Texte paru dans: / Appeared in: |
|
|
Outil de traduction ~ (Très approximatif) |
|
|
Reviewer:
George Chien You’ve probably heard this chestnut. A man walks into a record store and says to the clerk, “Do you have any minor Masses by Bach?” To which the clerk replies, “Why, yes! Here’s a lovely one in b.” I warned you that it was an oldie. That was then. This is now, when one’s first reaction might well be, “What is a record store?” And next, “There are clerks on the floor?” And finally, “Who know classical, or more to the point, Baroque?” Ah, the good old days…. The lesser Masses—call them “Missae breves” or, as does BIS, “Lutheran Masses”—have never remotely enjoyed the appreciation, let alone the number of performances and recordings, accorded to “one in b,” not to mention the motets or the cantatas. That is partly due to the fact that most or all of their movements were adaptations of existing cantata movements—though that is also true of “the one in b.” Their relative neglect is unfortunate, because they are really very attractive works. After all, Bach wouldn’t have chosen the movements he parodied in them if they were without merit. The good news is that that the Lutheran Masses seem to be receiving more attention of late, especially now that all of Bach’s sacred cantatas are available in several complete editions. Ton Koopman included them in his cantata series, and other worthy recordings have been made by Raphaël Pichon, Konrad Junghänel, and Harry Christophers. Philippe Herreweghe’s excellent older version has been reissued. Add to them this splendid recording by Masaaki Suzuki. To those familiar with Suzuki’s cantata recordings, this can only come as welcome news. Suzuki and his musicians lavish on these two Masses all the respect and considerable skill they accorded the cantatas, with impeccable results. The disc offers a considerable bonus: four independent settings of the Sanctus and a three-part Kyrie that is new to me and will be so for most listeners. As we know, Bach did not operate in a vacuum in Leipzig, and so performed other people’s music during his tenure there. Recent scholarship has revealed that a Kyrie-Gloria Mass copied by Bach is by the Neapolitan composer Francesco Durante (1684–1755). The first and third parts of the Kyrie portion, recorded here by Suzuki, are Durante’s, but the middle part, a soprano-alto duet, is labeled “Christe di Bach.” Presumably Bach didn’t like Durante’s Christe. Of the four Sanctus settings, three are by Bach. The fourth, in E, was reworked by him from a Missa superba by Johann Casper Kerll (1627–1693), a well-established older compatriot. The other three settings are a varied lot. The earliest, in C, got the full treatment with trumpets and timpani. The second, in D, is sparsely accompanied by unison violins and continuo with a cornett and strings doubling the voices. One can only speculate whether that was an artistic or an administrative decision. The third, in G, employs a more conventional ensemble of oboes, strings, and continuo. While Bach’s continuing reputation won’t be much affected by these bonus pieces, they are interesting to have. It makes one wonder what Suzuki has up his sleeve for the second volume of the Lutheran Masses, which will be as ardently anticipated as this first disc is enjoyed. | |
|
|
|
|
Cliquez l'un ou l'autre
bouton pour découvrir bien d'autres critiques de CD |
|
/7318599920818.jpg)
