Customer Reviews

Bach - Cantatas BWV 140, 147 / Holton, Chance, Rolfe Johnson, Varcoe, The Monteverdi Choir, The English Baroque Soloists, Gardiner

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Issued in the year 2000, this compact disc was a small contribution to the promotion of the Monteverdi Choir cantata tour. Together with the English Baroque Soloists, they performed all the surviving church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach during the course of 2000, on the liturgical days for which they were composed, in different churches around Europe and US. Gardiner talks a little about this endeavor in the line notes: "Bach is probably the only composer whose musical output is so rich, so challenging to the performer and so spiritually uplifting to performer and listener alike, that one would gladly spend a year in his exclusive company."
In 1731, based on a hymn by Philipp Nicolai, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, Bach wrote a chorale cantata with the same title. The text is based on the parable of the ten virgins in the prescribed Gospel reading, Matthew 25: 1-13. Of the seven sections, the first and the last as well as the middle fourth are chorales. Interestingly enough, the middle one, Zion hört die Wächter singen, is for tenors and orchestra. Furthermore, the intermediate pairs of sections are similar in the way that each of the groups begins with a recitative and ends with an Aria/Duet for soprano and bass soli. The duets represent the conversation between Jesus (bass) and the Soul (soprano), while the middle chorale is the song of the watchmen from the Song of Songs.
Initially composed in 1716 for a service in the Weimar chapel on the fourth Sunday in Advent, Cantata BWV 147 was revised by the composer in 1723 for the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Divided into two parts, sung before and after the sermon, this cantata uses five of Salomo Frank's original verses to which Bach added recitative texts in order to make the text more relevant to the Feast. The text takes Mary's words as the paradigm for personal Christian proclamation and encourages the congregation to bear witness to Christ freely with "heart and lips, thy whole behavior" (Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben). The final chorale is the famous Jesus bleibet meine Freude, a reiteration of the one ending the first part, Wohl mir, dass ich Jesum habe, later on transcribed for keyboard by Myra Hess as the extremely profound and noble Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.
It's been said that the importance of Gardiner's performances consist of the use of authentic instruments and as a consequence the whole sonority changes mostly because of the lowered tuning (a'=415 Hz). However, the critics don't always remember the quality of the musicians who, at least in these versions of Bach's 140 and 147, are exceptional, from the soloists to the orchestra and chorus members. The tempi and the dynamics altogether with the phrasing and the musical expression are well determined by the musicians led by John Eliot Gardiner. We should remind the reader that those parameters were hardly notated in Bach's time, fact that has determined so much confusion in time. The bouncy articulation and the happiness of the singing or playing lines make this recording a fresh and even modern interpretation of these two masterpieces of the musical world.
I left at the end a word about the cover presentation of this compact disc. The picture strikes the viewer with a contrasting black and white image of two different worlds, or if you wish, different eras. The present is the background, dark (night), on a city street, where the details are intentionally fuzzy suggesting maybe the diffuse life of contemporary people. However, in the center of the viewer's attention, the bright 1748 E.G. Haussmann painting of Bach on the case of a double bass reveals the clarity and serenity of a disappeared time. And it looks like we, the viewers (read the listeners), feel closer to that world because we can just "see" the stillness of the moving double bass.

BACH LIGHTS UP MY LIFE!
And I suspect the lives of many others who continue to be astounded at the creativity that produced a multitude of works. And on this recording we are gifted with STUNNING RENDITIONS OF TWO OF BACH'S MOST ATTRACTIVE CANTATAS! Fortunately for us they are performed by the very excellent Monteverdi Choir under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner, who is probably the leading authority on the music of Bach. The soloists are the best and sing with great skill and emotion. Though Bach had more downs than ups in his life, he must somehow have subscribed to the philosophy of the yet unwritten song 'I Never Promised You a Rose Garden'.

The first cantata 'Wachet auf,ruft uns die Stimme'opens up with a rousing chorale familiar to most of us. The tenor voice of Anthony Rolfe Johnson announces 'He comes, He comes, the Bridegroom comes!' A conversation takes place between the Soul (soprano-Ruth Holton) and Jesus (bass-Stephen Varcoe): "When comest Thou, my Saviour?".'I come now'. Holton sounds so much like a boy soprano that I had to keep checking the line-up; but this partially explains why the Monteverdi Choir does not need boy sopranos to get the correct baroque sound; their sopranos have light, breathy sounds(when needed) that lend themselves to the kind of music they frequently sing. This cantata was written for the 27th Sunday after Trinity which took place on Nov. 25th,1731.

