Customer Reviews

Bach: St. Matthew Passion / Rolfe Johnson, Bonney, von Otter, Chance, Crook; Gardiner

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

More than a decade after its release, this recording remains a benchmark for this sublime work. It may have been joined by the recent Herreweghe as a prime recomendation, but it certainly has not been bettered. Despite what some listeners say on this site, it's far from being only a superficial account. True, it's much faster than Klemperer's classic version, but why should we consider slow as the same as profound? I can think of only one instance of a tempo faster than appropriate here, in "Ich will dir mein Herze schenken", which is anyway lovingly sung by Barbara Bonney. In every other aria, Gardiner's tempos just sound right. Listen, for instance, to how he takes "So ist mein Jesus nun Gefangen" moderately (Herreweghe, Brüggen and Suzuki are noticeably faster) and then releases a furious "Sind Blitze, sind donner" and read the texts. Or notice how the tender and deeply felt singing of Michael Chance in "Erbarme dich", coupled with the gracious violin solo of Elizabeth Wilcock, is exceptionally attuned to the bitter weeping of the lyrics.

Gardiner's version is, that's sure, a very dramatic account of the work. Here some may prefer a more contemplative approach, and they would be well served by Suzuki's recent recording. But Gardiner's delivery of the narrative is much more gripping, with an exceptional Evangelist in the voice of Anthony Rolfe-Johnson and some of the most impressive crowd's scenes ever, enhanced by the superb singing of the Monteverdi Choir. Herreweghe's excelent new recording, which is also intensely dramatic (more so in the arias, actually), can't compare to Gardiner's in such moments as when the crowd shouts for the freedom of "Barrabam" and soon after demands Jesus's crucifixion.

Gardiner's recording also benefits from a uniformly good team of soloists (Anne Sofie von Otter gives a performance of "Können Tränen" that deserves to be a reference and the Jesus of Andreas Schmidt is outstanding) and the exquisite playing of the English Baroque Soloists. Recent recordings, especially Herreweghe's, tend to smooth the sound with a more legato playing, and certainly many people will prefer this approach, which makes the period instruments sound closer to modern ones. But the clear articulation employed by Gardiner is still a joy to hear, and his ability to draw the most beautiful blend from his players remains unsurpassed.

The Matthauspassion of J.S. Bach is among the world's greatest masterpieces of music, and Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir is one of the most professional choirs singing today, so right there we're starting off with an advantage.

The great opening Chorus for double-chorus and a children's choir of trebles is a masterpiece within a masterpiece. (Gardiner uses a children's chorus containing girls, an unusual choice.)

However, there are problems.

Gardiner seems more concerned with the choral parts --sticking to the strengths of his ensemble-- than the solo movements. The choruses, chorales and turbae (the short choral statements where the chorus speaks for the crowd, e.g. "crucify him!") are done well and with energy, smoothness, ensemble, and beautiful chording. But Gardiner seems to hurry through the solos to get to the choruses.

In my humble opinion, the Passion has both a dramatic character as well as a reflective character. When you hear it for the first time, it's the drama that grabs you. On subsequent hearings (esp. if you subscribe to the religious and spiritual beliefs presented in this work) it is the reflection that appeals to one, certainly to me. And at the time of this recording, Gardiner seems not to have been sympathetic to the reflective character of the work. If you're preoccupied with "Let's not get sentimental about this," this is what you'd produce. May I be forgiven for imagining that this is British Stiff Upper-Lip taken a little too far?

The tempi are a tad too fast in general.

However, look on the bright side:

Gardiner emphasizes the drama beautifully. This is a good choice for young people exploring Bach for the first time.

The soloists are excellent, especially Cornelius Hauptmann, who does a wonderful job of "Mache Dich mein Herze rein," --make Thou my heart pure. In spite of Gardiner's hurrying, Hauptmann sings a tender, heartfelt aria that is a highpoint of the work.

Other beautiful moments are
1. the contralto aria "Buss und Reu," where Bach's representation of teardrops are performed beautifully,

2. the solo+chorus number Īch will bei meinem Jesu wachen. (Count the number of entries of the choral interjection, whose translation is roughly "So rest my cares . . ." there should be exactly 11, one for each remaining disciple.)

3. the chorale, O Mensch, bewein dein Sundre gross. Unforgettable;

4. the last piece, a lullaby and a dirge for the dead Jesus.

