Search - Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Nicolaus Bach, Helmuth Rilling :: C.P.E. Bach: Magnificat; J.N. Bach: Missa Brevis

An Excellent Performance of Bach's Great Magnificat

M. C. Passarella | Lawrenceville, GA | 12/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This recording has some very good things going for it and only a couple of strikes against it. First, the good things: Number 1, there is C. P. E. Bach's Magnificat. If you don't know this music, I envy you your first acquaintance with it. Except that the final fugue outstays its welcome by at least a couple of minutes (apparently young Bach wanted to show off his contrapuntal skills and thus make Daddy Bach proud), this Magnificat is just about the equal of the elder Bach's towering work. Whereas Johann Sebastian's is one of the glories of the High Baroque, C. P. E.'s is a superb example of the ascendant galante style, with a tender soprano solo ("Quia respexit") redolent of Emfindsamkeit and a boldly militant setting of "Fecit potentiam" that I would submit are the equal of any of the solo numbers in J.S.'s setting. The writing for all the instruments, but especially for brass, is entirely of the new era and brilliantly effective.



Second, there is the solo quartet in the Magnificat. It is stellar. Auger, Watts, Equiluz, Schone--these four were some of the finest singers of Baroque music in their day, and to hear Bach's lovely solo writing presented by such first-rate vocal artists is a great treat.



Third, there is Helmut Rilling. Always a fine choral conductor, he brings to this music a propulsive energy and a leanness of texture that show him fully aware, even in the 1970s when these recordings were made, of trends in original-instruments performance practice.



The downsides are really only two: One, the recording shows its age. There is some spotlighting of individual instruments and overall a sort of two-dimensionality to the sound--odd, especially given the recording venue, a church in Stuttgart. Then there is the J. N. Bach Missa Brevis, not a world-beater by any means, though it is a pleasant enough listen. However, you'll mostly return for the C. P. E. Bach, and as a performance, this one is pretty hard to beat."

Exhilarating

R. Kunath | Illinois, USA | 06/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"C.P.E. Bach's "Magnificat" is one of the glories of the choral repertoire, and, like other reviewers, I envy you your first experience of this magnificent music. I first heard it in the impressive performance by Philip Ledger and the Academy of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields. I think Rilling's performance is even better, though, more supple and nuanced, without sacrificing speed and intensity. I have an old friend who is a highly accomplished choral conductor, and I gave her a copy of this recording. As I put it on, she said she did not uniformly admire Helmuth Rilling's work in Bach. I said "Listen," and began the thrilling opening chorus. She shook her head with admiration and said, "This is perfect." The J.N. Bach coupling--just a fragment of a mass that has otherwise been lost--is rare and therefore welcome. It does not have the brilliance of C.P.E.'s work, but there is a certain grave beauty to it. I've given at least a dozen copies of this recording as gifts, and no one has been disappointed."