Texte paru dans: / Appeared in:


 
American Record Guide: (03/2021) 
Pour s'abonner / Subscription information

Alpha
ALPHA658



Code-barres / Barcode : 3760014196584

Outil de traduction ~ (Très approximatif)
Translator tool (Very approximate)
 

During the shutdown of public performances as the coronavirus became widespread, Anna Prohaska, Wolfgang Katschner, and about 20 members of the Lautten Compagney gathered to make music. They asked themselves: “Can music give us consolation in times of sickness and crisis; can it open up  emotional and contemplative spaces for us; is it redemptive for us as musicians to be the ‘instruments’ in engendering music and therefore spirituality?” They found that performing together in this time supplied a kind of redemption (or consolation) for them as artists, which led to the development of a program they called “Redemption”. Beyond the redemption or consolation it gave them as performers, the album is a testimony about redemption of the human condition with a carefully chosen selection of movements from Bach cantatas that build a smart sequence from wrestling with sin and guilt toward acceptance of death with peaceful confidence. As Prohaska mentioned in an interview, “We wanted to send out a signal of hope: that even during a pandemic Bach’s music is like a consoling hand.” With accompaniment by distinguished early music performers Prohaska sings 10 arias and is joined in 4 choruses by 3 other singers: Suzanne Langner (alto), Christian Pohlers (tenor), and Karsten Müller (bass). A few vocal movements are performed in instrumental arrangements: four cantata chorales and a soprano aria from a secular work, the Hunt Cantata (a birthday cantata for Prince Christian von Sachsen-Weissenfels that contains ‘Sheep May Safely  Graze’). The instrumentalists are exceptionally good and the performances are recorded in immaculate but warm sound. They do a skillful job of depicting the death bells or ticking of a clock in ‘Die Seele Ruht in Jesu Händen’ from Cantata 127 Herr Jesus Christ. Sequences are created out of cherry-picked movements from separate cantatas. Three movements of Cantata 150, Nach dir, Herr, Verlanget Mich (Lord, I long for you), are placed at different points in the program. Prohaska begins with the somber aria ‘Bete aber Auch Dabei Mitten in dem Wachen!’ (Pray nevertheless also during your vigil!) from Cantata 115, Mache Dich, Mein Geist, Bereit (Make yourself ready, my spirit), imploring purification from sin. That flows without pause into the opening chorus of Cantata 25, Es ist Nichts Gesundes an Meinem Leibe, a confession of deep sinfulness. It is followed by a plea for forgiveness in the closing chorale from Cantata 135, Ach Herr, Mich Armen Sünder. That chorale, ‘Ehr’ sei in’s Himmels Throne’, in praise of the eternal blessedness of the Trinity, is one of Bach’s more elaborate final chorales, but unhappily it is played in a simplified arrangement for instruments. The chorale tune, ‘Herzlich Tut Mich Verlangen’ (I do desire dearly a blessed end) by Hans Leo Hassler, is better known as the Passion Chorale and was used in various harmoniza-tions by Bach many times—five times in the St Matthew Passion alone. The notes tell none of this, and no text of the chorale (or any of the others) is included, but just recognizing the tune carries a further message of redemption to listeners.

Two movements of Cantata 105, Herr, Gehe Nicht ins Gericht, are included, but at separate points. Prohaska takes the aria ‘Wie Zittern und Wanken der Sünden Gedanken’ at an urgent tempo, and her biting articulation of the words vividly depicts a sinner’s “anguished conscience torn apart by its own torment”. The message is further emphasized by trembling and wavering in the strings while the sublime melodic line with oboe obbligato suggests perhaps a divine presence in the midst of distress. This has been one of my favorite Bach arias simply for its loveliness since I first heard it 50 years ago, but this performance gave me a much deeper appreciation for what it imparts spiritually. For me it conveyed the very heart of the program: in the midst of our deepest distress, there is grace. As the arc of the program bends toward the title theme of redemption, we hear a wonderfully joyful performance of ‘Weichet Nur, Betrübte Schatten’, the opening aria of Cantata 202 (the Wedding Cantata).

There is a lot to like here. The recorded sound is excellent, with a wonderful intimacy that puts you right in the midst of the performers. It’s like a home performance. The instrumentalists are terrific and their performance is unhindered by excessive vibrato. Prohaska’s light lyric voice is agile, penetrating, and bell-like. She sings with minimal vibrato, and her articulation of the text is pristine. Her singing is more quirky than you usually hear in music of this period—lunging at notes and then falling off. It called too much attention to her technique, and it can sound too fussy. A little more sustained lyricism would help.
 

The practice of singing Bach cantatas with one voice per part in choruses is justified, especially in this time of pandemic when social distancing is necessary. It allows each line to be heard clearly, and the quartet sings well, but in the end I found it mostly unsatisfying. The final chorus of Cantata 150, Nach Dir, Herr, Verlanget Mich (Lord, I long for you), considered Bach’s earliest extant cantata, is a perfect way to end the program in confidant assurance. This time it works well with a solo quartet as the text alternates between solo lines and quartet. What is especially significant is the way Bach builds it so skilfully as a chaconne.

It is beautifully performed. I thought the program had come to an end at this point, but it continued with an unlisted encore: a jazzy scat arrangement of the aria that began the program, ‘Bete Aber auch Dabei’. It’s an odd thing to do, so you might want to stop before you come to it and listen to it some other time if you are curious.

 

Alpha recorded and released this very quickly. It is a comforting program for this time of pandemic when a shut-down of what we have considered normal is difficult but necessary. Each track is lovely (even the encore) and it all is well performed, but I will happily return to hearing Bach’s cantatas performed in their entirety. Notes, texts, translations.

 

Fermer la fenêtre/Close window
 

Cliquez l'un ou l'autre bouton pour découvrir bien d'autres critiques de CD
 Click either button for many other reviews