This disc completes Christophe Coin’s three-disc survey of Bach cantatas which include an obbligato part for the five-string violoncello piccolo. The orchestra in each case is the Limoges Baroque Ensemble though for this new release the Leipzig Concerto Vocale have been supplanted by the Accentus Chamber Choir.
The three cantatas are Leipzig compositions dating from 1725. No. 41 is a New Year piece, No. 6 an Easter one, while No. 68 was written for Whitsun. Though belonging to the same year, these cantatas nevertheless are varied in structure, only No. 41 adhering to that unifying thematic pattern which was such a distinctive feature of the chorale-based works of the 1724-5 annual cycle. Any pleasure in the performances on the first disc of the series (2/95) has remained constant but, mainly because of inadequate trumpet playing, my enthusiasm for the second (12/95) was muted. The present disc happily finds these artists back on almost consistently good form. I say ‘almost’ since I still cannot summon up a great deal of enthusiasm for the playing of the trumpets – In No. 41 there are three of them, misleadingly referred to as trombones in the track-listing. But the many illuminating features of Coin’s lively direction elsewhere ensure a high level of enjoyment; and his own violoncello piccolo solos convey the poetry of the music with wonderfully intuitive expression and grateful gesture.
The four vocal soloists – the same group features on each of the discs – are outstanding. Barbara Schlick sounds more at ease in this company that she has done on recent Bach cantata recordings with Ton Koopman. Her lyrical 6/8 aria in No. 41 comes over especially well, though I also enjoyed her celebrated aria, “Mein glaubiges Herze” (“My heart ever faithful”) in No. 68 for a radiance surpassed only perhaps by Agnes Giebel in a recording made with Fritz Werner over 30 years ago and, as I write, happily reissued on CD (to be reviewed next month). Andreas Scholl has no rival that I can think of in this repertoire and his aria in No. 6 – alas the only one for him in this programme – is eloquently sung. Christoph Pregardien is admirable in his music, conveying the optimism of his G minor aria (Cantata No. 6) with warmth and declamatory fervour. Like Scholl, Gotthold Schwarz has only one aria (No. 68) – but what an aria. Bach had first introduced it to his hunting cantata Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd! (No. 208) at Weimar. In that piece it is allotted to Pan, god of flocks. This radiant, dance-like movement is accompanied by two oboes and an oboe da caccia and is very often taken at a miserably laboured pace. Under Coin’s direction, though, it trips along as briskly as I can ever recall having heard it; my only reservation concerns balance for it seemed that Schwarz’s vocal presence was a little underpowered, a feeling that I had elsewhere on the disc and which owes more to the engineer’s balance than to features of the performances themselves.
The small choir sound well, on the whole, though again they do not always make their presence sufficiently felt. The opening chorus of No. 6, Schweitzer’s “masterpiece of poetry in music”, is handled with extraordinary sensibility by Coin, who brings out details in Bach’s scoring, such as the throbbing quavers of the upper and middle string parts, with loving tenderness. This gentleness of approach, together with a close identity and warm rapport with Bach’s kaleidoscopic tonal palette, are virtues common to all three discs and sterling qualities, furthermore, that will survive the fickleness of changing fashion. And what is so refreshing is the absence of intrusive mannerism. There are no empty gestures here, just total absorption in the music, and a disarming humility. A release of great distinction.'