The cantata "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben" was written for the fourth Sunday in Advent, Dec. 20,1716, and is based on the Gospel reading: Luke 1:39-56. This text takes Mary's words (Magnificat) as the paradigm for personal Christian proclamation, thus encouraging the congregation to bear witness to Christ freely. When I first listened to this disc, it seemed to be over before it started; I enjoyed it so much. One of the high points for me personally was the exquisitely beautful "Schame dich, o Seele, nichtu" sung so emotionally by Michael Chance (countertenor).

This was recorded in 1990; some ten years later in Dec. 2000, it was performed as part of Gardiner's Bach pilgrimage in Cologne and although personnel changes from year to year in this type choir, many of the same people are still there, and Michael Chance returned briefly to participate in this Cologne concert as a soloist as well as a choir member. His rendition of the well-known alto solo in BWV147 is as memorable as it was ten years ago and the choir as well is a jewel in Gardiner's crown. SDG vol 13 that has this concert as well as the Luneberg concert, is now available on Amazon; I reviewed it and was thrilled to hear the entire 2 CD package. As is usual with Gardiner's recent recordings this particular disc comes with an excellent booklet with pertinent information as well as the text in French, German and English.

The Amazon listing for this disk shows a release date in 2000. Actually, this disk was originally released in 1992 and re-released in 2000. At least one of the guest reviewers also says it was recorded in 2000. I have the disk and consider it to be excellent, my only reservation being the recording itself which is not quite up to the technical quality of the Gardiner/Bach recordings actually made in 2000.

Bach's cantatas were some of the finest music to come out of the high Baroque, and these two are justifiably among the most famous. Especially in view of their quality, the cantatas are underperformed. Gardiner did all of us a favor by championing them.

To judge this disc by the music on it and not its labeling (which did not confuse me), it deserves a high rating. This music does deserve a period instrument, historically informed performance. The instruments produce clear lines rather than romantic lushness. And Gardiner's interpretation is vigorous rather than reverential. This is most obvious in the famous (and much transcribed) movement no. 4, the "Zion hört die Wächter singen" choral, from the "Wachet auf" cantata. There are painfully slow, reverential performances of this music that seem to be plowing through molasses. That's how Karl Richter recorded it. Gardiner, in comparison, takes it at a gallop, and the music comes alive. It's wonderful.

Phew! I had a hard time finding this CD due to the fact that I recently - as of this review - bought the 1992 CD version when it was manufactured and marketed by PolyGram Classics. As I can see, the cover now for this 2000 version is totally new in terms of a cover and in terms of the new marketer which is now umm...UNI?

Anyway, moving on to the actual music. Gardiner has this piece profoundly acurrate. I say this because it's on authentic instruments (which Gardiner seems to have an obsession with) and yet I still absolutely love this piece to death. Perhaps, this particular piece works in terms of using authentic instruments due to the fact that no tympani is required for it anywhere throughout these cantatas.I like to hear any piece involving heavy use of tympani to have thunder about it, which is where most "authentic" typmanis take their biggest hits. I believe thats where a modern tympani would be required to bring true thunder which I love to death.

Since there's not much thunder in terms of pounding symphonic music here, it has to have something else that truly appeals right? Ok, I absolutely find beauty in the sheer eloquentness of this music. I find something incredible when the soloists are performing these pieces with such care and energy that you can not help but be transported back to the actual Baroque period. What else can one ask for other than cantatas that sound like cantatas and not like a conductor took the piece and shaped it totally different than what he believed the composer would have found acceptable.

For those who know "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" instead of it's German title, than you'll be happy to know that this is where it comes from. The choir are on par and above as is usually expected from the Monteverdi Choir and their sheer experience with Gardiner. The English Baroque Soloists are also quite up to task, I can find no real fault other than perhaps a slight recording prob that wasnt balanced out before the CD went to production. The BWV 140 is certainly not as loud overall as the BWV 147. Then again, maybe they fixed that with the new version for which you see here. Splendid music!

Contrary to some of the other reviews, I found this recording alive and well. It sent me looking for others -- the recording and balance of forces were so compelling. Since nobody really knows about tempi for these, it is a matter of taste, and if you tend not towards the "glorious glacial slab" version of Bach, you'll enjoy this. Joy should be joyful, I think, a quickening of the spirit. "Wachet auf" was particularly fine -- I seem to be playing it over and over. As someone noted, Ruth Holton has the most boylike soprano voice, it is quite startling. I have other versions of these cantatas, but this is the one I listen to.