Arch

I simply do not understand why there is such harsh criticism about this recording of Gardiner's. His performance is certainly not perfect, but it is not so bad as to derserve the kind of criticism such that makes this work into a joke! This work is definitely no joke, but, on the other hand, is very serious and somber in nature because the passion of Christ is serious subject matter. And when listening to this version of St. Matthew's Passion there is NOTHING that takes away, or distracts from the true motivation behind this work, which is a meditation on the text, and the mood with the texts on the sufferings of Christ. If it is only shallow emotion, booming vocalists who have their fists clenched, or an overly-dramatic conductor that one desires in this recording, then instead of this recording, purchase some romantic composition such as Beethoven, Brahms, etc. However, if one desires to meditate on the sufferings of the Savior of mankind,(which was Bach's true intention for this work) then purchase this recording. In my opinion, the piece that truly stands out and should receive nothing but praise is the opening chorus (Kommt, ihr Tochter helft mir klagen/ O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig) If you listen to nothing else in this compilation, at least listen to this particular opening chorus because it is one of, if not THE greatest moments in all of Bach's works. I have heard slow, drawn-out romantic versions of this chorus, and choppy, march-like versions, however one will not go wrong with Gardiner's version.
As for comparing and contrasting the styles of the two famous Bach performers in that of Herreweghe and Gardiner, the two are so much alike with their tempos that if one of them is criticized for taking a piece too fast then both of them should! What it comes down to is that one cannot go wrong with either of the two conductors for they are both good in their own right. It is true that Gardiner takes many of the pieces too fast, which is why this recording is not worthy of five stars, and his ensemble is a bit too large, however the skill of his performers makes up for that and the two extremes of an oversized Karajan ensemble and an undersized Rifkin ensemble are the alternatives. Gardiner's ensemble is small enough that one can hear all the parts, not as clearly as a Herreweghe and especially a Rifkin however, but large enough to not be an overpowering, jumbled mess of unclarified sound. I do share the criticism of those who think that Gardiner rushes through the chorales in particular, however I do NOT share the thought that they lack passion and feeling. As said before, Baroque music is NOT ROMANTIC music, and a characteristic of such style would be extreme fluctuations of softness and loudness containing more variations of depth in the music (which some label as "emotional" and "feeling") And yes, romantic music IS more of an emotional style of music for those very reasons. But that does not mean that BAROQUE music also contains these qualities. Another criticism for this recording has to do with those very attributes of romantic music, of which are sadly found in the the chorus (O Mensch, bewein dein Sunde gross). In this particular chorus, Gardiner not only takes the tempo too quickly, but varies the tone quality far too much. The chorus is almost whispering "O" at the beginning of the piece as if they do not want you to hear them, yet they develop too loudly near the end. This I found very disappointing because the the sound that is supposed to be heard the very moment the voices join with the instruments should a blending or meshing quality rather than a drowned out, sorry-sounding whisper.
Despite these criticisms, do not let them detract you from valuing this recording, because every recording has its flaws and this one has very few.

I am one of the many who firmly believe the Matthew Passion is one of mankinds greatest treasures, and I have no problem being quite scrutenous when it comes to reviewing a performance or recording of the work. Other reviews on this site claim Gardiner's performance is too fast, too dry.... lacking the piece's inherant mood of pain and greif. The most advanced field of music theory, Schenkerian analysis, is based on the premesis of prolongations and various levels of harmonic interaction. The Matthew Passion is one of the best examples of prolonged harmonics.... literally harmonic progressions that take hours to complete. Nearly everyone is effected by this, whether conciously or unconciously. Gardiner has an acute sense of these prolonged harmonic progressions and, in order to make them as beautiful and heart-filling as possible, he minipulates the tempo. Those that anylize his performance superficially would find it mediocre. I believe that Bach himself would performed the work in a similar manner. His son, J.C. Bach, made note of the fact that people criticized Bach for performing his pieces too fast. Obviously, Bach would have had an incredible ability to sense long harmonic prolongations, and would therefore probably make a point to accentuate them in his own performance.

Gardiner is, as usual, quite convincing. I'm not too crazy about the Monteverdi choir's countertenors. Herreweghe, with Collegium Vocale, uses half altos and half countertenors to achieve a better choral balance. But it's extrememly good singing. Great playing, structure. You won't be disappointed unless you can't stand original instruments anyway. I love this performance. From the first massive chorus, to the last it's very moving. Anne Sophie von Otter, Barbara Bonney and Michael Chance are terrific. Listen to Chance in Erbarme dich. It'll break your heart.

