Musiche
Bach
Mass,BWV232.
Juliane Banse , Sibylla Rubens sops Ingeborg Danz mez James Taylor ten
Thomas Quasthoff , Andreas Schmidt basss
Gächinger Kantorei, Stuttgart; Stuttgart Bach Collegium/Helmuth Rilling
Hänssler Classic New CD 92 070 (113 minutes : DDD)
Reviewed: Gramophone 5/2000, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood
Rilling's third recording of this work is leaner, more highly distilled
and generally first-rate, though his characteristic restraint may still
exasperate some
There is an insatiability to Rilling's recording career reflected in
this, his third account of Bach's great Mass. Rilling indeed explains
why he has a new perspective on the work from that of both his previous
readings, in 1977 (CBS, 12/77R) and 1988 (Intercord), neither of which
is still available. Part of his justification for this new release is
his unrivalled immersion in Bach over the years, and the way a heightened
'comprehensive knowledge' shapes his grasp of the architectural essence
of a work which he views as an integral whole, while also drawing attention
to articulation, dynamics etc. The approach is thorough, the appetite
is impressive and he tells us how 'transparency' - meant both texturally
and abstractly in 'the arc of tension' - enters the hierarchy of concerns.
There is no question that Rilling knows his materials (he wrote a book
on the work) and there is a sense of real stature in what he sets out
to achieve. What has actually changed over the years in meaningful musical
vision, rather than merely style-awareness or specific scientific redress,
is less easy to assess.
Judging by this new Mass in B minor, there are generally fewer mannerisms
(one gratuitous pull-up in the first Kyrie, some exaggerated accentuation
and a curiously protracted 'Benedictus' flute obbligato aside), a leaner
concept mirrored in a choir of six-per-part, a far smaller modern-instrument
ensemble than one would expect of the Stuttgarters and brisker tempos
('Et in terra pax' races inexorably ahead and 'Et in Spiritum Sanctum'
is as fast they come). How much of this, I wonder, is instinct or a self-
conscious, fashionable distillation of 'period' thought? What can be said
instantly in its favour is that Rilling grasps the nettle, delivers the
concertante rhythmic energy with supreme and exhilarating precision, the
stile antico choruses with measured aplomb and purpose, and the solo movements
are all superbly executed by outstanding singers: Juliane Banse sings
'Laudamus te' with marvellous assurance and terrific bottle. Sibylla Rubens
is also on top form and her partnership with Ingeborg Danz in the 'Et
in unum Dominum' is a vocal feast. Both basses would grace any Bach recording
you wished to hear, and even James Taylor's slightly careful tenor fits
the bill.
On the debit side is the age-old problem with Rilling's Bach for so many
listeners - his esteemed ability to focus rarely produces a memorable
poetic insight. The duets suffer from contrived over-dotting and constantly
chopped-up phrasing, a stubborn refusal to imbue the music with an instant
emotional response that doesn't rigidly emanate from his clear structural
sense of the overall momentum. The 'Qui tollis' and the 'Crucifixus' certainly
glow and unfold with mesmerising control but they also appear profoundly
hollow. Reconciling this dichotomy of the respect one has for many of
Rilling's qualities with the exasperating need for a greater expressive
engagement will be more problematic for some than others. It is not mere
politeness that makes me say that, for many, Rilling will come as close
to providing an all-round excellent version as one can get. For all the
chromium plate, there are some dazzling movements, such as the 'Et resurrexit'
and 'Et expecto' (with breathtaking anticipation), which leaves you fizzing
like a bottle of shaken-up tonic.
The choral singing is in the top bracket. So, highly recommended for selected
clientele - particularly those who know Rilling's measure - but I suggest
circumspection to those seeking a more endearing connection with Bach.'
Jonathan Freeman-Attwood
Bach
Cantata No 202, 'Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten,BWV202. Cantata
No 206, 'Schleicht, spielende Wellen',BWV206.
Christine Schäfer , Sibylla Rubens sops Ingeborg Danz mez Stanford
Olsen ten Michael Volle bar
Stuttgart Bach Collegium; Stuttgart Gächinger Kantorei/Helmuth Rilling
Hänssler CD CD98 169 (58 minutes : DDD)
Texts and translations included
Reviewed: Gramophone 11/1998, Nicholas Anderson
Helmuth Rilling made his first recording forays into Bach’s secular
cantatas and drammae per musicae in the mid to late 1960s. Several of
these have been recently reissued on CD by the Cantate-Musicaphon label.
Now Rilling has embarked on a new survey of the repertoire and this is
the third disc from Hanssler to have been issued in the last 12 months
(see 4/98 and 7/98). The present disc contains two works, the vernal masterpiece,
Weichet nur, betrubte Schatten (No. 202), for a wedding, and No. 206,
Schleicht, spielende Wellen, first performed on the birthday, in 1736,
of Elector Friedrich Augustus II.
I really cannot understand why Rilling still persists in the old-fashioned,
largely discredited manner of accompanying simple recitative. His fussy
harpsichord and mournfully sustained bass stringed instruments hideously
slow down the drama, such as it is. In cases such as No. 206, where Bach
was driven, by reason of homage to a monarch, to set a somewhat less than
compelling libretto – this one is a vacuous dispute between the rivers
that run through the countries under Augustus’s rule – the drama needs
all the help it can get. Happily, other features of these performances
are considerably more sympathetic to Bach’s music, with excellent contributions
by Christine Schafer, Sibylla Rubens and Stanford Olsen; but the remaining
soloists are fine, too, as is the modern instrumental playing of the Bach
Collegium Stuttgart.
