the collector's bach (nathan broder, 1958)

7/27/2019 The Collector's Bach (Nathan Broder, 1958)

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781.97 Bllb 58-1271S

referencecollectionbook

kansas citypublic librarykansas city,missouri


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KANSAS CITY. MO. PUBLIC LIBRARY


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The Collector's Bach


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Keystone Books in Music

THE COLLECTOR'S JAZZTraditional and Swingby John S. Wilson

THE COLLECTOR'S BACHby Nathan BroderIN PREPARATION*

THE COLLECTOR'S JAZZModern and Progressive

by John S. Wilson

THE COLLECTOR'S HAYDNby C. G. Burke


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THECOLLECTOR'S

BACHby Nathan Brorfer

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANYPhiladelphia & New York


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Copyright 1958 by Nathan Broder

Copyright 1955, 1956, 1957 by Audiocom, Inc.

First Edition

Printed in the United States of AmericaLibrary of Congress Catalog Card Number 58-9794

This is a considerably revised version of a discog-raphy that was written at the suggestion of Mr.Roland Gelatt, music editor of High Fidelity maga-zine, and that appeared in three instalments in thatperiodical. I am grateful to Mr. Charles Fowler,publisher of High Fidelity, for permission to use thematerial here.

N.B.


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TO MITCHELL LAUB


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ContentsJOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH:BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .... 9VOCAL WORKS 19The Cantatas 21Motets 55The Masses, Sanctus and Magnificat . . 57The Passions and Oratorios 63Arias, Duets, etc 73

KEYBOARD WORKS 79Organ "Works 81Clavier Works Ill

CHAMBER AND ORCHESTRAL WORKS 135Lute Works 136Chamber Music 138Concertos 155Suites for Orchestra 182Musikalisches Opfer 188Die Kunst der Fuge 190


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JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACHBiographical Sketch

Born Eisenach, March 21, 1685; diedLeipzig, July 28, 1750

BACH'S BIRTHPLACE is in Thuringia, a district inwestern Saxony. Except for a short period in hisyouth and one or two trips later on, he never leftsouth-central Germany. He was a musician by trade,coming from a family that had produced musiciansin a steady stream ever since the sixteenth century.In seventeenth-century Germany it was expectedthat a man would embrace his father's profession,but what is remarkable in Bach's case is the way inwhich the profession seized upon the man. Bachwas an avid student of his art from his early child-hood to the end of his days.

His father taught him to play the violin and viola.When both of his parents died, Sebastian, nowabout ten, went to live with an older brother,Johann Christoph, organist at Ohrdruf, a town somethirty miles away. From him Sebastian learned toplay the clavier (a term applied to any stringedkeyboard instrument) and organ. From him, too,Sebastian probably had his first lessons in compo-sition. The school in Ohrdruf was an unusuallyprogressive one for the time; Sebastian, who was anexcellent student, received a solid grounding in Latin

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10 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHand other subjects, especially religion. It was prob-ably this school's emphasis on theological subjectsthat helped to instill or develop in Bach the faiththat remained firmly and profoundly his for therest of his life.

In 1700, at the age of fifteen, he journeyed twohundred miles north to Liineburg. There he wasenrolled as a soprano in the choir. He lived inthe buildings connected with St. Michael's Church,and received a monthly stipend and a share of thefees paid to the choir for special performances, asat weddings and funerals. Here Bach found a re-markably well-stocked library of seventeenth-centuryvocal music by German and Italian composers, in-cluding such masters as Monteverdi and Schiitzamong the older men and Buxtehude among con-temporaries. Bach had already shown, at his broth-er's house in Ohrdruf, an eager curiosity about anymusic he could lay his hands on. One can imaginethe excitement with which he must have approachedthe treasures in the Liineburg library.When his voice changed, he was kept on as anaccompanist. He studied the music of Georg Bohm,organist at St. John's Church in Liineburg, and tookat least one walking trip to Hamburg, thirty milesaway, to hear the celebrated Reinken play the organthere. He is also said to have trudged the sixty milesto Celle, where the Duke of Liineburg-Celle main-tained a lively musical establishment and favoredFrench music.

In 1703 Bach was back in Thuringia, At the ageof eighteen he was already so highly regarded as anorganist that he had been asked by the authoritiesat Amstadt to test a new organ that had just been


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Biographical Sketch 11installed in St. Boniface's Church there. After hehad played on it and given his opinion, he was hiredas organist. As part of his job he had to train boysfor the chorus, a task that could not have beeneasy, because it would seem from a contemporaryreport that the choristers were what we would calljuvenile delinquents. Two years after he was es-tablished at Arnstadt, Bach applied for a leave ofabsence and traveled three hundred miles to visitBuxtehude at Lubeck. Although his leave was forone month, he was so fascinated by the programsdirected by Buxtehude that he stayed away fourmonths. A few weeks after he returned he was sum-moned before the consistory and admonished, notonly for overstaying his leave but also for confusingthe congregation by "making many surprising vari-ations in the chorale" when accompanying thehymns.Unhappy at Arnstadt, Bach moved in 1707 to

Miihlhausen, as organist at St. Blaise's Church. Soonafterwards he married his cousin, Maria BarbaraBach, daughter of an organist. It was here thatBach wrote Gott ist mein Konig (Cantata No. 71),the only one of his cantatas that was published dur-ing his lifetime. After only one year at Miihlhausen,he accepted a more lucrative appointment at near-byWeimar.Weimar was the seat of Wilhelm Ernst, Duke of

Sachsen-Weimar, a sober, cultured, pious, and con-scientious ruler. He was fond of music, but, like hisnew employee and unlike other princes of the time,he did not particularly care for the stage. He re-quired the court orchestra, including its newestmember, to wear the uniform of the Hungarian hus-


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12 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHsars. Bach's duties were to play the violin in theorchestra, to lead the Duke's chamber musicians,to serve as court organist, and to compose and con-duct cantatas and other works. His house was full ofpupils and, in the course of time, his own children.It was a busy life, and yet, despite all distractions,he produced a steady stream of cantatas and organand clavier works. In 1717 there was an incidentthat received a good deal of publicity throughoutGermany. A French organist by the name of LouisMarchand, considered one of the most skillful per-formers of his time, happened to be in Dresdenwhen Bach was visiting there. Bach challenged himto a sight-reading contest. Marchand accepted, anda meeting was arranged at the house of a localnobleman. When the appointed time came, how-ever, it was learned that Marchand had left townthat morning, thus tacitly acknowledging defeat;and Bach played alone for the pleased and ad-miring crowd.By this time Bach was preparing to leave Weimar.For various reasons among them a considerably

higher salary, and disappointment because he hadnot received a promotion he felt he deserved heaccepted, in 1717, an appointment as Kapellmeisterto Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen. He could nottake up his new duties, however, until he received aformal release from Duke Wilhelm Ernst. This theDuke at first refused to give him, and when Bachboldly insisted, he was clapped into jail. After amonth in prison, during which some writers thinkhe planned the Orgdbuchlein, the Duke reluctantlylet him go.

Prince Leopold was a good musician; he could


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Biographical Sketch 13sing, and could play well the violin, the viola dagamba, and the clavier. When Bach arrived atCothen in December, 1717, he took charge of thePrince's musical establishment. The orchestra,known as the Collegium Musicum, comprised eight-een players, augmented by additional performers onspecial occasions. In Cothen Bach was not requiredto play the organ or to compose music for religiousservices. Consequently his output in these years ismostly secular and instrumental much clavier mu-sic, including the English and French Suites andPart I of the Well-Tempered Clavier; the works forviolin solo and 'cello solo and much chamber music;the three violin concertos, the six "Brandenburg"Concertos, and at least two of the four orchestralsuites. In July, 1720, Maria Barbara, his wife ofthirteen years, died. She had been a loving help-meet, and had borne him six children. The twooldest surviving sons, Wilhelm Friedemann (born1710) and Carl Philipp Emanuel (bom 1714), to-gether with a still-unborn half-brother, were to ex-tend the musical fame of the Bach name. InDecember, 1721, Bach took as his second wife thetwenty-year-old singer Anna Magdalena Wilcken. Aweek later, Prince Leopold, too, married. It soonbecame apparent that his bride did not share herhusband's taste in music or his regard for his favor-ite musician. Bach's position became awkward, andhe began to look about for another post. A positionbeing vacant at Leipzig, he applied for it. Theretvere several other candidates, and Bach was by nomeans the one with the strongest support. Invitedto write a Passion as a kind of test piece, he pro-duced the St. John Passion at Leipzig in March,


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14 THE COLLECTOR'S BACH1723. In April the candidate favored by the CityCouncil withdrew for reasons of his own, and Bachwas appointed.

Bach's duties in Leipzig were manifold and rathercomplicated. As Cantor of St. Thomas's School, hesuperintended the musical instruction of the pupilsand did some teaching himself. He was also in gen-eral charge of the music in four of the city'schurches, though he personally led the performancesin only two of them St. Thomas's and St. Nicho-las's. He was expected to compose, or provide, acantata for most Sundays as well as for special festi-vals, and a Passion each year. He was also some-times called upon to write music for funerals ofprominent citizens (most of the motets were writtenfor this purpose) and for weddings of prosperouscouples. Bach also had a tenuous official connectionwith the music at St. Paul's, the University chapel;the confused state of this relationship gave rise tomuch bickering between the composer and the Uni-versity authorities. In 1729 he became conductor ofone of the University's extracurricular organizations,a Collegium Musicum. All this obviously constituteda heavy schedule, and Bach gradually delegated moreand more work to subordinates so that he coulddevote as much time as possible to composing. OnGood Friday of 1729 he produced the St. MatthewPassion. In 1731 he published the first part of theClavier-Uebung, consisting of the six Partitas forclavier. In 1733, anxious to secure the title of courtcomposer to the Elector of Saxony, he offered thatruler a Lutheran Mass, consisting of a Kyrie andGloria. The Elector was busy with other matters,and these two movements of the B minor Mass went


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Biographical Sketch 15unnoticed. The appointment came three years later.During the Leipzig years Bach apparently took upsome of his early organ works and revised them. Inthe 1740's he published the Goldberg Variations,Part II of the Well-Tempered Clavier, and the Mu-sical Offering. The last-named work was the resultof a visit in 1747 to his son, Carl Philipp Emanuel,then employed at the court of Frederick the Greatin Potsdam. The music-loving Frederick was aston-ished at Bach's improvisations on a theme providedby the King. When Bach returned home, he de-veloped Frederick's theme into a set of fugues andcanons and sent it to the King as a "Musical Offer-ing." Toward the end of his life his eyesight beganto fail. An operation was unsuccessful, and Bach'sfinal compositions were dictated to his son-in-law.He passed away at a quarter to nine on Tuesdayevening, July 28, 1750, at the age of sixty-five, leav-ing his second wife and nine children surviving froma total of nineteen.

