John Eliot Gardiner, Nancy Argenta, Olaf BA¤r, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Alison Bury, Lisa Beznosiuk, Valerie Darke, Valerie Botwright - Bach - Christmas Oratorio / Gardiner

This isn't an oratorio in the Handelian sense, but a series of cantatas for various days from Christmas to Epiphany. Bach's music is loaded with treats: an echo aria for soprano and oboe; a "pastoral" sinfonia; bravura arias for tenor with flute and bass with trumpet; a giddy soprano-bass duet; a transporting lullaby for alto. Then there are the choruses, featuring the Monteverdi Choir at their best: exuberant full-orchestra choruses in parts one and three; a lilting triple-time chorus with horns in part four; the joyful skittering chorus in part five; and the triumphant opening and closing of part six (with spectacular trumpet solos). John Eliot Gardiner's direction is vigorous; the soloists, the best group you'll find on CD, include a terrific young Anne Sofie von Otter. --Matthew Westphal Amazon.com essential recording

a voice teacher and early music fan

MONTEVERDI CHOIR AND THE ENGLISH BAROQUE SOLOISTS THE 'STARS' OF THIS RECORDING!!!!!
Johann Sebastion Bach (1685-1750) wrote very little church music after 1730, so it is not surprising that when he produced for Christmas, 1734, an 'oratorio' in six parts he adapted much of it from earlier compositions, mostly from secular odes. Recitatives and chorale settings were, of course, new, but otherwise all but one of the arias and nearly all of the choruses were 'parodies'. The six cantatas of the 'Christmas Oratorio' are designed to be performed on separate days from Christmas to Epiphany, but it does not necessarily follow that they are unconnected. Bach must have composed the work continuously, and there are many, sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle connections between the separate parts. The 'Christmas Oratorio' was virtually the last of Bach's major contributions to the music of the church, later works being almost exclusively either parodies or versions of cantatas written in former time.

Gardiner employed a large choir in this 1987 recording: 9 sopranos, 5 altos to which he added Michael Chance making it six; Chance was not a regular member of the Choir at this time, but Gardiner frequently added him for additional strength in the alto part and he was needed just based upon the other voice parts, 7 tenors and 5 basses. The choir iw truly outstanding in this recording: they are powerful, display unusually clear diction, especially considering the superfast tempos in some of the choruses. At no time are the words lost to the listener. The tone quality is appropriate for this music, especially the chorales where everything is exposed. Gardiner also managed to achieve excellent balance as per usual.

I was very impressed with the English Baroque Soloist; they had a 'bright' sound, clean articulation and did a great job of matching the emotional investment of the choir.

As for the soloists (and this is one reason I didn't give 5 stars); they were adequate, but not exciting, skilled but not inspiring. They are: Nancy Argenta (soprano)-von Otter (alto). Blochwitz (tenor) and O. Bar (bass). In all fairness I kept comparing them to the 1989 recording by Collegium Vocale, with Herreweghe, for his soloists were outstanding: B. Schlick (soprano) M. Chance (alto) H. Crook (tenor) and Peter Kooey (bass). A pity I cannot combine Herreweghe's soloists with the Monteverdi Choir!!!!Well, it's all a matter of what you like, so do whatever your ear leads you to. August 23, 2008

JOHN ELIOT'S CHRISTMAS FAVES

This disc is a bit of an oddity. I can give it a perfectly sincere recommendation, but I think I had better explain myself carefully, and explain exactly what I am recommending.

The spirit of the selection is much what you would expect in a disc entitled `Christmas Treats from JSB' or `Immortal Melodies from The Christmas Oratorio' or something of that sort. Bach's Christmas Oratorio is not an oratorio in the Handelian sense. In the 1720's Bach faithfully turned out a cantata for each Sunday and major feast, but in one particular year he elected to reprocess some of his older music, most of it secular originally, and string the numbers together for the entire festive season under the overall title of `Christmas Oratorio'. Borrowing, adaptation and recomposition of earlier music, sometimes one's own sometimes someone else's, was a standard practice at the time. Nobody saw anything wrong with it, and to this day neither do I. Neither Bach nor Handel can exactly be taxed with lack of original output in astonishing quantities, and it is not as if the recycling of the material was not quite a major task in its own right. The Christmas Oratorio is commonly viewed as a lesser work than the B minor Mass or the St Matthew Passion, and while I probably go along with that view to a certain extent, I don't do so for the reasons I usually see argued. The secular origin of the music is neither here nor there in my opinion - all Bach's music is explicitly written for the greater glory of God. Also, when I see this work compared to its disadvantage with the B minor Mass on grounds of recycling, I have to recall that the B minor Mass itself is made up of recycled material practically from start to finish.

