This two-disc set contains four vocal works by Bach, set in the context of an Epiphany Mass ‘as it might have been celebrated in St. Thomas, Leipzig c.1740’. Though several attempts have been made in the past to re-create the sequence of events at the two main services where Bach’s cantatas were sung, the Hauptgottesdienst, in the morning, and the Vesper, in the afternoon, this is, to the best of my knowledge, the first time that such a project has been committed to disc. I recall occasions when such reconstructions were presented in the chapel of Queen’s College, Oxford, but they were certainly not as thoroughgoing nor, indeed, as long as this. For here we have 160 minutes of service, from which even a sermon in German has not been omitted, though Bach and his musicians might, like us, have counted themselves lucky to have been let off with a mere six minutes’ address.
I have been feeling a shade weary of liturgical reconstructions of late, and confessed as much to one of the artists taking part in this recording who, by chance, telephoned me about an hour before these discs landed with a thud on my doormat. But I admit to being captivated by much of what Paul McCreesh and his musicians, with valuable help in liturgical canon from the scholar, Robin A. Leaver, have achieved.
The sacred vocal works by Bach which have been chosen for this reconstruction of a Hauptgottesdienst for the Dreikonigsfest (‘Feast of the Three Kings’) are the F major Lutheran Mass, the Sanctus and two cantatas, Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, a true Epiphany piece, and Schmucke dich, o liebe Seele which is foremost a Trinity piece but one which Bach may well have used on other occasions. What of the performances of these, the raison d’etre of the entire exercise? Certainly, McCreesh did well in securing the services of Ann Monoyios and Peter Harvey, but his artistic colloquium, in general, makes an impressive showing. The Missa comes over very well, Monoyios’s ‘Qui tollis peccata mundi’ outstanding for its warmth of colour. An interesting experiment is carried out in the resonant Epiphany cantata, No. 65. Here the horns, which assume a prominent role in the opening chorus, are played an octave higher than usual, at trumpet pitch, with striking results, which I rather like. McCreesh emphasizes the lyrical character of this glorious movement, rather than its more readily captured processional grandeur. I was much less happy with this high pitch, though, in the tenor aria of the work, eloquently sung by Charles Daniels.
The brisk tempo chosen for the superb chorale fantasy with which No. 180 begins also failed to convince me. The rhythm, admittedly, is that of a gigue and, taken at face value, this speed can be justified with complete propriety. But Bach’s gently coloured, softly spoken consort of treble recorders, oboe, oboe da caccia and strings seems to tell a different story, evoking another aspect altogether of this tender, contemplative, yet radiant piece. The brilliant tenor aria with virtuoso flute obbligato which follows is, on the other hand, well considered in respect of tempo, and is furthermore beautifully articulated by flautist Jed Wentz. But it is Monoyios who for me, once more, steals the show with her affecting account of the lyrical elaboration with violoncello piccolo of a verse from the Communion hymn on which the cantata is based. And her subsequent aria is comparably fluent and secure.
There is, of course, much more to be said, and pondered over, in a reconstruction of this kind, in which elements of speculation and pragmatism must, of necessity, play their part. Much thought has gone into the solo organ elements of the Mass, not least by keyboard players James Johnstone, Timothy Roberts and James O’Donnell. For reasons of space, however, I can say little more other than that the project, carefully conceived and put together, is likely to interest all lovers of Bach’s music. While I should not want to sit through all this every time I feel like listening to a Bach cantata – Bach’s music requires no such trappings – I did find this conjecture illuminating and, up to a point, stimulating. But at some stage Archiv might be well advised to make the cantatas and Missa available separately. There are some fine performances there, and it is Bach rather than bells, chant, responses and sermons that most of us want to hear. The recorded sound, from Freiburg Cathedral and Brand-Erbisdorf in Saxony, is excellent. Bravo!'