We know very little of Bach's inner life apartfrom his music. His general outward appearance hasbeen established by some well-made portraits. Fromthe meager correspondence that remains we knowthat he was an indomitable fighter, insisting on hisrights with bulldog tenacity whenever he thoughtthey were being infringed. Though never wealthy, healways earned enough to keep his family fairly com-fortable. He apparently moved with ease in theprofessional circles of Weimar, Cothen, and Leipzig,and numbered among his friends educators, culturedlaymen, and high officials of the clergy. The eye-witness accounts tell mostly of his astounding skillas an organist and of his extraordinary improvisa-


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16 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHtions. Throughout his life he was called upon toexamine and test new organs, to recommend im-provements in old ones, so profound was his knowl-edge of the instrument. His even more profoundknowledge of the craft of composition was not sowidely recognized.

Except to the audience on the occasion for whichthey were written, most of his grandest works couldnot be known, because they remained unpublishedfor many years after his death. Moreover, whenBach died his music was already regarded as old-fashioned. For during the last two or three decadesof his life there had begun a change in style withsuch revolutionary consequences that the music ofhis youngest son, Johann Christian (bom 1735),belongs to an entirely different era. Yet it is nottrue, as is sometimes stated, that Bach's music wascompletely ignored in the generations immediatelyfollowing him. The little that was known was highlyregarded in small enclaves here and there. Viennacontained one such corner; there Mozart transcribedsome of the fugues, and Beethoven gave his pupilsthe Well-Tempered Clavier to study. But it was notuntil Mendelssohn's celebrated revival of the St.Matthew Passion at Berlin in 1829 that the musicalworld in general began to wonder what otherBachian treasures lay hidden. More and more workswere uncovered, and in 1850 the Bach Gesellschaftwas organized for the purpose of publishing themaster's complete works. Fifty years later the final,forty-sixth, volume appeared,


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EXPLANATION OF LISTINGSTHE WORKS ARE listed here in the order in whichthey appear in "Wolfgang Schmieder's thematiccatalogue, the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Leip-zig, 1950). This is not a chronological cata-logue, like the Kochel of Mozart or the Deutschof Schubert. Instead the works are first dividedinto categories and then numbered continuouslyfrom 1 to 1080, beginning with the sacred can-tatas. The Schmieder has unfortunately cometo be abbreviated "BWV," but we use the moresensible (and internationally understandable)"S."No attempt is made here to go into the vexedquestion of the interpretation of Bach's orna-ments or to enter the controversy of harpsi-chord versus organ as the continuo keyboard in-strument in the religious choral works.The cases where modern instruments are usedinstead of those specified by Bach, i.e., fluteinstead of recorder, are noted.The quality of the recording may be assumedto be adequate or better unless the contrary isstated. Any remarks about surface noises referto the writer's disks and are not necessarily trueof other copies of the same issue. Such remarksare included here merely as warnings to theprospective purchaser.No account is taken here of individual songs

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18 THE COLLECTOR 7 S BACHand chorale harmonizations; of transcriptions oforgan works for other media, such as orchestraor piano; or of individual movements fromlarger works and the numerous transcriptions ofsome of those movements.

In the case of vocal works, the record com-panies supply the original texts and Englishtranslations, unless otherwise indicated.The order of the listing at the end of eachitem is intended to reflect the order of merit in

the opinion of the reviewer.Listings in brackets indicate recordings thatwere not available to the writer.All records are single twelve-inch disks, unless

otherwise indicated.The second and subsequent citations of thesame item are listed in abbreviated form.A number of items listed are no longer in the

catalogues, but they are retained here becausethey may still be available in some shops.


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VOCAL WORKSTHERE is surely nothing more that needs to be saidabout the St. Matthew Passion and the B minorMass, two of the towering creations of the humanmind. The gigantic fresco of the Passion presentsa drama of sorrow and compassion that has neverbeen surpassed in music. As for the Mass, I expectwhen I awake on Judgment Day to hear angelicchoirs filling the heavens with the rolling triplets ofthe Sanctus. Since both of these works are availablein good recordings, there is no reason why everyoneshould not be, or become, familiar with them.No one can truly understand Bach's achievement,however, who has not penetrated into the world ofthe sacred cantatas. It is well known that Bach wasa profoundly religious man, but just how deeply re-ligious he was can be best understood when we seehow the varying texts of these cantatas, insipidthough some of them may seem to us, set hiscreative imagination on fire. Naturally, not all ofthese numerous works are on the same high level.The astonishing thing is how many of them arefilled with a burning intensity.

It has frequently been pointed out that this im-portant portion of Bach's output is closed off to us

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20 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHbecause complete cantatas are so seldom performed.In one way, this is no longer true. More than afourth of the cantatas are now available on LP re-cordings. But in another way it is still true, at leastto a certain extent. The mere fact that a cantata hasbeen recorded does not necessarily mean that Bachhas been truly, or even fairly, represented. Theproper performance of Bach requires a combinationof sensitiveness, imagination, and historical knowl-edge that is unfortunately all too rare. Many con-ductors and singers seem to freeze into a knot whenconfronted with a Bach score, as though they wereconvinced that any composer who did not sprinklehis pages liberally with expression marks must havehad ice in his veins. It is true, of course, that Bach'smusic does not call for the kind of treatment that,say, Chopin's does. But it is equally true that themechanical rigidity with which it is often performedmisrepresents it fatally.From this point of view, then, the recordings ofBach's vocal works may be said to fall into threegroups: those in which the performers' insight,knowledge, and skill do something like justice to themusic; those in which enough of these qualities arepresent to render the performances acceptable forwant of better ones; and those that are mere note-reading and consequently worse than nothing. It willbe seen that the second group is the most numerous,the first least so.


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Vocal Works 21

THE CANTATASNO. 1, WlE SCHOEN LEUCHTET DER MORGENSTERNComposed at Leipzig in the 1730s or '40$ for An-nunciation Day. This work, in keeping with theoccasion for which it was written, breathes joy andgood cheer from almost every measure of the lovelyfirst chorus, the delightful soprano aria, and thelighthearted tenor aria. Miss Weber is not quite upto the cruelly long phrases of her aria and has tobreak them up to catch a breath. Mr. Krebs man-ages his very difficult aria acceptably. The chorus,like many others, is weak in the tenor departmentand sounds as though it should have been closerto the microphone.

Gunthild Weber ($); Helmut Krebs (t); Her-mann Schey (bs); Berlin Motet Choir; Berlin Phil-harmonic Orchestra, Fritz Lehmann, cond. ARCHIVEARC 3063 (with Cantata No. 4).No. 4, CHRIST LAG IN TODESBANDENComposed at Mtihlhausen or Weimar, probably be-tween 1708 and 1714, for Easter Day. This powerfuland moving work, dominated by the idea of deathrather than that of the Resurrection, has an unusualstructure. Each of the seven verses of Luther's hymnis set as a separate movement and the whole is prefc-aced by a brief but very expressive sinfonia. Thereare no recitatives, no Italians-style da capo arias.


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22 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHTo make a choice among the three recordings is

difficult. For beauty of choral tone and firmness ofline, the palm it seems to me belongs to Shaw.His version employs an organ for the continuo insome movements but a harpsichord in Verses 4and 6. In Verse 5 he uses a trumpet (not indi-cated in the score) to reinforce the chorale tune inthe violins. Prohaska uses an organ throughout;his interpretation of the sinfonia is more dramaticthan the other two; and he is favored with thequietest surfaces. In Verse 4 he has an unindicatedtrombone strengthening the cantus firmus in thealtos. Lehmann's chorus is perhaps second best asregards tone and clarity. An organ is employed forthe continuo, and he takes fewer liberties that is,he sticks to the disposition of performing forcescalled for in the score. In Verse 3 he uses a solotenor instead of the several tenors employed byShaw and Prohaska, and one bass instead of severalin Verse 5. The latter part is excellently sung byFischer-Dieskau, who, however, avoids the greatplunge down to E-sharp below the staff on theword "death'' and alights too comfortably on thetone an octave higher.Robert Shaw Chorale and Orchestra, RobertShaw, cond. RCA VICTOR LM 9035 (with MotetNo. 3, Jesus, Dearest Master) .Choir and Orchestra of the Bach Guild, FelixProhaska, cond. BACH GUILD BG 511 (with CantataNo. 140).Helmut Krebs (t); Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau(bs); Chorus of the State School for Music, Frank-furt; Gottingen Bach Festival Orchestra, Fritz Leh-mann, cond. ARCHIVE ARC 3063 (with Cantata No. 1 ) .


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Vocd Works 23

No. 6. BLEIB* BEI UNSLeipzig, probably 1736, for Easter Monday. Themagnificent opening chorus, with its deeply movingpart-writing and poignant harmonies and the rich,reedy sound of the oboes, is enough to place thiscantata among the great masterworks. The alto aria,which follows, is on the same high plane. It is nicelysung here, with a warm tone and good phrasing.The rest of the work is not quite up to the exaltedstandard set by Bach in the first two movements.Rather boomy bass in No. 1, but elsewhere the re-cording is realistic, the disembodied tone of thesopranos in No. 3 being especially well caught.Hetty Pliimacher (a); Werner Hohmann (t);Bruno Mliller (bs); Stuttgart Choral Society andBach Orchestra, Hans Grischkat, cond. RENAISSANCEx 34 (with Cantata No. 19).No. 9, Es IST DAS HEILLeipzig, probably 1731, for the Sixth Sunday afterTrinity. Another fine opening chorus, in which rev-erently joyful figures curl about the chorale. Out-standing too is the expressive melody of the wide-ranging tenor aria (No. 3). The arias are compe-tently sung, but the recitatives, for bass, are inflexibleand mechanical. Performance in general acceptable.

Claire Fassbender-Luz (s); Eva Drager (a);Glaus Stemann (t); Bruno Miiller (bs); StuttgartChoral Society; Stuttgart Bach Orchestra, HansGrischkat, cond. RENAISSANCE x 37 (with CantataNo, 137).


