Bach: Lutheran Masses, Vol. 2

Johann Sebastian Bach (Performer), Nancy Argenta (Performer), Peter Buckoke (Performer), Michael Chance (Performer), Peter Harvey (Orchestra), Catherine Latham (Artist), Mark Padmore (Artist), Anthony Halstead (Artist), Roger Montgomery (Artist), The Purcell Quartet (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Johann Sebastian Bach, Nancy Argenta, Peter Buckoke, Michael Chance
• Orchestra: Peter Harvey
• Audio CD (March 28, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Chandos
• ASIN: B00004GOWP
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,196 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Joshua Rifkin and Andrew Parrott no longer seem to be lonely voices crying in the proverbial wilderness. The idea of performing Bach's sacred music with only soloists seems to be catching on a bit. This recording, for instance, completes Chandos's one-singer-per-part set of Bach's four "Lutheran" Masses (i.e., Kyrie and Gloria only), performed by the (enlarged) Purcell Quartet with all the transparency, exactitude, and grace they brought to volume 1 of the series. Perhaps surprisingly, it's the instrumental detail--usually buried underneath the voices of a choir but clearly audible here--that's striking: take the lively oboe figures that give a Handelian feel to the Gloria of the G major Mass, for example. If you've heard the Gabrieli Consort & Players' rip-roaring rendition of the F major Mass, the Purcell Quartet's performance may seem a bit too genteel--but only a bit: it's both energetic and graceful. The excellent soprano and alto from the first disc, Susan Gritton and Robin Blaze, are replaced here by Nancy Argenta and Michael Chance, two baroque singing stars of the 1980s: Argenta sounds fairly good, much less shaky than she did on Masaaki Suzuki's St. Matthew Passion, but Chance sounds dismayingly unsteady. On the other hand, tenor Mark Padmore uses an impressive range of vocal colors (sometimes sounding almost like a countertenor himself), bass Peter Harvey brings real merriment to his virtuoso aria "Gratias agimus," and the horn players (on valveless instruments) toss off their difficult parts with real aplomb. This disc may have a few more flaws than its predecessor, but it's got skillful, very listenable performances--yet another demonstration that this supposedly kooky Bach-as-madrigal idea can really work. --Matthew Westphal

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 28-MAR-2000

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good, April 19, 2000

By 

"hcf" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bach: Lutheran Masses, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

When it comes to BWV 233-236, the term "Lutheran Masses" is something of a misnomer: there is nothing Lutheran about these masses, and, strictly speaking, they are not even masses (i.e., they are not complete settings of the Ordinary). Because Lutheran aesthetics emphasized accessibility of liturgy to congregation, a true-to-the-word Lutheran mass would have been written in German and would have been based on easy-to-sing chorales meant for audience participation. The masses here, however, were clearly not meant for congregational (or even choral) singing. The choice of the language (Latin) and the intricate vocal and instrumental writing in these masses suggest that they were meant to be experienced on a more disassociated, more individualized, level. Can anything convey this intensely personal approach to worship better than a one-voice-per-part approach? I think not. I am very happy with this recording. It's been playing pretty much nonstop since I bought it a week ago. It is a worthy successor to Vol. 1 (which you should also buy). Some of my friends (including Matthew Westphal whose editorial review appears on this page) complained about the performances of Chance and Argenta on this disc. But I don't think that they were that bad. Sure, they don't sound as good as they once did, but they don't sound bad enough to ruin a group performance which is buoyed by the strong contributions from Harvey and especially Padmore. In fact, the overall blend of voices sounds surprisingly agreeable. All voices are also well balanced in terms of volume (something I didn't think was always the case with Vol. 1, although that was my only quarrel with Vol. 1). The absolute highlight of this disc are solo arias Gratias (Harvey) and Quoniam (Padmore), both from BWV 236. Notice also that the tenor line is frequently doubled by a viol. Can you get that level of detail in a choral performance? I doubt it. Soloists-as-chorus really works!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love Bach, BUY THIS CD!, March 31, 2000

By 

Barry K Cummings (Delran, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bach: Lutheran Masses, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

I heard a bit of this CD on the new releases program on my local radio station a couple of weeks ago, and I immediately ordered it. It came today. What a great recording! A one-per-part instrumentation, coupled with an excellent recording job, enables hearing every note of every player and singer, and this performance is worthy of that kind of reproduction. I know that my title for this review contains the netiquete equivalent of shouting, but I repeat: If you love Bach, BUY THIS CD!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar Renditions, April 2, 2003

By 

R. Gerard (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bach: Lutheran Masses, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

Does Joshua Rifkin's One-Voice-Per-Part (OVPP) theory really *sound* as awful as it appears on paper?

Not at all. In my perspective, as part of the growing number of OVPP "converts," the theory is not only wonderful to hear but necessary to the music in that all voice lines can be heard clearly.

And these performances are a prime example of OVPP: neat and clear. The sound is actually more convincing than the sound of a 12 to 16 voice choir we are used to hearing. The archaic sound is just more believable for the music of Bach, in my mind.

Balance is also an important issue regarding OVPP, and I'm glad to say that both Volume 1 and 2 of this edition of Bach masses keeps balance well in mind.

The soloists are each top-rate and the authentic, orchestra is likewise great.