Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Barbara Schlick, Michael Chance :: Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachtsoratorium)

Warm and gentle, but unsentimental ... absolutely wonderful

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 09/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nothing but praise for this 1989 'Christmas Oratorio' to which I would ascribe a perfection seldom achieved. (This and Gérard Lesne's recordings of Marc-Antoine Charpentier's 'Leçons de ténèbres' are, I think, the absolute highlights of the Virgin Veritas series.) The music comes over as warm and gentle, but not as sentimental or 'sloshy'. Philippe Herreweghe uses historical instruments and a 21 voice choir that probably reflects the forces Bach would have chosen to use in Leipzig if they had been available to him. The result is a listening experience that takes you into a higher realm of existence (and certainly does not require tinsel and Christmas lighting to be effective: I have been listening to this in mid-September!). Philippe Herreweghe and his team have here done a service to Bach, to music lovers everywhere and to music itself in the most abstract sense of the word.



Individually there are some brilliant contributions here. The four soloists all have delightful, lyrical voices that blend amazingly well. Soprano Barbara Schlick does occasionally suffer from a certain sharpness of timbre, but just listen here to the 'echo' aria 'Flößt mein Heiland, flößt dein Namen' (with Dominique Verkinderen als the echo and Marcel Ponseele on the solo oboe d'amore): Would it ever be possible to make more beautiful music than this? At any rate, I don't think I have ever heard Barbara Schlick in such brilliant, convincing form as this.



Alto falsettist Michael Chance demonstrates that, with the possible exception of Andreas Scholl, he is the epitome of countertenor singing. (Not everybody likes such high male voices, of course, and if you have never heard the like before, be prepared for an unusual experience!) American tenor Howard Crook here continues the achievement started in Philippe Herreweghe's earlier Bach recordings: He is absolutely beyond criticism, his timbre simply delightful (that's a clichée, I know, but is there another appropriate word?). And Dutch bass singer Peter Kooy is his usual inimitable self, his firm but gentle voice bringing a manly touch to the whole but without any strictness or harshness. It goes without saying that the German pronunciation of all the soloists is wonderfully clear, with only an occasional slight slurring hardly worth the mention.



The Belgian choir is equally praiseworthy both in musical terms and with regard to enunciation. (Only in 'Seid froh dieweil' [CD 1 Tr. 35] did I detect remains of a Flemish accent in the somewhat diphthongized 'oh' of 'froh'.) And the orchestra with its excellent soloists (special mention for Ryo Terakado and Adrian Chamorro, violin, and Stephen Keavy, trumpet) leaves no wish unfulfilled (unless you happen not to like period instrumental playing). The continuo group of Ageet Zweistra, Jonathan Cable and Pierre Hantai does its job particularly well, not drawing attention to itself but underscoring the music produced by singers and the rest of the orchestra.



My only criticism was, in the end, with regard to the booklet, which turned into a loose-leaf collection as soon as I opened it. But who cares when music like this is to be heard?"

A voice teacher and early music fan

George Peabody | Planet Earth | 10/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"HERREWEGHE'S UPBEAT TEMPOS COMBINED WITH FOUR TRULY OUTSTANDING SOLOISTS MAKE THIS RECORDING THE BEST OF THE MANY AVAILABLE RENDITIONS.



The composition of the Christmas Oratorio is estimated to be around 1734. This is more than the usual series of six self-contained cantatas for the Christmas period as there are many unifying factors at work. The most obvious is the Evangelist's narrative, which is based on the gospel readings for the season. the six commemorative days are: First Day of Christmas(Luke 2: 33-7)- Second Day of Christmas (Luke 2: 8-14)-Third Day of Christmas (Luke 2:15-20)-New Year (Feast of the Circumcision)(Luke 2:21)-Sunday after New Year(Matthew 2:1-6) and Epiphany (Matthew 2:7-12).



Bach's librettist(unknown) was careful to give each part its identity, meditating on various aspects of the relevant biblical text. However, despite the careful organization of the gospel narrative, the emphasis in the Oratorio is on the reflective, rather than the dramatic aspects of the Christmas story.



Everything about this recording is first-rate,from the Chorus and Orchestra of the Collegium Vocale to the outstanding sololists. Philippe Herrweghe's tempos are upbeat and he apparently encouraged a "bright" sound in the Orchestra as well as the Chorus. There are some exquisitely done instrumental solos, particularly on violin, oboe, oboe d'amore, flute and trumpet.



One of my personal favorites is Chance's (countertenor) rendition of "Schlafe, mein Liebster" (Sleep, my Dearest). There is a hauntingly beautiful trio sung by: Barbara Schlick (soprano)-Michael Chance (alto) and Howard Crook (tenor) in Part Five. Peter Kooy's bass solo in part five was beyond description in it's beauty. Barbara Schlick sings with such intense emotion with a full rich sound; just so enjoyable! As you can tell I can't stop praising the superior quality of this disc.



It was very interesting to me that Herreweghe seemed to give this a somewhat romantic interpretation. This was quite obvious in the individual solos such as Chance's opening solo "Bereite dich,Zion, mit zartlichen Trieben" (Prepare thyself Zion); this had to be intentional, because I have several discs with him performing this very same solo, and it is much less emotional. AND the bass solo by Peter Kooy 'Grofer Herr, o starker koenig' (Great Lord, and Mighty King),was considerably romanticized. Actually, I loved this approach by Herreweghe, because it's not usually performed in this manner.



I think it's really great to have so many excellent renditions of the Christmas Oratorio; the other two I own and enjoy are Picketts and Gardiners. Take your pick!



There is a most informative accompanying booklet which includes the text and all in three languages: German, French and English."