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24 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHNo. 11, LOBET GOTT IN SEINEN REICHENLeipzig, between 1730 and 1740, for Ascension. Thissplendid work was called by Bach an oratorio, butin mood and structure it is much like other cantatas.While the Lyrichord version is no shining model ofBach performance and the recording has consider-able surface noise, it is much to be preferred to theLondon version on many counts. Its soloists, exceptfor the alto, are better; its chorus is stronger andclearer; and its balances are more just. In the Lon-don recording the sound of the chorus is frequentlyweak and blurred, the important woodwind partsare sometimes inaudible, and the lovely soprano ariain Part II is ruthlessly cut. The only redeemingfeature of that disk is Ferrier's warm and appealingsinging of the great alto aria in Part I, later used byBach in the Agnus Dei of the B minor Mass. TheLyrichord uses an organ for the continue, is sung inGerman, and supplies texts in German and English,The London employs a harpsichord, is done inEnglish, and provides no text.--Claire Fassbender-Luz (s); Ruth Michaelis(a); Werner Hohmann (t); Bruno Miiller (bs);Swabian Choral Singers; Stuttgart Bach Orchestra,Hans Grischkat, cond, LYRICHORD LL 34.-Eva Mitchell (s); Kathleen Ferrier (a); Wil-liam Herbert (t); William Parsons (bs); CantataSingers; Jacques Orchestra, Reginald Jacques, cond.LONDON LL 845 (with Cantata No. 67 and Jesu, Joyof Man's Desiring from Cantata No, 147).

19> Es RBUB SICH BIN STREETLeipzig, 1725 or 1726, for St. Michael's Day. Theinighty opening chorus depicts the struggle between


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Vocal Works 25St. Michael and his angels and Satan and his hosts.In the Grischkat version it becomes a rather cheer-ful piece; in the Lehmann, it is slower, four-square,and rigidly metrical. In neither is there any trace ofthe grandeur of this musical fresco. For the rest,there is not much to choose between the two record-ings. Renaissance has more surface noise and abetter soprano. Decca's recitatives are less metro-nomic and its tenor has a more attractive voice, buthe does little to mitigate the excessive length of hisaria. There is no visible separation between move-ments on either disk.

Agnes Giebel (s); Glaus Stemann (t); BrunoMiiller (bs); Stuttgart Choral Society; TonstudioOrchestra, Hans Grischkat, cond. RENAISSANCE x 34(with Cantata No. 6).Gunthild Weber (s); Helmut Krebs (t); Her-mann Schey (bs); Berlin Motet Choir; Berlin Phil-harmonic Orchestra, Fritz Liehmann, cond. ARCHIVEARC 3065 (with Cantata No. 79).NO. 21, ICH HATTE VIEL BERKUEMMERNISMiihlhausen and Weimar, 1714 and earlier, "forany season." That this early work is one of therelatively popular cantatas is understandable, forit is full of a youthful fervor and has a wide rangeof expressiveness, from the tortured dissonances ofthe soprano aria in Part I to the triumphant joyof the final chorus. On the whole, both perform-ances are acceptable. Both solo tenors are goodand both basses little more than adequate. Of thetwo sopranos Schwaiger's voice is the cooler, withscarcely any vibrancy or intensity; but since thepart was probably written for a boy, the color ofher voice is perhaps closer to what Bach had in


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26 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHmind. Lehmann's chorus is better balanced in itselfand in relation to the orchestra, and his perform-ance of the wonderful chorus Sei wieder zufriedenand the great final movement has more intensitythan Sternberg's.

Rosl Schwaiger (s); Hugues Cuenod (t); AloisPernerstorfer (bs); Vienna Symphony Orchestra;Vienna Chamber Choir, Jonathan Sternberg, cond.BACH GUILD BG 501.

Gunthild Weber (s); Helmut Krebs (t); Her-mann Schey (bs); Berlin Motet Choir; Berlin Phil-harmonic Orchestra, Fritz Lehmann, cond. ARCHIVEARC 3064.

No. 31, DER HIMMEL LACHT, DIE ERDE JUBI-LIERETFor Easter Sunday; composed at Weimar in 1715but later revised. The festive opening "sonata"(with trumpets and drums) and the first chorusexpress the joy of Easter Day, Thereafter thelibrettist's thoughts turn toward death. The finetenor aria (No. 6) is somewhat operatic in feeling.The crown of the work, it seems to me, is the ex-quisitely tender and lovely soprano aria (No. 8)with obbligato oboe, in the course of which theviolins and violas gently introduce, with movingeffect, the first verses of a chorale. This chorale isthen taken up by the entire chorus and orchestrafor the conclusion (No. 9). The soprano and theunnamed oboist are particularly good in No. 8.Otherwise the performance is acceptable, althoughthe tenors of the chorus are too faint.

Army Felbermayer (s); Waldeniar Kmentt(t)}, Walter Berry (bs); Vienna Chamber Orches-


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Vocal Works 27tra and Akademie Choir, Felix Prohaska, cond.BACH GUILD BG 512 (with Seven Easter Chorales).No. 32, LIEBSTER JESU, MEIN VERLANGENLeipzig, probably late 1730s, for the First Sundayafter Epiphany. This is a "dialogus" for sopranoand bass, with the chorus entering only for the finalchorale. The first movement is a wonderful aria forsoprano with obbligato oboe, expressing ineffablelonging for Jesus. In No. 4, a conversation betweenthe soloists, the soprano has some ecstatic ariosopassages. The singers join in No. 5r rejoicing gailyin a dancelike rhythm. Scherchen's version is themore imaginative and moving. Both of the bassesare good enough, but Scherchen's soprano is su-perior to Reinhardt's.

Magda Laszlo (s); Alfred Poell (bs); ViennaAkademiechor; Orchestra of the Vienna StateOpera, Hermann Scherchen, cond. WESTMINSTERXWN 18391 (with Cantata No. 152).

Agnes Giebel (s); Bruno Miiller (bs); ProMusica Chorus and Orchestra (Stuttgart), RolfReinhardt, cond. Vox PL 7340 (with Cantata No.57).No. 34, O EWIGES FEUERFor Whitsuntide; an arrangement, made about1740, of an earlier wedding cantata. There are twofine big choruses, a couple of brief secco recitatives,and a calmly sweet alto aria. The "eternal flame"burns very low in this performance. The chorus isno better than mediocre, and the alto has a tremolo,

Lorna Sydney (a); Hugues Cuenod (t); AloisPernerstorfer (bs); Vienna Chamber Choir and


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28 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHSymphony Orchestra, Jonathan Sternberg, cond.BACH GUILD BG 502 (with Cantata No. 56).No. 39, BRICH DEM HUNGRIGEN DEIN BROTLeipzig, probably 1732, for the First Sunday afterTrinity. The big and very expressive opening chorus,with its curiously descriptive accompaniment, is theoutstanding movement in this work, along with afine accompanied recitative for alto. Miss Weberagain has trouble with phrasing her breathing isfrequent and audible but otherwise she is ade-quate, as are the other performers.

Gunthild Weber (s); Lore Fischer (a); Her-mann Schey (bs); Berlin Motet Choir; Berlin Phil-harmonic Orchestra, Fritz Lehmann, cond, ARCHIVEARC 3066 (with Cantata No. 105).No. 41, JESXJ, NUN SET GEPREISETLeipzig, 1736 or about 1740, for New Year's Day.Lighthearted joy is the predominating mood of theopening chorus. This is followed by a lovely, pas-torale-like aria for soprano, a tenor aria with obbli-gato violoncello piccolo, and a final chorale whichis especially interesting because of the interpola-tions of part of the instrumental ritornel from thefirst chorus. The continuo part is performed on apiano, and the obbligato in the tenor aria is played,very beautifully, on an ordinary cello. The chorusis slightly blurred at first, but soon becomes clearer.The tone of botih chorus and orchestra is unusuallygood, and for once one can hear the tenors clearly.Jn the reviewer's set this side is wrongly labeled, the

being the same as on the other side (whichs arias}*


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Vocal Works 29-Eileen Farrell (s); Carol Smith (a); Jan Peerce(t); Norman Farrow (bs); Robert Shaw Choraleand Orchestra, Robert Shaw, cond. Two 12-in.RCA VICTOR LM 6023 (with Cantatas Nos. 42 and60, and arias and duets from other cantatas).No. 42, AM ABEND ABER DESSELBIGEN SABBATSLeipzig, 1731, for the First Sunday after Easter.This is one of the great masterworks. Among itspeaks are the meltingly beautiful sinfonia, whichwould make a wonderful piece for an orchestralprogram; the gorgeously rich alto aria (No. 3); andthe triumphant bass aria (No. 6). The soloists singacceptably and the orchestra is very fine. A pianois used for the continuo.-Eileen Farrell (s); Carol Smith (a); Jan Peerce(t); Norman Farrow (bs); Robert Shaw Choraleand Orchestra, Robert Shaw, cond. Two 12-in.RCA VICTOR LM 6023 (with Cantatas Nos. 41 and60, and arias and duets from other cantatas).

. 46, SCHAUET DOCK UND SEHETLeipzig, middle 1720s, for the Tenth Sunday afterTrinity. A powerful work. The first chorus, tragicand full of poignant dissonance, was later used inthe Qui tollis of the B minor Mass. In the dramaticbass aria (No. 3) thunder rumbles in the bassesand lightning flashes in the trumpet. Unfortunately,only Cuenod does justice to his part (the accom-panied recitative for tenor. No. 2); the other soloistsand the chorus are not quite up to this magnificentmusic,-Loma Sydney (a); Hugues Cuenod (t); AloisPernerstoife (bs)j-ienna Symphony Orchestra


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THE COLLECTOR'S BACHand Chamber Choir, Jonathan Sternberg, cond.BACH GUILD BG 503 (with Cantata No. 104).No. 50, NUN IST DAS HEEL UNO DIE KRAFTA single movement, of imposing strength, for doublechorus and orchestra and believed to have onceformed a part of a cantata. Well performed here.

