Helmut Rilling had the honour of recording the second
complete cycle of Bach’s sacred cantatas. This box contains 20 CDs,
one third of the total set, and includes cantatas BWV 1 to 64 (some
numbers are missing, and represent works that have been attributed to
other composers). Rilling’s recording came on the heels of the groundbreaking
set by Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. But the two sets are
very different - while Leonhardt and Harnoncourt broke new ground by
not only recording the first complete cycle of the cantatas, their approach
was one of almost orthodox historical performance practice. With original
instruments and pitch, small forces, they also went as far as to record
with boy sopranos and altos, and an all-male choir. Rilling took a different
road - his recording can be seen as more "traditional", using
modern instruments (in most cases; there is still a harpsichord, the
occasional viola da gamba, etc.) and a much more contemporary approach
to singers. Not only does he use women for all the soprano and alto
parts, and in the choir, but his singers use more "modern"
technique, with much more vibrato, for example, than is common in historical
performance practice.
Another important difference is the huge number of
vocal soloists used. More than 40 soloists are present on this set of
one-third of the cantatas (only a few additional soloists appear on
the other two sets), compared to a much smaller number for the Leonhardt
and Harnoncourt. (Subsequent "complete" sets, such as that
by Leusink, and those in progress by Suzuki and Koopman, use small numbers
of soloists as well). This gives the latter set more unity, especially
in the alto and tenor ranges, where there are very few soloists. Rilling’s
set is therefore more varied vocally than others; this has its advantages
and disadvantages. While one might want to hear some of the best voices
more often, at least the weaker ones are not too present. Listening
to this set straight through - which is certainly not what most people
will do - this vast number of soloists shows both a great deal of variety
and a certain lack of unity. While one hears familiar voices after a
while, there are so many that it is hard to get used to those which
are heard more often.
The following are some of the highlights of this set.
One of Rilling’s strongest points is his choir. A choirmaster
from his earliest days as a musician, he always manages to provide a
rich, powerful choir, with a beautiful texture, even though some of
the earliest recordings do not have the excellent sounds that the later
ones do. However, he tends to have them sing a bit too strongly, missing
out on some of the more subtle nuances of Bach’s choral writing. But
this is only an occasional problem, and the qualities of this choir
far outweigh the defects.
The opening movement of cantata BWV 19 is a fine example
of his choral work. This movement, at almost five minutes, recalls the
choral movements in the B Minor Mass, with its powerful singing, rich
instrumentation, and high energy. The horns and timpani contribute to
the joyous tone, giving this piece a level of beauty not heard in many
other works.
Cantata BWV 4 is one of Bach’s finest cantatas. It
is also one of the most "complete", with each of the four
vocal soloists getting their turn, an instrumental opening movement,
and long, rich choral movements. This piece is indicative of Rilling’s
approach to the cantatas. This work opens with a brief (49 seconds in
this recording) sinfonia. Rilling plays this with heavy, lush strings,
rich with vibrato, at a relatively fast tempo as compared to other performances.
He clearly shows here that he is not of the historically informed performance
crowd. His strings are orchestral and stark, his lines are dense and
bold. Compared to other performances (the only two other complete sets
at the moment, those by Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, on
Teldec, and Pieter Jan Leusink on Brilliant Classics), Rilling is clearly
focusing on the raw energy of this music. Harnoncourt takes a lighter
approach, he seems to be looking for drama and spiritual intensity.
Leusink is still different, with a much slower tempo, the strings playing
softly, with a mellower sound. A long choral movement follows, almost
five minutes in Rilling’s version. His choral sound is as up front as
the strings in the sinfonia. The voices are heard loud and clear, with
a great deal of pent up drama. Again, Rilling seems to focus on more
basic emotions. Nevertheless, the texture of the choir is excellent,
as always in his recordings. Harnoncourt’s choir is lighter and more
ethereal, clearly following the way he approaches the strings in the
first movement. His use of boys as opposed to female sopranos gives
it a much different sound than Rilling. Where Rilling exudes magnificence
and splendour, Harnoncourt seems to be privileging the counterpoint
and interplay of the voices. Leusink is much different, his choir sounding
very much like Harnoncourt, but a bit smaller, and, oddly enough, his
tempo faster than the others.
