Kantaten Zu Ostern

This is listed as volume 5 in the excellent series of Bach cantata recordings covering works written for the principal church festivals of the year - in this case Easter, bringing us Cantatas BWV 4, 31 and 67 - although it's actually the final volume of the ten to be issued. These are live recordings from Bach's own church in Leipzig, by the choir of the Thomaskirche and the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester directed by the excellent Thomaskantor Georg Christoph Biller. I've already posted reviews for some of the others in the series, so I hope readers will forgive some repetition of the comments and explanatory information contained in these first two paragraphs.The volumes I've heard so far in this Leipzig series have been absolutely splendid, and in many respects that also applies to the present disc. These are spirited, forthright, engaging performances - not strictly in the historically-informed style which has become common in recent years with period instruments, and in some cases one voice per part in the choruses, as in recordings from such as Kuijken, Rifkin and, to some extent, Suzuki and Gardiner. Rather these Leipzig recordings are somewhat closer to the traditional manner formerly exemplified by the likes of Günther Ramin, Karl Ristenpart, Fritz Lehmann, Kurt Thomas or, a little later, Karl Richter - but with very significant differences too, as will be seen. Having said that, in addition to modern recording quality, the performances in the present series bring their own brand of authenticity, based as they are on the illustrious Leipzig tradition, greatly enhanced by the fine, superbly trained voices of the boys' choir of St. Thomas's and, of course, by the splendid Gewandhaus Orchestra. The choir don't try to show off or do anything fancy but give a straight, sincere, unaffected performance of Bach's music - an ethos which clearly also benefits the other performers, soloists, players and director included. The solo arias for upper voices are taken by boy trebles and altos, with only the occasional lapse in tuning more than compensated by fine tone and expressive sincerity.While this volume brings us some great favourites from among Bach's 200, the results in practice are a little more patchy than the other volumes I've heard in the series. Starting off with BWV 4, `Christ lag in Todesbanden', the rigorous polyphony of the opening chorus is somewhat muddied in this recording, and the resulting thick textures are a distinct (or rather, indistinct) drawback in this music. The usually forceful motet-style central chorus, `Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg', also suffers from a certain lack of energy and aggression. The boy soloists are excellent, however, with alto Stefan Kahle in particular maintaining the high standard of his outstanding contributions to this series. Cantata 31, `Der Himmel lacht!', fares much better, with a fine, bright, energetic opening sonata and chorus. Bach's colourful scoring is shown off to great effect by choir and players alike, and the Thomanerchor are at their unmannered, forthright best. Tenor Tobias Hunger makes an excellent job of the aria `Adam muss in uns verwesen' with its graceful instrumental accompaniment, as does the boy treble in the beautiful `Letzte Stunde, brich herein'. The concluding chorus, `So fahr ich hin', thrillingly decorated by its high trumpet descant, also sounds wonderful. Altogether, this is as fine a performance of this cantata as any I've heard.BWV 67, `Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christ' - another of my own great favourites - goes very well in the choral sections, with a fabulous instrumental lead from `corno da tirarsi' player Lukas Beno in the opening chorus; this really does sound gorgeous. However, the tenor - a different soloist this time - sounds very strained in his aria, while the bass is just about OK in his. In addition to these three cantatas, after BWV 4 we also get a contemporary work, conductor Georg Christoph Biller's own `St.-Thomas-Ostermusik' for soloists, choir, organ and percussion. My taste does not extend to modern music and so I can't comment on its quality, except to say that I imagine listeners more open-minded than me may like it. Also, the four works on the CD are preceded and interspersed with short hymns sung by a small choir; these don't add anything of musical value, but evidently are liturgically appropriate.Altogether, then, this disc has some lovely performances alongside some significant weaknesses; the recorded sound, too, is generally attractive but has its drawbacks in places. As with the rest of the series, the booklet is well documented and illustrated and includes all texts and English translations. The Leipzig approach under Thomaskantor Biller continues to offer a valuable contribution to the discography of the Bach cantata and, as such, this volume brings the series to a respectable conclusion.

sind eine Klasse für sich. Diese aktuelle Aufnahmenreihe ist sehr schön, insbesondere die Partien des Knabensopran Paul Bernewitz ein besonderer Hörgenuss.