MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

 

alternatively
CD: MDT AmazonUK AmazonUS

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Sinfonia from Cantata “Ich hette viel Bekümmernbis” BWV 21 [3:04]
Concerto in C minor BWV 1060 [13:2]
Adagio from Easter Oratorio BWV 249 [3:23]
Concerto in A major BWV 1055 [13:58]
Alessandro MARCELLO (1669-1747)/ Johann Sebastian BACH
Concerto in D minor [10:41]
Johann Sebastian BACH
Sinfonia from Cantata “Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen” BWV 12 [2:47]
Concerto in D minor BWV 1059 [11:57]
Heinz Holliger (oboe, oboe d’amore)
Camerata Bern/Erich Höbarth (violin)
rec. December 2010, Radiostudio Zürich
ECM NEW SERIES 2229 [59:13]

Experience Classicsonline



Having recently had the pleasure of reviewing Alexei Ogrintchouk’s BIS recording of J.S. Bach’s concertante works with oboe (see review) which inevitably overlaps with a few BWV numbers, I was intrigued to find out if veteran performer Heinz Holliger would provide different insights into similar repertoire.

In the end there isn’t a huge amount to choose between the two in terms of interpretation when it comes to the concerti. Ogrintchouk’s Swedish Chamber Orchestra is generally leaner and more intimate sounding, his solo lines a little more clipped than Holliger’s, though both create an equally expressive line. This is true even where tempi differ considerably, Holliger’s Adagio from BWV 1060 coming in at a brisk 4:49 against Ogrintchouk’s more expansive 5:30. I don’t find Holliger and the Camerata Bern overly hasty, and indeed their greater forward momentum gives the movement quite a graceful dance feel, the slowness in the rate of bars per minute, rather than beats. Ogrintchouk is swifter and more exciting in the final movement here, but I remain unperturbed by Holliger’s sense of proportion and don’t really find myself preferring one over the other. BWV 1055 is another meeting place where we find Ogrintchouk overtaking Holliger in the outer movements, and the latter gaining ground in the slow central movement. Ogrintchouk’s oboe d’amore has a more hollow and distinctive sound colour; Holliger’s sounding more just like a big oboe. I like Holliger’s treatment of ornamentation and sense of playfulness in this concerto, giving plenty of improvisatory interest to the lines in the Larghetto for instance, where Ogrintchouk is more reserved and semplice. The programme finishes with the Concerto in D minor, BWV 1059 reconstructed from cantatas BWV 35 and 156, for which the BIS booklet cites Arnold Mehl and Edition Kunzelmann. The ECM booklet also goes into some detail about the provenance and various alternative versions of the reconstruction, but both recordings show no substantial differences and are performed to the highest standards.

This ECM programme also brings in two different Sinfonia movements, as well as giving us the Adagio from the Easter Oratorio BWV 249 also programmed with BIS. The Sinfonia from Ich hette viel Bekümmernbis BWV 21 is a marvellously expressive opening which sells you on the rest of the disc from the outset, the interaction between the oboe and Erich Höbarth’s solo violin creating a rich carpet of sound into which we can sink with grateful luxury. The Sinfonia from Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen BWV 12 is a similarly gorgeous moment, and each of these creates a lovely break in the series of concerti. Bach arranged the Concerto in D minor by Alessandro Marcello for harpsichord, which became his BWV 974. I’m not sure quite where Bach comes into this return to the original oboe solo though I’ve kept the credit in as given on the CD, but it still makes for a superbly expressive vehicle for Holliger, who clearly relishes the central Adagio.

There is a funny effect on the recording which, given the location, I can only put down to an artefact of artificial reverb. The instruments at first appear to be in some kind of vast churchy chamber, but when you listen more carefully it is as if they are being shadowed by a hollow and mysterious ghost orchestra, with especially the mid-lower instruments casting a kind of acoustic shadow which bears no relation to any genuine space I could imagine. This is not unpleasant, but once you become aware of it the effect can become a little distracting. The ultimate result is that this ECM disc is a richer pudding than the BIS recording, despite its SACD benefits. With such a confluence of repertoire the choice should be almost entirely one between performances, but here I have greater trouble differentiating. I love both Alexei Ogrintchouk’s and Heinz Holliger’s mellifluous sound, and both are equally expressive in their own ways. Ogrintchouk’s fast concerto movements are swifter and more immediately exciting, but Holliger’s have plenty of bounce as well, and his more compact slow movements are compelling where Ogrintchouk’s almost risk becoming a bit static. Both accompanying orchestras are light and authentic sounding, with nicely played harpsichord continuo, for which the ECM balance has marginally the greater sparkle.

What to do? In the end, I find myself coming down on the side of ECM, but only just. Despite the rather ‘loud pedal’ acoustic effect there are one or two more uber-Bach goose-bump moments, and I do love those Sinfonias. Holliger and the Camerata Bern are a tad lighter in terms of the mood created on the whole, so ECM also wins on the ‘fun factor’ scale if that is of any intrinsic value or interest. Despite being shorter in duration, the more interesting programming also gives you the feeling of having had a more substantial musical feast by the end, and makes me feel I’m more likely to play it again.

Dominy Clements

 

 

 

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.