Bach Magnificat; Vivaldi Gloria

Boston Baroque continue their trek through great choral works

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach

Genre:

Vocal

Label: Telarc

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 53

Mastering:

Stereo
DDD

Catalogue Number: CD80651

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Gloria Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Boston Baroque
Deanne Meek, Mezzo soprano
Martin Pearlman, Conductor
Mary Phillips, Mezzo soprano
Tamara Crout Matthews, Soprano
Magnificat Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Boston Baroque
Deanne Meek, Mezzo soprano
Don Frazure, Tenor
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Martin Pearlman, Conductor
Mary Phillips, Mezzo soprano
Stephen Powell, Baritone
Tamara Crout Matthews, Soprano
Having recorded Messiah, Bach’s B minor Mass, Mozart’s Requiem and Monteverdi’s Vespers, Boston Baroque and Martin Pearlman continue their survey of choral works. Vivaldi’s famous Gloria has been paired with Bach’s Magnificat on disc before, so this is a tried and tested programme.

Pearlman begins the Gloria with a controlled and tasteful orchestral introduction, albeit at a lively pace. The choir seems top-heavy when singing in block chords but is effective in slow passages such as ‘Et in terra pax’ and the opening section of ‘Gratias agimus tibi’. Fugues are not quite so sharply defined. The orchestra play the introduction to ‘Laudamus te’ with an infectious spring, although Tamara Matthews and Deanne Meek both apply lots of vibrato – no evil thing in itself, but it does not suit the precise and direct timbre of period instruments.

We experience more of the same in Bach’s revised D major version of the Magnificat. In ‘Et exultavit’ Meek overpowers the elegant orchestral support with a thick vibrato that might not appeal to all tastes. Pearlman’s direction initially seems short on dramatic conviction but the choral interjection ‘Omnes generationes’ makes things more stimulating. Stephen Powell’s ‘Quia fecit mihi magna’ has personality and Don Frazure’s ‘Deposuit potentes’ provides theatricality. These are tidy performances but there is not much that clamours for rapt attention. Those wanting extrovert stimulation will prefer John Eliot Gardiner’s benchmark Magnificat (Philips, 8/85R) or Rinaldo Alessandrini’s mischievous Gloria (Opus 111 – nla).

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