What did Bach mean by the phrase ‘avec plusieurs instruments’ in the title of this collected edition dedicated to Christian Ludwig‚ Margrave of Brandenburg? Answer it as you will; either several instruments (multiple forces‚ as on most recordings)‚ or simply instruments of diverse kinds – and by implication one player to a part. Suzuki picks this option‚ as Bach himself might have done when he performed early versions of these concertos in Anhalt­Cöthen. The gains are worth considering. Certainly the scale is smaller but there is‚ instead‚ an intimacy that enhances period­instrumental colours and sharpens individual lines. BIS is as much responsible for this as is Suzuki. The recording‚ apparently made with only two microphones (if a photograph in the booklet is a guide)‚ is ambient and truthful. Nothing stands between performer and listener. Take for granted the technical expertise of the musicians. And take for granted that Suzuki has given consideration to musicological matters‚ like the type of trumpet for No 2. He prefers a coiled unit‚ designed by soloist Toshio Shimada‚ which works on lip pressure only. Though the music is played at the required high pitch‚ the sound occasionally has a mildly horn­like quality that coincidentally‚ perhaps‚ gets close to obeying the stipulation ‘Tromba o vero Corno da Caccia’ in a manuscript that predated the final score. Suzuki also substitutes what’s called an ‘Improvisation inspired by Toccata in E minor BWV914’ for the two spaced chords that separate the two movements of No 3. This is in keeping with a theory (probably first propounded by Thurston Dart nearly 50 years ago) that Bach expected performers to fill the gap. Suzuki’s solution‚ like that of others‚ sits uneasily‚ thus lending weight to the current belief among scholars that the composer’s design is best left undecorated. Suzuki’s solutions to the absence of tempo markings in four of the concertos’ first movements are‚ however‚ surely correct. Not only do his speeds fit the lie of the music‚ they also relate to what follows. So movements seem to evolve from one another to make each work a complete whole. But there is one misjudgement. The third movement of No 1 is too fast for the time signature of 6/8‚ and Suzuki stiffens the phrases as well. The resulting accentuation approaches 3/4‚ compromising the swing of the rhythm. He also tends to be over­enthusiastic about harpsichord continuo support (discretionary‚ except in No 5); and when every note of a rapid bass­line is insistently doubled‚ a spiky overlay to the bottom strings obscures their timbre. A few faults notwithstanding‚ this set shows that Suzuki has progressed to a better stage in his artistic development. But there is still a faint aura of impersonality‚ of him wanting to stand back and display these concertos rather than throw himself into the maelstrom of committed interpretation. Artists need to feel that they own the music they choose to play. Only then will they be able to communicate at the deepest level.