlíková and two prominent members of the Czech Philharmonic, cellist František Sláma and oboist Stanislav Duchoň, in 1955. In their first concerts the repertoire consisted largely of chamber works, of compositions that were seldom performed. And certainly the works of J. S. Bach ranked high on the list. In later seasons the ensemble expanded their scope, both the number of concerts and their recording activities for radio and gramophone.
It became necessary to expand their repertoire and to take on more instruments to fill out the chamber ensemble. And very soon there emerged a clear need for a string chamber orchestra that would be appropriately supplemented by wind instruments, as individual compositions might require. Thus arose the opportunity to prepare Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.
About twelve years later, in October of 1977, Munclinger returned to a complete performance of these works. He made a radio recording and gave two performances of the complete cycle in Smetana Hall at the Municipal House. He hoped in this way to follow up on the very successful recording of 1965, which had apparently been the world's first complete recording of the whole set and which at that time was quite certainly one of the most successful.
For these new performances he further reduced the make-up of the orchestra: only in the tutti of No. 1 in F and No. 2 in F did he double the violins while the other four concertos were staffed with one player for each instrument. Munclinger himself played the flute in No. 4 in G and No. 5 in D. A new element was the use of the violino piccolo in Concerto No. 1 in F (Antonín Novák had acquired one of these instruments). As in the first recording, the wind instruments were modern. The performance evidenced a certain trimming back, even in the playing style; some tempos were quickened.
Ars Rediviva returned for a performance of the complete cycle of Brandenburg Concertos for the last time in May of 1982 in the Rudolfinum as part of the Prague Spring Festival. In several preceding and following seasons, subscription concerts offered individual concertos, most often the No. 5 in D major and No. 6 in B but also No. 4 in G, now with guest recorder players. It should be said that for each new performance, Munclinger introduced some new element, be it only a slight change in phrasing or tempo. And we can definitely say that the Brandenburg Concertos have played a major role in the more than fifty-year history of the ensemble and orchestra called Ars Rediviva.
(Karel Špelina, member of the Ars Rediviva ensemble)