By a stroke of good
fortune, the day this re-issued Ton
Koopman box from Erato arrived for review,
I was sampling the new one-to-a-part
version of the St. Matthew Passion
from Paul McCreesh on DG, loaned to
me by a friend. The same friend (a real
Bach lover) had also thoughtfully included
the John Eliot Gardiner recording for
me to compare. I was thus able to have
a wonderfully indulgent (passionate?)
weekend comparing some of the best (and
very different) Bach playing and singing
the record catalogue has to offer.
All three conductors
are period experts yet the tempi differ
quite markedly. The great opening chorus
‘Kommt, ihr Tochter’, with its measured
12/8 tread hinting at the tragedy about
to unfold, illustrates the diverse approaches.
Koopman is relatively slow (not quite
in the Klemperer league) and one feels
the heavy burden being illustrated.
He also gives more weight than the others
to the lower strings, effectively compounding
the feeling of impending disaster. McCreesh
is just about twice the speed, turning
the number virtually into a dance, albeit
a sombre one. Gardiner is (as ever)
just about right, somewhere between
the two. I have to say I warmed more
to Koopman with repeated listenings,
ultimately finding McCreesh too rushed
and Gardiner missing a degree of gravitas.
The choral singing is pretty comparable
on the Gardiner and Koopman, with two
crack choirs of about the same number
(30-ish), while McCreesh’s ‘chorus’
obviously does not have the same weight
of tone, but does have incredible flexibility
and intensity. Basically, all have different
things to offer and can be enjoyed on
their own terms.
This sets a basic rule
of thumb for the tempi of the three
sets; McCreesh (the fastest), Gardiner
(a bit slower on the whole, apart from
the chorales) and Koopman (with a few
exceptions) the slowest of the three.
Where Koopman really scores is in his
handling of the instrumental details
and his pointing of Bach’s wonderful
orchestral colouring. Take the soprano
aria ‘Blute nur, du liebe Herz’, where
Koopman delicately balances the two
flutes, violins, violas and organ continuo
to seamlessly interweave with the melismatic
solo line, producing a wonderfully rich
pattern of polyphony. I have long admired
a number of his Haydn symphony recordings
with this orchestra (particularly the
disc featuring numbers 44, 46 and 47),
and they are on top form for him here.
The strings are elegant yet supple,
the all-important wind lines are a delight
and the balance with the continuo just
about perfect.
His Evangelist is the
light-voiced Guy de Mey, an intelligent,
mellifluous singer who shapes and characterises
the part very convincingly. He does
not have quite the presence of Anthony
Rolfe Johnson, whose more overtly operatic
rendition suits the theatricality of
Gardiner’s approach perfectly. He is
nearer to Mark Padmore (McCreesh), but
again loses out slightly to Padmore’s
earthier, more direct assumption. Peter
Kooy (Jesus) may well be familiar from
other sets (a number of Bach specialists
‘do the rounds’ on various recordings)
and his seasoned experience really shows.
I love the way he opens up in the glorious
aria ‘Gerne will ich mich bequemen’,
producing a rich flow of bass tone easily
as full as that of Michael George (Gardiner).
Slightly more controversial
may be Koopman’s use of a male singer
for the many alto solos. Other recordings
do the same in the name of ‘authenticity’
(notably the Suzuki/ BIS version, which
has the rich voiced Robin Blaze) but
I find the rather reedy tone of Kai
Wessel to be a shade
tiresome overall. Certainly the ‘star’
contributions from Anne Sofie von Otter
(Gardiner) and Magdalena Kožená (McCreesh)
are truly outstanding and make their
sets worth hearing for this alone. Sample
Kožená’s gorgeously hushed ‘Erbarme
dich’, where she is delicately
partnered by the silvery violin obbligato
of Anna MacDonald, to see what I mean.
Of the other soloists,
who are all fine, I particularly liked
Christoph Prégardien, who takes
a number of the smaller featured tenor
roles with great vividness. It is interesting
to note that he has become an excellent
Evangelist in his own right, recording
the part for conductor Hermann Max on
the Capriccio label to some acclaim.
Having concentrated
on the St. Matthew Passion, I
should say that all the same basic attributes
apply to Koopman’s St. John Passion,
which was recorded within a year and
at the time was considered one of his
major achievements. As a shorter, more
tightly structured work, it boasts just
as much drama and spectacle, in its
own way, as St. Matthew. When
Koopman’s superb chorus enter with the
great cry of ‘Herr’ in the opening chorus,
the pulsating intensity of what is about
to unfold is never in question. The
same team of soloists is joined by the
excellent Gerd Turk, who went on to
be a memorable Evangelist in Suzuki’s
St. Matthew on BIS, and here
contributes a number of strong, characterful
tenor solos.
This five disc box
from Erato does make an excellent bargain,
though it should be remembered that
an even bigger, nine disc box of all
the major Bach works from Gardiner’s
Arkiv series, has just been released
at a similar attractive price (working
out at something like four pounds a
disc). This Koopman set has nothing
really to fear from the competition,
but it may be that Bach lovers have
their own idea of the soloists they
want. The Erato recordings are full-bodied
and vivid, with the spacious acoustic
adding to the dedication and atmosphere
of the music making. Koopman’s chorus
and orchestra are as good as any, at
least as far as I’ve sampled, and except
for the odd reservation, these two performances
can be confidently recommended.
Tony Haywood
Netherlands Bach Choir 
