Unfortunately, this new recording arrived
only a few days before Christmas so
I was unable to complete my review it
before now. However, this did give me
an excuse – if an excuse were needed
– to indulge myself by listening to
Bach’s wonderful music quite a bit over
the Christmas season.
The choir, orchestra
and conductor were all new to me as
was the alto soloist. The three remaining
soloists were all known to me as accomplished
singers of Bach and, indeed, of the
music of the period. My comparisons
have been with two performances conducted
by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. The first
of these is his studio-made 1987 CD
version for DG Archiv, which I’ll call
"Gardiner I". The second is
the DVD of the live performances he
gave in the Herderkirche, Weimar in
December 1999 to launch his celebrated
Cantata Pilgrimage ("Gardiner II").
The new version conducted
by Diego Fasolis is on a rather more
intimate scale than either of the Gardiner
accounts. He uses a choir of twenty
(five to a part) whereas Gardiner I
has nine sopranos, five each of altos
and basses and seven tenors. Gardiner
II employs a somewhat smaller choir.
However, I’d describe both Gardiner
versions as being more public in style
– and none the worse for that.
For instance, at the
very start Fasolis really made me sit
up at the very swift tempo that he employs
for the opening chorus, ‘Jauchzet, frohlocket’.
I got more used to it on repeated hearings
but even so I still think it’s too fast.
His excellent players and singers manage
to articulate the notes well enough
but the rejoicing seems too frenetic.
Gardiner’s tempo is more conventional
and, for me, the greater breadth and
weight that he achieves, while still
keeping the music light on its feet,
works much better. Happily, after this
there are few occasions on which I quarrelled
with Fasolis's tempi.
Fasolis uses four soloists,
requiring his tenor to sing the arias
as well as the role of the Evangelist.
Gardiner II adopts a similar stance
but Gardiner I has the luxury of Hans-Peter
Blochwitz, no less, to sing the arias,
leaving Anthony Rolfe-Johnson to concentrate
on the narration. The other main difference
in the solo line-up is that on both
occasions Gardiner uses a mezzo-soprano
soloist, while Fasolis opts for a male
alto. As a general rule I like to hear
counter tenors in Bach’s vocal music
(though I’ll gladly hear a good female
singer instead.) However, the Christmas
Oratorio is the one work where I
have a clear preference for the greater
warmth that a female voice can bring
to this music.
In any event, I may
as well get out into the open my problem
– and it’s a major one – with this set.
It gives me no pleasure to say it but
Bernhard Landauer is simply mis-cast.
Absent any biographical information
on any of the performers I can tell
you nothing about him. I suspect he’s
relatively youthful. Certainly his voice
lacks maturity to my ears. He makes
a rather pale, white sound, which would
not be so bad if he had a greater expressive
range at his disposal. Throughout the
performance he seems to be holding back.
I hear no great commitment, no involvement,
none of the sheer joy that a singer
should feel – and be able to express
– at performing such music and telling
such a story. Generally his recitatives
are bland, especially by comparison
with Klaus Mertens and there is so much
more in the arias than he seems to find
– or to be able to express. Thus, in
Cantata I, ‘Bereite dich, Zion’ is accurately
sung and with pleasing, discreet ornamentation
in the da capo, but Landauer
seems insufficiently involved. He certainly
didn’t involve me. A greater disappointment
is the wondrous ‘Schlafe, mein Liebster’
in Cantata II. Here I find Landauer
lacks the necessary richness, especially
in his lower register. What should be
one of the high points of the whole
oratorio is, frankly, prosaic and one
can only find solace in the lovely wind
playing. A comparison with either Anne
Sofie von Otter (Gardiner I) or, even
more so, with the superbly communicative
Bernarda Fink (Gardiner II) is, quite
simply, cruel. Mind you, Diego Fasolis
must take some blame for the failure
of this number. The tempo he sets is
just too fast and is completely at odds,
in my view, with the words. It’s a lullaby,
for goodness sake!
Having reported that
serious weakness in the set it’s a pleasure
to be able to say that the rest of the
cast is much stronger. Lynn Dawson is
as delightful as ever. In the duet ‘Herr,
dein Mitleid’ (Cantata III) she combines
delectably with Mertens – and once again
the wind players distinguish themselves.
She also sings beautifully in the echo
aria, ‘Flösst, mein Heiland’ (Cantata
IV). Here she’s poised and gently expressive
and she’s partnered by a splendidly
eloquent oboist. Fasolis paces the piece
beautifully. The only disappointment
is that the unnamed echo soprano (from
the choir, I assume) is far too distantly
placed and also, to my ears, her tuning
doesn’t always sound 100% secure, though
she’s so far from the microphone that
it’s hard to be sure. Miss Dawson’s
other Big Number is the aria, ‘Nun ein
Wink’ in Cantata VI. This she projects
strongly and positively and I also like
her nicely judged sense of drama in
the preceding recitative.