I wish Herreweghe would redo St Matthew with his current chorus and orchestra.

Here's Gardiner at his best. Never one to dig too deep emotionally or spiritually, the conductor matches his intellect with equal measures of sensitivity in this, Bach's magnificent and profound retelling of the last days of Jesus. For many, the St. Matthew Passion is the greatest in all of sacred music. For me, this is simply the greatest composition in the entire classical repertoire. There is nothing to explain the sheer amount of genius in inspiration, invention and melodicism from first measure to last - spanning upon average a performance time of nearly 3 hours. Part oratorio, part opera, part Greek theater and part church service, the challenge in bringing Bach's massive Passion to life is making distinct and finding the emotional truth of each piece of the story while building up to the inevitable pathos in Christ's crucifixion which is the foundation of all Christian faith. No easy task, considering the conducter is given a sizable but limited workforce of 2 orchestras comprised of only winds and strings, an organ, 7-9 soloists and chorus. For his time Bach was being downright Wagnerian in scope, but he does not give himself any brass or percussion for musical texture (unlike, say, in the Christmas Oratorio). It's surprising how many conductors have decided to take on the Mt. Everest of sacred music and how many recordings there are to choose from. While I will always turn first to Herreweghe or Klemperer, depending on whether I'm in a more introspective mood or whether I want my spiritual cleansing performed on a grand scale - one can't go wrong in choosing Gardiner. This is a recording that has stayed in print since it came out in '88 and will probably remain in perpetuity. There are reasons for this. No other conducter has mapped out the drama of the story with such vivid theatricality. The glorious opening chorus grabs you with immediacy and places you in rightful reverence. When he takes us through the epochal events of the familiar story in Part I - notably the Last Supper, Mount of Olives and Gethsemane - it's as if we're witnessing and experiencing the story for the first time. One of several genius-strokes of Bach is to build to a thunderous climax at the end of Part I after Jesus has been arrested where all the musical forces - 2 orchestras, organ, soloists and chorus - come together and collide for the first time. This section is the height of counterpoint invention and Gardiner serves it well to highlight the profundity of the moment. Part II, which reenacts the trials and tribulations of Jesus before ruler, high priests and the crowd and concludes with Christ On The Cross, is where it becomes the stuff of great theater and where Gardiner excels beyond most conductors. Nowhere else in sacred music is it captured so poignantly, sadly and terrifyingly the series of betrayals Jesus endures; and when the Chorus, as The Crowd, turns from greatest supporter into greatest persecutor it serves to remind us of our own human fallacies. Gardiner corrals his forces to communicate all this vividly. It's worth noting that the Chorus - who supplants Jesus as the main character in Part II - is one of the best in all available performances.

Another reason this recording will never go out of print is the quality of the soloists. Put together as an ensemble they are unparalleled. All share in common an open, clear delivery and beauty of tone, and they sing with great tenderness and connection to their words. Anthony Rolfe Johnson and Andreas Schmidt are a supreme Evangelist and Jesus, respectively. They have an uncommon rapport and both are very committed and emotionally connected to their text. This is crucial, considering the sheer number of recitatives. Anne Sofie von Otter takes us through the first great aria ("Buss und Reu," No. 6) and really shines with her earthy sweet mezzo in the aria after Jesus' scourging ("Konnen Tranen meiner Wangen," No. 52). Barbara Bonney is a gorgeous soprano - "Ich will dir mein Herze schenken," (No. 13) with duetting oboes, is a highlight. Countertenor Michael Chance, though no Andreas Scholl, takes us beautifully through one of the greatest moments of all Bach, "Ebarme dich, mein Gott," (No. 39) which contemplates Peter's great denial. Cornelius Hauptmann, bass, is incredible in conveying the mirth and pathos after Jesus'crucifixion ("Mach dich, mein Herze," No. 65), another Bach greatest moment. Howard Crook and Olaf Bar are uniformly excellent.

Alas, the only fault I have with this recording - and it's a big one - is at the very end, at Bach's final Chorus, "Wir setzen uns mit Tranen nieder" (No. 68), which surely is one of the greatest choruses in the whole canon. For my taste, here Gardiner sticks to his mind more than his heart and is too strident in his authenticity performance principle. The chorus is simply too fast and rushed, and doesn't give one room to breathe and pause to reflect back on what has taken place. Perhaps he is ever-mindful of the redemption in Resurrection (which is not a part of the Passion), and this affects his overly optimistic view of the final Chorus. This section is what, for these ears, judges this performance as one that falls short of being complete. Still, a remarkable achievement. ****1/2

Other references: Top recommendation from Rough Guide, NPR Guide and Penguin Guide; High recommendation from Gramophone and Classical Music: Third Ear.

