Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists :: Bach Cantatas, Vol. 6: Köthen/Frankfurt

CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE

DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 03/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bach used to inscribe his cantatas `S.D.G.', which is `soli Deo gloria' or `glory to God alone'. It is well known that he had little reason to appreciate the musical resources, human and material, at his disposal, but these days we are a lot better off. Gardiner's pilgrimage through the cantatas calls for wholehearted commendation, and surely we can pay some sort of tribute to the near-unthinkable miracle of their creation without detracting in any way from what should be rendered unto the Creator.



There are six cantatas here, three apiece for the 12th and 13th Sundays after Trinity, all composed in the 1720's and amounting to a little less than two hours of playing time. The format will be entirely familiar to followers of the series. The presentation is made to resemble a book in a hard cover, an attractive and original idea but as usual I advise a little caution in handling the two discs as it is slightly tricky not to touch the surfaces. There are two essays, one by one of the performers, in this case the double-bass player, and a long and elaborate contribution from Gardiner. He has even more to say than usual this time, and of course the trouble with having something to say is that it gives a reviewer more to comment on. The first thing to be recorded therefore is that to be offered this essay is a privilege for us. It is erudite, illuminating, thoughtful, affectionate, reverent and candid. You may find it slightly heavy going at a first reading, but this is not a production for just one reading. I read it for the basic background before I listened, and I reread it after three or four playings to appreciate better the thinking that had gone into the interpretations. There is any amount of detail, and I preferred to learn rather than find points to dispute. Naturally there were some things I could not quite see in Gardiner's way. In cantata 77 I can't help feeling that the maestro is getting a little carried away with over-analysis of the aria Ach, es bleibt through his enthusiasm, and I offer my own simpler view that what you will find is a piece of quite extraordinary difficulty and originality performed with absolute assurance by the singer and especially by the obbligato trumpeter. I read with particular interest what Gardiner says about the aria Wie furchtsam in cantata 33, because this is the solitary case where I have not so far been convinced by his approach. At Gardiner's very slow tempo this number takes nearly 11 minutes, which is longer than many first movements by Beethoven and completely incongruous with any other item here of any kind. This aria seems, be it whispered, just a little repetitive, but obviously Gardiner's faith is greater than mine. In passing, I welcome as usual the pictures of the beautiful churches in Koethen and Frankfurt, but it would have been nice to know what took the travelling show to Frankfurt.



As ever, I am overawed by the unfailing and consistent quality of it all. The instrumentalists seem to have known these works all their lives, which was almost certainly not the case, and that trumpeter is deservedly highlighted by Gardiner himself. Both bass singers and one of the sopranos have English names, and so far as I can judge their German enunciation is excellent to complement their excellence in every other respect. The tenor throughout all six cantatas is the superbly accomplished Christoph Genz whose work I have commended elsewhere in the series, and I also found the soprano Katharine Fuge on the first disc admirable. If there is a voice I tend to be uncomfortable with it is the alto voice, and the male alto timbre in particular. On the second disc the alto numbers are taken by Nathalie Stutzmann who is a genuine contralto and not a mezzo. Her voice has the familiar `hootiness' often associated with English oratorio contraltos, but if you have no great difficulty with that you ought to find her work eminently accomplished and even, in her upper register, beautiful too. On the first disc it seems that Robin Tyson had to step in at short notice, and in fact the contrast with Stutzmann made his light timbre seem very attractive. He has the biggest job to do of all the soloists. On top of his work in the chorus and his solos in cantatas 69a and 137, he has to carry cantata 35 on his own. This work consists of two purely instrumental sinfonias and five vocal numbers, (two recitatives three arias), for the alto, a situation which Gardiner suggests probably came about when Kapellmeister Bach actually found a good singer. Tyson acquits himself really very well indeed, and in particular I admired his common sense and good musicianship in certain recitative sequences where he sensibly breaks the continuity of line rather than sacrifice clear diction to strict rhythm and legato.



The technical professionals should not go unsung either. As my collection of this series grows I have yet to detect the slightest sense of awkwardness in the sound as they adapt to church after church after church, all the way to New York. And then there is maestro Gardiner himself. S.D.G. I suppose, but to him a major vote of thanks for having the stature to undertake this project let alone to carry it out as well as this."