The Ton Koopman Bach cantata factory seems to be turning out its product at a prodigious rate. Here, already, is the third three-disc anthology, containing nine sacred cantatas, one secular work and the customary clutch of Bach’s variants, treated as appendices.
From a vocal standpoint this is the strongest volume to have been issued so far. In the Cantata for solo alto, Widerstehe doch der Sunde (No. 54) the soloist is Andreas Scholl. Who better? But there are several other new names to the series, too, including Ruth Holton, Elisabeth von Magnus and Paul Agnew. All these, as well as the other soloists who take part, are singers of whom I hope to hear more as the project develops.
Koopman, as readers will recall, is approaching the cantatas in chronological order; thus the pieces included in Vol. 3 are all products of Bach’s later Weimar years. The performances that impressed me most are of Nos. 63, 155 and 162, all of them, as it happens, contained in the first disc of the set. Christen, atzet diesen Tag (No. 63) is a Christmas work of enormous charm and vigour. The Amsterdam Baroque Choir enliven the spirited opening chorus with clearly punctuated declamation and eloquent phrasing while the instruments, including four trumpets, drums and three oboes, provide resonance and colour. Von Magnus’s ravishing accompagnato which follows, and her joyful 3/8 duet with Agnew, “Ruft und fleht” are outstandingly well done though the lacklustre string accompaniment does little to complement either the spirit of the text or the ardent singing. This rewarding partnership happily occurs twice more, in Nos. 162 and 155; the first of these is a continuo duet whose vocal contours at times foreshadow the alto/tenor duet of the Leipzig Reformation cantata, Ein feste Burg (No. 80). The second is one of two solo numbers among the cantatas which contains a part for obbligato bassoon. Writing of this impassioned intensity makes me wish that Bach’s tenure of office at Weimar had lasted a little longer.
The second disc of the set contains the two trial cantatas (Nos. 22 and 23) by which Bach’s compositional prowess was judged by his future employers at Leipzig, as well as Nos. 163 and 165. Both of the 1723 trial pieces have important oboe/oboe d’amore solos and these are wonderfully executed by Marcel Ponseele with genuine feeling for the music’s poetry. However, I cannot get on with the helter-skelter treatment afforded the elaborately accompanied chorale at the end of No. 22. The deeply sorrowful opening duet of No. 23, on the other hand, is beautifully sustained by Barbara Schlick and von Magnus. The history of this work is complicated and it is likely that only the elaborate and very beautiful concluding chorus belongs to the Weimar years. The remainder of the cantata was probably composed at Cothen. Of greater importance in the present context is that Koopman performs the piece in B minor rather than the original C minor. This was to accommodate the reinforcing trombones of the final chorus with which Koopman perversely dispensesh. So why B minor? Well, that enables him to use oboes d’amore as opposed to the standard oboes called for in the C minor version; and very affecting they are, too. A striking feature of No. 163 is a bass aria with two obbligato cellos, lyrically sung by Klaus Mertens.
The third disc contains three of the best-known cantatas of the Weimar period – Nos. 54, 161 and 208. While I am a great admirer of Scholl’s beguiling and unaffected artistry, I found the opening aria of Widerstehe doch der Sunde something of a wasted opportunity. Surely Bach did not intend those insistent scourging dissonances to be as understated by the strings as they are here; and the effect of the diminished sevenths is also glossed over. The problem lies not with Scholl, however, but with the overall concept of the piece which bears little or no relationship with the warning against the sin and guile of Satan. No, this polite, rather spongy playing is not, in the present context, for me. Komm, du susse Todesstunde (No. 161) greatly benefits from the singing of von Magnus. She has much of the most memorable music in this deeply felt piece but, again, I find the speed and nonchalance with which the tolling death-knell is sounded at the close of her recitative-arioso unconvincing. I have never heard such feeble bells rung with such inconsequence over such a momentous event in all my life. Much else here, though, is impressive, and Agnew delivers his da capo aria with sustained assurance and expressive subtlety.
The remaining cantata is No. 208, popularly known as the “Hunting Cantata”, written for the birthday of Duke Christian of Sachsen-Weissenfels. The text is a version of a legend concerning the goddess Diana. But it is Pales, goddess of the flock who has the purplest passage: “Sheep may safely graze”. The work was probably Bach’s first secular cantata and a radiant piece it is, too. Koopman’s horn players do a splendid job in the first aria and in the choruses. Tempos generally are well judged, Pan’s self-congratulatory “Ein Furst ist seines Landes Pan” especially so in its lilting, jaunty abandon. Von Magnus, wearing her soprano hat, gives an accomplished performance of “Sheep may safely graze”. She has a highly developed feeling for ornament, shared by the recorder players, and I found it both tasteful and imaginative. But it is also, perhaps, overdone and her predilection for certain decorative contours diminishes the sense of spontaneity. Koopman’s continuo playing, above all in his realization of the harmony in the second beat of the first bar, may strike some ears as interventionist or, at least, intrusive. I am less enthusiastic about Pales’s second aria, a lovely piece rather underrated by critics. It comes across as a scramble, stripped of all poise, eloquence and expressive delicacy. In general, though, the cantata is stimulating and enjoyable under Koopman’s direction; and that goes for Vol. 3 as a whole in spite of the reservations voiced above. Only the string playing struck me as often being undernourished and under strength. A fascinating release.'