Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Jan Willem de Vriend, Daniel Reuss :: Bach - Christmas Oratorio

Best of the season, and an elegant addition to the catalog

Terry Serres | Minneapolis, MN United States | 12/19/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Christmas Oratorio is among my favorite works. This joyous music is heard year round in our home, and during the holidays is as pervasive as the scent of pine. Sadly, the Christmas Oratorio is rare in performance stateside, thanks to the language barrier and the tyranny of "Messiah".



There is nary a new recording of this masterpiece that escapes my notice, and this is certainly among the best since Gardiner's entry in 1990. My favorite remains the recording with the Collegium Aurem and the Tölzer Knabenchor under Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, from early in the early music movement. This is a recording where even the idiosyncrasies and imperfections work: the bleating of the boy soloists, the blatting of the valveless trumpets, the deliberate tempi convey all the splendor of Bach's invention. Virtuosity alone will not serve an ensemble in bringing this music to life. The performance must convey a spirit of wonder and ineffable blessing, blending purity and sophistication.



This new recording, which appears to be available only as a download, is certainly preferable to its chief competitor this year, the new recording under Harnoncourt. Harnoncourt may have the best soloists in the business at his command, but his willful hand and joyless touch leave one cold.



To the recording at hand conductor Jan Willem de Vriend brings clarity, liveliness, and sensitivity. The pace is brisk but not hectic. The instrumental lines are balanced and clean. I was impressed with the apt sonic placement of the brass and winds, each shining at precisely the right moment. The continuo is novel in featuring a lute, the first time I recall hearing this in Bach.



The soloists' voices are light and nimble but not lacking in substance; the choir is satisfyingly precise and expressive. The tenor is appropriately communicative in the role of Evangelist, and brings an apt flourish to his non-narrative arias. The mezzo arias remain oases of contemplation. The soloists blend nicely, even the soprano and bass, which are often so awkwardly paired in "Herr, Dein Mittleid." The entire performance is so pleasing, if not imposing, that it is hard to single out individual contributions. The overall impression is one of simple elegance.



It is a pity that Amazon's search features work pathetically for locating its MP3 offerings, and that they have no interest in improving this functionality. (Their suggestion: search by the ASIN! Oh, that's helpful!)

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SUPERB ACCURATE AND DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE

Jesse Knight | woburn ma usa | 05/15/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All four soloists are top notch, singing accurately and with exceptional expression. They sound great in the solos, and blend beautifully together. The Choir and orchestra are no less exciting. Tempo is fast, similar to Gardiner's many bach recordings. Sound in CD mode is as good as it gets. I do not have a SACD player, so I cannot comment on the 5.1 channel sound option. This hybrid disc played fine on three different conventional CD and DVD players.



The two discs are part of a book that is not the same size as any recorded media I have. Thus it will not fit standard cases. For me this is not a problem, as I keep it with my books. Others who insist on having everything a to z may rebel.



I found reading the text out of this book much easier than reading a CD booklet. The print is larger.



Unfortunately there are no track numbers, only Roman numeral listing of sections. The trouble starts at XXXV, (35) which is track 35, so far so good. XXXVb however is track 36, which is the last track on CD 1.



CD 2 track 1 is of course XXXVI (36) Track 2 is XXXVII (37) of course.

Rather than try to subtract 35 from each Roman numeral to get the track numbers for the second CD, I wrote them in, in pencil.



All in all, having the book, even with this flaw, is far better than typical CD booklets.









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