Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
St Matthew Passion
St John Passion
Mass in B minor
Guy de Mey (tenor); Peter Kooy (bass); Christoph Prégardien (tenor);
Gerd Türk (tenor); Barbara Schlick (soprano); Kai Wessel (alto); Klaus
Mertens (bass)
De Nederlandse Bachvereniging (Passions); Amsterdam Baroque Choir (Mass)
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra/Ton Koopman
rec. Nederlands Hervormde Kerk, Oudkarspel, June 1992 (Matthew), Waalse
Kerk, Amsterdam, March 1993 (John), Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam, March and
May 1994 (Mass). Stereo DDD
ERATO CLASSICS 2564 67361-6 [7 CDs: 70:21 + 41:50 + 52:32 + 59:33 +
49:06 + 53:54 + 53:35]
You either love or hate Ton Koopman's Bach, which is ironic as he is pretty
middle of the road. His detractors will point out that he has a very rigid
approach to tempo, especially in the string accompaniments to wind and vocal
solos. But there is plenty to like about his performances, the grandeur of
the choruses, the interpretive coherence, even the sheer quality of the musicians
he works with. But what he offers you have to accept on his terms. If you
like a single aria in one of these recordings but don't like the choruses
that surround it, that's unlikely to be enough for you.
Despite his undeniable pedantry with tempos, many aspects of Koopman's readings
of these three great works hark back to the pre-period-performance days, to
Richter and Karajan. Many of the choruses - the opening movements of the Matthew
and the B Minor Mass are great examples - are taken at a stately pace, perhaps
not quite as slow as Richter, but certainly in his spirit. To Koopman's credit,
he is able to maintain the immediacy and the excitement of this music at these
relatively slow speeds. He also keeps the choral counterpoint - his use of
large choirs will also be considered as a throwback in some circles - nice
and clear, despite the fact that the recorded sound tends to emphasise atmosphere
over detail, at least where the choirs are concerned. Personally, I'm in favour
of these slower speeds. What I don't like is the sudden gear-changes in the
lead-up to cadences. Considering the strait-jacket tempos these movements
have been held under until their final bars, these closing gestures seem extreme
to say the least.
Recitatives and arias are also kept at fairly strict speeds, but don't seem
quite as constrained because all the vocal and instrumental soloists know
how to make their music sing. Special mentions should go to Guy de Mey, an
Evangelist as good as any, Peter Kooy, recorded here when he was still at
the height of his powers, violin soloist Andrew Manze (it is nice to see his
name cropping up in this surprising context), and oboist Marcel Ponseele,
who could do with a little more space from Koopman, but who otherwise demonstrates
just why he is held in such high regard.
The choirs, The Netherlands Bach Society in the Passions and the Amsterdam
Baroque in the mass, are both on fabulous form. As I mentioned, the sound
engineering isn't geared to giving the choirs clarity or presence, but the
singers more than make up for this with punchy consonants, clear vowels, and
most importantly, exact ensemble. It is interesting to see that the choir
master listed for The Netherlands Bach Society is Jos van Veldhoven. These
recording were made in the early 1990s, but van Veldhoven is now the choir's
principal conductor, and is releasing various Bach works on the Channel Classics
label. No doubt he has learnt much from Koopman over the years, but to my
ear he has also surpassed him in the subtlety and sophistication of his Bach
readings.
But then, fifteen years is a long time in Bach interpretation, so comparing
recordings of today with those of the early 1990s does seem anachronistic.
Even though Koopman continues to perform Bach like this, it is worth bearing
in mind that this box set is a reissue. That's not entirely clear from the
packaging, although anybody who has even a vague familiarity with the industry
will have worked it out simply from the box-set format. Things have moved
on, and in a sense this is a historical document. That's not to say that all
change is good, and this look back to Bach of yesteryear demonstrates some
of the ways in which recent performances could improve. I'm particularly taken
by the sense of breadth that Koopman achieves in the choruses, especially
in the Matthew. With the fast tempos and small ensembles of today, you just
don't get that any more, which is a real shame. Then there are Koopman's collaborators,
all of whom do him proud. Tastes may change in matters of instrumentation,
ornamentation, tempo or dynamics, but world-class performance standards are
never going out of fashion.
Gavin Dixon
There is plenty to like about Koopman’s performances.