Choir and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera,Felix Prohaska, cond. Bach Guild BG 555 (withMagnificat in D).No. 51, JAUCHZET GOTT IN ALLEN LANDENLeipzig, 1731 or 1732, for the Fifteenth Sunday afterTrinity or for general use. This is a brilliant workwith a very elaborate part for the soprano. Stich-Randall, it seems to me, comes off best here. Whilea little more dash and assurance would have beendesirable, she negotiates the difficult part with goodintonation and an attractive tone. The trumpet issometimes a bit too loud for her in the first aria, butthe balance between the two is better in the last.Danco's performance is acceptable, but her intona-tion is a little less secure and the orchestra has asomewhat coarser sound. Schwarzkopf sings thethree middle movements very nicely, but has a littletrouble with the coloratura in the final one. Andher conductor takes the first aria at a pace that turnsit into a wild scramble. Schwarzkopf, a game filly,races grimly on, but she is breathing hard longbefore they reach the stretch.

Teresa Stich-Randall (s); Vienna State OperaOrchestra, Anton Heiller, cond. BACH GUILD BG546 (with Cantata No. 209).

Suzanne Danco (s); Stuttgart Chamber Or-


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Vocal Works 31chestra, Karl Miinchinger, cond. LONDON LL 993(with Cantata No. 202).Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (s); Philharmonia Or-chestra, Peter Gellhorn, cond. COLUMBIA ML 4792(with Cantata No. 82 and two arias from other can-tatas).NO. 53, SCHLAGE DOCK, GEWUENSCHTE STUNDELeipzig, about 1730. There is considerable doubtwhether this work, which consists only of an aria foralto with violins, violas, continue, and bells, is au-thentic. There can be little doubt, however, aboutwhich of the two available recordings of this lovelypiece is the superior. Although the Decca version iswell played and its bells have a finer, rounder soundthan Westminster's, its alto is far surpassed byRossl-Majdan, whose singing here is very beautiful.The M-G-M disk was not at hand for comparison.

Hilde Rossl-Majdan (a); Orchestra of theVienna State Opera, Hermann Scherchen, cond.WESTMINSTER XWN 18392 (with Cantatas Nos. 54and 170).

Hildegard Hennecke (a); Chamber Orchestraof the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, August Wen-zinger, cond. DECCA DL 9619 (with Cantatas Nos.189 and 200).[ Herta Glaz (c); Chamber Ensemble, IzlerSolomon, cond. M-G-M 3156 (with Pergolesi:Salve).]NO. 54, WlDERSTEHE DOCH DER SuENDELeipzig, around 1730. This brief work consists oftwo alto arias connected by a recitative. The firstaria, depicting a struggle against sin, contains poign-


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32 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHant dissonances over a resolute basic rhythm. Thesecond is a remarkable fugue on a partially chromaticsubject. Beautifully sung by Rossl-Majdan. Sincethe work was probably performed by a male alto inBach's time, Deller's remarkable countertenor nodoubt provides the right vocal color. One wishes ithad more variety and intensity here, especially inthe recitatives, which proceed in a uniformly calmmood.

Hilde Rossl-Majdan (a); Orchestra of theVienna State Opera, Hermann Scherchen, cond.WESTMINSTER XWN 18392 (with Cantatas Nos. 53and 170).Alfred Deller (c-t); Leonhardt Baroque En-

semble, Gustave Leonhardt, cond. BACH GUILD BG550 (with Cantata No. 170).No. 56, ICH WILL DEN KlUSUZSTAB GERNE TBAGENLeipzig, 1731 or 1732, for the Nineteenth Sundayafter Trinity. A great work for solo bass, comprisinga big, poignant aria, a joyful one, two very expressiveaccompanied recitatives, and a final chorale. Thedifficult solo part is handled rather well by bothsingers, but young FischerJDieskau is easily the su-perior by virtue of his firmer intonation* He has anannoying way (shared by many German singersthough not by Pernerstorfer here) of sometimesseparating the tones of a melisma on one syllable("tra-ha~ha-ha-gen"), even though an oboe, say, hasjust shown him the proper phrasing. But his tone isrich and round, and he sings with the necessaryfervor. The Bach Guild recording has a rathertubby bass, and there were clicks toward the end ofthe review disk.


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Vocal Works 33Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (b); Berlin Motet

Singers; Ristenpart Chamber Orchestra, Karl Ris-tenpart, cond. ARCHIVE ARC 3058 (with Cantata No.82).

Alois Pernerstorfer (bs); Vienna SymphonyOrchestra and Chamber Choir, Jonathan Sternberg,cond. BACH GUILD BG 502 (with Cantata No, 34).No. 57, SELIG IST DER MANNLeipzig, about 1740, for the second day of Christ-mas. A kind of extended dialogue between Jesus(bass) and the Soul (soprano). The chorus entersonly for the final chorale. This work is on the wholerather routine, for Bach, only the first soprano aria(No. 3) rising above that level. The performance isa bit stodgy, the soloists unexciting, and the record-ing mediocre. In the chorale the chorus is blurredand the pitch wavers.

Agnes Giebel (s); Bruno Miiller (bs); Pro Mu-sica Orchestra and Chorus (Stuttgart), Rolf Rein-hardt, cond. Vox PL 7340 (with Cantata No. 32).No. 60, O EWIGKEIT, DU DONNERWORTLeipzig, 1732, for the Twenty-fourth Sunday afterTrinity. Another dialogue cantata, this time be-tween Fear (alto) and Hope (tenor). In the open-ing duet, the most extensive piece in the work, thetenor's elaborate periods twine about the phrases ofthe chorale sung by the alto. As in the other cantatasin this album, the soloists sing acceptably but soundrather subdued. The orchestral tone is beautiful.Oboi d'amore are employed here, but the continueis played on a piano.

Carol Smith (a); Jan Peerce (t); Norman Far-


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34 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHrow (bs); Chorus and Orchestra, Frank Brieff, cond.Two 12-in. RCA VICTOR LM 6023 (with CantatasNos. 41 and 42, and arias and duets from other can-tatas) .

No. 63, CHRISTEN, AETZET DIESEN TAGComposed possibly at Halle in 1713, for the firstday of Christmas. A fine work, predominantly jubi-lant in mood. No. 5 ("Praise the Lord with songand dancing"), a duet between alto and tenor in aminuetlike rhythm, is especially delightful. Thechorus has a few uncertain spots in No. 1 but singsvery well when it returns in the last movement. Ofthe soloists, only the alto (in No. 2) and the tenor(in No. 4) rise above the ordinary. In No. 3, a duetfor soprano and bass, the soprano is much too loudand the continuo proceeds on leaden feet.

Margit Opawsky (s); Hilde Rossl-Majdan (a);Waldeinar Kmentt (t); Harald Hermann (bs);Vienna Chamber Choir and State Orchestra,Michael Gielen, cond. BACH GUILD BG 518.NO. 65, SlE WERDEN AUS SABA ALLE KOMMENLeipzig, about 1724, for Epiphany. The crown ofthis work is the great opening chorus, depicting theprocession of Wise Men and others bringing goldand frankincense to the Child. The altos are ratherweak here. In the arias the bass exhibits excellentbreath control and the tenor somewhat defectiveGerman pronunciation. The spirit of adoration isnicely conveyed by Roger Wagner. Flutes are usedinstead of recorders, but this is not too serious here.What is serious is the occasional wavering in in-tensity in the recording.


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Vocal Works 35Robert Sands (t); Ralph Isbell (bs); Roger

Wagner Chorale and Chamber Orchestra, RogerWagner, cond. LYRICHORD LL 50 (with Cantata No.106).No. 67, HALT' IM GEDAECHTNIS JESXJM CHRISTLeipzig, between 1723 and 1727, for the First Sun-day after Easter. A fine work of which the highpoint is the great "aria" for bass and chorus. Unfor-tunately, the performance is stodgy, the chorus un-clear, and the soloists undistinguished except for thealto, who, however, has only a few measures ofrecitative. In the bass "aria" the sound of the chorustwice suddenly fades. The work is sung in Englishand no text is provided.Kathleen Ferrier (a); William Herbert (t); Wil-liam Parsons (bs); Cantata Singers; Jacques Orches-tra, Reginald Jacques, cond. LONDON LL 845 (withCantata No. 11 and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiringfrom Cantata No. 147).No. 70, WACHET, BETETRevised at Leipzig in 1723 for the Twenty-sixthSunday after Trinity, from a cantata composed atWeimar in 1716. One of Bach's masterworks, witha splendid opening chorus, a fine aria for each of thesoloists, and two chorales, of which the first (No.7) is especially beautiful. The high points are thedramatic accompanied recitative for bass, with thetrumpet slashing through the orchestra with thetones of a chorale, and the following bass aria, itslovely flow interrupted by the exciting vision of theDay of Judgment (Nos. 9 and 10). The tempos areconvincing and the chorus sings acceptably, but of


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36 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHthe soloists only the soprano and the bass rise abovethe ordinary.Anny Felbermayer (s); Erika Wien (a); HugoMeyer Welfing (t); Norman Foster (bs); Choir ofthe Bach Guild; Vienna State Opera Orchestra,Felix Prohaska, cond. BACH GUILD BG 524.No. 76, DIE HIMMEL ERZAEHLEN DIE EHRE GOTTESLeipzig, 1723, for the Second Sunday after Trinity.A magnificent work maintaining throughout its con-siderable length the exalted standard set in theopening movement. Most of the inner sections havea delicate chamber-music quality. The wonderfullyexpressive chorale that closes Part I is repeated at theend of Part II. All of the soloists are satisfactory, thealto and the unnamed trumpeter being especiallygood. The performance is imaginative, and the vary-ing moods of the text are clearly conveyed. Highlyrecommended from every point of view.

Magda Laszlo (s); Hilde Rossl-Majdan (a);Petre Munteanu (t); Richard Standen (bs); Akade-miechor; Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, Her-mann Scherchen, cond. WESTMINSTER XWN 18393(with Cantata No. 84).No. 78, JESU, DER DIT MEINE SEELELeipzig, between 1735 and 1744, for the FourteenthSunday after Trinity. One of the great cantatas,especially because of the extraordinarily movingopening chorus a giant chorale fantasia on a chro-matic descending bass and the utterly delightfulduet that follows. The continue is rather boldlyrealized in this duet, but the result is effective. Allof the soloists are competent, even though the bass


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Vocal Works 37does not have the most appealing tone conceivable.The chorus sounds better in loud passages than insoft, and is clearer in the first movement than inthe last.

