These three Christmas
cantatas were among the Bach recordings
made by Hans-Joachim Rotzch (b.1929)
during his time as Thomaskantor in Leipzig
(1972-1991). I’ve heard some of his
recordings before, including the present
performance of BWV1, since a selection
was included in the boxed set of Bach
choral works that I reviewed
last year. I enjoyed his work in that
set and this disc confirms that largely
favourable impression. A noted Bach
tenor himself in his day, Rotzsch seems
to display considerable understanding
towards his singers, whether soloists
of choristers, as well as a good sense
of Bachian style. In particular, I feel
his pacing is invariably sensible and
he gives the music life.
He uses a chamber orchestra,
which plays on modern instruments. The
playing is pleasing though there are
occasions, such as the opening movement
of BWV 61, where the string sound is
rather too rich for my taste. Listeners
may also agree with me that the trumpet
in the first movement of BWV 1 sounds
a little too like a cornet for comfort.
But in general the orchestral playing
is perfectly satisfactory.
I don’t find it possible
to assess the contribution of the choir
as fully as I’d like. This is because
they’re rather backwardly balanced.
As a result, while the treble line is
clear the lower three parts are not
as distinct. Matters are slightly better
in BWV 40 – perhaps this was the most
recent recording? Overall, the choral
movements are perfectly acceptable but
I suspect the choir sounded much more
incisive than the recording allows.
Of the soloists it
is Arleen Augér and Peter Schreier
who have the most to do. Happily, both
these seasoned Bach interpreters are
on excellent form. Miss Augér
has a peach of an aria, ‘Erfüllet,
ihr himmlischen, göttlichen Flammen’,
in BWV1 and she sings it enchantingly.
As I said in my review of the boxed
set, mentioned above, you can almost
see her smiling as she sings. It’s perhaps
stretching it a bit to call this cantata
a Christmas piece, since it was written
for the Feast of the Annunciation, which
falls on 25 March. However, I’d be sorry
to miss Arleen Augér’s performance.
Exclusion of the cantata would also
deny listeners the chance to hear Peter
Schreier in the aria ‘Unser Mund und
Ton der Saiten’. It’s a florid piece
and this fine singer is equal to all
its demands.
Both singers are also
heard to advantage in BWV 61. Schreier
is eloquent in his recitative and then
delivers an exemplary rendition of the
aria ‘Komm, Jesu, komm zu deiner Kirche’,
where he’s aided by the lithe, rhythmical
tempo adopted by Rotzsch. In the aria,
‘Offne dich, mein ganzes Herze’, Arleen
Augér is once again quite delightful,
singing with a lovely tone that is at
once pure yet also rounded. Sadly, she’s
not involved in BWV 40 but Schreier
features once again. He has a recitative
in which he proclaims The Word made
Flesh with great conviction, reminding
us what a vivid Evangelist he was. The
penultimate piece in the cantata is
a taxing aria, ‘Christenkinder, freuet
euch’, which features a marvellously
inventive accompaniment by pairs of
horns and oboes. Schreier does it with
panache.
The other two soloists
have much less to do. Indeed, Ortrun
Wenkel’s contribution is limited to
a single recitative, which she does
well, in BWV 40. Siegfried Lorenz sounds
a trifle blustery in his sole aria,
which occurs in the same cantata, but
the music itself is rather on the blustery
side. Otherwise he’s heard only in a
couple of recitatives, which he sings
intelligently.
There is no documentation
whatsoever apart from a track listing
and the names of the performers. No
details are given about the recordings
themselves. However, the recordings
were published between 1981 and 1984
and, from the documentation in the aforementioned
boxed set, I discovered that BWV 1 was
set down in the Paul-Gerhardt-Kirche,
Leipzig, so it’s a fair bet that this
church was the venue for the other two
recordings also.
This disc enters a
very crowded and competitive field.
However, unless you’re allergic to Bach
played on modern instruments these well-turned
performances under one of Bach’s successors
at St. Thomas’s, Leipzig are well worth
considering, especially for the excellent
solo work of Arleen Augér and
Peter Schreier.
John Quinn