First, to dispel any confusion: Although this latest installment of John Eliot Gardiner’s “Bach Pilgrimage” series looks like a new release, it’s not. It is a reissue of a disc released 10 years ago, and, except for the new copy’s cover art and less-informative liner notes, it’s identical in sound and performance. Not that there’s anything really wrong with that–unless you already have the existing one on your shelf–especially if Gardiner’s your guy and you missed this title the first time around. These performances feature excellent soloists and the invariably top-notch Monteverdi Choir and its first class period instrument orchestra partner, The English Baroque Soloists. The main reason to consider this disc is for the fine performance of the heart-rendingly beautiful motet “O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht” (O Jesus Christ, light of my life), which often is referred to, erroneously, as a cantata. Gardiner guides his chorus and instrumental players through the nine-minute-long movement with gentle confidence; his knowing control of the pace sustains both the long lines (reminiscent of the opening chorus of the St. Matthew Passion) and the harmonic tension. Interestingly, Bach wrote two versions of this motet, each with different instrumentation. The one performed here is the later incarnation that includes three oboes and bassoon. The reasons not to buy this version are: the liner notes are annoyingly sketchy and leave out important details–such as which version of the motet we’re supposed to be hearing (instrumentation was included in the notes to the earlier release); there is a much better performance of the Trauer Ode (Herreweghe); and the recording has that very dry sound characteristic of 1980s Archiv productions, a quality that tends to suck some of the life out of the music. [4/22/2000]
