These delightful works have been relatively unavailable of late so it is
good to have them in this splendid Chandos Chaconne issue with some of the
most exciting English soloists on the scene. The occasionally nasal voice
of Robin Blaze adds colour and polish to the intimacy of Bach's Lutheran
settings whilst the reinforced string sections of the Purcell Quartet make
for a highly enjoyable musical experience. Of course, one cannot expect the
grand rhetoric manner of the great B Minor Mass here but there is much to
enjoy in terms of Bachian counterpoint especially in the flowing 'Gloria'
movements of both masses.
Susan Gritton is also quite accomplished in her soprano parts although I
was not totally comfortable with Peter Harvey but these are relatively minor
quibbles compared to the general excellence that informs this enterprise.
As stressed earlier, these Masses are quiet, rather chamber like settings,
more in the mould of small parish performance and they receive exactly the
right performances here with a ten member ensemble complete with the
pre-requisite oboe that provides the contrapuntal 'line', always a delightful
feature in Bach.
BWV 235 is slightly longer than its predecessor but there is no fundamental
difference in either of the works, in fact one can almost replace entire
movements from each mass and not notice any changes, I tried this little
comparison experiment with gusto! Chandos have secured a delightfully clear
sound with crisp treble roll-offs and a smooth midrange. In the meantime,
Volume 2 is eagerly awaited but this first issue will do for the present,
sumptuously performed and presented, it deserves the highest possible
recommendation. Incidentally, the Bach flood that is dashing at the gates
of this century is getting rather out of hand!
Reviewer
Gerald Fenech
Performance: 
Sound:
Bach's four "user friendly" shorter masses, which omit the Credo and take
around half an hour each, have always been over-shadowed by the B minor Mass,
even though they contain some of the finest music of his Leipzig years. They
involve re-cycling of earlier music on German texts. Such self-plagiarism
was common at the time (Handel often did it) and was perfectly respectable.
Intimate performances, with solo singers for the choruses and one player
to a part, have become commoner since research by Joshua Rifkin and his advocacy
of this approach. These are all highly rated musicians on the British early
music scene and there is an admirable immediacy in this attractive CD of
the A major (BWV234) G minor (BWV235) Masses. There is no named director,
but the instrumentalists include such stalwarts as Catherine Mackintosh and
Stephen Preston. The dance source of so much of Bach's music is evident from
the first Kyrie, which sets the feet tapping. However, it does sound like
a studio CD rather than a real performance and I find the voices a little
too forward. There is full, learned, documentation including details of each
instrument used.
Reviewer
Peter Grahame Woolf
J.S.BACH Lutheran Masses (Vol. one)
Agnes Mellon, Gerard Lesne, Christoph Pregardien & Peter Kooy with Collegium
Vocale Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Phillippe Herreweghe
Virgin Veritas 7595872
The same two masses are included in a recording by Phillippe Herreweghe and
his Collegium Vocale of 18 singers and a similar number of instrumentalists
from Ghent, which I acquired after they gave the four Lutheran masses and
the B minor in London. Whilst I do not want to enter into controversy or
embark upon detailed comparisons, I prefer Herreweghe's approach and his
use of a small orchestra and soloists to contrast with choir, as is more
traditional - though in Bach's day they would probably have come forward
from the ranks of the choir to sing their solos. The recording conveys a
hard to define feeling of long and deep association with his regular team
of collaborators, nurtured through numerous live concert performances. Herreweghe
finds room for an additional Sanctus (BWV 238) which helps to tip the balance.
Recording is excellent and background information fully sufficient.
Peter Grahame Woolf
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J.S.BACH
Lutheran Masses (Vol. one)
 Agnes
Mellon, Gerard Lesne, Christoph Pregardien & Peter Kooy with Collegium
Vocale Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Phillippe Herreweghe
Virgin Veritas
7595872
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