To anyone who does not know the Christmas Oratorio and who may have been put off by any of this foolishness, my own advice is simply to ignore the whole fuss. What you will find in it is a set of Bach cantatas produced to the same astounding standard of inspiration, consistency and workmanship that you will find in any of the others. What makes this disc a one-off is first that everyone has taken advantage of the single series-title to pretend that the Christmas Oratorio is a single work like Messiah or the St Matthew Passion and extract a selection of goodies from it to make a single disc's-worth, leaving out the more workaday and `business' elements, notably recitatives. The engaging oddity to go along with this demotic proceeding is that the style is uncompromisingly severe, almost as if we were dealing with Bach's motets.

Nineteen numbers - solos (plus one with an echo-effect), a duet, a sinfonia and choruses both traditional and composed either wholly or over traditional material by Bach - have been selected. The four standard types of vocal soloist have been given work, and it is probably not a coincidence that there is no counter-tenor in a production like this. 20 years ago the `authentic' movement was starting to relax a little, but the instruments used here are uncompromisingly authentic, and so is the penchant for brisk speeds. By now I am so inured with this way of doing things that I adapt to it naturally, but readers of this notice should perhaps take warning from comments by other reviewers who are not so reconciled to the idiom. For me, the quickstep approach (even in 3-time as in the first two numbers) enhances the sublime sense of a march in Bach's wonderful polyphony, but I'm not you. One thing that ought to be a bonus for any listener is the quality of some of the instrumental work at this pace. I looked to see in particular who was the trumpeter - yes, you've guessed: Crispian Steele Perkins of course.

Given the slight sense of facing in two directions, I can report that the quality of the work is exemplary. All the four main vocal soloists distinguish themselves, and it was a particular pleasure to hear Anne Sophie von Otter so early in her career, especially as she is given the loveliest and tenderest number of all, Schlafe, mein Liebster, surely something to win over the doughtiest opponent of this school of interpretation. I shall also highlight the tenor Hans Peter Blochwitz for the ease with which he overcomes the formidable technical demands of his first two arias - the coloratura of his first test in particular is blatantly instrumental in inspiration, in a way that Handel's, however florid and rapid, just never is.

This issue is obviously not part of Gardiner's recent `pilgrimage' series offering all the cantatas. The 1987 recording is not as beautiful as he is given in the recent sets, but it is perfectly adequate. The liner-note gives the texts with translation, and that is all one basically needs, although some comment on the music itself would have been welcome, as not everyone is familiar with its genesis. There is nothing about the singers either, but there is a picture of Gardiner J E P as he looked 20 years ago, if not more. Also looking out at us in the familiar study is the composer himself. How often, I wonder, have I looked uncomprehendingly at that face and tried to infer from it what are specifically the features of a man possessed of an infinite musical talent. I shall never work that one out, but at least he knew not to hide the talent from us and I can be well satisfied with that. December 5, 2007

A treasured part of a music library

The Monteverdi Choir delivers, as it usually does, in the big choral numbers. The soloists are all top-notch ("Bereitet dich Zion" so well executed). Always a pleasure to come back to again and again. December 21, 2006

Gardiner does it again

Once again I have purchased a Gardiner disk based on his reputation only, and have been completely satisfied. I love Bach and I enjoy Gardiner's interpretations, so how could I go wrong. The choir and orchestra maintain the energy and intensity throughout the entire recording. I was particularly impressed with mezzo-soprano Anne Sophie von Otter and soprano Nancy Argenta. Both are favourites of Gardiner (see his recordings of Bach's St. Matthew Passion and B minor Mass) and are fast becoming favourites of mine.
Some reviews have trashed Gardiners expression and tempo, but I think the spirit of Bach is captured beautifully with this recording. January 30, 2006

an essential part of my yearly Christmas experience

It surprises me that a number of people here have given this splendid recording negative reviews, but that is , I guess, proof that people's tastes and expectations are different.

What I expect from any Bach performance by (Sir) John Eliot are forward-moving tempi when they need to move forward. Natural tempi in the slower music, always allowing the singers to breathe and phrase easily. I expect crisp, energetic articulation and immaculate intonation from the chorus, and snappy, alive playing from the orchestra. I also expect from Sir John a deep experience of what makes Bach's choral music "tick", what makes it sound best. I get all this in spades from this recording of this most delightful music. Additionally, I get an excellent group of soloists, one of whom, von Otter, is completely splendid.

Add to this an ideal sound balance in Archiv's terrific engineering, a most beautiful cover and a good price, what more can one ask for? Merry Christmas! December 4, 2005

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