Teresa Stich-Randall (s); Dagmar Hermann(a); Anton Dermota (t); Hans Braun (bs); Choirand Orchestra of the Bach Guild, Felix Prohaska,cond. BACH GUILD BG 537 (with Cantata No. 106).No. 79, GOTT, DER HERRLeipzig, possibly in 1735, for the Reformation Fes-tival. The magnificent opening chorus, resplendentwith horns and drums, and a fine duet for sopranoand bass are the high spots of this worlc imbuedwith sturdy faith. The vocal soloists are adequateand the chorus acceptable, although its sound inthe first movement could have been clearer.Whether this is a fault of the singing or of theotherwise satisfactory recording I cannot say. Aspecial word of praise is in order for the un-named players of the difficult horn parts.Gunthild Weber (s); Lore Fischer (a); Her-mann Schey (bs); Berlin Motet Choir; Berlin Phil-harmonic Orchestra, Fritz Lehmann, cond. ARCHIVEARC 3065 (with Cantata No. 19).No. 80, EIN' FESTE BURG isx UNSER GOTTLeipzig, 1730, or 1739, for the Reformation Festival,in the version that has survived. In this very elabo-rate work Bach employs the melody of the cele-brated chorale in four of the movements. It is apowerful and dramatic composition that belongsnear the top of Bach's vocal music. The unnamedsoloists are adecjtiate and the choius only fair. In


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38 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHthe highly contrapuntal opening movement themelodic lines are not always clearly drawn by thechorus.

Soloists; Akademiechor; Vienna Chamber Or-chestra, Felix Prohaska, cond. BACH GUILD BG 508.No. 82, ICH HABE GENUGLeipzig, mostly in 1731 or 1732, for the Purificationof Mary. A solo cantata consisting of three ariasand two recitatives. Two of the arias, Ich habegenug and Schlummert ein, are very beautiful. BothHotter and Fischer-Dieskau have fine voicesHotter's is slightly darker in color and sing ex-pressively

here. Fischer-Dieskau's trill needs morework; Hotter usually contents himself with a singleturn. The Columbia recording seems older; thesound is two-dimensional, so to speak, whereas inthe Archive the voice stands out in relief.

Hans Hotter (bar); Philharmonia Orchestra,Anthony Bernard, cond. COLUMBIA ML 4792 (withCantata No. 51 and two arias from other cantatas).

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (bar); Berlin MotetSingers; Ristenpart Chamber Orchestra, KarlRistenpart, cond. ARCHIVE ARC 3058 (with Can-tata No. 56).

NO. 84, ICH BIN VERGNUEGTLeipzig, 1731 or 1732, for Septuagesima. This can-tata consists of two arias and two recitatives forsoprano and a final chorale. It was written, accord-ing to Spitta, to be sung by Anna Magdalena Bachat domestic performances in the Bach household.It is a cheerful work and Laszlo sings it pleasantly.


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Vocal Works 39although her top notes are not always firmly fo-cused. No printed text is supplied.Magda Laszlo (s); Akademiechor; Orchestraof the Vienna State Opera, Hermann Scherchen,cond. WESTMINSTER XWN 18393 (with Cantata No.76).No. 104, Du HIRTE ISRAEL, HOERELeipzig, between 1723 and 1727, for the SecondSunday after Easter. The tender lyricism that per-meates this pastoral work makes it one of the love-liest idyls among the cantatas. Cuenod as usualturns in a good performance. Pernerstorfer's voicehas a pleasant quality here, but he seldom hits anote in dead center. The chorus is adequate al-though the tenors are rather weak and they andthe sopranos sometimes sound a little quavery.

Hugues Cuenod (t); Alois Pernerstorfer (bs);Vienna Chamber Choir and Symphony Orchestra,Jonathan Sternberg, cond. BACH GUILD BG 503(with Cantata No. 46).No. 105, HERR, GEHE NICHT IN'S GERICHTLeipzig, between 1723 and 1727, for the NinthSunday after Trinity. One of the great cantatas,unusually dramatic and intense, sustaining its highlevel of inspiration and imagination from the firstmeasure to the last. The choral balance is excellentand the work of the soloists acceptable. Lehmanndoes not quite get out of this work everything thatis in it. The horn in the tenor aria avoids the notesabove the staff and plays an octave lower in suchpassages. There are no bands between movements,and the envelope supplies only an English transla-


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40 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHtion of the text. But this is one case where a lessthan perfect presentation is far better than noneat all.

Gunthild Weber (s); Lore Fischer (a); Hel-mut Krebs (t); Hermann Schey (bs); Berlin MotetChoir; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Fritz Leh-mann, cond. ARCHIVE ARC 3066 (with CantataNo. 39).No, 106, GOTTES ZEIT IST DIE AIXERBESTE ZEIT

(ACTUS TRAGICUS)This great funeral cantata, one of Bach's earlychoral works (it may have been composed atMiihlhausen in 1707), is also one of his mostpopular. The Lyrichord version, despite the round,firm tone of the chorus and the high quality of thebass soloist, must be ranked last, chiefly becauseof the surface noise and the distortion near thecenter of the disk. The Westminster performanceis highly polished, although I am not sure thatScherchen's use of a bouncy staccato for animatedeighth-note passages suits this music. He has, how-ever, the advantage of a first-rate alto. Prohaska'sinstrumentation is more authentic (recorders andorgan as against Scherchen's flutes and harpsi-chord); his soloists are fair; and his interpretationis effective in its more matter-of-fact and straight-forward way.

Dagmar Hermann (a); Hans Braun (bs);Choir and Baroque Ensemble of the Bach Guild,Felix Prohaska, cond. BACH GUILD BG 537 (withCantata No. 78).

Hilde Rossl-Majdan (a); Alfred Poell (bs);Akademiechor; Orchestra of the Vienna State


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Vocal Works 41Opera, Hermann Scherchen, cond. WESTMINSTERXWN 18394 (with Cantata No. 140).Katherine Hilgenberg (a); Ralph Isbell (bs);Roger Wagner Chorale and Chamber Orchestra,Roger Wagner, cond. LYRICHORD LL 50 (with Can-tata No. 65).No. 122, DAS NEUGEBOR'NE KINDELEINLeipzig, about 1742, for the Sunday after Christ-mas. The cheerful opening chorus and a fine triofor soprano, alto, and tenor, with the alto singingthe chorale melody, are the outstanding move-ments here. The soloists are adequate. While thebass's tones could be more firmly focused, he singsBach's cruelly long phrases with apparent ease.There was some crackling on the review disk in hisrecitative.

Margit Opawsky (s); Hilde Rossi-Majdan a);Waldemar Kmentt (t); Harald Hermann (bs);Vienna Chamber Choir; Vienna State Opera Or-chestra, Michael Gielen, cond. BACH GUILD BG 523(with Cantata No. 133).No. 131, AXIS DER TlEFEComposed at Miihlhausen, probably in 1707. Thiscantata, one of the earliest of Bach's that havecome down to us, is an exceptionally fine work.Some writers, beginning with Spitta, feel that thechoral writing is sometimes too instrumental incharacter, but it is surely no more so than in manylater cantatas. The composition consists of threechoral movements separated by two arias, one forbass and the other for tenor. In the course of theelaborate bass aria a sdprano sings some lines of


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42 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHthe chorale; and an alto does the same in thetenor aria. In both cases Shaw uses several sopranosand altos instead of one probably a legitimate,and in any case an effective, procedure. The soloistsare satisfactory, and the tone of both chorus andorchestra is very beautiful. My disk has some an-noying crackles at the beginning. No text is sup-plied.William Hess (t); Paul Matthen (bs); RobertShaw Chorale; RCA Victor Orchestra, RobertShaw, cond. RCA VICTOR LM 1100 (with CantataNo. 140).No. 133, ICH FREUE MICH IN DIRLeipzig, 1735 or 1737, for the third day of Christ-mas. The delightfully gay chorus at the beginningand a lovely aria for soprano stand out here. Allthe soloists are satisfactory, the soprano and bass,particularly, singing with somewhat more assur-ance than in No. 122. Some crackles here too, inthe alto aria.

Margit Opawsky (s); Hilde Rossi-Majdan (a);Waldemar Kmentt (t); Harald Hermann (bs);Vienna Chamber Choir; Vienna State Opera Or-chestra, Michael Gielen, cond. BACH GUILD BG 523(with Cantata No. 122).No. 137, LOBE DEN HERREN, DEN MAECHTIGENKOENIGLeipzig, 1732 or later, for the Twelfth Sunday afterTrinity. The high spots in this work are the firstchorus, with its lyric and quietly joyful subject, andthe duet for soprano and bass, with its expressivechromatic lines. The performance is nothing to


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Vocal Works 43cheer about: the chorus and solo soprano, alto, andtenor are adequate, the bass somewhat better. Thetrumpets are too loud in both of the choral move-ments and not always on pitch. The recording itselfis very clear in the two arias and the duet, less soin the choral numbers.

Claire Fassbender-Luz (s); Hetty Plumacher(a); Glaus Stemann (t); Bruno Muller (bs); Stutt-gart Choral Society; Stuttgart Bach Orchestra, HansGrischkat, cond. RENAISSANCE x 37 (with CantataNo. 9).No. 140, WACHET AUFLeipzig, 1731 or 1742, for the Twenty-seventh Sun-day after Trinity. Perhaps the best known of Bach'scantatas, this masterwork handles the three versesof the chorale in three different ways: 1) in a greatand colorful movement for chorus and orchestra,the chorale tune being sung by the sopranos; 2) ina movement where a wonderful new melody in theupper strings winds itself around the sturdy oldchorale, sung by unison tenors (this movement waslater made into an organ chorale-prelude by Bachand that version in turn became popular in Busoni'stranscription for piano); and 3) in a straight four-part setting for chorus and orchestra. The threeverses are separated each time by a recitative andduet.The choice, it seems to me, lies between the

Scherchen and Shaw versions. Prohaska's perform-ance is pretty good, but the sound of his chorus isnot so clear as in the other two recordings; his rec-itatives are rather prosaic; the bass in the firstduet is somewhat too far back; and there is some


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44 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHdistortion on high notes in the second verse andin the final movement. Shaw's chorus provides themost beautiful tone. He takes the first movementrather fast, apparently following Schweitzer's viewthat it depicts the confusion attendant upon the cry"Awake!" The oboes are rather faint here; in fact,the whole Victor recording seems to have beenmade at a low dynamic level, but the choruscomes through clearly. In the second verse thetenors are rather superfluously doubled by a trum-pet not indicated in the score; and in the secondduet the naked bass is played, the figures not beingrealized. There were some crackles on the reviewdisk. No text is supplied by Victor. Scherchen seemsto agree with Schering that the first movementrepresents a solemn procession and consequentlyplays it a little more slowly than Shaw. The choralbalance is as good as in the Victor though theoboes here, too, are too faint. The review disk con-tained some clicks at the beginning.The soloists in all three performances are accept-able. In each, an ordinary violin is used instead of

the violino piccolo Bach asks for in the first duet.If I had to choose, I think I would take theScherchen, chiefly because of its greater authen-ticity.

