Customer Reviews

Heart's Solace

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

 

 

This record is an abolute must for those even remotely interested in Bach's works. Andrew Parrott has released many records using the One Voice Per Part theory, put forth by Joshua Rifkin. This one, by far has to be one of the better ones of his Bach releases.

The thick reverberation is thanks to the performance venue. This release was recorded in St. Jude's in Hampstead Gardens, London. The massive church sound is quite possibly a more accurate representation of what one might have heard in the Leipzig churches that Bach was responsible for music-wise. For me, the reverberation compliments the religious air of Bach's vocal works- especially the motets, two of which are recorded here, accompanying the Funeral-Ode, BWV 198.

With this record (which has a theme of death and the afterlife) Parrot prooves that such a small ensemble (which Bach would have likely used) can succesfully narrate the deepest human emotions just as well as, if not better than, a larger choir.

The voices are all excellent. They sparingly use vibrato, faithful to baroque performance practice. In the motet, "Komm, Jesu, Komm," we also have the opportunity to hear Panito Iconomou, no longer a boy-alto from the Tolzer Knabenchor, but a mature-sounding and burly bass. Adult female altos and sopranos are used, but their boyish sounding voices make this recording more believable and uniform.

The orchestra is polished and balances well with the voices. Many people realize that the One Voice Per Part approach balances much better with an orchestra. Thanks to the minimal forces, each voice, each line, and therefore more of Bach's intentions, are meticulously heard.

This is clearly a must-have recording.

Bach is definetly one of my favorite composers, and I especially like his melancholy works. These are some of the most beautiful and sad pieces I've heard from Bach. All 3 are equally good, but the uncontrolled reverb in the recording never ceases to irritate me. 5 stars for the performance, 4 for the thick reverb.