Search - J.S. Bach, Jochum :: Bach: Christmas Oratorio - Highlights (Weihnachts Oratorium) (de Noël)

The one and only

Musicus | Oslo, Norway | 09/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am happy to differ from the music fan; too me this is top of the pile, moreover, it is the one and only possible Christmas oratorio; and be sure I have tried a lot of those original instrument, so-called historically informed, versions. No one does, no one delivers. The only trouble about this one CD edition is that we don't get the full story; what we need is the original 3CD. But what music! Jochum gives us a Bach in Christmas spirit, celebrating with dignity, ceremony, festive style; he has the right pacing, the right phrasing, natural perfection, relaxed serenity, elegance and yet emotion. It is a majestic yet sensitive Christmas celebration.

Speaking about Gardiner's Christmas oratorio, I never get used to his short of breath rhythm, his frantic tempi, although I find him more agreeable than Harnoncourt, Jacobs or Suzuki. When will it be understood that the spirit of the baroque era was taking courtly elegance and dignity for granted? If you listen to Gardiner's «Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen» (Let your glory be sung out, oh God), you may understand what I mean; which glory for the lord can it be at that speed? I don't think Bach was in such a hurry; I don't think people of the baroque era felt glory as a matter of speed; the more speed the more glory.

When it comes to traditional interpretations of the oratorio, I consider Jochum even greater than Richter. If you feel disappointed by the too great forces of his b-minor mass, I tell you that his Christmas oratorio has great singers and clear sound, even if the opening chorus feels really as the heavens open and the hosts of angels are singing... If you can get the 3CD version of this Christmas oratorio, consider yourself lucky!"

An enjoyable recording

Musicus | 12/30/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"OK, so it's not top of the pile - that honor belongs to John Eliot Gardiner, whose version knocks spots off every other recording. However, although it's made by a "full" orchestra with "operatic" voices, and although it sometimes sounds ponderous, it has a charm and grandeur all of its own - and the late Hermann Prey's rendering of the aria "Grosser Herr und starker König" is toe-curlingly beautiful and worth the price of the discs alone."