The title of this review may surprise some, as this is a recording from the HIP tradition, which purports to provide an experience as close to the composer's intentions as possible. I feel it accurately conveys the experience of listening to this recording though. This is the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak, the recording that soured me on Gardiner forever. The reason is simple: all of the notes are there, but little of the drama and absolutely NONE of the spirit of the music. Now, for say the Brandenburg Concertos, this is a serious problem, but at least tolerable. Here, with Bach's most devout and personal work, it is completely unnacceptable. Just listen to the closing chorus, surely one of the most poignant moments in all music, which is absolutely ruined by Gardiner's treatment. It is hard to pinpoint what particular details destroy it; the tempi are too fast, the articulation much too lighthearted, almost glib, but I think more than anything else, the musicians at work simply don't feel the depth of emotion necessary. Of course, I haven't actually gone out and interviewed the performers to find out what they were actually feeling, but I find it hard to believe that someone with a genuine feel for the soul of the music could turn in this cold-hearted reading.
I have only brought out this particular moment because it is so indicative of what most of the recording is like. The Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists put absolutely no feeling into the music, playing everything in just about an identical fashion. The musical haloes around Jesus' recitatives, surely one of the most inspired depictions of the Lord imagined, totally lose their meaning, and sound just like the rest of the recording, sharp and shallow.
On the positive side though, the recording quality is excellent as is to be expected, and the techincal side to the performance is very well done. Everything you hear is exactly as it stands in the score. The soloists are vocally marvelous, but their characterization is a little shallow for me (probably due to the insensitive accompaniment).
In short, though this may have been roughly what ensembles sounded like in Bach's time, everything that Bach was trying to communicate here is completely absent. Unless you just want to hear all of the notes with great clarity, I can find no reason to recommend this.

John Eliot Gardiner does what he does well, as far as making "authentic" sounding performances including this one of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. In many respects he makes this sound like many of the dance forms common in the baroque era. However, like many "authentic" perfomrers, he overlooks the power dimension of Bach, which hurts him in the chorus "Sind Blitze, sind Donner". It is profitable for me to have listened to that recording once. As an exercise in baroque performance, it comes across well. However, as an expression of faith, there are other recordings of the St. Matthew Passion I consider better.

As I expected from Gardiner, he has again given humanity an interpretation close of an work of art by itself: outstanding soloists, outstanding instrumentation and a deep interest in authenticity. Yet all would matter little if Gardiner wouldn't be the only to properly capture the sence of sobriety and drama originally intended in this magnificent work. "Kommt, Ihr Tochter, helft mir klagen" (the opening movement) has probably the best and most historically accurate interpretation world ever had. It surpasses Herreweghe's, although as a whole, both renditions are quite comparable and sometimes even hardly distinguishable. However, the comparison would go clearly on Gardiner's favor, whose tempi are more accurate (keep in mind that Herreweghe's legato was unknown to Baroque Era). Both are using period instrumentation and performance, which on my opinion are AN ABSOLUTE MUST for any rendition to be taken into account especially when it comes to Baroque music, which used very different tempi and instrumentation from those current today. Harnoncourt (one of world's leading Bach scholars and interpreters and with Leonhardt the first to use HIP) said: having 18th century instruments is not enough without a deep knowledge how these instruments were played at that particular time. Period instrumentation is less important than an historically informed interpretation. The former is actually the consequence of the latter. The contrary is just another example of human stupidity as it denotes nothing else than mere need for worship.

Only when you do not buy this version of the Mattheus Passion will you be disappointed. The very fact that this is the best recording of the Passion I know drove to write a review.

The Mattheus Passion is probably the most often performed large orchestral work in the Netherlands. Every year around Eastern concert halls great and small perform version in quality great and small. One of the best known performances is the one in Concertgebouw. This version recorded version can fill the gap for the rest of the year.

What surprises me, listing to the Passion for about 6 years now, is how over time the chills down my spine increase during this quite long work. Nearly all of the major choral parts give me a sensation as only music can give you; something like a cold shiver at the base of my skull (back-side).

If you are ready for such auditive mind altering experiences: get this version of the work and close the curtains, disable all communication devices (mobile, fixed telephone, PDA etc.) and take 3 hours off (take off for 3 hours).