Klaus Mertens shows
his excellent Bachian credentials at
his every appearance. His pacing and
delivery of recitative are an object
lesson as is his commitment to the music
and his evident identification with
the text. He’s splendidly authoritative
in the superb aria, ‘Grosser Herr, o
starker König’’ (Cantata I), benefiting
from the support of a marvellous trumpeter.
Though he projects the music strongly
he never sacrifices the legato line.
I marginally prefer his account of this
aria to the very good performance by
the lighter-voiced Olaf Bär (Gardiner
I) but I’d say that honours are pretty
even with Dietrich Henschel (Gardiner
II). But all three of these basses deliver
splendid accounts of their role. In
Cantata V I enjoyed very much Merten’s
stylish rendition of ‘Erleucht auch
meine finstre Sinnen’ where his voice
is well controlled and even. This is
yet another aria where there’s some
excellent and sensitive instrumental
support to savour.
Charles Daniels makes
a good Evangelist. He doesn’t have the
same mellifluousness of voice that we
hear from Anthony Rolfe-Johnson (Gardiner
I) and to me he’s marginally less involving
as a narrator. Best of all is Christoph
Genz (Gardiner II) who sings from memory
and is stylish and straightforward yet
draws the listener in. It must be acknowledged,
however, that he does have the advantage
of singing live to an audience. Once
or twice, especially later in the work,
I felt that Daniels was a bit too measured
in the delivery of his recitative but
others may not share this view and he
is certainly a very good Evangelist.
It’s an unenviable assignment to sing
the arias as well for, frankly, Bach
allots his tenor some of the most demanding
music in the whole work, as was so often
his wont. The very first aria, ‘Frohe
Hirten’ (Cantata II) is challenging
enough but even more so at the swift
tempo set by Fasolis. Daniels articulates
the fearsome divisions cleanly and I
was especially impressed with the way
he negotiates, skilfully and musically,
the florid second part of the aria.
Having got past that aria what has the
poor tenor to look forward to but ‘Ich
will nur dir zu Ehren leben’, the challenges
of which await him in Cantata IV? Once
again, Daniels is equal to the demands
of the passagework, articulating it
crisply and cleanly. One small point.
At the start of the da capo Fasolis
gets his violins to play a brief upwards
flourish and he does something similar
in the bass aria in Cantata I. I’ve
not heard such a device used before
but I find it very effective.
Throughout the whole
performance the work of the chorus and
orchestra is lithe, stylish and pleasing.
For my money the choir is a bit too
light, especially in the bass line where
there’s not as much sonority as I’d
like. I miss the extra bite and weight
that Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir brings
to a piece such as the chorus ‘Herrscher
des Himmels’ with which Cantata III
opens and closes, though on its own
terms the performance here is very good.
On the other hand the opening chorus
of the next cantata, ‘Fallt mit Danken’
has a charming, legato lilt and its
smoothly and affectionately done, the
horns adding nicely to the ambience.
Best of all, perhaps, apart from that
lightness in the bass again, is the
opening of Cantata V, the irrepressible
chorus, ‘Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen.’
This infectious and exhilarating chorus
of praise is given a clean and spirited
performance. The rhythms are lightly
sprung by the singers (as is the case
throughout the work) and crisply articulated.
I’ve alluded several
times already to the excellence of solo
instrumental contributions. In fact
the standard of playing is at all times
splendid. I Barrocchisti is a small
band, including eight violins, three
violas, two celli and a bass together
with the necessary wind and brass. They
constitute a very flexible ensemble
and the players make a delightful contribution,
whether as a group or as soloists. The
continuo organ and harpsichord are discreetly
played; some may feel the discretion
is a little overdone.
As I’ve already indicated,
there are a couple of places where I
take serious issue with Diego Fasolis’
choice of tempo. However, those instances
are rare and overall he shapes the music
nicely and with evident affection. He
keeps the music nicely on the move and
leads a stylish performance. His is
evidently an intimate conception of
the work and if you respond to that
treatment then you’ll like his reading,
I think.
The sound is splendidly
clear and well balanced. I only listened
in conventional CD format but the results
were certainly impressive enough. The
booklet, which includes some attractive
black-and-white illustrations, contains
a useful essay in English, French, German
and Italian but, rather surprisingly,
the text is only provided in German
and an English translation.
There is much to enjoy
in this performance though I find it
impossible to overlook the unfortunate
mis-casting of the alto soloist. My
advice would be to sample before you
purchase to see if you can live with
the alto soloist. This wouldn’t be my
first choice for Bach’s vernally fresh
masterpiece but at its best it offers
a refreshing alternative.
John Quinn
Coro della Radio Svizzera, Lugano 
AUTHENTIC
ARTS 47714-8 [70:31 + 64:55] 
