Recording: Helmuth Rilling, Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart, and Bach-Collegium Stuttgart; Arleen Auger, soprano; Gabriele Schreckenbach, alto; Lutz-Michael Harder, tenor; Philippe Huttenlocher, bass
Imagine approaching a rather austere and forbidding castle on a hill. Upon opening the door, you walk into a room opulently decorated with the most intricate mosaics and priceless furnishings. The light is dazzling, and you can only make general impressions before moving on to the next room, which is equally ornate but in a slightly different style. Weaving through the labyrinthine corridors, you encounter room after room of riches, some larger than others, some perhaps more to your specific taste, but overwhelming in the grandeur and wealth on display.
That’s what this project is like.
The Valais History Museum in Sion, Switzerland is housed in a medieval castle where each chamber holds its own treasures waiting to be discovered. There is no linear path through the museum: the original room structures have been retained and not modified into a modern open floor plan. Walking through as a tourist, with only a couple hours to spend, I retained mostly superficial impressions. But if I were to return, I could pick up where I left off, incrementally increasing my knowledge and enjoyment.
This week’s impressions: BWV 3 is the plea of the individual, contrasted with the supplication of the collective depicted in BWV 2. The cantata has a fantastic opening choral movement with two oboe d’amore winding around the continuo and low strings as elaborate choral statements alternate with instrumental passages. This would be a nice movement to do in a special service, perhaps a memorial service, if the appropriate forces were available.
Although fairly long, the da capo soprano/alto duet Wenn Sorgen auf mich dringen is well worth learning for church or recital use, especially if you have access to a good organist and organ. Recordings vary so much in tempo that there is a 2-minute difference between Rilling’s version and Ton Koopman’s. While the text can adapt to the faster tempo, the slower pace gives the singers some room to maneuver. Also, it feels like the text calls for the lento that is apocryphally marked on the vocal score. For recital purposes, it is one of those pieces that needs to find its own level based on the two soloists’ capabilities and the accompanist’s dexterity – there won’t typically be multiple choices. For both parts, the duet is very challenging technically with a good workout on intervals and crossing the changes in the voice, as well as practice in maintaining a steady tempo throughout rhythmic changes. The voices here are functioning as two additional instruments, with the text being subsidiary to the musical lines.
I have enjoyed Rilling’s very balanced, assured recording. The voices of his soloists complement each other and blend well – not easy because there is quite a difference in the tessitura for each voice. The singers have to be particularly sensitive to not covering each other since a high soprano can typically “win” when the alto is in the lower part of the range (this is certainly the case in Koopman’s version). I would like to hear this (or sing it) with two voices closer in timbre to see what a different combination produces.
The singing on the Rilling version is very legato, which may not be to all tastes, but is nevertheless a difficult approach – it’s technically much easier to help the intervals happen with an occasional aspirated vowel than to make a seamless legato effect. The singers mix in more separated, marcato singing as required by the text, such as “will ich in Freudigkeit.”
The bass aria Empfind ich Höllenangst und Pein illustrates Bach's delight in matching music to text, with the ponderous, jagged opening declaration dissolving into a melodic cascade on the first syllable of the word "Freudenhimmel". Special mention needs to be made of bass soloist Philippe Huttenlocher, whose version is – perfect. He effortlessly handles melismas and ornaments by lightening his voice without losing the core sound, draws unobtrusive breaths perfectly in rhythm, and remains precisely in time and on pitch. This performance is something to ponder at length even if you are not a bass. It’s quite simply a tour de force or a force of nature or quite possibly both. He also has the “courage of the dissonance” – taking not only the full notated time on the passing tone but also singing to the sharp side of the pitch in order to obtain the full impact.
I think I will be looking into more of Mr. Huttenlocher’s recordings. One of the great joys of a project like this is that it stimulates curiosity that can lead to the discovery of some completely unexpected treasure. I looked up other recordings of Ernst Haefliger (tenor soloist on Richter’s BWV 1) and found that he had recorded a Winterreise (another project of mine). Turns out the recording was done using a true fortepiano, with the leather-wrapped hammers. As I listened to that version, I understood for the first time the sound Schubert had in mind when he composed the opening measures of Gefrorene Tränen. A revelation – all because I started learning Bach cantatas!
Three cantatas complete – so little, and yet so very much. I am dauntingly far from having the keys to the castle, but perhaps am starting to acquire nuggets from which to forge them.
No comments:
Post a Comment