Customer Reviews

Bach: Matthaus-Passion (St Matthew Passion) BWV 244 /Bostridge * Selig * Rubens * Scholl * Gura * Henschel * Collegium Vocale * Herreweghe (+CD-Rom)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1989 Gardiner interpreted Bach's St. Matthew Passion for the label, DG Archiv. Despite the-Gardiner-recording's evident bland, frigid, and impersonal aura (which to some people is called "period style performance"), this recording was called a standard- the rendition of the Matthauspassion to which all others would be compared.

Harnoncourt's release, while a pioneering effort nonetheless, was too rough around the edges, unrefined, and sounded as though layers of academic dust were caked onto it.

Now Gardiner's recording can join Harnoncourt's in the period instrument platitude dominated by stiffness, uneffected orchestras and soloists, and overbearing use of staccato. Herreweghe transcended this Historically-Informed stereotype in the 1980s when he released his rendition of Bach's St. Matthew Passion for Harmonia Mundi the first time, creating a more suave shape to the work as a whole. No longer was it "rough around the edges." His second release of the Passion, recorded here, has even more. It is delicate, clean, somber, yet dramatic, just as the St. Matthew Passion should be. This, I feel, will be the St. Matthew Passion to which all others will be judged. I have yet to hear anything better.

The key to Herreweghe's success in his release is approach of legato instead of staccato, and by taking a look at the enlightening CD-Rom which is part of this grand St. Matthew Passion package, you'll see Mr. Herreweghe has the knowledge to proove his beautiful approach.

(Harmonia Mundi's attractive package includes: the complete libretto, the complete St. Matthew Passion on three discs, and "The Birth of the St. Matthew Passion: An Interactive Journey" CD-Rom with numerous biographies, histories, scholarly notes, the complete Passion with pop-up libretto, and synopsises of each number of the Passion.)

Herreweghe also posesses what Gardiner doesn't, an astute judgement of tempo.

In contrast to Gardiner's impersonality in his St. Matthew Passion, Herreweghe's sense of the work's spitual contemplation is evident throughout, and in effect, the Choir and Orchestra of the Collegium Vocale create a very absorbing recording which is never tedious for a second, and Ian Bostridge's youthfully lithe Evangelist and Josef Selig's effective Christ finally make for a Matthauspassion where you don't find yourself skipping over the Recitatives.

All of the arias are favorites here thanks to the fine soloists, among them: male alto, Andreas Scholl. The Soprano Sibylla Rubens has the appropriate "boyishness," cleanliness, and control for Bach. Her duet with School at the end of Part 1 ("So ist mein Jesus nun gefangen") is the most historically convincing, as well as beautiful, I have ever heard on record.

The double chorus is correctly sized according to Bach's own preferences. In fact, Gardiner's choirs are oversized. Only Herreweghe's uses the most realistic proportions.

Harmonia Mundi's sound quality is clear as a bell. Both orchestras and both choirs are equally audible making every chorale, chorus, and turbae chorus very dramatic indeed (compared to the relatively poor sound quality of the Gardiner recording where the second choir is barely audible, or sounds as though they're placed at the end of some long tunnel, causing Gardiner's forces to lose their "weightiness" in many parts).

This is an overwhelmingly beautiful record, but Herreweghe also keeps in mind that this is sacred music, that is: it is written for the church, and he seems to balance everything out just perfectly.

Philippe Herreweghe's 3+1 CD set is strongly recommended to all Bach lover's alike. But if you still insist on hearing Gardiner's side of the story, buy Gardiner's Highlights of the St. Matthew Passion AND Herreweghe's Complete St. Matthew Passion.

It's hard to praise any particular aspect of this CD, since everything is so beautiful. This is, in my opinion, Bach's greatest work, one to rival Beethoven's Ninth (different genres and times, I know). The recording is spirited, moving, and sometimes overpowering. I believe that Herreweghe's interpretation truly does the work justice.

I did not expect to receive the CD-ROM with it. Perhaps I read the liner wrong. It is a pleasant surprise. The CD covers the life of Bach, the passion, the structure of the Passion, and the styles of singing within it. In addition, it has the full libretto --there is also a printed one-- and an interpretation of everything Bach was trying to accomplish with this work. As usual with HM works, everything is in English, French and German.

I especially enjoyed the section entitled "The Heart of the Work." It had an excerpt from all of the motets, chorales, interpretations, etc, along with who originally wrote it, the key, and the year written. In true European fashion, it is a keen analysis of the whole of The Passion Accoding to St. Matthew.

My recommendation is to listen to the whole thing once, go over the CD completely, and learn what is going on, then listen again. This was more than just a listening experience for me; it was a learning experience.