The Wedding Cantata is sung by Rubens, whose voice is strongly projected,
bright and with a slight edge to it. Perhaps I prefer this music to be
endowed with the warmth of an Elly Ameling or an Anny Felbermayer, but
Rubens articulates with clarity and is superbly controlled, with plenty
of technical resource in reserve. Rilling enlivens the performance with
affectionate phrasing, invigorating tempos and rhythmic suppleness, though
his oboist indulges in excessive flights of ornamental fancy both in the
penultimate aria and in the concluding gavotte.
Schleicht, spielende Wellen, recitatives apart, also comes over well.
One of the most engaging arias of the work, in the character of a polonaise,
is given to the River Vistula, a bass. Rilling gets closer than Reinhard
Goebel to the spirit of the piece but, even so, underplays its rhythmic
elan. The mediator in this preposterous dispute is the River Pleisse.
Her aria, galant in spirit and in style, is lightly sung with admirable
dexterity and tonal precision by Schafer. In short, this is one of the
most enjoyable of Rilling’s cantata performances in recent times. Fine
singing, fine playing, and a pleasing recorded sound add up to a mainly
rewarding performance.'
Bach
Cantata No 201, 'Geschwinde, ihr wirbeln den Wind,BWV201.
Sibylla Rubens sop Ingeborg Danz mez James Taylor , Lothar Odinius tens
Dietrich Henschel , Matthias Görne bars
Stuttgart Bach Collegium; Stuttgart Gächinger Kantorei/Helmuth Rilling
Hänssler CD CD98 162 (48 minutes : DDD)
Reviewed: Gramophone 4/1998, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood
Helmuth Rilling’s unabated desire to record and re-record Bach is clearly
endemic in his profound identification with a choral oeuvre of which he
is, arguably, the world’s most experienced living exponent. Geschwinde,
ihr wirbelnden Winde (better known as “The Contest between Phoebus and
Pan”) is a colourful setting of Picander’s tame libretto of Phoebus’s
whitewashing of Pan’s musical credentials, a Meistersinger scenario spiced
up with a subtext on the increasing banality of musical tastes c1730:
“inflated heat but little ballast”, as Mercury has it. This recording
contains many Rilling attributes, old and new; most strikingly, to his
credit, there is no letting up in the adrenalin level as he gets older,
as there clearly was with his late compatriot, Karl Richter. The disciplined
fizz of the opening chorus is a thrilling and infectious experience, with
a tempo that takes your breath away: such is the vocal and instrumental
virtuosity of the Stuttgart forces that Rilling has at his disposal.
In comparison, “the swirling winds” are mere gusts in the graceful, if
comparatively diffident gestures in Jacobs’s reading (on a two-disc set).
This is not merely a modern versus ‘period’ issue since Jacobs is as free-breathed
in the ‘mainstream’ sense as Rilling is occasionally hidebound: Rilling
can indeed be accused of fairly single-dimensional characterization in
the engagements between Phoebus and Pan and their respective acolytes.
This is, after all, a work with all the sophisticated theatrical imagery
and innuendo of a composer keen to impress his credentials in a secular
context, in particular that of Collegium Musicum and Zimmermann’s garden.
Jacobs’s version in this respect conveys far more imagination and humour.
Where Rilling has the edge over so many ‘period’ performances is in the
universal excellence of his singers. Although Jacobs is well endowed in
this respect, there is no touching Matthias Goerne’s Phoebus in the soft-grained
tenderness of “Mit verlangen”; even a Pan of Dietrich Henschel’s quality
can find little redress. Sibylla Rubens sits more happily with Rilling
than in her recent appearances for Koopman’s secular cantatas; she seems
to be coaxed here to realize fully her enticing vocal presence; this has
nothing to do with volume but a bloom ravishingly exhibited in her accompanied
recitative. The two tenors are well complemented, James Taylor switching
from Tmolus in Jacobs to Midas here.
Many will find Rilling’s approach too clinical and unrelenting (not helped
by an intrusive and saccharine harpsichord continuo) but there is no doubting
the distinctive quality of recent Bach recordings from Stuttgart, of which
this is a notable example; 48 minutes of music may well not be enough
for some, though.'
Jonathan Freeman-Attwood
Congratulatory and Hommage Cantatas/Huldigungs- und Glückwunsch-Kantaten
J.S. Bach: Angenehmes Wiederau BWV 30a (Kantate), Schwingt freudig euch
empor BWV 36c (Kantate), Die Freude reget sich BWV 36b (Kantate), Die
Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht BWV 134a (Kantate), Durchlauchtster Leopold
BWV 173a (Kantate)
Christiane Oelze (Sopran), Eva Oltiványi (Sopran), Marlis Petersen
(Sopran), Ingeborg Danz (Alt), Marcus Ullmann (Tenor), Andreas Schmidt
(Bass), Klaus Häger (Bass), Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart, Bach
Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling (Leitung)
Hänssler Classic 92.139
(2 CD • 2h 01' • 2000)
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Secular Cantatas/Weltliche Kantaten
J.S. Bach: Schleicht, spielende Wellen, und murmelt gelinde BWV 206 (Kantate),
Auf, schmetternde Töne der muntern Trompeten BWV 207a (Kantate),
Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten BWV 207 (Kantate)
Christine Schäfer (Sopran), Marlis Petersen (Sopran), Ingeborg Danz
(Alt), Stanford Olsen (Tenor), Marcus Ullmann (Tenor), Michael Volle (Bass),
Klaus Häger (Bass), Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart, Bach Collegium
Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling (Leitung)
Hänssler Classic 92.064
(CD • 78' • 1994/95, 2000)
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