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Francis Knights, A farewell to Musica Antiqua Köln, Early Music, Volume 41, Issue 1, February 2013, Pages 173–174, https://doi.org/10.1093/em/cas166
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The 40th anniversary of Early Music’s founding in 1973 is a reminder of what a very significant period the early 1970s was for period-instrument ensembles too, with the founding of the English Concert, the Academy of Ancient Music and the Taverner Consort and Players within about a year of each other (the mid- to late 1970s brought additionally the London Classical Players, the Brandenburg Consort, the Parley of Instruments and the English Baroque Soloists, in Britain alone). 1973 was also the year when one of the most remarkable early ensembles, Musica Antiqua Köln, was started by violinist Reinhard Goebel, with fellow musicians from the Köln Conservatory. Some ensembles outlive the retirement or death of their director or the loss of a recording contract, while others do not. Musica Antiqua Köln was the victim both of economics and injury, alas, disbanding in late 2006.
The bulk of the group’s recorded legacy was made for Archiv between 1978 and 2005; there were a number of earlier discs made for EMI Reflexe and FSM Aulos, and several late ones for Challenge Classics and Vanguard Classics. The ensemble’s core repertory was 17th- and 18th-century German music (the Bach family, Handel, Telemann, Hasse, Heinichen, Gluck, Biber and many others), with frequent forays into France (Couperin, Clérambault, Charpentier, Leclair, Rebel, Gilles), and occasional trips to Italy and England (Vivaldi, Veracini, Dowland). My own introduction to Musica Antiqua Köln was via that remarkable 1978 Archiv disc of French chamber music by Couperin, Marais and Rebel, Le Parnasse Français; here were found performances of effortless virtuosity, intensity and poise. Highlights from the following decade included a special focus on Bach, with the Brandenburgs (including a jaw-dropping romp through the sixth concerto), orchestral suites, chamber music, Musical Offering and Art of Fugue, all for Archiv. The personnel changed fairly frequently (Goebel was reputed to be a demanding taskmaster) but the sound, technique and approach remained remarkably consistent.
