Amazon.com
This is the first of a series of recordings stemming from John Eliot Gardiners "Bach Cantata Pilgrimage," a project to present all of the sacred cantatas in churches throughout Europe. The two cantatas on this disc are lesser-known Easter cantatas. Written in 1725, BWV6 "Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden" ("Abide with us") is darkly dramatic, full of yearning. BWV66, from 1724, is a reworking of a secular piece originally written to celebrate a princely birthday. Its a brighter work, as evidenced by its opening chorus, "Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen"("Rejoice, ye hearts"). Gardiners period-practice interpretations are muscular enough to satisfy traditionalists as well, and performances of both cantatas are good without lighting any fires, as are the soloists--with the exception of Michael Chances undernourished countertenor. Short timing, though--only 48minutes, more than enough for another cantata. --Dan Davis
Amazon.com
John Eliot Gardiners year-2000 project is big, even for him: a "pilgrimage" to perform all of Bachs surviving church cantatas (more than 200) between Christmas 1999 and Christmas 2000 in various churches throughout Europe, with a finale planned for New York City. With so much music, so many places, and so little time, worries about routine, autopilot music-making, and inconsistent performance standards were understandable. It was no doubt prudent for DG to record most of the "Bach Cantata Pilgrimage" series in the studio before the tour began. So its all the more distressing that, even with Gardiners famously skillful choir and orchestra recording under studio conditions, the first volume of the series is a disaster. The Monteverdi Choir, renowned as the well-oiled, high-precision machine of the choral world, sings with poor blend and occasionally shaky tuning (practically unheard-of for this group) the orchestral playing is either blaring or blas and the soloists sound uninvolved or uncertain, or both. Its hard not to think that everyone was sight-reading the music during the recording sessions. Most unfortunate of all is the once-superb countertenor Michael Chance, whose wobbly, indeterminate, frayed singing is heartbreaking. (Get the much better volume 2 of this series, a reissue of a 1989 recording, to hear just how good he used to be.) DG probably was contractually obligated to release this recording, but Gardiner should be ashamed to have let it leave the studio. Thank goodness that later volumes in this series arent as bad. --Matthew Westphal
Rate Points :4.0
Binding :Audio CD
Label :Archiv Prod Import
Manufacturer :Archiv Prod Import
ProductGroup :Music
Studio :Archiv Prod Import
Publisher :Archiv Prod Import
UPC :028946358023
EAN :0028946358023
Price :$17.98USD
Lowest Price :$12.58USD
Customer ReviewsDid the Amazon reviewer listen to the same record that I did?
Rating Point :4 Helpful Point :0
I quote:
"The Monteverdi Choir, renowned as the well-oiled, high-precision machine of the choral world, sings with poor blend and occasionally shaky tuning (practically unheard-of for this group) the orchestral playing is either blaring or blas and the soloists sound uninvolved or uncertain, or both. Its hard not to think that everyone was sight-reading the music during the recording sessions. Most unfortunate of all is the once-superb countertenor Michael Chance, whose wobbly, indeterminate, frayed singing is heartbreaking."
Sorry, but why didnt I hear any of this? Am I deaf? Unperceptive? A combination thereof? OK, Michael Chance did seem a bit weak at times, but it did seem a very hard part (how on earth did whatever adolescent of the Thomaner Choir given the job of singing it manage it in Bachs day?). And to my ears, the Monteverdis sounded as well-oiled as ever.
So, why only 4 stars? Because this CD has now been overshadowed by Gardiners latest from his own SDG label, which arrived chez Teemacs only last week. It has Easter cantatas, including these two, plus also the wonderful BWV4 and BWV31 (not to be missed!). The versions of these two are of course live and they sound crisp and exciting.
However, if you dont want the double CD SDG version, this is a good one.
Thanks, Archiv...
