Search - J.S. Bach, Munchinger, Stuttgart Kammerorchester :: Sacred Masterworks

Karl Munchinger's Bach

Peter G. Watchorn | Cambridge, MA USA | 06/23/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Karl Munchinger's pioneering recordings of Bach's music represented a revolution in performance which is difficult to perceive from our modern vantage point, when "period" instruments have become the norm. Munchinger's readings of Bach's choral masterpieces began to appear before Harnoncourt's revolution of a few years later. They were performances of straightforward integrity:clean orchestral playing, fine vocal soloists, sturdy overall direction (occasionally a tad literal and prosaic) and are well worth a listen today. The earliest of these recordings, the St. Matthew Passion (rec. 1964), is now pushing forty years old, but remains an impressive achievement. I have owned all of these recordings from their original appearance from 1965, and retain great affection for them. They were my introduction to Bach's choral music. Some comments which might be helpful:
St. Matthew Passion:
Peter Pears is wonderful as the Evangelist-very subtle, excellent feeling for text and his famous slow vibrato is much less obtrusive when he sings in German. The Stuttgart Hymnus Boys' Choir is a well-trained ensemble, and provides suitable drama in the "turbae", or crowd scenes. For the secco recitative in this recording, Munchinger follows the direction in Bach's score and plays the bass-notes short (the correct manner-this really helps lighten up the secco recit-long-held organ notes in secco recit really bog it down). The young Elly Ameling (this was her second recording, after the great "Schubertiade" with Jorg Demus) is outstanding. Marga Hoffgen I have always found too wobbly, Wagnerian and unfocused (Helen Watts, who was was engaged for all the subsequent recordings, except the St. John Passion is a vast improvement). Hermann Prey, Tom Krause and Fritz Wunderlich are all fine. Tempos are on the slow and grand side overall, but very musical. Beautifully produced by Decca's Ray Minshull. It caused a real stir in its day.
Christmas Oratorio:
From 1966, this performance (also produced by Ray Minshull) has many virtues. The Lubecker Kantorei has a pleasantly fresh sound, though the boy trebles are often taxed on the high notes (at modern pitch they often have to sing high A's), and there are some moments of fuzzy ensemble (the development in the first chorus of part six is a case in point-the choir nearly loses it!). Pears is good, once again, as the Evangelist (less so as soloist in the tenor arias) and Ameling and Watts are truly outstanding. Baritone soloist, Tom Krause is more than adequate, though not so agile as, say, Max van Egmond, whose singing (and that of his students Peter Kooy and Harry van der Kamp) has so revolutionised our ideas of Bach's solo vocal music.
Mass in B minor:
The chorus of the Vienna "Singakademie" is often too heavy, opaque and operatic for clear delineation of Bach's six-part writing. The wobble from the upper voices is particularly disturbing. Munchinger's direction is often compelling, sometimes surprisingly sprightly (as in the opening Kyrie). The orchestra and instrumental soloists are great (with the possible exception of the violin soloist in the "Laudamus te"). The vocal soloists - Ameling, Watts, Krause again, with the addition of Werner Krenn (a great Bach tenor) and Yvonne Minton singing second soprano (surprisingly, often out of breath in the Laudamus te!) are reliably good.
St. John Passion:
Stuttgart Hymnus Boys' Choir, once again (a little uneven, but generally good, and with a genuinely thrilling "edge" to the sound). Dieter Ellenbeck makes a good Evangelist (although this time, as in the Christmas Oratorio, Munchinger forgets to follow the rule about short bass notes in secco recit, making the Evangelist's role too heavy and slow, accentuated by Munchinger's habit of having the 16' bass double throughout in the secco recitative). Ameling is, as always, great. Alto Julia Hamari also is very good. Werner Hollweg, a fine artist, sings the tenor arias with perhaps a little too much Wiener "Heldentenor" bravado. Krause is, again reliable (though his intonation isn't always secure this time).
Easter Oratorio:
I think that, overall, this is the best of Munchinger's Bach recordings. The orchestra is spirited and articulate in the opening sinfonia, whilst Munchinger's direction is sure and sprightly. All four vocal soloists (Ameling, Watts, Krenn, Krause) are great, and the Viennese choir is much better than in the B minor Mass. This performance yields nothing to such excellent period instrument versions as Herreweghe's on Harmonia Mundi. The Magnificat was recorded at the same sessions (1968), and finds the Stuttgart CO in similarly good form. Munchinger's performances are still strong and enjoyable, and it must not be forgotten how influential these recordings were in their own day. At the present re-issue price, they're a bargain. And Decca's recordings, made in the circular chapel of Schloss Ludwigsburg, outside Stuttgart, have stood the test of time - makes you wonder how much progress has actually been made in the art of recording since. Overall, then, this set is great, and still important for more than just historical reasons. Unless you are strictly a period instrument aficionado (which I am, by the way, and yet I still like these after all these years!), buy it. Every Bach lover should know these performances."

The epitome of Bach

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 04/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The passage of three and one-half decades has done nothing to tarnish the luster of Karl Munchinger's magnificent Bach creations. I have owned separately the B Minor Mass, Easter Oratorio, Magnificat and several of the cantatas since their first appearance in the 1960s.



This year, I've used the St. Matthew Passion included in this set as practice guide since my choral society is singing the music this year on Palm Sunday. It is a splendid performance that can rank with any available today. It stars some of the most wonderful European singers of the 1960s and is stylistically secure.



No recording today equals the brillance, romance, playing and singing of Munchinger's Easter Oratorio, which you purchase in Europe on a single CD mated with his equally fine performance of the Magnificat. The Munchinger B Minor Mass -- which some critics call the greatest piece of music ever written -- is in the same class and is miles ahead of the tinny, heartless Bach most of today's period professionals record.



I can never understand how these academicians could possibly think Johann Sebastian Bach would endorse his music being played that way. Bach lived in an era before the concept of "genius" was known. He was a dutiful Lutheran that composed the way an organ grinds and a monkey dances. He did not think of himself as extraordinary or of his music as special. Until Mendelssohn reintroduced much of his music in the 1800s, Bach was not considered among the greats in anything but his organ music.



Today, of course, we know him to be among the greatest of all composers. Bach was a man that produced 20-plus children and wrote a cantata for each Sunday of the year. In later life his intellect produced the Art of Fugue, which many believe was nothing more than a mental exericse for Johann Sebastian, never to be performed.



Is this a man whose work would be reduced to the pleasant tunes, rapid speeds and clear textures espoused by today's period practitioners? I doubt it. He was a man whose music should project his undying belief in God and man as a mated pair on Earth. In short, his music must have the blood, sweat and guts Bach expended. It must represent humanity as well as God.



Munchinger knew this better than any performer of his time. His small measure of romance led New York critic Martin Bookspan to declare his version of the Magnificat as "rapturous and joyful" as well as "stylish". With singers Elly Ameling, Werner Krenn, Helen Watts and Tom Krause mated with Vienna's best chorus, this CD stands alone 35 years later as the most magnificent account of this unearthly music.



Decca/London could do Americans a great service by offering these accounts separately. Until that time comes, you can shop for these items separately through Amazon.com UK or your preferred British outlet. Or buy this set and enjoy its heavenly contents, which include the inappropriately named Christmas Oratorio and St. John Passion."

Brilliant

Pablo Laneve | 07/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am insulted that the other reviewer complained about this set. It is next to perfect. I love this set and would suguest it to anyone who likes Bach."