Category: Recording

Johanna Winkel soprano, Thomas E. Bauer bass, Chorus Musicus Köln, Das Neue Orchester, Christoph Spering
51:16
Oehms Classics OC 1815
BWV32, 57 & 58

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he three cantatas on this CD are all dialogues between the soul (soprano) and Jesus (bass). They do not follow the strict pattern of the larger-scale choral cantatas, and are presented here by a compact instrumental ensemble of 3.3.1.1.1 strings, with 2 oboes and a taille (but no bassoon), and a chamber organ (of which we are given – like the other instruments – no details) ‘approximately corresponding to the dimensions of the Brustwerk of the organ during Bach’s time at St Thomas’s Church, Leipzig.’ The strength of the organ is a major feature of this recording, and is very welcome. The choir is a clean-limbed 3.3.3.3, and the organ is clearly audible with developed upperwork in the chorales and an essentially principal tone in the arias. The recits are accompanied by more sustained chords than often.

Welcome too is the robust string playing. There is no doubt that the instruments are equal partners in the numbers of these cantatas, and in some movements – like the opening of cantata 32, for example – the quality of the oboe playing seems to have a good effect on the timbre and quality of the soprano’s singing. Here she abandons her singer’s habit of pushing on cadences and allowing rather too much vibrato to creep into the ends of long phrases. Her fall-back style may well have been agreed as properly emotive for these rather intense cantatas, but I prefer it when she produces a sound more in keeping with her instrumental partners. That she is capable of a clean and musical line is not in doubt – listen to tracks 6 and 7, and 18 – so it must be a conscious decision.

The same is true of Thomas Bauer. He can be robust – as in track 5, when the storming strings threaten to engulf him, like St Stephen seeing beyond the immediate woes that surround him to glimpse the radiant heavens opening – but sometimes he sounds almost cloyingly ingratiating, as when he comforting the soul in tracks 15 and 16: you can hear him singing with a smile, like a certain kind of Radio 3 presenter.

There are interesting liner notes on the cantatas, mostly stemming very properly from their theological content, and showing how Bach – and the performers – understand their role in presenting their meaning. The texts are given in full, but although the notes are given an English version, no translation of the texts is provided.

This is an interesting, if shortish, CD, with some strong points in its favour; and I am glad to have heard it. It is well produced and recorded, and whether you like it will depend substantially on whether you like the singers, and think that they have the right voices for these cantatas. The interpretive skills of the players and director are of a high order.

David Stancliffe

Ensemble Résonances
77:01
NoMadMusic NMM011
Marias, Hotteterre, Dornel, Philidor, De Visée

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his singularly uninformative title conceals a rather lovely programme of a rather old-fashioned type: no clever theme, no ‘complete’ this or that, just a mixed recital of fine pieces that showcase the taste and skill of both the overall ensemble and its component parts. Even the note is rather quaint though in a good way – a concise and methodical vade mecum  to the music. For me the discovery was Dornel’s Sonate en quatuor  in which the basic trio sonata ensemble is joined by a third recorder player and, as always, the combination of theorbo and viol is ravishing in Marais. However, to my ear the continuo combination of theorbo and harpsichord remains too much of a good thing, especially when the instrumentation keeps changing within the same work. Is there evidence to suggest that this actually happened with anything like the frequency that modern performers would have us believe? Buy this for yourself and anyone you know who would instinctively run away from a programme of recorder music.

David Hansell

The links below are for digital products.

Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall
98:44 (2 CDs in a wallet)
Alia Vox AVSA9914
Music by Locke, Marais, Rameau, Rebel, Telemann & Vivaldi

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is a live recording of an excellent programme with the theme of musical ‘tone painting’. We begin with Rebel’s Les Éléments  and end with a collection of Rameau’s meteorological invocations via Locke’s Tempest, Marais, Telemann and Vivaldi. The downside is that this kind of mixed list is inclined to evoke the school of ‘one size fits all’ performance practice so the recorder in La Tempesta di Mare  (Vivaldi’s op. 10 no. 1) has to battle with the full strings when surely solo players would have been both more suitable and more likely. But apart from this and Savall’s penchant for adding unnecessary and sometimes silly percussion I enjoyed the discs very much. The supporting material is not quite as lavish as it appears. Of the 114 pages in the booklet, 32 are advertising the ensemble’s back catalogue and just eight contain information about the music – though that is eight pages per language (six). And there are lots of nice pictures.

David Hansell

Key2Singing, Margot Kalse
66:16
Aliud ACD BL 084-2
Laetatus sum, Stabat mater, Arias from Tolomeo e Alessandro

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ooking back on it, the lack of quality control evident from the cover of the programme booklet advertising the ‘aria’s’ within should have been the first warning. The note inside the cover introducing this as a special CD featuring ‘an enthusiastic group of advanced amateur singers’ should have been the second warning. The third hint was the way in which after declaring that the label is ‘immensely proud’ of this release (protesting too much, methinks) Margot Kalse’s programme note goes on, like a schoolboy’s essay, to refer to Scarlatti as ‘Domenico’ throughout, as if she had known him personally. As it was, I read none of this, and so put on the CD without prejudice and was appalled by what I heard. I don’t think I have ever heard worse singing on CD.

Placing the massed voices at a distance in a generous acoustic was a blessing, but the inaccuracy of pitch, rhythm, precision and general bad taste was sadly still apparent. The overall standard of the singing is that of a bad amateur church choir with a pervading ‘little old lady’ vibrato and equivalent failings in the male voices. Some of the solo items are not quite as bad, but are still not good, and the instrumental playing, though clearly professional and generally good, is lost in the general malaise. I am horrified at the thought of this being on general release, available to be bought by enterprising listeners keen to hear the vocal music of Domenico Scarlatti. Not only will they not get any reasonable impression of what I know to be fine and imaginative repertoire, but probably like me they will have to go away and lie down in a darkened room to recover from this digital horror – which is exactly what I did! Do not buy this CD  and please warn all your friends not 2 2 – I have suffered enough 4 all of you…

D. James Ross