Imagine being clueless about the "Bach Cantata Pilgrimage" of 2000: John Eliot Gardiner, the English Baroque Soloists, and the Monteverdi choir toured various churches in europe while performing the extant Bach church cantatas on the days they were written for. Who could imagine a better gig? Definitely beats out all of the stinky and smoky bars I played in some years ago.

Bach's cantatas are a wellspring of music; some of his most famous melodies originated in a cantata. The obvious standout here is "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" from cantata BWV 147. This is usually heard in isolation on "Classical Greatest Hits" type CDs and typically without the vocal parts. I don't know if modern music listeners in general can't stomach classical style singing or what, but I find it hard to hear this piece without the vocals; they add another dimension that the melody played on a solo organ lacks.

As with everything, there are multifarious ways to interpret music. This particular interpretation may not be for everyone, but it has it's own energy and style. It does have an authentic sound to it, as if the music is being played in a church (which is what it is intended for, for what that's worth) in front of a penitent congregation. Still, it's enjoyable in its own right, and worth a listen.

The Cd booklet contains the text for all the vocal parts, a history of Bach related to the cantatas, and some words by Sir Gardiner himself. Nice package all in all.

In the year 2000 John Eliot Gardiner, together with his colleagues here the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists, to say nothing of some distinguished solo performers both vocal and instrumental, famously pursued what they call a Cantata Pilgrimage in which they recorded all Bach's surviving cantatas in various churches round the world on the liturgical dates for which the music was intended. On the back of the record box here you will see a logo 'Bach Cantata Pilgrimage'. On the front you will see imaginative photography suggesting travel, along with Bach's picture. The first page of the liner leaflet consists of two things - a short statement by Gardiner written in 1999 and laying stress on the significance for Bach of the millennium year, and an editorial note saying that 'Gardiner...will perform all the surviving church cantatas during...2000'. If you happen to look in less prominent places you will discover that these performances have, er - NOTHING TO DO with the year 2000 or with what we normally think of as the Cantata Pilgrimage that has been so successful. They were actually recorded in 1990 and issued by DG in 1992.

In reviewing any classical cd I normally expect to be concerned with the performance and recording above all else. Moreover I have reviewed several issues from the authentic Pilgrimage series with unalloyed enthusiasm. However in the last resort I believe that a reviewer has to be concerned with the production in toto, and I disapprove so strongly of this kind of marketing that I am prepared to scale down my evaluation drastically, despite the distinguished musicianship. Here we find two of the best known of the cantatas - Wachet Auf ('Sleepers Awake') and the top favourite of them all, no 147 with the chorale often called in English 'Jesu joy'. In fact even if this had been part of the real Pilgrimage series it would not have been my favourite. I adore the cantatas themselves, the singing and playing are of a high and consistent quality (and the countertenor is the one whose tone I like better than all others' combined, Michael Chance), and the disc gives fair value in terms of quantity with 55 minutes of music. I think my reservations pertain really to the recording. It is 'good', it is 'faithful', but it is rather lifeless and there are definitely one or two signs of strain in the higher registers, for example in the first chorus. For performances given in the more severe style of interpretation, using authentic instruments and favouring for the most part brisk tempi, this kind of sound is not the best or most appropriate. 'Jesu joy', to take the most obvious case, is charmless here, which should never be so under any circumstances or at any speed.

I take no pleasure whatsoever in submitting an unfavourable notice when the performers are musicians I admire sincerely and they are performing (I guess) well up to standard. However I prefer to be dealt with in a more open and straightforward manner by the producers and editors, I feel strongly that the way in which the production and editing have been done is almost certain to create a false impression in many quarters, and on top of that I am unravished by the recorded sound. However these two cantatas must either have been already issued or be slated for issue before long in the Pilgrimage series proper, and I look forward in due course to being able to recommend those performances and recordings as warmly as I have already recommended those among their companions that I know so far.

I'm a music student in Chile and is the first time I listened a Bach's Kantaten that its sounds like Baroque to me. Great orchestra director and very good choir.

One of the above reviewers mentions the "bouncy" and "jaunty" tone of Gardiner's rendition. This CD is so bouncy it sounds like a Baroque precursor of disco! "Wachet auf" lacks the grand march quality in its opening and closes with a thin chorale. No full bass harmonies in the chorales. No stirring the heart toward rapture here! "Jesu..." is similarly thin and too fast. I regret buying this disk and doubt I will every listen to it again. Bach chorales and cantatas should tingle the spine and shake the cathedral windows. Gardiner's "Bach light" doesn't fill my family room.