Soon, if not already, the prospective buyer of mainstream works in the baroque repertory will be utterly bewildered by the range of choice available. This will be the ninth complete version of Bach's Christmas Oratorio to enter the catalogue in a space of three years and I have no doubt that it is wishful thinking on my part to suppose that there will be a respite, a close season in the offing. Like any city department store, record companies seem to deem it necessary to fill their shop windows with the same goods. Whilst the absence of a work of this stature from a company's catalogue is not a fact to be shouted from the roof tops, neither is it one to be ashamed of. Well having said that, I found the new recording from Virgin Classics largely enjoyable.
Bach compiled his Oratorio for the Christmas church season at Leipzig, 1734-35. The six-part cantata was designed for Christmas Day and the two following days, the Feast of the Circumdsion the Sunday after New Year and the Feast of the Epiphany. The solo group of singers, which the conductor Philippe Herreweghe has chosen, is first rate but, unlike John Eliot Gardiner (Archiv Produktion), for instance, Herreweghe has allotted both the Evangelist's role and the tenor arias to one soloist rather than two. This is not uncommon by any means but the division of labour was an effective feature of Gardiner's recording. Nevertheless, Howard Crook, the tenor in this new issue, and in even better form than usual, is quite outstanding. His ''Frohe Hirten, eilt, ach eilet'' (Part 2) is just one among many instances here of this singer's fine declamation, acute ear and musical sensibility. As Evangelist, Crook is clear and forthright, punctuating and inflecting with all the necessary skill of a good story-teller. As such he held my attention throughout, in recitatives and arias alike. The counter-tenor Michael Chance also turns in a splendid performance; his ''Schlafe, mein Liebster'' (Part 2) is warm in tone and fervent in spirit and, from a technical viewpoint, beautifully controlled. Perhaps Chance's ''Bereite dich, Zion'' (Part I) was a little less settled, but his is a strong and affecting contribution.
The Dutch bass, Peter Kooy has a lightish voice with a pleasing edge to it. In other words there is nothing plummy here but no absence of resonance either, as you can hear for example in his fine delivery of the recitative passages, ''Immanuel, o susses Wort!'' and ''Auch in dem Sterben sollst du mir das Allerliebste sein'' (Part 4). Seldom, if ever, have I heard singing by the German soprano, Barbara Schlick which I have not admired and enjoyed. Her performance here is no exception though I did feel that the echo aria, ''Flosst, mein Heiland, flosst dein Namen'' (Part 4) lacked a mystic dimension, beautiflly sung and played as it is. The dance-like, A major ''Nur ein Wink von seinen Handen'' (Part 6), is enchanting though; this is the only true solo soprano aria in the work and Schlick sings it radiantly.
The voices of the Collegium Vocale, Ghent are pleasingly blended and quite well disciplined. They respond faithfully to Herreweghe's direction but sometimes I wish they would not. Herreweghe too often indulges in stylistic refinements at the expense of lively response to the text. There are many passages in this work where voices need to come over with greater emphasis, to sparkle more and, in short, to convey the jubilant spirit of occasion which runs through the Oratorio. The great, inspired and invigorating ''Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen'' (Part 5) is elegantly phrased and well sung, but it lacks fervour and is rhythmically a little unsteady in places, these are weaknesses in direction which can occasionally be noticed elsewhere in the performance and which, at least in these respects, make Gardiner's version the more convincing of the two. Herreweghe's orchestra plays extremely well and there are fine contributions especially from the oboes and horns. Only a passage in the aria, ''Nun mogt ihr stolzen'' (Part 6) betrayed signs of fatigue in the two-part oboe d'amore playing.
Nevertheless, the performance is an enjoyable one and the solo singing such that you may be prepared to overlook what are really quite small shortcomings elsewhere. My own preferred version remains that of the Tolz Boys' Choir conducted by Schmidt-Gaden on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, with excellent solos from the choir members in the soprano and alto arias; but this version is on three CDs as opposed to Gardiner's and Herreweghe's two-CD album. The new set beautifully recorded, comes with a booklet containing full texts in German, English and French numbered according to the Neue Ausgabe edition and laid out in an exemplary manner, requiring neither magnifying glass nor a qualification in higher mathematics to find your way about.'