If you have any interest in this genre, buy this. Now. Harmonia Mundi is my favorite classical label; this work only confirms that.

Finally, a recording of the Passion that dances! Herreweghe's recording should now be the benchmark by which all Bach recordings should be compared. No longer shall the continual argument of authenticity and performance practice limit the performance of Bach's music to mere scholastic rhetoric. Herreweghe most graciously remembers that all baroque music was some form of dance (try dancing to Klemperer's recording and you'll see what I mean) and that the rhythmic impulse in Bach's music is just as important as any harmony, melody or counterpoint. You will be hard pressed to find a more alive, soulful recording of Bach anywhere else. Imagine the intense drama and rich sonority of great conductors such as Fürtwangler and Klemperer, but without the suffocating and brutal self-flagellation. Herreweghe has found a way in which Bach can both breathe and explode at the same time. This recording is now the highlight of my extensive collection, and looks to be for a long time.

Finally Bach's Matthauespassion is treated right. Herrweghe's team of instumentalists, vocalists, and especially the stellar chorus by far surpasses those casted in Gardiner's recording which is now more than a decade old. From the year of Gardiner's release, the public found it lacking sensitivity in its tempi and its overall sound is just plain stiff, just what you would expect from period instruments. Not to mention the second chorus was annoyingly hushed to a whisper at times. Despite this, Gardiner's recording was made the standard for years.
The perfect St. Matthew Passion was hard to find: Kemplerer's was too slow, Gardiner's was too fast and "wooden", Karajan's was too romanticized, and Harnoncourt's was too monotonous and unpolished.
Now there is finally a contender. Herrweghe's recording is purely satisfying and is never tedious. His tempos are wisely chosen and the Harmonia Mundi sound quality is clear as a bell. The solists are unique. Ian Bostridge makes a perfect Evangelist and Andreas Scholl is plain awesome on the second stave. Like Gardiner, Herrweghe uses period instruments. However, these instrumentalists play feelingly and aid in projecting Bach's profession of faith strongly, yet sensitively, to the listeners. The second chorus rings with a powerful fervor that isn't found in Gardiner's. This recording is also more historically informed.
**The overall style is well balanced: It is played in period style (without sounding too stuffy), it is played with sympathy (without being overly-romanticized) and it is theatrically dramatic (without losing its sacred purpose).
The CD-Rom that is included is as well-packed as a 300+ page biography about the composer and his times.
**If you are still intent on hearing Gardiner's version though, I HIGHLY suggest buying Herrweghe's St. Matthew Passion FIRST, and then buying Gardiner's Highlights of the same work.

Herreweghe has always been a reliable Bach interpreter, but every time I bought his CDs I found the performances somewhat wanting, especially in the most exhilarating pieces, like the Gloria in the B minor Mass. There's some kind of politeness in his conducting that holds the music when it should soar. But this version of the St Matthew Passion shows Herreweghe can also drive his forces to produce one of the most dramatically moving readings of this extraordinary work.

Herreweghe has assembled a great group of soloists, led by the excelent Evangelist of Ian Bostridge, who infuses the narrative with the necessary dramatic aplomb, and the exceptional singing of Andreas Scholl, whose full-bodied countertenor voice add a certain dramaticality also to the arias. The choir is passionate throughout and the orchestra plays nicely.

In almost any aspect, this version holds well against its main rival, Gardiner's now decade old recording. In some, Herreweghe definitely scores over Gardiner. He makes the second chorus interjections, kind of tame under Gardiner, sound much more urgent in parts like the opening chorus. For those who dislike period instruments, Herreweghe's shift toward more legato playing will be a bonus as well. But I miss the crisper articulation employed by Gardiner, which for me add to the pungency of the music, and particularly the way he manages to produce the most beautiful and transparent sound from his orchestra.

Some people will always prefer the St Matthew Passion with the seriousness and gravity of Klemperer's extremely slow performance. Frankly, I admire the intense devotion in Klemperer's reading, but find it interminable and have to force myself to hearing it. With Herreweghe (or Gardiner), I'm always compelled to listen again to one of the greatest creations in the history of music.

There are gratefully many recordings of Bach's great St. Matthew Passion from which to choose, and the approaches to this long and mighty work of inspiration are varied. While this listener cut his teeth of the old Klemperer recording now re-mastered from the LP days to CD, this recording under the sensitive and commanding control of Philippe Herreweghe has become the recording most favored for return listenings, especially during the Holy Week. Herreweghe obviously knows the work from intense study, a fact that gives him all the stamina to make the overall Passion work both musically and dramatically.

