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Reviewer: Bertil
van Boer
Someone must have been looking
through the Bach family works catalogs and discovered, mirabili dictum, that
all three of the major members, Johann Sebastian, Carl Philipp Emanuel, and
Johann Christian, had composed Magnificats. The varying “aesthetic
outlooks,” as the notes state, must have been the impetus for setting these
works side-by-side. Elsewhere in this issue I review another recording of
the oft-performed (and recorded) J. S. Bach Magnificat, noting that I found
the performance a bit tepid by comparison with the others. It seems to lack
a bit of energy, though the music itself is done with good clarity and fine
sense of the period. This one, however, seems a bit more aggressive in the
choral parts. It is thicker, more conventional, and makes a rather stark
contrast. The Et exultavit, for example, is slow and ponderous, with a thick
oboe texture, but the Quia fecit is more virile and with a better sense of
phrasing by bass Thomas Bauer. I also prefer this recording’s soft and
pastoral duet Et misericordia, which is gentle and lilting, never tentative.
The Siciliano character comes forth more distinctly here, rocking like
placid waves. The chorus in the Fecit potentiam, on the other hand, is wooly
in sound, with the sequences less than clear. The aria Esurientes implevit,
has nice flute work, with a full-voice countertenor Iestyn Davies leaning
into the notes to provide a nice flowing rhythm. The two flutes also create
an airy atmosphere. The trio Suscepit Israel has the upper voices weaving a
nice pattern of suspension and resolution, giving it a clear and prescient
sound. The final chorus returns to the thick-textured, somewhat muddy sound.
Perched in between this work
and the 1749 Magnificat by C. P. E. is J. C. Bach’s 1760 work that is
considerably shorter than the other two. Bach at this stage had “abandoned”
Lutheranism to obtain an organist post in Milan. Not that his religious
fervor lasted, but he was required to compose church music of an appropriate
sort. Unfamiliar with the Lombardic style, he chose to use his brother’s
opening chorus to get things moving. One can immediately note the
similarities, but shortly afterwards, there appears a fully operatic solo
with long lyrical coloratura, followed by a nice homophonic chorus above an
energetic orchestral accompaniment. It is clear that, despite the opening
imitation, Bach quickly absorbed the Italian sacred style. The solemn Et
misericordia leaps into a rousing Fecit potentiam, with swirling strings.
Bauer lends the first solo strength and power, while tenor Thomas Walker and
mezzo Olivia Vermeulen act as suitable soloists who carry their lines
without faltering in terms of the raucous tempo and phrasing. Walker here
could have a bit more attention to intonation, but the liveliness is
apparent. The final fugue is another gloss on his brother’s work.
There can be no doubt that C.
P. E. Bach composed a Magnificat that was entirely worthy to stand beside
his father’s. Originally written in 1749, he thought enough of it to
completely revise it for Hamburg in 1779. The perpetual motion strings of
the opening chorus start it off with a powerful energy, and support the
chorus that ranges from homophonic statement to moments of polyphony. Joélle
Harvey’s Quia respexit is docile and demure, performed with a simplicity
that supports the text. Walker’s Quia fecit, on the other hand, is rapid and
strong, stentorian in tone. This recording uses the 1749 version of the
chorus and trio Et misericordias, no doubt to keep a contrast with the two
arias that bookend it. The following Fecit potentiam has clarino
punctuations that highlight the relentless dotted rhythms. Bauer practically
calls out the text with dramatic intensity. The duet Deposuit with its
impossibly high C alto horns, continues the exclamatory music, as both
Vermeulen and Walker vie for supremacy. At the end is a fugue that is as
complex and powerful as anything Johann Sebastian wrote, but it is different
enough contrapuntally for C. P. E. to have his own voice. Apart from some intonation issues with tenor Walker at a few moments, and the often thick and wooly sound of the chorus, which seems muffled and has some issues in the J. S. Bach work’s gnarly lines, the performances are quite good. While there may exist other recordings of each that do justice in terms of quality, this one is good, especially when one can compare in one go the various ways that the family of composers set this text. | ||||
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