On track: Hidden jewels of the Bach dynasty

A new CD from Auckland's Extempore focuses on chamber music by the sons of Bach, and not just the expected Carl Philip Emanuel and Johann Christian. The younger Johann Christoph Friedrich is represented by a dashing account of a D minor Sonata by James and Sally Tibbles. Its dancing Allegro is a joy.

Violinist Graham McPhail and cellist Margaret Cooke join for the other three works, with the group at its most responsive in the Adagio from Carl Philip Emanuel's A minor Trio. The interplay of violin and flute is particularly affecting.

Although Cooke's continuo playing always has the necessary verve and buoyancy, for my taste, the cello tone too often dominates the recording. Otherwise this lovely, too little-known music has been exquisitely captured by producer Wayne Laird in the clear acoustics of the Auckland University Music Theatre.

Other "local connections" are here, with three of the five instruments made by New Zealand craftsmen. A plaintive-toned viola by Adrian Studer is the ideal music-mate for wooden flute in a C.P.E. Bach Quartet, while the tonal range of Paul Downie's fortepiano, pictured on the cover, is remarkable.

James Tibbles makes the most of the range of Downie's instrument, from lighter-than-air, feathery chords to finely chiselled passage work.

Andrea Marcon and his Venice Baroque Orchestra unfold more dramatic soundscapes when they tackle Vivaldi String Concertos and Sinfonias on a Deutsche Grammophon Archiv release.

Light-footed and fleet-fingered, with stormy clouds over every second Allegro, this is music that demands a physical response, especially when the spirit is dance-like. Prepare to be totally bewitched by the opening movement of the first G minor Concerto, where Vivaldi fashions ever-revolving patterns for his string players, framing some gorgeous lute continuo.

Closer to home, English soprano Emma Kirkby guests with the Australian choir Cantillation and the Orchestra of the Antipodes, conducted by Antony Walker.

The violins may not be as uniformly sweet as those of Marcon's band, and trumpeter Leanne Sullivan has a few gruff moments, but well-judged tempi, some appealing woody sonorities and Kirkby's glowing account of Bach's Jauchzett Gott in allen Landen are ample compensation.

* Extempore, Chamber Music by the Sons of Bach (Atoll ACD 204)

* Vivaldi, Concertos and Sinfonias for Strings (Archiv 474 5092)

* Emma Kirkby, Magnificat (ABC Classics, 476 5255)