10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Rifkin Vs Parrott, May 22, 2003
This review is from: Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV 232 (Rifkin) (Audio CD)
After getting my hands on Joshua Rifkin's Mass in B Minor I spent one evening comparing it with the Andrew Parrott recording I purchased earlier. I must say I do agree with what I've read about it, and to some extent Parrott's recording is "better". The conducting certainly seems more confident, more spirited at times and the balance of the solo instruments sound better. (then probably thats to the credit of the sound engineer)
However there are some bits of Rifkin's recording I prefer over Parrott's. For one thing I prefer the vocal performers of Rifkin's. Julianne Baird's singing is so lovely and sublime, her Laudamus Te totally beats Emily Van Evera's rendition. The latter seems to be consciously trying to do the vocal ornaments whereas the former just sings the music.
The Bach Ensemble seems to be recorded drier, free from the slight reverb I'm picking up from The Taverner Players, and free from the bland blend of violins that to me is reminiscent of the classical period. Apparently The Bach Ensemble had one less violinist per violin section than the Taverner Players had. I prefer the drier sound the Bach Ensemble achieved as it sounds darker and less "syruppy". However there seems to be a serious balance problem in the overall performance/recording/conducting. (in fact the whole CD seems to be very soft) I felt that some instrumental parts that were nicely emphasized in the Andrew Parrott's recording were underemphasized in Rifkin's recording. Its surely not Rifkin's best recording. (check out Actus Tragicus for a great Rifkin CD!)
It also seems that Rifkin did not use ripenists for this recording - Parrott did. I actually prefer it without the ripenists but its a personal aesthetic perference. On the whole this must have been a groundbreaking recording when it was released but I'm not as crazy about it as I thought I would be, especially after listening to Rifkin's other recordings.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a fantastic CD, March 6, 2001
This review is from: Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV 232 (Rifkin) (Audio CD)
this is really an incredible CD - the singing is amazing - I think the one-voice-per-part is great for this music - specifically because it allows you to hear much more of the details of the music. Bach's B-minor mass has to be considered the pinnacle of his choral music.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The best recording for really listening to the music, December 28, 2010
This review is from: Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV 232 (Rifkin) (Audio CD)
The one voice per part works well if you want to get all the details of the music. Probably not what I would want to have in a live concert, but as a recorded version, it works very well.
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