Magda Laszlo (s); Waldemar Kmentt (t);Alfred Poell (bs); Akademiechor; Orchestra of theVienna State Opera, Hermann Scherchen, cond.WESTMINSTER XWN 18394 (with Cantata No. 106).

S. Freil (s); R. Russell (t); P. Matthen (bs);Robert Shaw Chorale; RCA Victor Orchestra,Robert Shaw, cond. RCA VICTOR LM 1100 (withCantata No. 131).


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Vocd Works 45Anny Felbermayer (s); Alfred Uhl (t); Hans

Braun (bs); Choir and Orchestra of the BachGuild, Felix Prohaska, cond. BACH GUILD BG 511(with Cantata No. 4) .No. 146, WlR MUESSEN DURCH VIEL TRUEBSALLeipzig, about 1740, for the Third Sunday afterEaster. The superb sinfonia, with its elaborateorgan part, is a transcription of the first movementof the Clavier Concerto in D minor, and the mov-ing chorus that follows is superimposed on materialfrom the slow movement of the same concerto. Theauthenticity of this work has been challenged, butit is hard to imagine that anyone else could havecreated new choral music of this caliber that wouldfit so perfectly with the borrowed instrumentalmusic. The beautiful soprano aria and the rousingduet for tenor and bass are also out of Bach's topdrawer. Prohaska's performance is spirited and thesoloists are acceptable. Felbermayer, indeed, is agood deal more than that: she is at the top of herform here, singing with lovely quality and verymusically. The chorus sounds a little remote, ascompared with the organ, in the second movementbut the balance elsewhere is first-rate. There weresome crackles on the review disk.

Anny Felbermayer, (s); Erika Wien (a); HugoMeyer Welfing (t); Norman Foster (bs); Choirof the Bach Guild; Vienna State Opera Orchestra,Felix Prohaska, cond. BACH GUELD BG 525.No. 152, TROT AUF Dm GLAUBENSBAHNWeimar, perhaps in 1714, for the Sunday afterChristmas. This tender and happy work is written


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46 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHfor solo soprano and bass, with recorder, oboe,viola d'amore, viola da gamba, and continue, hereplayed on an organ. The intimate character of themusic is well conveyed by Haas and by the excel-lent recording. The tone of the recorder is rathernasal, and it consequently matches the astringenttone of the other instruments in the sinfonia, buta rounder and purer recorder sound would havebeen more suitable in the soprano aria. This is ac-ceptably sung by Miss Bond, who can commanda real trill. Irwin has a clear, true baritone voicethat is very pleasant to hear. The review disk con-tains some crackles in his aria. No text is supplied.

Dorothy Bond (s); Robert Irwin (bar); LondonBaroque Ensemble, Karl Haas, cond. WESTMINSTERXWN 18391 (with Cantata No. 32).No. 161, KOMM, DTJ STJESSE TODESSTUNDEWeimar, probably 1715, for the Sixteenth Sundayafter Trinity. A lovely work, full of sweetness andfervor. The great chorale Herzlich tut mich ver-langen, familiar from its use in the St. MatthewPassion, appears here twice as a countermelodyplayed by the organ in the alto's first aria and asthe final movement, performed by chorus and or-chestra. The tenor can sing a very long phrase onone breath, but his intonation is not always asprecise as it should be. Rossl-Majdan, as usual, singsbeautifully. Some surface noise at the beginning.

Hilde Rossl-Majdan (a); Waldemar Kmentt(t); Choir and Orchestra of the Bach Guild, FelixProhaska, cond. BACH GUILD BG 513 (with CantataNo. 202).


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Vocd Works 47No. 170, VERGNUEGTE RUH'Leipzig, 1731 or 1732, for the Sixth Sunday afterTrinity. This appealing work consists of three ariasand two recitatives for alto, obbligato organ, strings,and oboe d'amore (doubling the first violin through-out). Each of the three recordings available forevaluation has its merits and defects. Lehmann'sgraver tempos in the first and last arias seem bettersuited to the text, and his organist plays with skilland tasteful registration. Scherchen uses a harpsi-chord instead of an organ, and in the first andsecond arias his soloist is not far enough forward.But the decisive point is the quality of the singing;and here, it seems to me, there is no question aboutthe relative inferiority of Hongen. She sings withfeeling, but her voice is unsteady, and this is par-ticularly noticeable in the second aria, where thevoice is one instrument among several of equalimportance. Both Rossl-Majdan and Deller singextremely well here. I find the lady's voice wannerand more varied in color. In the review copy ofthe Bach Guild disk there were defective grooves atthe beginning.

Hilde Rossl-Majdan (a); Orchestra of theVienna State Opera, Hermann Scherchen, cond.WESTMINSTER WL 5197 (with Contatas Nos. 53and 54).Alfred Deller (c-t); Leonhardt Baroque En-

semble, Gustav Leonhardt, cond. BACH GUILD BG550 (with Cantata No. 54).

Elisabeth Hongen (a); Bavarian State Or-chestra, Fritz Lehmann, cond. ARCHIVE ARC 3067(with Cantata No. 189).


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48 THE COLLECTOR'S BACH[ Herta Glaz (c); Chamber Ensemble, IzlerSolomon, cond. M-G-M 3156.]No. 189, MEINE SEELE RUEHMT UND PEEISTAccording to some scholars, this is an early work,written between 1707 and 1710; Spitta places itlate in the Leipzig period; still others doubt thatit is authentic. It consists of three arias and tworecitatives and is, in the present writer's opinion,a rather routine work, for Bach. Both tenors per-form it satisfactorily, Schi0tzrs voice sounding some-what drier than Ludwig's here. The Columbiarecording, which was made at the Casals Festivalin Perpignan, employs a flute instead of a recorderand provides only a partial translation of the text.The Archive uses the recorder and supplies Germantext and English translation.

Walther Ludwig (t); Chamber Orchestra,Fritz Lehmann, cond. ARCHIVE ARC 3067 (withCantata No. 170).

Aksel Schi0tz (t); John Wummer (fl); MarcelTabuteau (ob); Alexander Schneider (vn); PaulTortelier (vcl); Robert Veyron-Lacroix (hpscd).COLUMBIA ML 4641 (with Beethoven: An die femeGeliebte).No. 198, TRAUER-ODEComposed at Leipzig in 1727 on the death ofChristiane Eberhardine, Queen of Poland andElectress of Saxony. The version recorded here isthe original Funeral Ode, not the one with a newtext for All Saints' Day and added chorales, madeby Wilhelm Rust in the nineteenth century. Bachhimself used some of this music in 1731 for his


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Vocd Works 49St. Mark Passion, now lost. It is easy to see whyhe did so: the Trauer-Ode contains some magnifi-cent music, especially in the three choral move-ments; and there is a charming bit of tone paint-ing in the representation of bells in the brief altorecitative. Scherchen molds the choral phrasesbeautifully, the continue does not drag, and thesoloists are all satisfactory. There is some surfacenoise.

Magda Laszlo (s); Hilde Rossl-Majdan (a);Waldemar Kmentt (t); Alfred Poell (bs); Akade-miechor; Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera,Hermann Scherchen, cond. WESTMINSTER XWN18395.

No. 200, BEKENNEN WILL ICH SEESTEN NAMENThis is an aria for alto, violins, and continue thatis thought to be a fragment of a cantata. It wasfirst published in 1935. It is not an important piece,and the soloist is barely adequate.

Hildegard Hennecke (a); Chamber Orchestraof the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, August Wen-zinger, cond. DECCA DL 9619 (with Cantatas Nos.53 and 189).No. 201, DER STRETT ZWISCHEN PHOEBUS UNDPAN

This secular cantata was written by Bach for per-formance by the Collegium Musicum at Leipzigin 1731. It depicts a contest between Phoebus, whorepresents lofty and serious music, and Pan, whostands fof light, easily understandable music. It isPhoebus, of cotirse, who wins; and Pan's adherent,


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50 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHMidas, is crowned with asses' ears. Yet in themusic allotted to Pan, he is not given all the worstof it; in fact, the middle section of his test ariacontains an amusing burlesque of the serious style.In the character of Midas, Bach is said to haveintended a caricature of a young Leipzig critic ofhis, so that we have here a musical precedent forWagner's Beckmesser-Hanslick. While the parodyis rather mild, to modem ears, the work containsa good deal of gaiety and charm. The chorus comesthrough more clearly in the Bach Guild version.The soloists in that performance are more satis-factory on the whole: its Pan (Wolfram) andMomus (Schlemm) are superior to the performersof those parts in the Renaissance recording (Kelchand Nentwig); both Phoebuses, Midases, andTmoluses are more or less equally good; and onlythe Renaissance Mercurius (Michaelis) is betterthan her counterpart on Bach Guild (Eustrati). Aclear advantage of the latter version is the flexibilityof the recitatives; Grischkat's singers perform themas though to a metronome. Neither recording isfree from surface noise, and the trumpeters in bothhave difficulty with the pitch.

Anny Schlemm (s); Diana Eustrati (a); GertLutze (t); Herbert Reinhold (t); Gerhard Niese(bs); Karl Wolfram (bs); Choir and Orchestraof the Bach Guild, Helmut Koch, cond. BACHGITILD BG 514.

Kathe Nentwig (s); Ruth Michaelis (a);Werner Hohmann (t); Alfred Pfeifle (t); BrunoMiiller (bs); Franz Kelch (bs); Swabian ChoralSingers; Tonstudio Orchestra (Stuttgart), HansGrischkat, cond. RENAISSANCE x 42.


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Vocd Works 51No. 202, WEICHET NUR, BETRUEBTE SCHATTEN

(WEDDING CANTATA)Composed probably in Cothen (1717-1723). Atender and intimate work for soprano, oboe, strings,and continue. Both singers handle the long curvesof the phrases well. Danco's voice, as reproducedhere, is richer and more sensuous but occasionallyreveals a slight tremolo, of which Felbermayer's isfree. More appealing singing in the London disk;steadier, if perhaps less interesting, singing in theBach Guild. The continue in the latter, played byharpsichord and bass, is a little thumpy.

