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This is not the first time Stephan MacLeod has recorded Ich habe genug, nor even the second. He sang it in 2006 on a disc of Bach cantatas with Montreal Baroque under Eric Milnes (ATMA Classique, 6/07), and subsequently included it on a disc he made – as here with his own group, Gli Angeli Genève – of sacred cantatas by Bach, Buxtehude and others (Sony, 11/08). The difference, of course, is that this time it is set in the context of Bach’s other two church cantatas for solo bass and orchestra, and thus the attention is drawn more firmly to MacLeod’s own voice – which can be described as light, smooth and baritone-y – and to his singing style, in which soft natural lyricism and tender affection for the music take the lead over self-conscious dramatic gestures. In fact, this, along with a balance that makes him more a part of the ensemble than a dominator of it, might even cause one to doubt his wish be in the spotlight.
Still, humility is an appropriate stand in these cantatas, which deal so movingly with submission to kindly death, and perhaps it is mainly the competition offered in this trio of works by such firm and masterly interpreters as Matthias Goerne (Decca, 4/00) and Thomas Quasthoff (DG, 1/05) that makes one think that more could be made of them emotionally. So although MacLeod invites the bass-line instruments to give a little push to the first beat of the bar at the start of Ich habe genug, it is much less than in the ATMA recording, and while the first aria of Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen has a suitably plangent feel to it, in the succeeding recitative, with its rocking cello line suggesting a woe-ridden passage over the sea of life, there is little sense of fear. In short, MacLeod’s readings are just a little pallid, even sulky.
Goerne and Quasthoff both sing with modern instruments, however, so if you want the period sound you could do worse than turn to this recording, which is certainly done with skill and style. There is also a bonus in the Italian secular cantata for bass and harpsichord Amore traditore, a rather curious, almost experimental piece of Bach, but one that really does require a more dramatic singer – and while we’re at it, a harpsichord more present in the mix. |
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