Collegium Vocale Gent - Bach: Matthaus-Passion (St Matthew Passion) BWV 244 /Bostridge * Selig * Rubens * Scholl * Gura * Henschel * Collegium Vocale * Herreweghe (+CD-Rom)
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Free Music Notes for Bach: Matthaus-Passion (St Matthew Passion) BWV 244 /Bostridge * Selig * Rubens * Scholl * Gura * Henschel * Collegium Vocale * Herreweghe (+CD-Rom)
Free Music Review: A work delightully, daintily and carefully performed
Hit: 5 Stars
What else can I say. I can appreciate the courage in every sound note, there are many enjoyable surprises when comparing the melodies with other versions I have (Gardiner, Leonhardt, Richter), singers and instrument players are really very embodied in the work, the advanced technology in sound helps so much. The presentation of the work is also impressive; at least the version I bought contains "a manual" with the explanation of the work, the index and the lyric. 3 Cds contains the work and one interactive CD for computer which gives a valuable information of the referred work.If Herreweghe wanted to impress to demanding listeners, I think he got it with this also impressive Bach's work!!
Free Music Review: Finally, Justice to the Masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
Finally Bach's Matthauespassion is treated right. Herrweghe's team of instumentalists, vocalists, and especially the stellar chorus by far surpasses those casted in Gardiner's recording which is now more than a decade old. From the year of Gardiner's release, the public found it lacking sensitivity in its tempi and its overall sound is just plain stiff, just what you would expect from period instruments. Not to mention the second chorus was annoyingly hushed to a whisper at times. Despite this, Gardiner's recording was made the standard for years. The perfect St. Matthew Passion was hard to find: Kemplerer's was too slow, Gardiner's was too fast and "wooden", Karajan's was too romanticized, and Harnoncourt's was too monotonous and unpolished.
Now there is finally a contender. Herrweghe's recording is purely satisfying and is never tedious. His tempos are wisely chosen and the Harmonia Mundi sound quality is clear as a bell. The solists are unique. Ian Bostridge makes a perfect Evangelist and Andreas Scholl is plain awesome on the second stave. Like Gardiner, Herrweghe uses period instruments. However, these instrumentalists play feelingly and aid in projecting Bach's profession of faith strongly, yet sensitively, to the listeners. The second chorus rings with a powerful fervor that isn't found in Gardiner's. This recording is also more historically informed.
**The overall style is well balanced: It is played in period style (without sounding too stuffy), it is played with sympathy (without being overly-romanticized) and it is theatrically dramatic (without losing its sacred purpose).
The CD-Rom that is included is as well-packed as a 300+ page biography about the composer and his times.
**If you are still intent on hearing Gardiner's version though, I HIGHLY suggest buying Herrweghe's St. Matthew Passion FIRST, and then buying Gardiner's Highlights of the same work.
Free Music Review: A great achievement
Hit: 5 Stars
Herreweghe has always been a reliable Bach interpreter, but every time I bought his CDs I found the performances somewhat wanting, especially in the most exhilarating pieces, like the Gloria in the B minor Mass. There's some kind of politeness in his conducting that holds the music when it should soar. But this version of the St Matthew Passion shows Herreweghe can also drive his forces to produce one of the most dramatically moving readings of this extraordinary work.Herreweghe has assembled a great group of soloists, led by the excelent Evangelist of Ian Bostridge, who infuses the narrative with the necessary dramatic aplomb, and the exceptional singing of Andreas Scholl, whose full-bodied countertenor voice add a certain dramaticality also to the arias. The choir is passionate throughout and the orchestra plays nicely.
In almost any aspect, this version holds well against its main rival, Gardiner's now decade old recording. In some, Herreweghe definitely scores over Gardiner. He makes the second chorus interjections, kind of tame under Gardiner, sound much more urgent in parts like the opening chorus. For those who dislike period instruments, Herreweghe's shift toward more legato playing will be a bonus as well. But I miss the crisper articulation employed by Gardiner, which for me add to the pungency of the music, and particularly the way he manages to produce the most beautiful and transparent sound from his orchestra.
Some people will always prefer the St Matthew Passion with the seriousness and gravity of Klemperer's extremely slow performance. Frankly, I admire the intense devotion in Klemperer's reading, but find it interminable and have to force myself to hearing it. With Herreweghe (or Gardiner), I'm always compelled to listen again to one of the greatest creations in the history of music.
Free Music Review: Am I That Old?
Hit: 4 Stars
In 1972 I heard a new recording of the St. Matthew's which remains my first choice. I did not see it available in cd so I went with the one which sounded most likely to approximate the beauty and reverence of the one from thirty years ago. Was I wrong. The one I love is very rich not from over production but from the detail of color available. Each voice both human and instrumental comes through clearly, promptly and with a definite idea of where it will go next. I thought this version to be adequate, but hardly in the tradition of baroque purity. Several times I felt that the producers of the album were confusing Bach with Brahms when they laid down tracks. Many of the most melodious sections became muddied and even lost because of one voice being too loud to let another come through. I haven't heard my favorite version for some time since my turntable is nonfunctional, but I guess this one will grow on me with time.Free Music Review: no money to buy
Hit: 5 Stars
1.000 words ??? I think that his work is fabulous. I want to chat with the master himself, so he mays buy it for me. He won't regret it.