  | JS Bach - Christmas Oratorio | |||
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Brief Introduction & a Survey of Recordings | ||||
Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage Rejoice, exult, arise, praise the day Rühmet, was heute der Höchste getan! Extol what the Almighty this day has done! Lasset das Zagen, verbannet die Klage, Banish all care, leave off complaining, Stimmet voll lauchzen und Fröhlichkeit an! Raise your voices in joy and in mirth! Dienet den Höchsten mit herrlichen Chören, Serve the Almighty with glorious choirs, Laßt uns den Namen des Herrschers verehren! Let us glorify the Name of the Lord! (First
movement, first part, For the First Day of Christmas) (English translation by Derek Yeld from René Jacobs' Harmonia Mundi recording reviewed below) Introduction For many, the opening of JS Bach's Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachtsoratorium) is one of the quintessential signs of the arrival of Christmas. Written for performance beginning on Christmas Day in Leipzig in 1734, after a long period without 'figured' (ie. orchestral) music, the opening with its bold timpani and ringing trumpets must have been dazzling. In six cantatas, Bach tells a version of the Christmas story tied in to the liturgical requirements of the two main churches in Leipzig. The coherence and narrative drive which Bach and his anonymous librettist brought to the material is perhaps even more impressive when you consider he did not compose the piece afresh from beginning to end. The work is a superlative example of parody technique, in which Bach used music he had written some years earlier, bound together by the recitatives of the Evangelist role and a few new movements. He used a variety of sources: 'secular' cantatas he had written to celebrate birthdays and other events outside of church; a now-lost setting of the Passion according to St Mark and a similarly lost church cantata. The consistency and appropriateness of the music (in skilled hands like the interpreters listed below) is amazing given the extent of Bach's recycling process. It was originally performed on six days during the Christmas period in two churches - and because of the way it was programmed, only the parishioners of the Church of St Nicholas would have heard all six of the cantatas. We live in more favoured times and can either listen to the piece all the way through, or spread it over the Christmas period listening to it as close as possible to the days on which it was intended to be performed - or even in two groups of three. The liturgical days (based on the season for 1734-35) are:
Please note that clicking on the cover art for each recording brings up a short summary review in a new window.
Soloists: Evangelist:
Fritz Wunderlich Wiener
Sängerknaben &
Chorus Viennensis
/ Concentus Musicus
Soloists: Evangelist:
Kurt Equiluz
Soloists: Arias:
Soloists: Soprano 2 (Echo, Angel): Libby Crabtree The
Eric Ericson
Choir / Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble Soloists:
Soloists:
Soloists:
Soloists:
Soloists:
Favourites and Where to Find Them All Listening to all of these recordings has been an enjoyable task, because the music is so good and all of the versions are performed to a very high standard. Distinguishing between them does not so much depend on objective criteria but rather on personal preferences. Of them all, the one which we found least satisfying was Karl Richter's. It has much to recommend it, not least the alto Christa Ludwig, but to us the sound is too stately and ponderous. Eric Ericson's version also did not for us reach the high level of performance of the remaining versions, but it still represents a great bargain introduction with some wonderful moments. From the others Christmas Matters has chosen the following three which we found to be most successful: 1. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton Koopman 2. RIAS Kammerchor & Akademie für alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs 3. The Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner
For Koopman, Elisabeth von Magnus was even better than Scholl in our opinion and Klaus Mertens excelled in the bass part. Some of Jacobs' interpretations we found genuinely thrilling, not least his use of a lute in the continuo and his use of dynamics and tempo in response to the text. Koopman was perhaps less innovative, but his choir sounded more lithe and flexible and his overall poise was coupled with an audible joy in performance. From a crowded field jostling for the third place, Christmas Matters decided to go for John Eliot Gardiner - a recording of the highest quality performed impeccably. Our only reservation was mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, whose performance in just one or two places was a little too forceful for me. But the overall vision of Gardiner is very impressive and the Monteverdi Choir is possibly even better than Koopman's. If these three stood out then there was a crowd giving them a serious run for their money. Another four again distinguished themselves amongst the remaining versions. At the forefront of these, Willem de Vriend was the pick of the modern instrument versions: a balanced, tasteful and exciting performance that almost knocked one of my three favourites off the top spots - and it's a version that still might given time. Michel Corboz was another really great example from the modern instrument versions, not least because of the quality of his soloists. Nikolaus Harnoncourt's interpretation is unlike all the others in its use of a boy soprano soloist and an all-male choir as well as being a fine recording in its own right. You can really hear history in the making, a crackle of excitement, which we believe elevates it to the top group of recordings. We also loved listening to the excellent live performance directed by Julian Wachner. It's often illuminating to hear a live performance and this carries with it a real thrill in performance. The remaining four recordings were also excellent, if in our opinion they lie slightly outside the very best listed above: the other version on modern instruments, by Helmuth Rilling, was a very fine interpretation. At times we felt it was a little too 'operatic' for our taste, but the choir in particular was really impressive. Masaaki Suzuki's and Diego Fasolis' versions are enjoyable for the individual (and very different) stamps which the conductor puts on the work. Suzuki's is the more contemplative, Fasolis' the more extrovert. Christmas Matters was slightly disappointed in Suzuki's recording at first, possibly because our expectations were high, but the more we listen to it, the more we enjoy his superb transcendent moments. Yoshikazu Mera's voice remains not quite to our taste in this piece, however. We see Harry Christophers and The Sixteen's version in the same bracket as these two: a truly exceptional Evangelist in Mark Padmore, fine soloists and everything else in the right place - only to our ears lacking a little something in comparison to exceptionally strong competition. That wasn't the view of the reviewer on Radio 3, however, who selected it as the first choice in 'Building a Library' in December 2005. Not that 'competition' is an appropriate word - maybe listening to twelve is a little excessive, but comparing more than one version of this great music is a marvellously rewarding experience!
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