Bach Cantatas, BWV57, 110 and 122
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Johann Sebastian Bach
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Magazine Review Date: 11/1996
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 62
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: HMC90 1594
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Cantata No. 57, 'Selig ist der Mann' |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Collegium Vocale Collegium Vocale Orchestra Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Mark Padmore, Tenor Peter Kooy, Bass Philippe Herreweghe, Conductor Sarah Connolly, Mezzo soprano Vasiljka Jezovsek, Soprano |
| Cantata No. 110, 'Unser Mund sei voll Lachens' |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Collegium Vocale Collegium Vocale Orchestra Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Mark Padmore, Tenor Peter Kooy, Bass Sarah Connolly, Mezzo soprano Vasiljka Jezovsek, Soprano |
| Cantata No. 122, '(Das) neugeborne Kindelein' |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Collegium Vocale Collegium Vocale Orchestra Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Mark Padmore, Tenor Peter Kooy, Bass Philippe Herreweghe, Conductor Sarah Connolly, Mezzo soprano Vasiljka Jezovsek, Soprano |
Author: Nicholas Anderson
Philippe Herreweghe and his Collegium Vocale continue their series of Bach’s sacred cantatas with three pieces written for the Leipzig Christmas services in 1724 and 1725. First in order of composition, and in performance on the disc, is Das neugebor’ne Kindelein. It was first heard on the Sunday after Christmas, and is based on a late seventeenth-century hymn and its melody, associated with the Christmas season, by Melchior Vulpius. The melody is present in four of the cantata’s six movements and is treated with all Bach’s customary ingenuity. Compared with most of his Christmas music the work is darkly coloured, even at times austere; but Herreweghe discovers much poetry in the piece, hitherto at least partly hidden from me. Peter Kooy enlivens his rather stern C minor continuo aria with fine declamation and is very well supported by the cellist; and the lyrical 6/8 terzetto incorporating the chorale melody is beautifully sustained.
Unser Mund sei voll Lachens is of a very different hue. Its opening chorus, sumptuously scored, is a masterly parody of the overture belonging to Bach’s Fourth Orchestral Suite. The setting is exhilarating from start to finish with choral writing divided into solo and ripieno sections; and Bach’s effective accommodation of the word “Lachens” (laughter) in the ripieno is indeed a masterstroke. Herreweghe’s approach to the noble opening instrumental section, in dotted rhythm, is measured and refined rather than jubilant; but the joyful Christmas message comes over clearly enough in the crisply articulated vocal fugal allegro. Four arias, a recitative and a chorale verse make up the remainder of the cantata. All four soloists are catered for in arias where Bach clearly saw the necessity of providing as much contrast as possible, not only with the majestic opening movement, but among the arias themselves. The one for tenora, sensitively sung by Mark Padmore, felt a shade too slow, failing to provide the necessary contrast between it and the following lyrical alto aria. The soprano-tenor duet, alas, is tonally insecure, neither vocalist sounding at ease either with themselves or with the continuo cello.
The 1725 cantata is Selig ist der Mann, first performed on the Feast of St Stephen. Though designated for the second day of Christmas the text uses the martyrdom of St Stephen to illustrate, metaphorically, the salvation of the Christian believer through death. It is one of Bach’s dialogue cantatas in which the protagonists are Anima (the soul) and Christ, sung by soprano and bass respectively. Vasiljka Jezovsek sounds more secure in this work than she did in the previous one; she sings her two arias, both of exceptional beauty and strongly differentiated character, with affecting expression, grief-laden in the first instance, joyfully fervent in the second. Kooy is fluent and declamatory in his vigorous B flat “Ja, ja, ich kann die Feinde schlagen” and it is, on balance, this cantata which fares best of the three.
In summary, these are mostly enjoyable performances, flawed only by moments of insecurity and for some readers, perhaps, by Herreweghe’s over-reticent responses to extrovert movements.'
Unser Mund sei voll Lachens is of a very different hue. Its opening chorus, sumptuously scored, is a masterly parody of the overture belonging to Bach’s Fourth Orchestral Suite. The setting is exhilarating from start to finish with choral writing divided into solo and ripieno sections; and Bach’s effective accommodation of the word “Lachens” (laughter) in the ripieno is indeed a masterstroke. Herreweghe’s approach to the noble opening instrumental section, in dotted rhythm, is measured and refined rather than jubilant; but the joyful Christmas message comes over clearly enough in the crisply articulated vocal fugal allegro. Four arias, a recitative and a chorale verse make up the remainder of the cantata. All four soloists are catered for in arias where Bach clearly saw the necessity of providing as much contrast as possible, not only with the majestic opening movement, but among the arias themselves. The one for tenora, sensitively sung by Mark Padmore, felt a shade too slow, failing to provide the necessary contrast between it and the following lyrical alto aria. The soprano-tenor duet, alas, is tonally insecure, neither vocalist sounding at ease either with themselves or with the continuo cello.
The 1725 cantata is Selig ist der Mann, first performed on the Feast of St Stephen. Though designated for the second day of Christmas the text uses the martyrdom of St Stephen to illustrate, metaphorically, the salvation of the Christian believer through death. It is one of Bach’s dialogue cantatas in which the protagonists are Anima (the soul) and Christ, sung by soprano and bass respectively. Vasiljka Jezovsek sounds more secure in this work than she did in the previous one; she sings her two arias, both of exceptional beauty and strongly differentiated character, with affecting expression, grief-laden in the first instance, joyfully fervent in the second. Kooy is fluent and declamatory in his vigorous B flat “Ja, ja, ich kann die Feinde schlagen” and it is, on balance, this cantata which fares best of the three.
In summary, these are mostly enjoyable performances, flawed only by moments of insecurity and for some readers, perhaps, by Herreweghe’s over-reticent responses to extrovert movements.'
Bach Cantatas, BWV57, 110 and 122
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