Philippe Herreweghe & Collegium Vocale Gent - Bach: Motetten (2011) [Official Digital Download]

In this exemplary recording of six Bach motets Philippe Herreweghe leads Collegium Vocale Ghent (an ensemble that includes both singers and instrumentalists) and ten soloists in performances of exceptional finesse and elegance. That's no easy task given the dense contrapuntal textures that characterizes several of the motets written for double chorus and orchestra. It takes great skill to keep the music, in a movement like the opening to "Singet dem Herr ein neues Lied," from turning into a murky undifferentiated stew of busyness, but Herreweghe keeps the sound open and varied. One crucial element is the absolutely pristine intonation and pure tone of the singers, which makes the harmonies clear and distinct. Herreweghe's graceful shaping of the phrases creates the sense of overlapping waves rising and falling rather than a monolithic wall of sound. The choruses' discipline in their precise observance of producing matching vowels is another factor that allows the intricacies of the music to come across as clean and well-defined. Although it is scored it for the same forces, in Komm, Jesu, komm Bach works with gleaming, transparent textures, where the felicities of Herreweghe's leadership and the refinement of the soloists, choruses, and orchestra are even more clearly in evidence. His attention to the emotional content of the piece gives the music a powerfully yearning warmth that, in spite of the large number of performers, feels intensely intimate. The engineers deserve much credit for creating such a carefully balanced aural environment, where details pop with amazing clarity and the sound is at the same time warm and enveloping. This is a release best experienced on a sound system that provides optimal separation and definition. Highly recommended; these are performances that should delight and dazzle fans of Baroque choral music. ~ AllMusic Review by Stephen Eddins

Tracklist:

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

01. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs & Peter Kooij – Motet « Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied » for double chorus, BWV 225: I. Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (04:43)
02. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs & Peter Kooij – Motet « Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied » for double chorus, BWV 225: II. Choral: Wie sich ein Vat'r erbarmet – Aria: Gott nimm dich ferner unser an (04:05)
03. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs & Peter Kooij – Motet « Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied » for double chorus, BWV 225: III. Lobet den Herrn (03:47)
04. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij, Maria Keohane, Robin Blaze, Hans Jörg Mammel & Stephan Macleod – Motet « Komm, Jesu, komm » for double chorus, BWV 229: I. Komm, Jesu, komm (06:53)
05. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij, Maria Keohane, Robin Blaze, Hans Jörg Mammel & Stephan Macleod – Motet « Komm, Jesu, komm » for double chorus, BWV 229: II. Aria: Drum schliess ich mich in deine Hände (01:19)
06. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: I. Choral: Jesu, meine Freude (01:03)
07. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: II. Es ist nun nichts (02:34)
08. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: III. Choral: Unter deinem Schirmen (01:00)
09. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: IV. Denn das Gesetz (00:52)
10. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: V. Trotz dem alten Drachen (02:10)
11. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: VI. Ihr aber seid nicht fleischlich (02:33)
12. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: VII. Choral: Weg mit allen Schätzen (01:04)
13. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: VIII. Andante: So aber Christus in euch ist (01:51)
14. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: IX. Choral: Gute Nach, o Wesen (03:44)
15. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: X. So nun der Geist (01:23)
16. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Dorothee Mields, Damien Guillon, Thomas Hobbs, Peter Kooij & Zsuzsi Tóth – Motet « Jesu, meine Freude » for 5 voices, BWV 227: XI. Choral: Weicht, ihr Trauergeister (01:15)
17. Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, Maria Keohane, Robin Blaze, Hans Jörg Mammel & Stephan Macleod – Motet « Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden » for 4 voices, BWV 230 (06:18)
18. Collegium Vocale Gent & Philippe Herreweghe – Motet « Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei dir » for double chorus, BWV 228 (08:05)
19. Collegium Vocale Gent & Philippe Herreweghe – Motet « Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf » for double chorus, BWV 226: I. Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf (03:52)
20. Collegium Vocale Gent & Philippe Herreweghe – Motet « Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf » for double chorus, BWV 226: II. Alla breve: Der aber die Herzen forschet (02:18)
21. Collegium Vocale Gent & Philippe Herreweghe – Motet « Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf » for double chorus, BWV 226: III. Choral: Du heilige Brunst (01:42)

Personnel:
Philippe Herreweghe (director)
Collegium Vocale Gent