Bach: Bernarda Fink (mezzo-soprano), Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Barbican Hall, London 5.4.2008 (AO)

Bernada Fink

 

The very first time I heard Bernarda Fink was more fifteen years ago, in the St Matthew Passion.  Although she was already well established by then, I’d not heard her in person. She looked so tiny on the platform, then suddenly emitted a huge voice, filled with power and beauty.   She’s now one of the biggest names around, but her Bach still holds a special place in my heart. So when she sings with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, it‘s an event not to be missed.

The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra’s Bach is special, too. It is one of the great period ensembles, known for its spirited style.  Once, Bach’s music was new music and the Freiburgers approach it with such vivacity that it sounds as fresh and as if it were still newly discovered.  They don’t believe that music belongs in a museum, fossilised, the life squeezed out of it.  Their enthusiasm is infectious: if only more musicians played with such obvious enjoyment!  They have worked with Bernarda Fink many times over the years, thus the comfortable convergence of style.

Geist und Seele wird verwirret opened with a beautifully measured concerto for chamber organ with  Wolfgang Zerner establishing the way the instrument leads the ensemble without, however, dominating. It is central to the development, not only in the introductory parts which precede each of the two sections, but also shadowing the soloist.  Also significant was the oboe d’amore, its graceful depth heralding the singing that is to come. This was a good example of the way the Freiburgers appreciate the structure of their music, delineating the patterns and relationship between parts. When Fink finally stood up to sing, her voice blended in perfectly with the timbre in the orchestra, particularly the three oboes whose warm tones resembled her own. In the last aria, Ich wünsche nur bei Gott zu leben, the text refers to release from pain. The organ gently subsides as oboes strings and voice come to the fore.  Lass mich bald in deinen Händen, sang Fink, with heartfelt fervour.

The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra - Picture © Peter Witt

The spotlight falls on the flautist in Orchestral Suite No 2 in B minor. It’s a difficult piece demanding great flexibility and I liked the delicacy with which Karl Kaiser played, making the dance sections move with elegant restraint. A friend, whose opinion I value highly, would have preferred him to be more forward, as is usually the case in less HIP performances.  But we both enjoyed the Freiburger’s “collegiate” style, which captures in so many ways the balance and proportion which expresses the baroque ethos. And it was good to hear the famous Badinerie played with such gentle good humour.

The Sinfonia from the cantata Non sa che sia dolore BVW 209 also makes a prominent feature of the flute.  This time the mood was more wistful, like a private conversation. The dialogue between Kaiser and Anna Katharina Schreiber, the violin soloist, was close in the way that musicians who play together frequently can be.  They listened attentively, feeding back their appreciation to each other.  Because they stand up while playing, an element of body language comes into play, which further enhances the sense of intimacy.

Schreiber then continued to dialogue with Katharina Arfken, the oboist who had been so impressive in the opening cantata. The Concerto for Violin and Oboe in D Minor BVW 1060 is a reconstruction of fragments from a larger original, now lost. At first the solo parts weave around each other, in the first Allegro then become distinctively different in the second.  Schreiber and Arfken have an almost intuitive rapport, staying connected even in lovely cantilena in the central Adagio, where the whole orchestra joins in the melodic richness. This was playing of a very high order indeed, the Freiburgers clearly defining form while expressing intense feeling.

The cantata Vernügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust begins gently, Arfken’s oboe d’amore doubling the first violins, its muted tone setting the mood of peace.  “Contented rest!” sings Fink in her first aria, but then she bites out the word sollen when singing how only virtue should rest in her heart – a note of tension in Bach ? But then comes the fierce recitative with its visions of hell, vipers and deceit.  Shrill harpsichord and voice throw an unnatural brightness into the words, sharpened by jagged harmony. The flute soothes as Fink starts the second aria, but then again the mood is dark. Wie jammern mich (How I lament) she sings, a downward organ chords emphasising the jammern, while the strings moan. Then, in the next recitative Fink throws out the word “flieht” in the line So flieht meine Herze Zorn und Groll. It may be decorated with a coloratura trill, but it’s forcefully projected nevertheless. The organ again takes the lead into the final aria Mir erkelt mehr zu leben, literally “I am sick of being alive”, and the mood returns to restful.  This is “contented rest”, alright, but in the context of early 18^th century piety.  Not many performers can carry the conflicting emotions in this cantata with such conviction.

Since Fink and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra are such big names in this repertoire, it was surprising to find the Barbican Hall at less than full capacity.  Seats had sold well, but the scheduled Thomas Quasthoff had pulled out. If there were no-shows because Quasthoff hadn’t come, the loss was their own. They missed a very good concert indeed.

Anne Ozorio


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