Rating Point :3 Helpful Point :16
This CD opens a series of 12 releases (to appear on a monthly basis until November 2000) with selected Bachs cantatas performed by various soloists and The Monteverdi Choir/English Baroque Soloists under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach, Gardiner prepared his own cantatas project called: "Bach Cantata Pilgrimage" that will "feature performances of all Bachs surviving church cantatas within a single year at a variety of churches throughout Europe (as well as three concerts in New York bringing the Pilgrimage to its conclusion) on the feast days for which they were composed" (from the advertising leaflet). After having listened to this first release, I am deeply grateful to Archiv Produktion that "Cantata Pilgrimage" cycle will be limited to only 12 CD, though originally it was planned as a COMPLETE CANTATAS PROJECT! I do not know about other Bach fans, but I am certainly not ready to face yet another complete cantatas project, especially recorded by "authentists". Koopmans boring production is coming to an end - to me, Koopmans cycle will always be an example of a dry music making , dictated by scholarship rather than musical instincts (but what an organist he is!). Suzukis are much more balanced recordings - they are beautifully played and sung and the commitment of all the artists is never in doubt. Here again, some "scholarly" touches mar the final effect - Suzukis tempi follow the general "quickish" trend, but somehow they are not breathless and thoughtless and dont bother me as they do in some other recordings. I enjoy a lot Philippe Herreweghes releases of selected cantatas and sometimes regret that Harmonia Mundi did not embark on the "complete cantatas" project with this conductor. Gardiners cycle on "Archiv" is no surprise and, as we might expect, he choses a spledid "historical" setting for his Pilgrimage: year 2000 and Bachs deaths anniversary. Will it work as an excuse for yet another extensive cantatas series? All depends on the quality of Gardiners releases, and this first installment does not make the whole project look promising. I was struck by a particularly limp choral singing, affecting greatly the clarity of vocal lines and the pleasure of listening. The soloists are much more impressive, Bernarda Fink with her marvellous voice particularly pleasing the ear. Male soloists give good performances (Mark Padmore especially so), but Michael Chances voice sounds uneven and sometimes quite unpleasant. One more thing - this CDs total playing time is only 48 MINUTES. I understand that there may be some logical justification for putting only two cantatas on one disc (both are for Easter Monday), but doesnt such a short playing time call for a lower price? Such a price would be encouraging to numerous Bach fans who still hesitate before embarking on another "Collecting Bach Cantatas" project. I do not want to discourage anybody, especially those who want to start a collection: Gardiners survey is quite extensive and will be completed within a year. It will also be more affordable than Suzuki or Koopman and in many ways, more enjoyable than the latter. Gardiners fans (I am among them though not always for his Bach) will certainly want to give this new release a try and may find much more to enjoy in it than I did. If I were to decide about a new Bach cantatas project I would like to see an "old-fashioned" series, similar in quality and artistic commitment to the achievement of Marriner on his marvellous disc with Janet Baker and John Shirley Quirk. But who would like to do it?
Room for 1 more Cantata
Rating Point :4 Helpful Point :2
If there were only 48 minutes on the CD, there would have been room for another great Cantata "Der Himmel Lacht!" BWV 31.
That has Trumpet and Timpani Obliggato and is wonderful!
Maybe in the future?
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :1
A DYNAMIC DUO: PADMORE AND CHANCE
Bachs Cantata"Bleib bei uns, dess es will Abend werden"BWV6 was performed in Leipzig on Easter Monday in 1725. He chose the Gospel reading of the day for the text (Luke 24:13-25). It is an account of the meeting of Jesus with the disciples walking along the road to Emmaus,and Bach focuses on the disciples yearning for Christ to remain with them. As if to enable his listeners to relive their sorrow, the music is somewhat morose. The plea Bleib bei uns(abide with us) surely had a deeper meaning for Bach as he experienced the impending confinement of his beloved Anna Magdalena. Perhaps that is the reason I did not find this cantata to my liking. However, I definitely do not think that it was performed badly!
One thing to note is that it is very instrumental, so much so that the instruments in many instances overwhelmed the choir and I dont think relocating the mikes would have helped its just the way Bach wrote it.
Bernarda Finks solos was sung well operatically, but not altogether in a suitable style for Bach it was a bit too dramatic with an overabundance of vibrato. I LOVE her in opera this just doesnt work for me. Other than that its enjoyable to hear, but not overly cheerful!
Bachs cantata:"Erfreut euch,ihr Herzen" BWV66 was performed in 1724. This cantata is based on the epistle of the day:Acts 10:34-43,which bristles with Peters raw energy as he boldly testifies to the death and the resurrection of Jesus and the forgiveness now available to all who believe. The utter exuberance of the opening chorus certainly portrays the joy of the Resurrection! And the performance of it on this disc is indeed inspiring.
It is not as heavily instrumental as the previous cantata although it has some glorious trumpet parts, but much of the strong instrumentation occurs in between the singing. The soloists including Michael Chance and Mark Padmore were excellent the high tessitura continued for the countertenor throughout, but Chance more than held his own.
The duet between Chance and Padmore was very well done all elements being in place such as balance, tonality , phrasing and interpretation. At no time was there any "shakiness" etc. on the part of the countertenor. Likewise I did not detect any flaws in the choral performance.
The overall listening was pleasureful, though I personally do not think that it is the best of the Bach cantatas.
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