Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Jos Van Veldhoven, Netherlands Bach Society :: Bach: Mass in B minor [SACD]

HIP at its best.

J. F. Laurson | Washington, DC United States | 12/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

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The enemy of excellence is greatness? True, generally - but not when it comes to Bach's Mass in B-minor which would be a masterpiece in the least of performances and is a gift of humanity when performed as well as I've now had the pleasure of experiencing trice in short succession. First courtesy of the Netherlands Bach Society and Jos van Veldhoven on Channel Classics, then as I received the newly released Masaaki Suzuki recording on BIS, and then just before Christmas when Ton Koopman directed the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Herkulessaal in Munich.



When the work was about to be published around 1820, Hans Georg Nägeli announced it as "the greatest musical work of art of all times and all peoples". Publisher Nägeli may have aimed more at boosting subscriptions rather than trying to divine the true ramification of the rediscovery of the Mass in B-minor - but unwittingly or not, he was pretty close. I am hardly alone in thinking the B-minor mass, along with the St. Matthew Passion, as one of the cultural pillars of Western Civilization. Whether it is a complete patch work or put together from pieces with a design in mind (most musicologists strongly suggest the latter), this music is - certainly metaphorically, possibly literally - divine.



Now I have two "HIP" versions on my desk, both of them on hybrid-SACDs, and both by renown Bach conductors. Jos van Veldhoven on Channel Classics in the most luxurious CD box imaginable (the accompanying book was produced in collaboration with the Museum Catharijneconvent and boasts near 100 pictures, reprints, and illustrations. The package makes the space-saving slim box of the Masaaki Suzuki recording on BIS look downright humble.



Exteriors and superficialities should not be underestimated - but ultimately it is the content that matters. And here the two recordings are fairly similar. The total timing of van Veldhoven is 105 minutes, Suzuki clocks in at just over 107. That's similar to Harnoncourt (II), Brüggen, Rifkin, Koopman, and Gardiner and just a tad speedier than Herreweghe's wonderful (second) recording on Harmonia Mundi. (Junghänel is the fastest I am aware of, nearly staying below 100 minutes.) But it is a far cry from the 2-hour-plus performances of Karl Richter, Celibidache, Scherchen, Jochum, von Karajan, Shaw, or Klemperer - and for all those who insist on their B-minor masses big-boned and with might choruses, neither Suzuki or van Veldhoven with their two and three ripienists to a part will do. That said, anyone who is not ruling out the "HIP", but isn't quite sold on it, either, will probably be converted by either recording that the historically informed approach can offer some of the finest and most exciting music-making.



The sound and impact of both recordings is similarly excellent, their singers outstanding, and the choral parts that we love in the Kyrie, the Sanctus, or the Gloria come through with surprising opulence and splendor. Yet difference in detail abound between Suzuki and Veldhoven - often a matter of Suzuki taking a marginally more relaxed pace than his Dutch colleague or sounding more restrained even when he is technically a bit faster.



In the Quoniam tu solus sanctus Suzuki uses the harpsichord as the continuo instrument of choice (with his son, Masato, playing) while van Veldhoven lets the strings free reign to set up the bass solo. There is little to chose between the veterans Peter Kooij (BIS) and Peter Harvey (Channel Classics) - the latter perhaps with a more open, regal voice. The horn might be a tad more stable on the Dutch production (Teunis van der Zwart) but clearer and more in the front of the bassoons with the Japanese band (Olivier Darbellay).



Dorothee Mields is a lovely soprano for van Veldhoven - but the recoring of the Bach Collegium Japan has Carolyn Sampson and there simply isn't anything better than her tasteful, lean, and full voice - whether it is live or on record. The Christe Eleison between Sampson and Rache Nicholls (both also sing in the soprano I and soprano II chorus parts, respectively).



Similarly, the countertenors Robin Blaze (BIS) and Matthew White (Channel Classics) turn the alto-oboe duet Qui sedes ad dextram Patris into something that might appease those who would rather hear a mezzo soprano in this role (which might actually be historically accurate, despite whatever the British-influenced Belgio-Flemish-Dutch historical performance tradition has come to accept as the HIP-gospel.) Blaze has a slightly more nimble, more feminine voice - White's are more dramatic ring to it. Meanwhile Masamitsu San'nomiya's oboe-playing, devoid of extraneous noises, air, or hiss and full of sweetness, is exemplary.



Ultimate splendor is achieved in the Sanctus. Suzuki and the BIS engineers make the 14 singers and 20 instrumentalists involved sound like a grand ensemble - and he gives his forces all the time to draw on the sumptuous qualities of the pinnacle of the Mass. Van Veldhoven achieves and the audiophile crew of Channel Classics achieves an equal impression (he's given slightly more reverberation, both have ample space around all musicians), and he does it by pushing along at a brisk pace. Different means but with a result every bit as exciting.



The Osanna in Excelsis is a great moment of trumpet, timpani, and chorus imbued splendor - and a highlight among the string of thrilling moments of the Suzuki recording. It may also be one of the few miscalculations on van Veldhoven's part because his extraordinarily swift take might well be exciting but also sounds a tad rushed in.



As regards tempi in general, though, I could put it unkindly thus: Wherever Suzuki is slower than van Veldhoven, he seems to drag (in comparison, only!) - wherever Suzuki is faster, van Velhoven seems to have more momentum. It is this subtle impression that I take away from the two issues more than any of the more obvious little differences - and an impression I would never have gotten from Suzuki had it not been for direct comparison. Either are a match for the best of the HIP B-minor masses out there, whether Herreweghe (II) or Gardiner or whatever else your current preference may be. There's an embarrassment of riches of great recordings of this work available now - but if pressed, I'd rank both among the handful of best recordings made, regardless of style.



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