Document

  1999
    December 1999
        Vocal
                Bach Matthew Passion, BWV244

Bach St Matthew Passion, BWV244Ian Bostridge ten Evangelist; Franz-Josef Selig bass Christus; Sibylla Rubens sop Andreas Scholl counterten Werner Gura ten Dietrich Henschel bass Cantate Domino Schola Cantorum; Collegium Vocale Chorus and Orchestra / Philippe Herreweghe

Harmonia Mundi CD-ROM (Full price) (3) HMC95 1676/78 (154 minutes: DDD). Texts and translations included

Philippe Herreweghe revisits Bach's greatest Passion, but does it measure up to his first recording?

Selected comparison:

Herreweghe (11/85) (HARM) HMC90 1155/7

I suppose we should all be preparing ourselves for an avalanche of Bach recordings over the next 12 months. Indeed it seems already to have begun, with the appearance of various Bach editions and reissues, most of which contain Bach's two great surviving Passions. But, for the moment I am concerned with a single new issue, Philippe Herreweghe's second recording of the St Matthew Passion. His earlier performance, also for Harmonia Mundi, was very well received when it was first released some 15 years ago. How do the two differ? In many respects not very much. Herreweghe, perhaps reassuringly, shows remarkable consistency in the choice and size of his forces. His two choirs are marginally smaller in the new version, with women's voices providing the sopranos and a mix of male alto and mezzo/alto women's voices taking the alto lines, all as before. The orchestra, give or take an extra player or two, is very similarly disposed to that of the earlier release.

Both recordings by Herreweghe field a starry line-up of vocal soloists and both demonstrate this conductor's sure sense of effective tempo. So, which version should we go for? Two issues, above all, will have direct bearing upon choice. First, preferences for one soloist over another and, secondly, the respective responses of choir and instruments to Bach's music. This second consideration is easily dealt with since both singing and playing on the new release is more stylish and more refined than on the earlier one. Herreweghe's orchestra sounds far more assured nowadays than it once did and his choral voices, evidently carefully chosen, are extremely effective. But spit and polish is not everything and the updated version has not so far overthrown the earlier one in my esteem. That has a spontaneity and a youthful fervour which, despite a rougher choral and orchestral grain, affords pleasure and satisfaction on many levels.

Turning to the soloists, few readers, perhaps, will feel inclined to pass by the current reputations of Ian Bostridge (who sings the role of Evangelist), Andreas Scholl or Werner Gura. Yet on this occasion none of them seems quite able to deliver his best and it is to Howard Crook, Rene Jacobs and Hans-Peter Blochwitz that I turn to find the greater satisfaction. Where the Christus is concerned, the matter is more evenly weighted, for Franz-Josef Selig and Ulrik Cold (on the earlier recording) are both impressive. And much the same goes for Sibylla Rubens and Barbara Schlick (earlier recording). Both are excellent, while, on the other hand, Peter Kooy on the 1980s recording makes more of the music than his rival Dietrich Henschel. And, perhaps by way of settling the matter, 'Erbarme dich' (Jacobs) and 'Mache dich, mein Herze, rein' (Kooy) seem to me to come across with more expressive intensity than they do in the new version which, in each instance, favours a brisker tempo.

In summary, my first choice remains the 1985 Herreweghe, though if you prefer to be a la mode in matters of solo singing you need not feel too compromised. Both readings have their own virtues and rewards.

Nicholas Anderson

Harmonia Mundi's CD-ROM version marks yet another advance on its impressive Cosi fan tutte (5/99) . It offers a survey of the life of Bach and the background to the St Matthew Passion with a fascinating linking of Bach's music with the religious text. There is also an interview with the conductor Philippe Herreweghe. In short, it is a perfect way, in these interactive days, to come closer to a work that defies time and fashion in such a profound and impregnable way.

James Jolly



		I suppose we should all be preparing ourselves for an avalanche of Bach recordings over the next 12 months. Indeed it seems already to have begun, with the appearance of various Bach editions and reissues, most of which contain Bach's two great surviving Passions. But, for the moment I am concerned with a single new issue, Philippe Herreweghe's second recording of the St Matthew Passion. His earlier performance, also for Harmonia Mundi, was very well received when it was first released some 15 years ago. How do the two differ? In many respects not very much. Herreweghe, perhaps reassuringly, shows remarkable consistency in the choice and size of his forces. His two choirs are marginally smaller in the new version, with women's voices providing the sopranos and a mix of male alto and mezzo/alto women's voices taking the alto lines, all as before. The orchestra, give or take an extra player or two, is very similarly disposed to that of the earlier release.



		Both recordings by Herreweghe field a starry line-up of vocal soloists and both demonstrate this conductor's sure sense of effective tempo. So, which version should we go for? Two issues, above all, will have direct bearing upon choice. First, preferences for one soloist over another and, secondly, the respective responses of choir and instruments to Bach's music. This second consideration is easily dealt with since both singing and playing on the new release is more stylish and more refined than on the earlier one. Herreweghe's orchestra sounds far more assured nowadays than it once did and his choral voices, evidently carefully chosen, are extremely effective. But spit and polish is not everything and the updated version has not so far overthrown the earlier one in my esteem. That has a spontaneity and a youthful fervour which, despite a rougher choral and orchestral grain, affords pleasure and satisfaction on many levels.



		Turning to the soloists, few readers, perhaps, will feel inclined to pass by the current reputations of Ian Bostridge (who sings the role of Evangelist), Andreas Scholl or Werner Gura. Yet on this occasion none of them seems quite able to deliver his best and it is to Howard Crook, Rene Jacobs and Hans-Peter Blochwitz that I turn to find the greater satisfaction. Where the Christus is concerned, the matter is more evenly weighted, for Franz-Josef Selig and Ulrik Cold (on the earlier recording) are both impressive. And much the same goes for Sibylla Rubens and Barbara Schlick (earlier recording). Both are excellent, while, on the other hand, Peter Kooy on the 1980s recording makes more of the music than his rival Dietrich Henschel. And, perhaps by way of settling the matter, 'Erbarme dich' (Jacobs) and 'Mache dich, mein Herze, rein' (Kooy) seem to me to come across with more expressive intensity than they do in the new version which, in each instance, favours a brisker tempo.



		In summary, my first choice remains the 1985 Herreweghe, though if you prefer to be a la mode in matters of solo singing you need not feel too compromised. Both readings have their own virtues and rewards.



		Harmonia Mundi's CD-ROM version marks yet another advance on its impressive Cosi fan tutte (5/99) . It offers a survey of the life of Bach and the background to the St Matthew Passion with a fascinating linking of Bach's music with the religious text. There is also an interview with the conductor Philippe Herreweghe. In short, it is a perfect way, in these interactive days, to come closer to a work that defies time and fashion in such a profound and impregnable way.