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 Along
with Bach's other duties as cantor and music director of St. Thomas
School in Leipzig, he was responsible for music for such state events
as the Changing of the Councilors in St. Nikolai Church each August
24, after the feast of St. Bartholomew. Both the sermon and the
music for these occasions were commissioned separately from salaried
duties, with both the minister and the cantor receiving extra fees.
Thus, commissions like these were attractive not only for their
prestige, but also financially, since Bach had taken a sizable salary
cut in accepting the position at St. Thomas. ä
Despite
this monetary disadvantage, and despite normally having a meager
number of musicians to use for Sunday services at the four churches
in the city for which he was responsible, Bach had excellent opportunities
in Leipzig to enhance his reputation. He applied to the honorary
post of Court Composer to improve his status, and could not only
draw upon sufficient numbers of the town's university students to
meet the needs of church services, but also have an optimum number
of vocalists and instrumentalists on hand, including trumpeters
and timpanists, for special events. When he received the commission
for BWV 119 Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn ("Praise, O
Jerusalem, the Lord') in 1723, the same year he was appointed to
St. Thomas School, Bach was ready to shine, and shine he did.
After
Rilling's disappointing BWV 115 and 116  ,
it is good to start this disc with such a captivating performance
as we have here. The cantata begins with a stately French overture,
into which Bach inserts a rousing choral setting, announced by trumpets,
in place of the fugue. Although the instrumentalists already establish
the sense of occasion winningly, the performance really takes off
when the choir enters, making the most of the opportunity.
Now
if the recording engineers had only behaved themselves as well with
the soloists as they did with the choir, this performance would
be an unqualified joy. Fortunately, they have not totally snatched
defeat from the jaws of victory, though they come reasonably close
in a couple of spots.
Tenor
Adalbert Kraus is a pleasure to hear despite an overly intrusive
harpsichord in his aria. Bass Wolfgang Schöne has a similar
problem, but holds his own admirably against some seriously overmiked
trumpets, oboes and bassoons. Alto Ann Murray fares better here
than she did in BWV 116. Though we still have to struggle at times
to hear her, she is having a better time with her phrasing. However,
soprano Arlene Auger develops an edge in her voice that I hadn't
noticed in her earlier efforts, and is considerably louder, as though
someone is overcompensating for the instruments. If it was the engineers,
they should have left well enough alone.
BWV
120 Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille ("God, we
praise Thee now in the stillness") may have been written for
the Changing of the Councilors in 1729 or earlier, but very little
is known about this cantata. Dr. Bomba postulates that Bach may
have recycled some movements and musical ideas from this piece repeatedly.
"In view of the fact that this church service as occasioned
by such a nonrecurring event," he writes in the notes, "it
is quite obvious that Bach would either fall back on music he had
already used in another context, or compose new music which he could
later use for other purposes."
This
cantata starts off in a pastoral tone not with the chorus, but with
an aria for alto framed with decorative passagework from the oboes.
As unexpected as it is charming, it gives Hildegard Larich the chance
to stand out with sophistication and grace; despite a heaviness
that manifests in lower tones, her voice is lovely.
Schöne
and Kraus are their usual excellent selves, and soprano Helen Donath's
clear, bell-like voice is wonderful, but thanks to the engineers,
they sounds like they are delivering their lines from inside a cavern
compared to Larich. When Bach set the line "Gott, man lobet
dich in der Stille" ("God, we praise Thee now in the stillness"),
I'm sure he did not mean the world to be this still around the singers.
The
chorus, again, is excellent, though it has almost too much bounce
at first in "Triumph, all ye joyous voices," and though
this cantata is not on the same level of inspiration as the one
that precedes it, Rilling makes the most of the material at hand.
 Bach
wrote BWV 121 Christum wir sollen loben schon ("To
Christ we should sing praises now") as a Christmas Cantata
in 1724, using as his source the Latin hymn "A solis ortus
cardine" by fifth-century cleric Hrabanus Maurus, as translated
by Martin Luther. This could explain the strangely archaic vein
in which this cantata begins. As Dr. Bomba mentions in the notes:
"Without
any instrumental introduction, the chorus sets in, accompanied
colla parte by trombones. The soprano sings the melody one line
at a time, while the lower voices, which had prepared this entry,
provide a counterpoint whose motifs are bound to the themes of
the cantus firmus. The continuo bass unites with the vocal bass,
so that the actual limitation to four voices is nowhere infringed,
despite the plethora of instruments. The key fluctuates between
Dorian and Phrygian, and underscores the antiquated disposition
inherent of this movement."
"Antiquated"
is probably the best way to describe this movement - so much so
that it is virtually unrecognizable as Bach's work, with the unusually
close intervals of its part writing and thoroughly un-Bachian voice
leadings. Compared to the previous cantatas, it sounds shockingly
old-fashioned. Rilling's chorus and singers actually make this opening
sound interesting, giving a committed reading that almost belies
the shock of hearing this music for the first time.
With
the aria "O thou whom God created and extolled," we are
back on somewhat more familiar ground. Though the oboe accompanying
Kraus is still recorded a little too close for comfort, there is
a better balance here than in the other cantatas, and Kraus sings
the best that he has on this disc.
Soffel
is also outstanding in her recitative and likewise well recorded,
but with Schone's aria "Then John's own glad and joyful leaping"
we have the singer-in-the-back-of-the-cave syndrome once again,
and Schone's voice is starting to sound strained, as well, with
this aria set at a fairly high register. Auger returns in this cantata,
and we can hear her clearly enough, but she is still fairly far
back in the cavern, and she is straining at some of her high notes,
as well. Even the choir is stuck in the cave when it sings the final
chorale.
The
bottom line is, the performances on this disc are generally very
good, but buyers will have to make allowances for the inconsistencies
in engineering. Once that allowance is made, there is much to be
enjoyed, but for me, it's an awfully big step to take.
JONATHAN
YUNGKANS
does
not usually explore caves, so he was very surprised to find himself
in one here. Spooky, especially since he wrote this on Halloween.
To
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1.11.2000 ©Jonathan Yungkans
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