Customer Reviews

Bach: St Matthew Passion

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

 

 

I have several versions of the St. Matthew Passion and was delighted to find this budget version recorded so well with such dedicated performances. The soundstage is excellent, the pacing just right, and the feeling of the entire performance is right on target. Enjoy!

This is a welcome bargain release for Bach traditionalists. However, when it first came out in 1969, it was considered among the most modern St. Matthew Passions -- reviewers were struck by the smallish choirs, quick tempos, and overall smoothness and polish of the reading. At the time Gonnenwin's chief rivals were both German -- Karl Munchinger and Karl Richter -- with the latter being the prestige choice. DG released Richter's Bach in linen-covered boxes.

Now, of course, Gonnenwein's polish and smoothness feel Romantic, his tempos less than energetic, his approach rather churchy. Still, the original reviewers knew a solid account when they heard one, and in retrospect this St. Matthew remains what it was back then, the most musical of the traditional choices, light enough to avoid ponderousness, devout enough to remind us of Bach's intense piety. The soloists are all quite good, the Evangelist and Jesus taken by two men with beautiful voices, Theo Altmeyer and Franz Crass.

As far as numbers go, we are miles away from Bach's world. He expected just four singers to constitute not only the main chorus but also the roles of Jesus and the Evangelist. These meager forces were backed up in the biggest choruses and chorales by four more singers, for a grand total of eight. The two antiphonal orchestras were scarcely larger, so even Gonnenwein's modest forces are mammoth by Bach's standards (is there a truly authentic recording where the chorus and soloists are the same singers?).

The prevailing mood of the St. Matthew Passion is dominated by reflection on the suffering of Christ. The work is not meant to be operatic (a term abhorred in Lutheran church music), and it is likely that the narration of the Passion story wasn't meant to sound dramatic, either. Current HIP performances tend to err on both counts: the likes of Suzuki, Herreweghe, and Gardiner are not devout enough and far too dramatic. I, for one, am happy with these aberrations, however, since to my ears music-making without expression is dull. We aren't in an unheated Lutheran church contemplating our sins through a five-hour service.

Gonnenwein's only great flaw is that he is too straightforward in telling the story. If you have absorbed the modern fashion of Passion-as-quasi-opera, his soloists will feel a bit restrained. On the other hand, the intense Christianity found in readings from Karajan and Furtwangler in the decades preceding this recording -- and the Klemperer account from around the same time -- led to as much heavy-heartedness as exaltation. So maybe the most musical of modern readings turn out to be the best we can do as secular listeners in concert halls.

These are passing reflections only. On musical grounds this is a noteworthy traditional St. Matthew whose feeling is uplifting and not at all ponderous.

I've listened to quite a few recordings of Bach's St. Matthew Passion, and this one has emerged as a personal favorite. The performance is more in keeping with mid-twentieth-century practice, so the sound is more resonant, the tempi are more measured, and there is a greater Christian spiritual dimension than with later recordings (which often seem to reflect a certain cultivated superficiality, as if afraid to confront the work in its metaphysical aspect). The sound, likewise, conveys a natural presence without obtrusive texture. This is a good place to begin with one of the very greatest works of Western music.

This one is good. Excellent singers, heartfelt performances. Not heavy or more Teutonic than necessary. Pace is good.

If you're looking for modern performance practice, go with Herrweghe. Otherwise this one is fine, especially for the price.

I have loved this recording of the *St. Matthew Passion* since I first heard it on LP during my college days. Gönnenwein strikes an ideal balance between the traditional "Kappellmeister" approach of Richter and Klemperer--which could be oppressively weighty in texture and rhythmically square--and the smaller-scaled, musicologically correct performances which are the norm today. The conductor favors a lyrical rather than a dramatic interpretation of the work. Though the great moments are by no means slighted, inwardness predominates over monumentality and brilliance. The modest choral forces sing with firm tone and reasonably crisp diction; contrapuntal textures remain clear, thanks to Gönnenwein's intelligent direction. An outstanding roster of soloists is deployed for the arias, though I have some reservations about Altmeyer's Evangelist (he whines at higher dynamic levels and tends to bark when he reaches the top of his range) and Crass's Jesus (too stentorian, insufficiently nuanced). The instrumental ensemble plays with accuracy, warmth and a good sense of style; all of the wind and string obbligati are well played, often beautifully shaped, if with too much legato phrasing. The digitally remastered recording from the late Sixties is pleasing--well focused, with a lot of ambient warmth and only occasional hints of a metallic edge on the voices at higher dynamic levels.

Before you invest in this reasonably economical 3-CD set, however, be aware that EMI has just released (as of April, 2011) a slim-line bargain box containing a treasure trove of "traditional" Bach recordings culled from that company's extensive back catalog (and ludicrously hyped as "timeless performances"). For just over twice the cost of EMI's previous reissue of Gönnenwein's *St. Matthew Passion* you will also get that conductor's equally fine *St. John Passion* and *Easter Oratorio*, Ledger's oh-so-Anglican, but characterful *Christmas Oratorio* and *Ascension Oratorio* with Kings College choir, Jochum's superb digital *B-Minor Mass*, Barenboim's cherishable *Magnificat* from early in his conducting career, and a "historic" rendition of Cantata BWV 147 featuring the Geraint Jones Singers (sounding as if they'd rather be singing Purcell) and none other than Dame Joan Sutherland (sounding as if she'd rather be singing Alcina--or Norma). I recently ordered this set from a distributor overseas (Amazon.com stateside does not yet carry it) and have been enjoying it immensely since its arrival. Even if you own multiple versions of these works, it constitutes an irresistible bargain for which I'd opt in preference to the reissued St. Matthew on offer here.

I'm certainly no expert on classical music so I restrict my brief comment to the recording quality. For some reason the transition between many of the tracks, especially the shorter ones, was very rough and jarring, with the audio either clipped or carried over from one track to the next. Compared to the pricing for other recordings of Bach's Passion, this EMI was a bargain. Is there a connection between the bargain-basement price and the recording quality? Or perhaps I failed to read the product description or comments from other reviewers who also pointed this out.