Suzanne Danco (s); Stuttgart Chamber Or-chestra, Karl Miinchinger, cond. LONDON LL 993(with Cantata No. 51).Anny Felbermayer (s); Orchestra of the BachGuild, Felix Prohaska, cond. BACH GUILD BG 513(with Cantata No. 161).No. 203, AMORE TRADITORELeipzig, about 1735. This is one of two survivingcantatas with Italian texts that are attributed toBach. It is for bass voice with harpsichord ac-companiment, the only one of Bach's cantatas forsuch a combination, and consists of two da capoarias separated by a recitative. Its authenticity hasbeen questioned. Miiller, normally a dependablesinger, does not seem happy with this dull work.Bruno Miiller (bs); Helma Eisner, harpsichord.Vox PL 8980 (with Cantata No. 211).No. 205, DER ZUFRIEDENGESTELLTE AEOLUSThis dramatic cantata was written at Leipzig in1725 to celebrate the nameday of August Friedrich


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52 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHMiiller, a professor of philosophy at the universitythere. The performance is said to have been in-tended to take place out of doors, and the orches-tration of certain movements for example, Aeolus'aria with trumpets, horns, drums, and continuoonly is adduced as evidence. One wonders, how-ever, how such an aria as Zephyrus 7 (with violad'amore, viola da gamba, and continuo) or Pallas'(with solo violin and continuo) would sound inthe open air. In any case, I cannot imagine a Ph.D.who would not feel honored by a birthday gift likethis, for Bach, as usual, poured fine ideas andimpeccable workmanship into this occasional piece.The music may seem a bit heavy at times for itspurpose, but the general mood is rather gay.Neither performance is completely satisfactory.Grischkat favors slower tempos, and his tenor hasto break a long phrase in half in his aria. As inmost of this conductor's cantata recordings, therecitatives are too regular in rhythm. The operaticaccompanied recitative for Aeolus (No. 2) comesout fiat and lacking in dramatic interest. The chorushas a thinner sound. In the first movement thesopranos have trouble with notes above the staff.The tenor (Zephyrus) sings the high notes of hisgentle aria in falsetto, apparently as a matter of"interpretation," because he does not do so in hisduet with the alto (No. 13). Both the soprano andthe alto sing acceptably, though the former's toptones are rather pale. The first trumpet has somedifficulty with the pitch in his cruelly high part.Only the bass, singing the important part of Aeolus,is superior to his opposite number. Koch's perform-ance has more imagination and vivacity. The soundof his chorus, which is clearer in the last movement


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Vocal Works 53than in the first, is generally rounder. Three of hisvocal soloists and his first trumpet are better. HisAeolus, unfortunately, seldom strikes a tonesquarely in the middle, and the pitches of thehigh notes in his wide-ranging part are very ap-proximate indeed. This recording contains less sur-face noise than the Renaissance.

Anny Schlemm (s); Diana Eustrati (a); GertLutze (t); Karl Wolfram (bs); Choir and Orches-tra of the Bach Guild, Helmut Koch, cond. BACHGUILD BG 515.

Kathe Nentwig (s); Ruth Michaelis (a);Werner Hohmann (t); Franz Kelch (bs); SwabiaChoral Singers; Tonstudio Orchestra (Stuttgart),Hans Grischkat, cond. RENAISSANCE x 43.No. 209, NON SA CHE SIA DOLORELeipzig, between 1730 and 1734. This is consider-ably superior to No. 203, the other surviving Italiancantata by Bach. It is scored for flute, strings, andcontinuo. Beginning with an interesting sinfonia, itcontinues with a rather melancholy recitative andaria, and concludes with a fine and optimistic aria.A little more bravura would be welcome in thisfinal movement, but Stich-Randall sings throughoutwith a firm, pure tone.

Teresa Stich-Randall (s); Vienna State OperaOrchestra, Anton Heiller, cond. BACH GUILD BG546 (with Cantata No. 51).No. 210, O HOLDER TAG, ERWUENSCHTE ZETT(WEDDING CANTATA)

Leipzig, probably about 1734-1735. A gentle and verylyric cantata for soprano with flute, oboe d'amore,strings, and continuo, consisting of five recitatives


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54 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHand as many arias. Laszlo's voice is pleasant, andshe handles her difficult part, with its two-octaverange, with a good deal of sldll. While the ariasvary in rhythm and texture, this is a long workBecause of the regular alternation of recitative andaria and the persistence of an andante basic pulsealmost throughout, it is perhaps advisable to listento it in sections, which is the way it was undoubt-edly performed originally, probably between coursesof a wedding feast. There is some surface noise.

Magda Laszlo (s); Orchestra of the ViennaState Opera, Hermann Scherchen, cond. WEST-MINSTER XWN 18396.NO. 211, SCHWEIGT STILLE, PLAUDERT NICHT

(COFFEE CANTATA)The "Coffee" Cantata composed at Leipzig about1732, is about as close as Bach ever got to writingopera and comic opera at that. The wisp of a"plof y concerns an eighteenth-century teen-ager'saddiction to the insidious product of the roastedbean and her father's anxious attempt to cure herof that vice. Bach, characteristically, handled it ascarefully as though the text were important, andthe music is not easy to perform. It is nicely sunghere, with the proper tongue-in-cheek solemnity.

Friederike Sailer (s); Johannes Feyerabend (t);Bruno Miiller (bs); Pro Musica Orchestra (Stutt-gart), Rolf Reinhardt, cond. Vox PL 8980 (withCantata No. 203).


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Vocal Works 55

MOTETSSix MOTETS, S. 225-230An excellent job. The chorus of St. Thomas's inLeipzig sings with good tone and balance. It isapparently all male, the treble parts being sung byboys. Some of these magnificent works may be hadin more exciting performances (see below), butthe present readings all have solid values, not theleast of which are the clarity of the contrapuntalsections, the faithful representation of the varyingmoods of the music, and Ramin's plastic phrasing.

Thomanerchor, Leipzig, Giinther Ramin, dir.Two 12-in. ARCHIVE ARC 3040/41.SlNGET DEM HfiRRN EIN NEUES LlED, S. 225Composed for two four-part choruses, possibly forNew Year's Day 1746, to celebrate the conclusionof the second Silesian War. What Hindemith ac-complishes with the Yale students is nothing shortof a minor miracle. They sing this excruciatinglydifficult piece with fantastic verve, complete surety,and attractive tone quality. Each line is given itsproper place in the musical scheme; the perform-ance never degenerates into an undifferentiatedmass of sound. It is too bad that we don't havemore Bach conducted by Hindemith on records.Grossmann's performance, which is in the con-ventional style, is acceptable, though in harmon-ically complicated passages of the first section the


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56 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHintonation is not always certain or the texture clear.

Collegium Musicum, School of Music, YaleUniversity, Paul Hindemith, cond. OVERTONE LR4 (with works by Monteverdi, Weelkes, andGesualdo).

Thomanerchor, on ARCHIVE ARC 3040.Vienna Akademie Kammerchor, Ferdinand

Grossmann, cond. 12-in. WESTMINSTER XWN 18205(with Jesu meine Freude and Komm, Jew, komm).JESU MEINE FREUDE, S. 227A funeral motet, composed at Leipzig in 1723. Thisexpressive and powerful work is written for a five-part chorus. The crack Robert Shaw Chorale sings(in English) with fine balance, impeccable intona-tion, and beautiful tone. Shaw brings out thedrama in the fifth movement and the tendernessin the poignant ninth movement, but elsewherethere is a somewhat impersonal air about his in-terpretation. The Vienna chorus is not quite asefficient or as well blended, and there are mo-ments of doubtful pitch, but otherwise this, too,is an acceptable reading. All three recordings re-produce the chorus with clarity and spaciousness.There is a higher level of surface noise on theVictor.

Robert Shaw Chorale; RCA Victor Orchestra,Robert Shaw, cond. RCA VICTOR LM 9035 (withCantata No. 4).

Thomanerchor, on ARCHIVE ARC 3041.Vienna Akademie Kammerchor, Ferdinand

Grossmann, cond. WESTMINSTER XWN 18205 (withKomm, Jesu, komm and Singet dem Herrn einneues Lied).


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Vocd Works 57KOMM, JESU, KOMM, S. 229This gentle work was composed for two four-partchoruses at Leipzig between 1723 and 1734. Theseare all competent performances. Victor is the onlyone that uses instrumental support a legitimateprocedure. Indeed, it seems probable that all ofBach's motets were performed in his time with atleast keyboard accompaniment. The choice herewill perhaps be determined by the other items onthe same disk. Victor supplies English text only;Archive only German; Westminster German andEnglish.Vienna Akademie Kammerchor, FerdinandGrossmann, cond. WESTMINSTER XWN 18205 (withJesu meine Freude and Singet dem Herrn ein neuesLied).

Thomanerchor, on ARCHIVE ARC 3041.Robert Shaw Chorale; String Ensemble;

Robert Shaw, cond. RCA VICTOR LM 1784 (withSchubert: Mass in G; Brahms: Three Songs),

THE MASSES, SANCTUSAND MAGNIFICATMASS IN B MINORIt is very difficult to choose among the top four.Karajan and Scherchen have a more imaginativeapproach, but the former is likely to maintain atempo-and-dynamic scheme doggedly throughouta movement; the latter, while keeping a steady


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58 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHbasic pulse, achieves more nuance above it. Kara-jan's choral tenors are a bit weak, especially in theGratias agimus tibi (No. 6) and the Qui tollis (No.8), but otherwise his chorus has a fine, clear sound.He is favored with the best soprano of the groupSchwarzkopf, whose Laudamus te (No. 5) is a par-ticular joy to hear. None of his other soloists is lessthan satisfactory, though the tenor sings better inthe duet, Domine Deus (No. 7), than in the aria,Benedictus (No. 22). One might disagree with afew details of Karajan's interpretation for ex-ample, the Cum sancto Spiritu (No. 11) is ratherbouncy and the great Agnus Dei somewhat slowbut many of the other movements are extremelywell done, such as the wonderfully joyous Et interra (No. 4) and the deeply moving Et incarnatusest (No. 15). The instrumental balances are ex-cellent, except in the Qui tollis, where the first fluteis too loud. The surfaces are the least noisy of thelot. The sound here is clean and resonant but re-corded at a low level (especially side 3), so thatthe volume has to be turned up, particularly for thesolo portions.

