Philippe Herreweghe’s selective survey of Bach’s vast sacred cantata output continues with three pieces written for Advent. Two of them, Nos. 36 and 62, are Leipzig works, while the third, No. 61, is a masterpiece of Bach’s earlier Weimar period. For the most part, these performances are sensitive both to text and music, illuminating the subtleties of Bach’s word-painting in a stylish and graceful manner. Nevertheless, the opening chorus of No. 36 finds chinks in the corporate armour of both choir and orchestra of Collegium Vocale. Herreweghe sets a cracking pace for the opening chorus, nicely capturing the joyful spirit of the cantata; the two unison oboes d’amore manage their demanding part well but the choir are audibly stretched by the brisk tempo and by Bach’s exacting vocal imitation, while the strings become increasingly ragged and scrambled towards the end of the movement. Christoph Pregardien is among the most accomplished Bach tenors of today, yet he too sounds at times strained in his tenderly expressive, lengthy aria. His chorale later on comes over with greater conviction, supported by an outstanding trio of oboes d’amore with bassoon continuo. Peter Kooy is on strong form both in his aria and in No. 61 where he declaims the affecting recitative with pizzicato strings, “Behold, behold, I stand at the door and knock” with noble resonance. But the high spot in Herreweghe’s performance of No. 36 is the soprano aria with muted violin obbligato. Sibylla Rubens and violinist Sirkka Liisa Kaakinen offer a beautifully shaped and tenderly expressed account of this alluring piece in 12/8 rhythm.
Generally speaking, Nos. 61 and 62 fare better overall than No. 36. Again, Rubens is admirably expressive both in her continuo aria from No. 61 and in the intimately expressive duo recitative of No. 62. Here she is joined by Sarah Connolly who sadly makes no further contribution to the programme. Herreweghe sets an ideal tempo in the animated B minor chorale fantasia with which No. 62 begins but as with the first cantata on the disc, he is less than ideally served by the upper strings of his orchestra. It is a pity, for this apart, the performances offer much that is satisfying and, in the partnership of Rubens and Kaakinen, something that is outstanding and, as far as I can recall, unrivalled by other versions.
A mixed pleasure, but I shall certainly want the disc for the aforementioned aria for soprano with violin. Meanwhile, John Eliot Gardiner’s recording of the same three cantatas remains the better of the two all round, though his understanding of the soprano aria of No. 36 is very different from that of Herreweghe, and much too fast for my taste.'