Rilling chooses a very fast tempo for the opening chorus
of cantata BWV 7, which detracts a bit from its dramatic tension. But
Aldabert Kraus is excellent in the aria Des Vatelrs Stimme ließ
sich hören; Kraus sounds very much like Peter Schreier, and, while
he does not have Schreier’s depth, he is excellent in most of the arias
and recitatives in this set. I cannot help but feel that Helen Watts,
in spite of her fine voice, uses a bit too much vibrato. Her voice wavers
almost all the time, interfering with its clarity. She has a deep, dark
alto voice, which is very fitting for some (but not all) of the arias
she sings. But, as in the aria Menschen, glaubt doch dieser Gnade in
cantata BWV 7, she overdoes it, detracting from the music.
Cantata BWV 12 is one of the few cantatas that opens
with an instrumental sinfonia. While Rilling’s sound here is excellent,
the following choral movement, Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (Weaping,
Wailing, Greaving, Fearing), which Bach adapted to make the Crucifixus
of the Mass in B Minor (BWV 232), is almost painful in its raw spirituality.
Rilling’s choir is perfect, with just the right subtle tones and texture,
in this melancholy movement that last over seven minutes long.
Tenor Peter Schreier is one of the great Bach tenors.
As the quintessential evangelist, he has graced many recordings of Bach’s
passions. He appears several times in this set, and his aria, Geliebter
Jesu, du allein, in cantata BWV 16, is one of his fine performances.
His clear, rich voice is perfect for this music, and his mastery of
this genre is always apparent.
Cantata BWV 21 opens with a sinfonia followed by another
great choral movement, where Rilling’s chorus again shows its remarkable
transparency and texture. The balance between the lower voices - the
basses and baritones - and the high end of the choir is exemplary. This
is another of the great Bach cantatas where the oboe has a key role;
its plaintive melody in the aria Seufzer, Tränen, Kummer, Not is
beautiful, though the tempo for this aria feels a bit slow. Arleen Augér
is magnificent in the sensitivity and humility she expresses, though
she slightly overuses vibrato. One of Bach’s longest cantatas, at just
under 45 minutes here, this is one of the few cantatas in two parts.
Cantata BWV 41 is a choral cantata, which means it
is based on church hymns. It opens with a long movement for choir and
orchestra, which Rilling plays at breakneck speed, unlike many of his
choral movements. This tempo gives it unique energy, and the choir has
a rich texture. The orchestra has a raw, almost aggressive sound, which
is not what Rilling usually gives us. Unfortunately, this magic fades
slightly when Helen Donath begins singing the aria in the second movement
- her vibrato borders on annoying, even though her voice melds well
with the horns and oboes that accompany this aria. The long aria for
tenor, Woferne du den edlen Frieden, is magnificently sung by Aldabert
Kraus, but the obbligato accompaniment of a violoncello piccolo sounds
wooden and pedestrian - what a shame; Kraus gives this aria an excellent
performance.
Few singers have as varied a repertory as Dietrich
Fischer-Dieskau - not only has he left an indelible mark on the German
lieder, but he is also an excellent opera singer and a magnificent performer
of Bach’s sacred vocal works. The performance here by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
are among the best available. Cantata BWV 56, Ich will den Kreuzstab
gerne tragen, is a very moving work, which contains a series of arias
and recitatives for solo bass and a final choral movement. This is the
fourth recording Fischer-Dieskau made of this work, and one can hear
in his voice a mastery of the music and content. His voice is less flexible
and colourful than in the three previous recordings of this work, but
he remains, nevertheless, the standard by which other singers of this
cantata are measured. The third section of the cantata is perhaps the
most beautiful, as Fischer-Dieskau sings in dialogue with an oboe obbligato
and a subtle orchestral accompaniment.
This review cannot do justice to all the many cantatas
in this 20-CD box set. While there are some low points - which is to
be expected from any such enterprise - the high points are such that
this is one of the essential sets of Bach’s vocal works. Rilling’s vision
is certainly contestable, especially by those who approve of nothing
other than historically informed performances, but one cannot ignore
the unity of his approach and the overall quality that results from
it.
Kirk McElhearn
Sopranos - Arleen Augér,
Nancy Burns, Inga Nielsen, Maria Friesenhausen, Helen Donath, Ingeborg
Reichelt, Edith Weins, Ulrike Sonntag, Barbara Rondelli, Constanza Cuccaro,
Nancy Amini