If one wants to make a recording of the St John Passion by
Johann Sebastian Bach, one has to decide which version to follow.
There are four and they date from 1724, 1725, around 1730 and
1749. The latter is almost identical to the first, whereas the
version of around 1730 is a correction of the second. It is
mostly the version of 1749 which is recorded; the version of
1725 is also available on disc, but I am not aware of a recording
of the third version - which anyway is incomplete.
In his performance Benoît Haller has chosen neither of these
versions, but has constructed his own. "Concretely, we
have chosen the opening chorus 'Herr, unser Herrscher' from
the 1724 version for its majesty, its vigour, its omnipresent
symbolism, and its incredible instrumental introduction. The
rest of the recording corresponds to the version of 1725".
It was never performed like this in Bach's time. That seems
deliberate as Haller's ambition is to show that the significance
of this work "goes beyond the liturgical framework, addressing
not only believers, but humanity as a whole".
Historically this is rather questionable and definitely at odds
with Bach's own intentions. It is also in conflict with historical
performance practice. This is not only as regards the use of
a certain type of voice and instrument and a particular way
of singing and playing but also extends to respect for the intentions
of the composer and the circumstances under which the music
was originally performed. Bach's Passions were written for liturgical
use, whether modern interpreters like it or not. They reflect
the ideas of Martin Luther in regard to the importance of the
congregation re-experiencing, as it were, Christ's suffering
and death.
Benoît Haller recognizes the unhistorical character of his approach
as he writes that his interpretation isn't founded on "a
quest for any sort of historical validity". It doesn't
make that much difference in regard to the actual performance,
though, despite his own statements. "Our emphasis on a
humanity that transcends historical periods and frontiers also
entailed a new way of performing this music". But the features
of his interpretation he then mentions are in no way unique
to this performance and are quite common in other recordings
of Bach's Passions. They are definitely not specifically connected
to a 'non-liturgical' interpretation.
What are the results of all these efforts to be different? The
general level of singing and playing is pretty good and all
participants show a good understanding of Bach's idiom. The
pronunciation is also satisfying. But as a whole this recording
is rather inconsistent. There are some impressive moments, but
also some episodes that fail to satisfy.
The solo parts are often performed pretty well. Julian Prégardien
has excellent diction and gives a good account of the part of
the Evangelist. But - and that is the result of an artistic
decision by the director - the tempi of a number of episodes
in his part are too slow, and rhythmically too rigid. The part
of Jesus is excellently sung by Benoît Arnould, and Dominik
Wörner is equally good as Peter and Pilate. Their voices are
probably a bit too close in character to easily tell them apart,
but as everyone knows in this Passion that isn't much of a problem.
These two also sing the bass arias. Benoît Arnould sings 'Eilt,
ihr angefocht'nen Seelen' well, but the tempo is too fast which
is at the cost of a clear articulation. Similar problems are
encountered in the chorus which is embedded in this aria. 'Mein
teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen' is beautifully sung by Dominik
Wörner, but lacks the tenderness it requires. It is also damaged
by wooden playing. Wörner has a strong and dramatic voice, which
is better suited to the aria in the first part, 'Himmel reiße,
Welt erbebe', which he sings brilliantly. Michael Feyfar has
two arias and one accompanied recitative to sing, and he does
so very convincingly. In particular 'Zerschmettert mich' is
very good.
'Von den Stricken meiner Sünden' is nicely sung by Julien Freymuth,
but not with much expression of the text. Pascal Bertin sings
'Es ist vollbracht' - again, beautifully done, but the interpretation
is damaged as the harpsichord makes too much noise between "Und
schließt den Kampf" and "Es ist vollbracht" at
the end of the B part. The sopranos Tanya Aspelmeier and Salomé
Haller are the weak link here. Both, and in particular Ms Haller,
use too much vibrato in their arias, 'Ich folge dir gleichfalls'
and 'Zerfließe, mein Herze' respectively. In this recording
the soloists also sing the tutti parts so this damages the choruses
as well. In the opening chorus, 'Herr, unser Herrscher', their
vibrato spoils the ensemble. It is also a major problem in the
turbae which are less than ideally coherent. These show
another weakness of this recording: the under-exposure of the
rhythmic pulse. A particularly striking example is 'Lasset uns
zerteilen' which rhythmically speaking is a bit of a mess. In
some choruses the tempo is speeded up in an almost ridiculous
way, as in 'Bist du nicht seiner Jünger einer'. I also noted
that the text of many of the choruses is very hard to understand.
The chorales come off better in that respect, and here there
is far less vibrato from the sopranos. They are short on expression,
though, and there is too little dynamic differentiation. The
treatment of the fermatas is rather inconsistent.
The St John Passion is a highly dramatic work that comes
off very well in this recording. One of the highlights is the
scene of Jesus in the court of Pilate with the crowds. But the
approach of Benoît Haller is one-sided. There are also some
more introspective moments and these are under-exposed. I have
already mentioned two arias which bear witness to that: 'Es
ist vollbracht' and 'Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen'.
The harpsichord is sometimes obtrusive and should have been
used more sparingly.
The consequence of, in large, part following the version of
1725 is that the performance ends with the chorale 'Christe,
du Lamm Gottes'. Many Bach lovers will miss 'Ach Herr, laß dein
lieb Engelein'. It seems the performers also didn't want to
miss it. So if you play the second disc, don't turn off your
equipment after the chorale, because 23 seconds later you get
the closing chorale from the 1724/1749 version. It is very odd
that this addition is nowhere mentioned in the booklet and that
it hasn't been assigned to a different track. The booklet leaves
something to be desired: the libretto doesn't set out track
numbers and the track-list omits the timings of the various
tracks.
There are some good recordings of Bach's St John Passion, all
with soloists and choir. So far very few performances with solo
voices and ripienists have been released. The only one
I know is that by the Netherlands Bach Society under the direction
of Jos
van Veldhoven. He uses a somewhat larger ensemble, though,
and his recording is an attempted reconstruction of the first
version of 1724. It has its merits but is not really satisfying
because of some serious shortcomings. That said, on balance
it is preferable as it has a stronger inner coherence and is
more faithful to Bach's intentions.
Johan van Veen
.
La Chapelle Rhénane/Benoît Haller 