Scherchen's chorus does not seem to have anyweak spots. If it is blurred in the Et resurrexit (No.17), the fault is the conductor's, who takes thismovement so fast that the triplet figure cannot bearticulated clearly. Elsewhere, however, the chorallines are pure and flexible. Scherchen takes thegiant choral fugue of the Kyrie more slowly andbroadly than his colleagues, but builds it up to amost imposing structure. His solo soprano is first-rate (though she does not have quite the warmthor the breath control of Schwarzkopf) and the


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Vocal Works 59other soloists are almost as good. This is an intelli-gent and musical performance. With respect to bal-ance, "presence/* and clarity in general, the record-ing is excellent, though not new.Shaw does not come out badly in the face ofsuch stiff competition. His performing forces areon the same level of competence, his chorus, solobass (Matthen), and solo violinist (Oscar Shum-sky) being in some respects even better. It is in thematter of penetration into the essence of the musicthat he sometimes does not quite come up to Kara-jan and Scherchen. The second soprano is a littleweak in the Christe (No. 2) and in various passagesthe sound is rather bottom-heavy. This is the onlyrecording of the Mass in which the Osanna is notrepeated, as it should be, after the Benedictus. Butby and large this is a performance that is far aboveaverage and, considering that it appeared on 78sin pre-microgroove days, it is rather well recorded.No text is supplied.Thomas's soloists are all good, and he achieves ajust balance between chorus and orchestra (thoughnot always within the chorus itself), but he favorsslowish tempos, and his somewhat reserved approachseldom attains eloquence.

It will be noticed that the Bach Guild and Uraniasets have the same soloists and conductor but listdifferent choruses and orchestras. The Regent setpresents an entirely different galaxy of performers(all unknown to the present writer). Now, if all'three sets do not represent one and the same per-formance, I will eat my hat, or even listen again tothe Respighi transcription of Bach's Passacaglia andFugue. The only differences I could discern were


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60 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHthat Bach Guild seemed to be recorded most clearly,that the pre-echo noticeable at the beginning ofsome of its movements disappears in the other twosets, and that Regent has the noisiest surfaces. It isnot, on the whole, a bad performance, and the solotenor is superior to his opposite numbers. But inview of the manifest superiority in most other re-spects of the Angel, Westminster, Victor, andOiseau-Lyre sets, it does not seem worth whilelisting the defects of these.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (s); Marga Hoffgen(a); Nicolai Gedda (t); Heinz Rehfuss (bs); Chorusand Orchestra of the Society of the Friends ofMusic, Vienna, Herbert von Karajan, cond. Three12-in. ANGEL 3500c.Emmy Loose (s); Hilde Ceska (s); GertrudBurgsthaler-Schuster (a); Anton Dermota (t); Al-fred Poell (bs); Akademie Kammerchor; ViennaSymphony Orchestra, Hermann Scherchen, cond.Three 12-in. WESTMINSTER WAL 301.

Anne McKnight (s); June Gardner (s); LydiaSummers (a); Lucius Metz (t); Paul Matthen(bs); RCA Victor Chorale and Orchestra, RobertShaw, cond. Three 12-in. RCA VICTOR LM 6100.

Lisa Schwarzweller (s); Lore Fischer (a); Hel-mut Kretschmar (t); Bruno Miiller (bs); Choirof the Dreikonigskirche, Frankfurt; Collegium Mu-sicum Orchestra, Kurt Thomas, cond. Three 12-in.OISEAU-LYRE OL 50094/96.

Gunthild Weber (s); Margherita de Landi (a);Helmut Krebs (t); Karl Wolfram (bs); BerlinChamber Choirs; Berlin Symphony Orchestra, FritzLehmann, cond. Two 12-in. BACH GUILD BG 527/28.

Gunthild Weber (s); Margherita de Landi (a)j


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Vocal Works 61Helmut Krebs (t); Karl Wolfram (bs); Chorus andOrchestra of Radio Berlin, Fritz Lehmann, cond.Two 12-in. URANIA URLP 236.

Gerda Heidrich (s); Anita Brunner (a); Chris-tian Bochner (t); Josef Kuntz (bs); Rhineland Sym-phony Orchestra, Alfred Federer, cond. Three 12-in.REGENT MG 6000.SHORT MASSES AND SANCTUSEach of the four short Masses consists of the Kyrieand Gloria only. The G major and G minor wereput together entirely from music borrowed fromearlier cantatas, and the other two consist largely ofsuch borrowings. This is solid middle-grade Bach,the A major deserving perhaps a somewhat higherranking than that. The four settings of the Sanctushave no connection with these Masses. They werewritten separately, apparently at different times. Itis believed that only the D major was probably com-posed by Bach and that the other three may be hisarrangements of works by other composers. Of thesethree the D minor is of considerable interest, nomatter who wrote it. The performances are all onthe routine side. The soloists are capable enough,but the conducting is relentlessly four-square. Theinstruments are often too loud in relation to thechorus.

Missa Brevis No. I, in F; Sanctus No. 1, in C.Agnes Giebel (s); Lotte Wolf-Matthaus (a);Franz Kelch (bs); Swabian Choral Singers; Ton-studio Orchestra (Stuttgart), Hans Grischkat,eond. RENAISSANCE x 44.

Missa Brevfa No. II, in A; Sanctus No. II, inD. 'Same as above. RENAISSANCE x 45.


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62 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHMissa Brevis No. Ill, in G minor; Sanctus No.

IIIy in D minor. Lotte Wolf-Matthaus (a); WernerHohmann (t); Franz Kelch (bs); Swabian ChoralSingers; Tonstudio Orchestra (Stuttgart), HansGrischkat, cond. RENAISSANCE x 46.

Missa Brevis No. IV, in G; Sanctus No. IV, inG. Agnes Giebel (s); Lotte Wolf-Matthaus (a);Werner Hohmann (t); Franz Kelch (bs); SwabianChoral Singers; Tonstudio Orchestra (Stuttgart),Hans Grischkat, cond. RENAISSANCE x 47.MAGNIFICATLeipzig, 1723. None of these recordings is a fullysatisfactory representation of this splendid work.In all but one of them the faster movements jogalong at a comfortable trot and the slow ones areequally unexciting. Prohaska's quick tempos aregenerally speedier than those of the other conductors,but he also goes in for a kind of bounciness thatdoes not always suit the text. Only once, in WalterReinhart's Deposuit potentes, are we offered a flashof the drama immanent in this magnificent music.Unfortunately, the rest of his performance is not up tothe level of this movement; in fact, it is inferior inmost respects to the other four. The soloists arebest in the Bach Guild and the Vox, and thelatter offers the most music for your money.The Magnificat exists in two versions one in E-flat, with four additional Christmas movements asinterpolations, and a later one in D, without theinterpolations. All four recordings here are of thelater version, but Vox adds the four earlier inter-polations. No text is supplied by Concert Hall.


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Vocal Works 63Friederike Sailer (s); Lotte Wolf-Matthaus

(a); Hetty Pliimacher (a); Johannes Feyerabend(t); Bruno Miiller (bs); Chorus of Radio Stuttgart;Pro Musica Orchestra, Rolf Reinhardt, cond. VoxPL 8890.

Mimi Coertse, Margaret Sjostedt (ss); HildeRossl-Majdan (a); Anton Dermota (t); FrederickGuthrie (bs); Choir and Orchestra of the ViennaState Opera, Felix Prohaska, cond. Bach Guild BG555 (with Cantata No. 50).Marta Schilling (s); Gertrude Pitzinger (a);Heinz Marten (t); Gerhard Groschel (bs); RudolfLamy Choral Society; Ansbach Bach Festival Or-chestra, Ferdinand Leitner, cond. DECCA DL 9557.

Maria Stader (s); Elsa Cavelti (a); ErnstHaefliger (t); Hermann Schey (bs); WinterthurMixed Chorus and City Orchestra, Walter Rein-hart, cond. CONCERT HAU; CHC 60.

Antonia Fahberg (s); Margarethe Bence (a);Helmut Krebs (t); Peter Roth-Ehrang (bs); Phi-lippe Caillard Chorus; Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra(Munich), Kurt Redel, cond. WESTMINSTER XWN18465.

THE PASSIONS AND ORATORIOSST. MATTHEW PASSIONThe ideal performance of this tremendous master-work has not yet been engraved on disks, if it hastaken place at all. But one of the six available ver-sions is about as good as we're likely to get so


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64 THE COLLECTOR'S BACHgood, indeed, that we have no hesitation in recom-mending it. That one is Scherchen's on West-minster. It takes four disks to Vox's three; onemay not agree with every detail of interpretationor approve of every tempo; a soloist may not befar enough forward (as in No. 36); and the sur-faces are far from noiseless. But this is a perform-ance that results from profound insight andenkindling imagination. Each scene of the greatdrama is given its full value, and so is the pathosof the commentative and deliberative portions. Thecrowd's shout of "Barrabam!" comes like a thunder-clap, while nothing could be more gentle andtender than the hushed pity of the onlookers in No.25. Only in the stupendous final chorus does oneget a feeling of excessive length, because of theslow tempo chosen. Cuenod is a first-class Evangel-ist, and Rehfuss sings the role of Jesus with sublimesweetness. The other soloists are not quite up tothis standard but none of them is less than accept-able, and Standen is somewhat better than that.Rossl-Majdan has been in better form on otheroccasions, but her recitative and aria Nos. 60 and61 are beautifully done.Thomas's performance is less poetic and imagi-

native, but worthy of respect nevertheless. There areno frills or mannerisms. Thomas does especiallywell with the great final chorus, where the bass lineis unusually clean and sturdy. It sounds as thoughhe added bassoons there, with excellent effect. Thevocal soloists are pretty much all of the same grade:they understand what they are about, and they domuch pleasing work, though none of them has thevirtuosity required to execute all of his or her


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Vocd Works 65music equally well. The chorus is properly balancedmost of the time and has a good tone, which is notoften distorted by the engineers.The Grossmann is a straightforward reading, verygood in some movements, rather routine in others.The chorus in clearly reproduced as a rule (itsounds a little blurred on Side 5), though the altosare sometimes a bit weak. Except for Kreuzberger,none of the soloists is quite as good as his oppo-site number on Westminster. The surfaces hereare somewhat smoother than in that set,Egmond conveys much of the drama of the

Passion, and his tempos seem right. The sopranoand alto soloists, however, are second-rate, and inthe numbers for double chorus the sound is notas clear as it could be.The Victor version, sung in E

the collector's bach (nathan broder, 1958)

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