During Sir Simon Rattle’s tenure as its principal conductor the
Berliner Philharmoniker has produced some marvellously successful
concert performances of theatrical works. Bizet’s
Carmen, Mozart’s
The Magic Flute, Humperdinck’s
Hänsel und Gretel (under Sir Mark Elder) and Gershwin’s
Porgy and Bess spring to mind.
With regard to sacred works Rattle in 2010 and 2013 gave a well received “ritualization” of Bach’s
St. Matthew Passion. This staging as directed by Peter Sellars splendidly presented the work's dramatic aspects
. Earlier this year the same team turned its attention to another semi-staged adaptation. This time it was the
St. John Passion, the fruits of which are so marvellously presented on this high quality DVD/Blu-ray set.
Bach’s 1750 obituary claimed that he had written five passions. Only the
St. John Passion (1724) and the
St. Matthew Passion (1727) have survived in their entirety. Two others are lost and the
St. Mark Passion, BWV 247 from 1731 is incomplete. Cast in forty sections,
St. John Passion
Bach primarily uses texts from the St. John Gospel. The remainder is
taken from a variety of sources, including Gospel of St. Matthew, Psalm
8:2 and chorale texts. Here the
St. John Passion lasts just
over two hours. When it was first performed in 1724 at the Good Friday
Vesper service at the Nikolaikirche, Leipzig it would have been
integrated into the service including sermons and communion.
Consequently the service would have taken considerably longer. In the
booklet there is an essay that describes the long tradition that the
Berliner Philharmoniker has in playing the
St. John Passion starting with a performance in 1883 just months after the founding of the orchestra.
In the interview, part of the bonus content Rattle seems upbeat about
the series of three performances to be recorded in February/March at
the Philharmonie. He admitted first hearing the
St. John Passion
rather late in life when he was aged thirty or so and said of the work
“you could live twenty lives and never discover its secrets … it’s a
goldmine.” He explains that this collaboration with Sellars has not
resulted in a staging but a ‘ritualization’ of the score “the point is
to describe the music as strongly and expressively as we can whilst
staying with the frame Bach gives us.” An equally animated Sellars said
he was “not trying to make music theatre but make the music visible as
Bach is working in musical images.” An experienced period-instrument
conductor Rattle pares down his orchestra to a relatively small
ensemble, including twenty or so strings, playing with very light
vibrato and prominent woodwind. Substantial in number the basso
continuo expands to include organ, double bass, lute, viola da gamba,
contra-bassoon, bassoon and pairs of flutes, oboes and viola d’amore.
Rattle and Sellars position the orchestra on the right-hand side of the
tiered stage leaving what looks like roughly two-thirds of the stage
for the chorus and soloists. Playing with vitality and judicious speeds
the accomplished players maintain concentration and intensity from
first bar to last.
The Rundfunkchor Berlin was clearly
well prepared and it shows. First chorus master Simon Halsey worked
with the sixty or so members of the choir. This was then followed by
two weeks with director Sellars. Demands include acting facility as
well as various lying, sitting, swaying and kneeling positions whilst
singing. The black-clothed choir are also called on to portray a
variety of body movements and facial expressions. Throughout the
numerous choruses the choir achieve an impressive unison, sounding
fresh, compelling, often moving and always gratifying. Especially
successful is the lucidity of meaning and propulsive power of the
chorus in
O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn, durch dein bitter Leiden
(Oh, help us ,Christ, God’s Son through your bitter suffering). Two
highly reliable soloists - Isabelle Voßkühler and Holger Marks - are
drawn from the chorus.
Without any suggestion of a weak
link Rattle has chosen his group of soloists extremely well. They
demonstrate an unerring feeling for the sacred text. Telling the story
in the crucial role of the Evangelist the remarkably resilient Mark
Padmore demonstrates his ease with the responsibility. With his varied
expression the black-clothed Padmore excels in his vividly sung
recitatives, smoothly maintaining the continuity of the scenario.
Excellent throughout and so highly confident is tenor Topi Lithium who
has a striking stage presence. Lehtipuu is particularly impressive with
his arioso
Mein Herz, in dem die ganze Welt bei Jesu Leiden gleichfalls leidet
(My heart, while the whole world suffers as Jesus suffers). This is
most agreeably performed and with due reverence. Mezzo-soprano
Magdalena Kožená, who was over mid-term in her pregnancy, brings such
natural assurance and piety to her role. Sung to an extended viola da
gamba solo I admired
Es ist vollbracht! (It is finished!).
Here the barefooted Kožená dressed in a dark red dress movingly kneels
by the side of the prostrate Jesus who has been given vinegar to drink.
Displaying dark-hued, fluid tone, Kožená offers expressive singing that
unerringly captures both pain and anguish. A real highlight is when
Jesus’s body is removed from the stage. At that point Kožená kneels and
affectingly feels the ground where Jesus’s body lay.
With
admirable enunciation, firm-toned Christian Gerhaher imparts innate
feeling to his roles of Pilate and Peter. Accompanied by the chorus in
his aria
Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen
(My beloved Saviour, let me ask you) Gerhaher, now dressed in a smart
dark suit, looks an intensely despondent figure; he lies on the floor
touching the area where Jesus died. Feeling very much at home with her
part, the alert, clean and precise soprano Camilla Tilling is wearing a
long, low-cut, sleeveless dress in blue. Standing amongst the recumbent
chorus of people Tilling accompanied by the basso continuo gives
anguished emotion to her aria
Zerfließe, mein Herze, in Fluten der Zähren
(Dissolve, my heart, in floods of tears). She movingly articulates a
sense of unbearable pain. Confident and sturdy with rock-like
reliability, it is hard to fault Roderick Williams who brings an
unfailingly grave quality to the role of Jesus.
Video direction from Daniel Finkernagel and Alexander Lück is generally excellent employing cameras actively, never allowing things to become monotonous or tiring. I notice that showing how the dead Jesus was removed from the stage is avoided. Clearly the intension is to concentrate on the action from the soloists and choir with virtually no close ups of the orchestral players. The sonics on these DVD and Blu-Ray discs are mightily impressive and the picture definition and colour of the high definition resolution was striking, cool and sharp.
This new
release comes in a de luxe linen-bound hardcover edition. It includes
two DVDs and a single Blu-ray disc in high definition video. The
substantial bonus material primarily includes an introduction by Simon
Halsey, and also Sir Simon Rattle with Peter Sellars in conversation
with Andy King-Dabbs. In addition a seven-day ticket is provided for
access to the Berliner Philharmoniker’s Digital Concert Hall. The
booklet notes provide most of the essential information in addition to
a number of excellent essays.
I have a couple of small quibbles. The only pieces of information I
couldn’t find were the names of the bassoon and contra-bassoon players.
They form part of the extensive basso continuo that Sir Simon mentions
in his interview. Although the names of all the Berliner Philharmoniker
members are contained in the booklet it would have been helpful to have
included a list of those who played on this recording rather than those
who didn’t.
Such a highly progressive work for its time, Bach’s
St. John Passion,
so full of terror and menace, communicates a stark message to mankind.
The inspirational collaboration of Sellars’ direction with Rattle’s
choral and orchestral forces has succeeded in intensifying this concert
staging of Bach’s
St. John Passion. This is a magnificent performance which radiates a searing devotional intensity.
Michael Cookson
Previous review:
John
Quinn