Project Harmonia Mundi - Part 33

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Bach: Actus Tragicus - Cantates BWV 4, 12, 106 & 196 [HMC901691] Konrad Junghänel, Cantus Cölln
Classical | Exact Audio Copy (ape+cue+no log)+scans | 1CD/308MB | RS.com

Johann Sebastian Bach’s musical heritage.
If some of the young Bach’s religious vocal works that have survived take us into a world that is still deeply marked by the rich and varied musical aesthetics and traditions of Central Germany, a stylistic reform imported from Italy in the decade between 1710 and 1720, induced him and his contemporaries to turn their backs on the old tradition. And yet, even in the earliest works we find signs of the full genius of the future cantor of St Thomas’s, as in the famous Actus tragicus cantata (justly regarded as the summit of the “old-style” cantata), or the extraordinarily plaintive accents of Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen. For it is precisely in following the stylistic and aesthetic conventions of the past that Bach succeeds in surpassing, and even in transcending them.

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Here we have the very first English opera, with good gossip behind it to boot: John Blow composed the work for private performance at the English court, with King Charles II's longtime mistress Moll Davis as Venus and their illegitimate 9-year-old daughter playing Cupid. Venus and Adonis isn't just a historical curiosity, though: it's a full-scale Versailles-style opera in miniature, the near-equal of Purcell's more celebrated Dido and Aeneas (evidently composed for similar circumstances). Retired countertenor René Jacobs made quite a splash through the 1990s conducting early opera from Monteverdi to Mozart; the liveliness and dramatic sensitivity that made his reputation as a conductor are much in evidence here. Soprano Rosemary Joshua is excellent in many ways, but she occasionally lets her vibrato spread wide enough to carry her off-pitch; aside from that sporadic flaw, she is a superb Venus: sweet, sensuous, and, in her lament on Adonis's death, affecting without ever sounding overblown. Baritone Gerald Finley as Adonis nicely blends tenderness and virility; as Cupid, countertenor Robin Blaze is certainly no prepubescent girl (presumably Charlotte Church was unavailable) and the role lies just a bit high for him, but he sings with verve, wit, and genuine charm.

Matthew Westphal, Amazon.com

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This recording features some very thoughtful music by Demantius. I enjoy it a lot and it is one of those CDs that seems to sound better late at night in near darkness! I bought this CD shortly after my father's death and listened to it a lot at that stage. I found it comforting. It is one of my favourite recordings form Paul van Nevel. Please consider!

Customer review, Amazon.com

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Tragedy in Granada
In spite of its not being staged in Spain after its composition in 1901, it was not long before La Vida breve brought Manuel de Falla international recognition. This tragic idyll in the heart of the Albaicín of Granada is a lively combination of the Puccinian opera and a subtle stylisation of Spanish folk music (so typical of Falla, and totally exempt of any specious “folklorism”). “La Vida breve is the first work of mine in which I am beginning to rely a little on myself and, I may even say that it is the one I prefer”, he said a few years later. Falla’s legendary self-doubt has gone: La Vida breve had asserted itself at the summit of Spanish opera.

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Ars est velare artem…
‘It is an art to conceal art’ : Mendelssohn had never presented a more perfect illustration of this maxim than in his Motets, Op.69. Composed in the year of his death, they are probably the finest works of religious music by this composer whom Berlioz had accused of being ‘a little too fond of the dead’. But the most romantic of Bach’s votaries had more than one trick up his sleeve and it would be a mistake to underestimate these extraodinary psalms and motets that Mendelssohn went on producing throughout his life, in spite of his rather strained relationship with the eccelsiastic authorities. Tradition and inventiveness are the leading principles of an artistic credo based on the skilful and beguiling mixture of counterpoint and melody, of harmony and brilliant orchestration. After having devoted three universally acclaimed recordings to the choral music of Brahms, the RIAS-Kammerchor is here on familiar ground…

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Sonatas in the 'stylus phantasticus'
Enigmatic Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli is known to us only through a single mention in the annals of the Innsbruck court and two slender volumes of virtuoso violin sonatas published in 1660, each (with one exception) dedicated to a fellow court musician. Andrew Manze - 'who sets new standards with every piece of music he touches' (USA Today)- discovers an ideal vehicle for his dazzling musicianship.

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This opera recording has everything going for it. The cast is excellent - virtually every soloist is well known and very good indeed (Nancy Argenta, Lynne Dawson, Isabelle Desrochers, Véronique Gens, Sandrine Piau, Noémi Rime, Charles Daniels, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Bernard Deletré, etc.). The recording was based on a stage production. The Choir and Orchestra are the best around.

William Christie brings much to Purcell, especially French sensibilities gained from performances of Lully, Charpentier and Rameau.

Listen to the Drunken Poet's scene and you'll choose this recording over all others (I have six recordings of this opera in my collection and this one is a clear winner).

One thing interesting about this recording is the use of authentic Baroque bassoons. These French instruments make some very beautiful and characterful sounds. In the high register, they sound a little like French horns. I had to check the CD when I first heard this recording - I could have sworn that Henry Purcell didn't score any horns in this work!

A marvellous and joyous recording. You should investigate!

Customer review, Amazon.com

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Johann Schein undeservedly remains in obscurity because he had the misfortune to precede Johann Sebastian Bach as cantor of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. His fascinating collection of "sacred madrigals" employs techniques of avant-garde Italian secular music to set German language versions of Old Testament texts. Philippe Herreweghe's ensemble of singers and instrumentalists prove consummate advocates for this worthy, sometimes astonishing music.

David Vernier, Amazon.com

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Project Harmonia Mundi - Part 33

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Perhaps the ultimate musical self-starter and self-promoter, the astoundingly prolific Georg Philipp Telemann, who would write upwards of 1,000 cantatas and earn more money than the chagrined J.S. Bach, produced relatively little for the keyboard–probably because he couldn't find the time to devote to such intimate, low-profile music. These 20 keyboard fantasias nevertheless encapsulate Telemann's style, often described as a kind of superficial note spinning but at least as immediately attractive as that of, say, his contemporary Heinichen or Zelenka. In fact, the pieces are danceable, robust, and even rhythmically complex, shifting from the poised, gallant French mode to the showy, songlike Italian mode (both popular, and in contention, at the time) without kicking up too much wig powder. Englishman John Butt plays these fantasias, typically structured as fast-slow-fast, on a couple period harpsichords, with considerable drive, pushing some of the prestos and vivaces to the breaking point, tossing them off almost as quickly as Telemann wrote them. Harmonia Mundi even attempts to preserve something of the recommended performance order–a fast movement from one "dozen" paired with a slower movement from another, and then repeated–by carefully sequencing the tracks. And the sonics, as usual for this label, are immaculate. Anyone who loves baroque keyboard music should add this title to his or her collection.

Robert Burns Neveldine, Amazon.com

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