Wilhelm Friedemann BACH (1710 - 1784)
Cantatas 1
Ach, dass du den Himmel zerrissest BR-WFB F 3/Fk 93 [18:00]
Wohl dem, der den Herren fürchtet BR-WFB F 19/Fk 76 [14:25]
O Wunder, wer kann dieses fassen BR-WFB F 2 / Fk 92 [24:30]
Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen BR-WFB F 10 / Fk 75 [21:40]
Dorothee Mields (soprano); Gerhild Romberger (alto); Georg Poplutz (tenor);
Klaus Mertens (bass); Bachchor Mainz
L’arpa festante/Ralf Otto
rec. 28-31 May 2010, St Kilian, Wiesbaden, Germany
CARUS 83.362 [69:01] 
Wilhelm Friedemann BACH (1710 - 1784)
Cantatas 2
Der Herr wird mit Gerechtigkeit BR-WFB F 17/Fk 81 [19:30]
Missa in g-Moll BR-WFB E 1/Fk 100 [8:40]
Heilig ist Gott, der Herr Zebaoth BR-WFB E 3/Fk 78a [4:10]
Agnus Dei BR-WFB E 4/Fk 98b [5:45]
Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten BR-WFB F 12/Fk 72 [27:56]
Rastatter Hofkapelle/Jürgen Ochs
rec. 5-7 July 2010, Hans-Rosbaud-Studio, Baden-Baden, Germany
CARUS 83.429 [66:35]
These recordings have been reviewed before on these pages, with Volume
1 having been a Recording of the Month, and Volume
2 also highly regarded by Mark Sealey. The task of recommending these
discs is an easy one. Expert performances of sparkling liveliness and stunning
sonics make for a good starting point; attractive presentation and full booklet
documentation by Peter Wollny are the icing on an already sumptuous cake.
Looking at the portrait of W.F. Bach on the cover of these releases, I was
surprised to read that he had been regarded as an ‘awkward individual’ at
the Marktkirche in Halle, being referred to as having a “dark, hard and strange
character” by the Prussian Court capellmeister Johann Friedrich Reichardt.
The music on these CDs would also seem more to reflect a personality of warmth
and generosity of wit, such are the delights to be discovered. Right from
the start of Ach, dass du den Himmel zerrissest on volume 1 and you
know you’re in for a good time, with energetic repeated notes injected with
stabbing brass and a choir given parts which can only be sung with gusto.
The lightness of touch in the music is given animated presence by conductor
Ralf Otto, and singers and musicians respond to swift tempi with breezy ease.
Expressive vocal lines are given eloquent space to develop marvelous phrases,
and numbers such as the Duetto from Wohl de, der dem Herren fürchtet
are simply heavenly. Fans of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater will love
this. The celebratory nature of much of this music is reflected in the first
and third cantatas, which were both written for Christmas, and have a similarly
uplifting feel to Wilhelm Friedmann’s famous father’s work in the same genre.
Thwacks from the timpani and virtuoso choral writing are also a strong feature
to the Ascension Day cantata Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen, and the
wide range in this work brings us to the highlight of a disc filled with highlights.
Anyone hearing volume one of this pair will instantly want the second CD,
and this is almost equally as enjoyable as the first. The timps and brass
aren’t quite as crisp from the Rastatter Hofkapelle as L’arpa festante, but
the playing is very fine, and answered by a choir whose articulation of the
text is second to none – only the occasional weak tenor entry in some contrapuntal
sections lead me to blink once or twice. W.F. Bach’s music is certainly as
full of surprise here, with fearless harmonic wrinkles which make you look
up from your Sunday coffee and make you want to play the thing again and again.
As with the first volume, all of the solo singing is full of character. I
hunted for the soloist’s names in vain for this release, so my only comments
are towards the un-named bass. This gent has a fine voice, but I was glad
most of the notes for Die Wunderkraft from Der Herr wird mit Gerechtigkeit
were of a declamatory nature and the full vibrato wasn’t unleashed too
often. Sustained and vibrato free notes in are also fine in Süße Liebe,
hohes Gut from Wer mich liebet…, though they don’t sound as if
they come that naturally to our bass, and technicians looking for some classic
cross-fade phasing should have a listen at 1:13. In the end there are no real
complaints to be made, though Bach’s ornate technical demands do push some
passages’ distinctness to their limits at times, and coming directly to volume
II after the exquisite qualities of Vol. I makes comparison perhaps a little
unfair. All of the cantatas here are remarkably fine works, and the Missa
in g-moll, which has only a Kyrie and Gloria due to the liturgical restrictions
of the time, has some wonderful moments and is supplemented by the fine counterpoint
of a separate Agnus Dei which has survived through a later manuscript.
With all of the works on volume II and the majority in volume I being world
premiere recordings, Carus should reap deserved rewards for bringing these
surprisingly neglected choral masterpiece to our attention. The ‘Halle’ Bach
is certainly heard here to his best advantage in these works, and anyone who
has tried his keyboard works and been less impressed should put aside their
prejudices and leap into this world of discovery without hesitation.
Dominy Clements
Stunning masterpieces – dive in without hesitation.