This new recording of Bach's St Matthew Passion has not come entirely as a novelty to me since I was fortunate enough to catch Leonhardt's performance, with largely similar cast, on French Radio during the late summer. Sitting by candle- light in the kitchen of a seventeenth-century Manoir eating langoustines washed down with a local Muscadet I felt understandably well disposed towards the performance, though prevailing circumstances were hardly conducive to complete involvement. Now, giving it the attention it deserves, I find myself no less taken with it.
Gustav Leonhardt has assembled an impressive cast of singers headed by the German tenor, Christoph Pregardien singing the role of Evangelist, and Max van Egmond that of Christus. The chorus—boys' voices for the upper strands in both choirs—is lively and the orchestra of La Petite Bande fairly constantly on its best form. The size and disposition of vocal and instrumental forces is similar to those of John Eliot Gardiner's recent recording for Archiv Produktion. But much else in the way of similarity between the two ends there; for while Gardiner is overtly dramatic, bringing a vivid sense of theatre to the work, Leonhardt is subjective, less inclined towards extravagant gesture and concerned more, or so it seems to me, in probing its profound contemplative and rhetorical dimensions. There are innumerable virtues in both approaches and which of the two you prefer will probably be determined by temperament. An outright recommendation of one performance over the other is nonsense in this instance and perhaps at this point I ought to include another fine recording, by Philippe Herreweghe on Harmonia Mundi as being on the same level of excellence.
As I have remarked on previous occasions, where Gardiner scores over his continental rivals is in the accomplished singing of his Monteverdi Choir. The issue cannot be sidestepped, if first-class choral singing, throughout, is of paramount importance to your enjoyment of this music, then Gardiner's version will satisfy you more than the other two. Bach, I am sure would have considered such singing as technically, at least, ''well-appointed''. On the other hand he would surely have felt closer affinity with the sound-quality of Leonhardt's choir though he might not, of course, necessarily have preferred it. Leonhardt in general has sought a closer approximation than Gardiner to the performing conditions that Bach at various times had at his disposal. The choir, as I have already said, consists of all male voices, boys and men. The soloists, too, comprise an all-male team with two very talented trebles from the Tolz Boys' Choir taking the soprano music. Leonhardt's dynamic range is smaller than Gardiner's but seems to be more in keeping with the character of the music and the bowing and blowing of period instruments. In matters of pacing Leonhardt is more leisurely than Gardiner, taking a full 15 minutes longer overall. Herreweghe's tempos correspond more closely to Leonhardt's but he, too, is marginally brisker. Leonhardt brings out the mystical content of Bach's music more convincingly than any of his competitors and this is evident, above all, in the great opening chorus where nothing is hurried, nothing is overstated and where the subtly disparate elements of the piece are highlighted in a masterly fashion. Leonhardt's tempo for this movement requires considerably more time than those set by Herreweghe, Gardiner or Nikolaus Harnoncourt in his pioneering version of the early 1970s (Teldec), and struck me as being almost ideal.
Taken as a group Gardiner's soloists are, on balance, the most impressive from among the sets I have mentioned. Yet I would not happily forego Howard Crook's Evangelist, or Barbara Schlick's soprano solos in the Herreweghe set, nor would I now wish to be without Max van Egmond's notably gentle, and warmly affectionate Christus in Leonhardt's version. Rene Jacobs is common both to the Herreweghe and the new set but fails to match up to Michael Chance's tender ''Erbarme dich'' in Gardiner's performance; and Elizabeth Wilcock's solo violin playing in this movement is unrivalled by that in either Leonhardt's or Herreweghe's set.
It must now be clear that all the versions under discussion are well worth becoming acquainted with. I shall not want to hear any one of them to the exclusion of the others but if I had to single out a performance which satisfied the spiritual, other-worldliness in me it would be the new one from Leonhardt. Uneven it may be, but nevertheless I found it profoundly satisfying. Good recorded sound and full texts in German, English, French and Italian. Warmly recommended.'