Donald Satz wrote:

>I continue to be increasingly impressed with recent Naxos recordings.  I
>have stayed away from Naxos for baroque music on period instruments, but
>I'll probably give it a shot with the Musical Offering which I think Naxos
>offers on period instruments.  Has anyone heard that recording?

I have the Capella Istropolitana recording on Naxos (no period instruments,
btw).

I put it on this morning, just to refresh my memory, and when I finally
switched off the cd player, I realized that three hours had gone.  Since
I never use the auto-repeat mode (to assure myself I won't fall asleep),
I must have pressed the play button three times since then...  What can
I add? If you like the natural way in which Bach's contrapuntal lines flow,
then I recommend it.

As an aside, conductor Christian Benda and harpsichordist Sebastian
Benda reminded me something I couldn't focus on at the moment.  So I
did my research and found that among their ancestors there were Franz
(1709-1786) and Georg (1722-1795), both musicians at the court of King
Frederick the Great.  They shurely were there when Bach was brought into
the king's presence.  Someone even makes the (hazardous) hypothesis that
they, among others, took part in the ideation of the "royal theme" from
which the Musical Offering originates.  Curious, isn't it?

Roberto Strappafelci