Just in time for Easter, Archiv offers a new recording of J.S. Bach’s under-recorded Easter Oratorio BWV 249 combined with his much-recorded Magnificat BWV 243. In the accompanying notes, Gabrieli Players director Paul McCreesh differentiates between Bach’s three titled “oratorios”, declaring that while the Christmas and Ascension oratorios remain strictly indebted to Bach’s familiar cantata form, the Easter is more advanced because it fuses not only the sacred and secular but also unites cantata form with operatic elements. If only these features were apparent on this recording! Never have I heard such dry, agnostic, and yes, heartless renderings of both masterpieces.
Compare for instance the unabashed joy Herreweghe and Rilling bring to the opening Sinfonia that begins BWV 249. While slightly slower in tempo compared to McCreesh, their readings effectively communicate a stately passion and grandeur that McCreesh never approaches. Equally telling is the beginning of the opening chorus “Kommt, eilet und laufet”. Here we are told to “Come, make haste and run”–without the slightest urgency. What we do hear instead is a confluence of spastic yet poised vocal mannerisms set in an instrumental wash you’d expect of a sight reading rehearsal.
Regardless of the even greater competition, the Magnificat surprisingly fares not much better. The opening chorus must be the fastest ever recorded. And this is not fast with enthusiasm, urgency, or vitality; this is just fast! Again, compared with Herreweghe, who allows the opening of his reading to bloom by carefully balancing choral, solo, and orchestral texture, McCreesh’s relentless time beating undermines any of the “magnificence” Bach intended. Regardless of tempo though, the rest of the piece is treated in an equally dispassionate manner. Of course, McCreesh clearly has ideas about how he wants this music to sound: expressivness means exaggerated vocal gymnastics; thrills are equated with speed; achieving authenticity means remaining aloof. As evidenced here though, the outcome is ultimately dull.
Archiv’s sound is fine in terms of overall quality. However, there are problems with the instrumental balances, though I’m more inclined to blame McCreesh than the engineers or the venue’s acoustics. Where is the glorious brass that should contribute to the beginning of the Magnificat? We do get excellent notes by McCreesh and Robert Mealy, with full texts and translations.
