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sunnydaler said:
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=13237
"as fine as--or better than--any in the catalog." --David Vernier
One weak-ish soloist however: Carolyn Sampson. I have not heard this disc, but her presence makes me pause before acquiring it, even though I am a fan of the one voice per part performance of most of Bach's cantatas. Aside from her usual over-vibrant voice production, which should offend fans of historically informed Baroque music performances, and her tendency to adopt an otherwise glassy, cold tone, with some rare exceptions in my experience she tends to have a fairly one-dimensional, not very intelligent interpretative approach. Gilchrist and Harvey are wonderful Bach singers, however, and Retrospect are a fine period instrument band.
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Osbert - haven't had a chance to listen properly but this is not a OVPP recording; there's a well disciplined chorus in attendance here.
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Polly Nomial said:
Osbert - haven't had a chance to listen properly but this is not a OVPP recording; there's a well disciplined chorus in attendance here.
Yes, I checked on the Linn Records website and listened to some samples - quite a sizeable choir it seems. Not sufficiently good quality on-line and through my computer and its pitiful speakers to form a proper impression of the performance.
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Not sufficiently good quality on-line... to form a proper impression of the performance.
There was also an extract played on BBC Radio 3 and although it sounded quite good on the surface, when you listened carefully it sounded not quite unified within itself - there seemed to be internal issues within both the choral and orchestral sections, as if the performers didn't quite know in what overall direction they were meant to pull.
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Post by Oakland April 5, 2011 (6 of 9)
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Does anyone know which keyboard instrument is employed in the continuo of this performance? More sepecifically, was it the harpsicord, small pipe organ, or other? Thanks
Robert C. Lang
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It's an organ (not of the gargantuan variety), Robert.
PN
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Post by Oakland April 5, 2011 (8 of 9)
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Polly Nomial said:
It's an organ (not of the gargantuan variety), Robert.
PN
Thanks. Yeah, I figured it would be either a harpsicord or a small organ.
A couple of weeks ago, I attended a wonderful performance of Bach's B minor Mass, which has led me to take a close look at this recording of the Easter Oratorio. That performance used a small (portable) organ.
Robert C. Lang
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Well I haven't had time to post a review yet but I don't think it will spoil such writing to say that, as a summary, it's as good as Suzuki's account but in a slightly less "formal" performance (and that's trying desperately hard not to imply any insults to Suzuki's efforts).
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