Presenting a richer vein of cantatas would be hard to imagine as Ton Koopman moves into Bach’s second Leipzig cycle, written mainly for the latter half of 1724. Most of these works reveal a composer thriving in his expressively refined and integrated treatment of the chorale, a recognisable landmark in Bach’s maturity. Indeed it is this extraordinary manipulation of material around the chorale which gives No 127 its prescient, pre-Lenten sense of Christ’s passion. So arresting is this idea that Bach juxtaposes a world of imagery from what was to become the St Matthew Passion (including an accompanied recitative and aria as precursor to ‘Sind Blitze, sind Donner’) with arias concerned with the artful beauty of death – a conceit which fascinated Bach. Especially fine is ‘Die Seele ruht’, sung with delectable poise and coloration by Sibylla Rubens. Less satisfactory is the chorus to the opening movement which conveys little of the breathtaking luminosity of Wolfgang Gonnenwein in 1961 (Cantate, 7/62 – nla), partly since the recorded sound gives the choir little genuine profile.
While I admire Koopman’s unfussy and instinctive approach in the best performances of this series so far, too often the essence of such movements lacks penetration. This is especially noticeable in highly wrought cantatas like Nos 5 and 115, rightly counted among the most outstanding and brilliant of Bach’s vocal works. There simply isn’t the sustained engagement which, respectively, Harnoncourt brings, warts and all, to No 5, and both Christoph Coin and Karl Richter – in their quite disparate ways, to No 115. The same could be said of the hurly-burly Koopman affords the highly intricate opening chorus of No 10 and the more ‘corporate’ movements of No 113.
Even so, and bearing in mind the tight schedule evident from some performances, conceptually if not technically (where the standard is uniformly excellent), Koopman has brought an increasingly strong solo vocal presence to the series recently. If the aria in No 5, ‘Ergiesse dich reichlich’, is a touch breathless, Christoph Pregardien projects the words and imagery with remarkable aplomb (and he is even more incisive in ‘Jesus nimmt’ from No 113 with its virtuoso flute obbligato, performed majestically by Wilbert Hazelzet). For all the supreme ease of Jonathan Manson’s obbligato violoncello piccolo in this movement, I wonder why this instrument was chosen instead of the viola alluded to by Christoph Wolff in the notes? In No 115, arguably Bach’s most breathtakingly fluent Trinity cantata, and one which boasts a genuine piccolo cello, Koopman revels less in the fragrantly scored opening chorus, with its unique disposition of flute, oboe d’amore, horn and strings, than Coin who caresses the delicate ritornello and imbues each whimsical turn of the work with considerable interest and character. The fine alto aria is taken here by Annette Markert, whose attractive and rich contralto has an old-fashioned hue; how refreshing in this countertenor-dominated age!
Sibylla Rubens produces some of the most memorable aspects of this set: a flamboyant and urgent ‘Herr, der du stark’ from No 10, dazzlingly accompanied by the Amsterdammers, and a purposeful ‘Lass uns’ from No 41, the New Year’s Day cantata written for 1725. If the obbligato piccolo cello runs like a golden thread through these pieces – especially with Manson’s immaculate and affecting performances – the last work (No 41) includes the most memorable collaboration between instrumentalist and singer with Pregardien magical in the aria, ‘Woferne du den edlen Frieden’. Koopman has few rivals in the sparkling ebullience of Nos 94 (though van Leusink and Kuijken are also excellent) and 139, where unmannered spontaneity reigns. This is Koopman’s Bach at its most persuasive, especially with such consistently fine solo work on all fronts.
All in all, something of a mixed bag, but collectors of this series will relish Koopman’s unpretentious and infectious concern for the music, however intermittently his interpretation progresses beyond his initial instincts towards a more considered statement