This
Bach issue is something of a mixed blessing.
The documentation is symptomatic of
the whole enterprise, in that the back
cover shows clearly that two cantatas,
BWV82 and BWV158, dominate the programme.
Then some of the other items are logged
as if they were simply additional movements
within the cantatas, rather than extracts
from completely different compositions.
This is sloppy design and editing, and
in a competitive market place it won’t
do.
Happily
the musical side of things is rather
more consistent, though the programme
itself seems to be an indulgence rather
more than an imaginative insight into
the subtleties Bach can offer us for
baritone solo with string orchestra.
To
take the main items first: Bach’s cantatas
are surely music’s greatest treasure
trove. For where else is so much first
rate music lurking beyond the conventional
repertory? Ralph Kohn is a fine baritone
and he dominates the disc, which is
a vehicle for his artistry. But in Bach
the word ‘virtuosity’ has a hollow ring;
nor does Kohn seek to astonish us at
the expense of musical sensitivity.
In every piece included on the disc
his true artistry sets the tone. As
such the highlight has to be one of
Bach’s greatest cantatas, Ich habe Genug,
BWV82.
Kohn
is ably abetted by Ian Watson and the
English Chamber Orchestra, who offer
a full-bodied string sound that complements
the solo voice remarkably well. Each
movement has its own personality, but
the success of the performance is surely
the longer-term issue of how well the
joyous finale emerges as the natural
resolution of the pensive, and often
dark, movements that precede it.
While
Cantata 158, Der Friede sei mit dir
(May peace be unto you), has not attained
the fame of Ich habe Genug, it remains
a remarkable and appealing composition
in its own right. Here another anomaly
of the production emerges, since there
is a significant role for the chorus,
contributing in ensemble with the bass
soloist before the final movement, which
is a conventional four-part chorale
setting. But who are the members of
the chorus? The booklet does not tell
us, so we can only presume they are
associated in some way with the English
Chamber Orchestra.
Be
that as it may, the performance itself
is a masterpiece of integration and
teamwork. Ralph Kohn leads the ensemble
with confident tone and a sure awareness
of appropriate phrasing. If there is
a criticism of his singing it is that
he tends to force the tone at times
and to create a wider vibrato than some
may wish to encounter in Bach. But the
matter is not beyond accommodation and
the commitment to the music is never
in doubt for a single moment.
The
other items too will give the listener
pleasure, but they may bring frustrations
too, since they are heard out of context
and with little artistic justification,
other than that they were readily suitable
for the forces already assembled.
Terry
Barfoot
Ralph Kohn, baritone 