Herreweghe draws sumptuous playing from his Collegium Vocale Orchestra and Chorus, keeping the period sound intact while adding the contemporary trend for finding the operatic aspects of the work in the lead of all the other recordings. Of course he has an extraordinary group of soloists who give definitive performances. The leading actor is the Evangelist who guides us through the arrest and assassination the Jesus according to the Gospel of Matthew: Ian Bostridge not only has a beautiful tenor voice, rich and warm, but he also offers perfect enunciation of the text and delivers his comments with the exact amount of propelling drama. The role of Jesus is strongly delivered by Franz-Josef Selig and matches his competition (Fischer-Dieskau, Quasthoff and Goerne included!) in conveying both the agony and the transcendence of Bach's lines.

Add to this strong matrix the exquisite singing of Andreas Scholl and the solo work by Sibylla Rubens, Werner G?ra, Dietrich Henschel, Dominik Worner, Elisabeth Hermans, Susan Hamilton and Frits Vanhulle and the beauty of the drama is perfect. This is truly the most dramatic performance of Bach's most dramatic Passion and one to cherish for years. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, April 06

"Come you daughters, help me lament..." bawls the choir at the genesis of the beautiful polyphonic structure of one of the most complex musical art pieces ever : in this performance, their cries must sound almost exactly the way they sounded the first time - in Johann Sebastian Bach's mind. This performance is challenging: it's sharp authentic approach (although relatively moderated) can sometime be considered too cold, and this performance is particularly rationalistic. It works perfectly in most cases, yet coming to some Arias (like `Erbarme dich, mein Gott' , arguably the most beautiful, touching melody ever written in Western music) it may be disturbing to emotional listeners.

The text is clearer than ever, and Ian Bostridge, which is the main innovation of this performance, is exquisite - and even though not a Baroque specialist - can be highly moving (just try staying with arid eyes after he sings : `Mein Gott warum hast du mich verlassen?' - `God, why have you forsaken me?').

The soloists are also very good, Andreas Scholl being a disappointment - he is still exciting and flawless, yet for some reason lackluster.

Choirs and orchestras are immaculate.

In my opinion, it is an `authoritative' performance, but there are so many performances of the St. Matthew Passion. all of are prestige productions recruiting the finest craftsmen of Music, some of them appear in more than one (Andreas School, e.g.), that personal taste should be the prominent voice.

The oh-so lavish package includes a very informative CD-ROM - it IS very good, yet somewhat commericalized (I can not explain the reason the St. Matthew Passion suddenly turned unto a brand in front of my eyes!) .

Yes, I know there's not much of a chance of anybody reading this, but I just feel I have to voice my sentiments. so here: Know the feeling when you THINK you know a musical work inside out and then comes along something else, something that makes it twist and turn anew in your insides, and burn and hurt and make you sigh with beauty and longing? well, thats the case here. No more to add! (except - way to go, Ian! - and Philippe, certainly...)

I already owned a wonderful version of Bach's sublime "Passion," but I purchased this one simply because I am a huge fan of the tenor, Ian Bostridge. It was worth every penny. This is, simply, the most beautiful version of this magnificent music that I have ever heard. And Bostridge is absolutely first rate as the "Evangelist." But then every soloist, the orchestra and the chorus are everything one could hope for. The sound is, as I have come to expect from the Harmonia Mundi label, absolutely full and rich and crisp. I have only looked briefly at the extra cd-rom, but it looks interesting and worthwhile. This is a dream recording that I shall own and play with great happiness.

Wow! This album is purely fluid and emotionally riveting. Yes, the CdRom is good, especially if you don't know german. With the CDRom in your computer you can listen to the entire oratorio with a simultaneous English translation on the screen. But the CD is where the album really shines. This is not simply a presentation of the Gospel. The two choirs comment on the action as the story unfolds, angrily, pleadingly, entreatingly. The choirs make the appeal to the audience. Beseeching them, pardon me, beseeching us, in the light of Christ's sacrifice, to repent. On a second level, the soloists react emotionally as individuals to the action of the Gospel. The effect is rather like Greek tragedy, with a chorus behind the actors commenting on the action. In the foreground, Ian Bostridge and FJ Selig are a masterful duo as Evangelist and Jesus carry to motive weight of the oratorio. Half the time I don't know what they are saying, but the music is so powerful and so powerfully performed that I find myself reacting emotionally. And, when I know what they are saying, it's even more instense. The Passion is the perfect matching of form and content. Herrewege's realization of the passion sets the most perfect content in the most perfect form. The tempi is perfect. The emotional intensity is right. It breathes.